From One Food Lover To Many

i have always reintroduced the same food over and over again even if the kids didn't like it. did you know that human taste buds have a life span of 10 to 14 days before they are replaced. most people don't realize this because when a child or yourself tries a food and you don't like it you usually don't try it again for a few years if ever. just like taste buds children go through phases, babies will eats mostly anything up until about 18 months and they usually go through a "white phase" refusing all but white foods like pasta, bread etc. that usually lasts a year until they develop a taste for more strongly flavored foods, or they want nothing but applesauce for a week or toast. it always amazes me how many phases kids go through. its easier for us to stick with some dinner rules to ensure that the kids eat good and so far it has worked great for us!

RULES

-you have to try new foods. just a bite. even if your sure you wont like it just by looking at it you still have to try. if you don't like it then you don't have to eat it.

-you have to try that same new food the next time it appears on your plate cause you didn't give it a fair chance the last time you tried it (no i don't call choking a bite size of a lentil while making gagging sounds a fair chance)

-seriously, third times a charm.

-take a little of everything. you can always have more.

-if you don't eat ANYTHING that's on your plate (i always make at least ONE thing i KNOW they like) then you can wait till the next meal.

-everyone gets dessert (after all it was a huge effort trying something new) just a little, unless your sick of course.

we definitely don't bribe them with dessert and don't make them eat everything on their plate if they say they are full, i thinks that's just unhealthy.

i feel that because of what eat eat in our home and the dinner times rules it has made our kids pretty healthy eaters. i thought i would blog about some of our kids favorite things to eat.

up until recently jazlynn has always had picky taste buds. she is now discovering new foods to try and her taste buds have definitely changed over time. she now has some very strong taste buds and love some very uncommon foods. here's is one of her favorites.

I'm sure you recognize those. there one of my favorites to. she really likes the red sauce with pork or beef tamales the best. jayvin and ridge both love them to.

now here is one of jayvins favorite foods.

as long as the sushi doesn't have the raw fish rapped on the outside then hes fine. I've let him taste a few of the ones with raw fish on the inside and he does love them but with him being so young i don't want him to get sick from the bacteria. we usually stick with the cali rolls or some with smoked fish inside. jazlynn and ridge aren't huge fans though.

all of my kids love these though. edamame! we buy these in bulk from Costco and have them as snacks.

all three of the kids love calamari as well (squid) when we go out to eat they always share a big plate of calamari. we also made sure to show them what calamari looks like when its alive and explain to the that its the same (we do this with all food) that way hopefully they wont get grossed out when their older like i did with liver.

now this is a new one that we have tried. its called menudo soup. its a Mexican dish made with cow stomach (tripe) with a red chili base (some times made with a clear broth). some people put onions, and cilantro chilli's in it. Nathan hates it, i like the broth but not the meat but jazzy and ridge love this soup, jayvin not so much.

ridge and jayvin have a high tolerance to spicy foods, they always have. jazlynns tolerance to spicy foods is more then most kids her age but nothing near to ridges and jayvins.

jazzy and jayvin aren't HUGE meat eaters (they get that from me) unless the meat is mixed with something. at home we eat lots of veggies and fruit, tofu, boca and white meat. we don't eat any red meat at home at all. we also eat raw as much as possible. like most children they love treats like cookies and brownies but we don't ever keep these at home (unless its the holidays) and really try to make it a big deal when they do get it. ridge on the other hand isn't a big fan of the treats. but none of the kids are allowed hard or chewy candy, but they don't seem to mind. jazzy and jayvin aren't really big eaters quanity wise) and we don't really mind because they still try everything on thier plate and usually eat a good amount.

just another random blog i though i would share.