Last week I was listening to two parenting podcasters:ย Dan Pashman, host of โThe Sporkful,โ andย Hillary Frank, host of โThe Longest Shortest Time.โ They were discussing how to raise adventurous eatersย and had some good advice for parents of picky eaters โ Iโm happy to report that family dinner and the idea of repeated exposure came up a few times. But my favorite moment in the radio segment occurred at the end, when a listener called in to share how she raised her kids to love vegetables โ specifically peppers. It sounds like her children are all grown now, but she still could not mask her delight when she told Lopate and his panel that the way she got her kids to eat bell peppers was by asking them to close their eyes before eating one, then seeing if they could correctly identify the color โ red, green, or yellow? As her kids tested, they tasted, as they tasted they got their daily intake. I thought this was pretty hilarious โ and I couldnโt help but think of endless options for riffing, especially now that the farmerโs market is exploding with crazy varieties of just about every vegetable. Carrots: Orange, red, or white?ย Tomatoes: yellow, red, green? Beans: purple or green? Eggplant: Purple or white? Beets: Red, orange, striped, golden? I could go on. Iโm sure you could, too.
Anyway, thanks for the tip, Sidney* from New Jersey, whoever you are!
Related: 44 Things Weโve Told Our Kids to Get Them to Eat
Related, Oldie but Goodie: Can you tell the difference between white wine from red wine when blindfolded?ย Donโt be so sure. (And donโt do this one with the kids.)
*I think that was your name. Forgive me, I didnโt re-listen.
Photo: Edible Cape Cod
Iโve been watching my nearly 7-year old son evolve from a picky eater into a more tolerant type. Heโs not eating raw oysters or anything too exotic, but heโll taste anything at least once and make a decision from there. He knows that โtaste buds changeโ so he keeps on trying. And thereโs no pressure from his parents, just the gentle nudge of โone bite.โ I firmly believe that it just takes plenty of repeated exposure to get a kid to accept a new food.
No joke โ I pulled this โtrickโ with my three year old just last week!! We were having chicken fajitas (hers were deconstructed). Sheโs been giving the excuse lately that she doesnโt like cooked peppers; Iโm not buying it. I had her close her eyes and guess what color pepper I put in her mouth. A few guesses later, and she had eaten her whole serving. Huge mom win! Love the idea of expanding it beyond peppers.
โ(And donโt do this one with the kids.)โ This made me laugh. Fun tip. Weโll have to try that one for peppers. My kids are punks about eating peppers.
Gorgeous picture! I canโt believe I couldnโt tell the difference between red and white wine blindfolded. Iโll definitely give that a try. I see how a challenge is motivating. I think that could work with my 13 year old. Thanks for the idea.
Though my daughter eats pretty much everything, I love this trick. I think itโs perfect way to make dinners more interesting, and help her develop all of her senses! Thank you ๐
My oldest once told me she didnโt like the sauce on her mushrooms. I told her to lick it off and then she could eat the mushrooms without the sauceโฆand she DID. I count it as one of my biggest parenting wins. ๐