Food Issues

Food and kids.

Picky.  Picky.  Picky.

I know some think that a picky eater is created by parents.  I'll take some blame for the issue, yes.  I am not innocent in the matter.  I offered processed food far before they should have discovered the addictive powers of partially hydrogenated oils.  To make things "easy" I made Ally her own meals for the first 4 years of her life because I was sure she wouldn't like the adult meal I was preparing.

But we did a few things right, too.  We offered vegetable baby foods before fruits so as not to develop a sweet tooth in our little ones too early.  We've followed the rules on offering foods slowly to watch for allergies or intolerances.  I now make only one meal every night, with only slight modifications on quantity of sauce or lack of bun.

Regardless of the blame, we are stuck with two picky eaters.  (And one more that may become a picky eater someday.)  I read this post by MckMama and wished I could start all over again.  Then maybe they'd eat more than chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese.  (I'm still a bit doubtful, but again, I will accept some responsibility here.)

In the spirit of trying, I am vowing to offer more things to my kids.  Even if they blatantly refuse, I will continue to offer.  Just today I was cutting up raw celery.  Celery is not, nor has it ever been, a go-to snack for me.  The thought of raw celery entering my mouth makes my taste buds cringe in fear.  When we don't like things ourselves, it's much less likely that we will offer these things to our children.  But I thought, "Why not? What do I have to lose?"  So I asked Ally, "Wanna try some celery?"  When she agreed, I nearly fell over.

This is what happened in the following minute and a half.

0:10  Ally: "Mmmm.  Pretty good."  (I try to stifle my smile.)
0:22  Ally: "Hmmm.  I don't think I actually like it."   (I'm thinking, "DITTO!")
0:24  Me:  "How about some peanut butter?   A lot of people like peanut butter with their celery."
0:26  Ally:  "Okay, I'll try it."
0:48  Ally tries it.
1:06  Ally:  "I like it with peanut butter.  But I don't like it by itself."
1:08  Ally continues to eat two sticks of celery, then sits in silence for about 10 seconds.

1:34  Ally:  "I decided I don't like it."

So that's what we're dealing with.  I'm happy she tried it; that's a lot more than I can say about Natalie.  Nothing naturally green has passed her lips in I-don't-know-how-long.  And I really don't know what to do about that.

So, until they decide to try a few more green things, and even after, they'll get a good multi-vitamin and I'll keep offering.  And I'll really try not to feel guilty about it.