From of the mouths of……….. small children
April 11, 2010 at 10:29 am 2 comments
I am so sick of saying “what shall we eat tonight” that it comes as a refreshing change when one of my almost 4 year old puts in a request for dinner.
Jake makes sporadic requests, which much to the amusement of his daddy, are often made before breakfast. Today’s request is pizza – it is a special request as he wants pizza with tomato, sausage and fish fingers.
Don’t knock it – this is a carefully thought out request! One which I do my best to accommodate, the ability to make decisions about the food you eat is critical.
If you are a true foodie you will know how disappointing it is, if what you eat isn’t quite what you expect, this disappointment can oh so easily spill over into the rest of your life.
I include anyone and everyone I cook for in the decision about what I will cook automatically. I admit that sometimes I am just driven to experiment and create – if this is the case the only input needed, is at the end of a meal.
I have never understood children who won’t eat anything – I admit feeding Lauren is a challenge, I don’t think she is intentionally picky – I suspect she is a super taster as she gravitates towards food that is very bland, rice, pasta couscous and toast with butter are her favourite staples having said that she loves peppers mushrooms broccoli, bacon etc. She also eats with her eyes – so food has to be pretty or familiar.
Forcing children to eat food they don’t like is a bit like making a gastronome eat a a 40% meat sausage and undercooked chips…… the outcome is never going to be good.
If I wake up and know what I want to eat, if my body is screaming yoghurt and blueberries or black pudding, eggs and bacon I listen but I never assume that anyone else will want to eat the same as me.
Now I know you are spitting coffee as you think that I am mad, mad, mad – some crazy lady who spends every waking hour accommodating every food need in my family. In reality it doesn’t work like that I aim to make one meal a week that suits one person perfectly that way I know that once a week everybody I love has a meal that nourishes their body and soul.
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Mima Webb | September 23, 2010 at 8:20 pm
I love your whole attitude to the way your family eat. I have to admit that I have not been so reasonable or sympathetic to the needs of my brood! It was always a challenge to feed Rebecca as she was super sensitive to textures. Preferring robust, you know what it is, to squishy, well it could be anything sensations!! Years of me stressing and worrying that a diet of pasta, rice and meat would lead to her being nutritionally devoid of any goodness have proved to be completely unjustified. She is healthy and far from overweight and now eats almost anything, even recently braving squid and mussels which I never thought I would witness! Edward however has since taken up the gaunlet of challenging my culinary abilty to the point of despair at times, but with age comes wisdom or is it just that I can’t be bothered to argue anymore!! He eats what he wants, which yes, shock horror and against all my past promises often necessitates seperate meals to the rest of the family. You may be shaking your head in dissapointment as you mutter ‘oh Mima how could you’ but the lack of pressure has made him curious, often leading to him asking to try what we have and then at times realising he would far rather have that peice of lovely steak than the same old boring sausage, yipee!! I will try your method though which inspires me with renewed hope and let you know if I am succesful in raising another gloriously foodie child, which is what my other 3 have turned into, no thanks to my neurotic and sleepless nights!
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umamimum | October 4, 2010 at 1:42 pm
a perfect description of how difficult it can be to feed a family – thanks Mima. x