Picky, Picky

What happens to kids when they turn six? Last year, long about June when my son added another year to his age, he suddenly morphed into A Picky Eater. I thought kids were choosy when they were toddlers: au contraire. The child who used to eat black bean patties, salmon, tilapia, avocado, and sundry other healthy foods suddenly realized he was being far too agreeable at mealtime. Now, it's a semi-battle to get him to try a new food. I've had enough, and lately I've been trying to get creative...without negotiating. 

One of my favorite writers is Catherine Newman, who recently began writing about her family recipes. She posts wonderful dishes like Dinner Beans and Fluffy Pancake and Homemade Vanilla, and her photos usually include her two kids, merrily helping to prepare the meals but also merrily eating them. So, I thought I'd show these photos to my son, hoping he'd be inspired by pictures of other kids—especially the boy, Ben—happily eating Carrot Salad and Black Bean Dip and Borscht. (Well, maybe not so much the borscht. Who am I kidding?) What has she done differently from me when it comes to feeding her kidlings? I strive to make tasty dishes, both old favorites and new concoctions. Occasionally, Henry will give something a try: to be fair, he DID try the hummus I made for him earlier this week. But the comment he made about it afterwards was priceless. "This must be for OLDER kids!" Ha!

I'm not giving up. I've invited Henry to help me cook, I've bought him his very own cookbook and asked him to find a recipe or two that interests him which I will then help him to prepare, and I'm still scouring the Internet for no fail kid's meals. Must I resort to "hiding" the beans in the pasta sauce, or whatever it is that Jessica Seinfeld wrote about in her book?? I sincerely hope not. Oy.