Why I Am Not a Short Order Cook

Go big or go home.  That is the approach we took in growing our family.  Within a week’s time we went from a family of 2 to 5….. 3 of which were toddlers.  Oh, the toddler stage… You can read about our story here.

The word adjustment doesn’t even begin to describe what has unfolded since that time.  We are still adjusting, just with less urgency and surprise now.  One of the areas that took the most adjusting for me was in the area of food

What in the world do kids eat?….or can they eat?…or will they eat?…or how much should they eat?….and how often?  I was clueless and my friends were patient with my seemingly ridiculous questions.  

To make matters even more complicated our kiddos already had developed a pattern of eating with each family they had been with before ours and it was anyone’s guess at what that was exactly.  Taking our 3 kids to the grocery store for the first time (heaven help us) filled in some of the missing pieces as they enthusiastically pointed out things that were familiar to them.  Let’s just say we weren’t talking fruits, veggies, or oats!  That is when I began to realize that I had my work cut out for me.  

Was it possible to “change” a toddler’s approach and taste for different foods or was I signing up for a losing battle? 

 

Luckily, in the midst of that crazy season of life I somehow managed to read through a fantastic gem of a book called French Kids will Eat Anything by Karen Le Billon and hope was restored.   There were so many take away’s from this book (or for you Oprah fans out there, “ah-ha moments”.)   Here are the 10 French Food Rules  just to give you a little taste.  We don’t follow all of these necessarily, but found the gist of it to be extremely helpful. 

1.  Parents, you are in charge of your child’s food education. 

2.  Avoid emotional eating.  Food is not a pacifier, a distraction, a toy, a bribe, a reward, or a substitute for discipline.

3.  Parents schedule meals and menus. Kids eat what adults eat: no substitutes and no short-order cooking.

4.  Food is social. Eat family meals together at the table, with no distractions.

5.  Eat vegetables of all colors of the rainbow. Don’t eat the same main dish more than once per week.

6.  For picky eaters: You don’t have to like it, but you do have to taste it.
For fussy eaters: You don’t have to like it, but you do have to eat it.

7.  Limit snacks, ideally one per day (two maximum), and not within one hour of meals.

8.  Take your time, for both cooking and eating. Slow food is happy food.

9.  Eat mostly real, homemade food, and save treats for special occasions. (Hint: Anything processed is not “real” food.

10. Eating is joyful, not stressful. Treat the food rules as habits or routines rather than strict regulations; it’s fine to relax them once in a while.

Number three has hit home for us. “Parents schedule meals and menus. Kids eat what adults eat: no substitutes and no short-order cooking.”

I do not make the kids a separate meal from what I make for my husband and I. 

I make one meal for our entire family and that is what we all eat with very minimal exceptions. 

 We aren’t into the whole “kid food” concept.  My kids have learned to eat things like curry, (too hot? Add sour cream)  hummus, (dipping things is fun! ) Brussel sprouts, and asparagus  (See Rule # 6).  

Choosing to serve meals this way has simplified our life in a small way.  It’s one less meal for “Mom” to add to the daily “To-do” list.  It has also given our children the opportunity to try and enjoy foods that most people don’t discover until adulthood if at all. 

It’s a  cultural trend to make your kids a separate “Kid friendly” meal and while I am not saying that the one meal approach will work for all it may be a worth a try.   Especially if you are looking for an easy way to simplify your life that much more. 

What kinds of “adult” foods have your kids tried?  What has been successful?  What has not?