Mommy's Pen

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She Didn’t Get it From Me

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When I was a kid, the list of what I would eat was a short one:
  •  scrambled eggs
  • Kraft macaroni and cheese
  • Kraft singles
  • white bread
  • Cheetos
  • hot dogs
  • Oscar Meyer Bologna
  • frosting

No amount of parental cajoling or threatening could expand my palette.  I could sit at the table for hours and wait out my dad’s plate finishing commands.   My parents were busy people.  At least my preferences meant they didn’t have to cook.   

If you asked me what my favorite food was I would have said, “Cheese.” I would have meant Kraft singles.  I ate so much cheese as a kid, my big brother nick-named me “Rodent.” 

 Fast forward to today.  Nora will eat almost anything.  She once asked me to add capers to her lasagna.   

I just asked her what her favorite food was and she replied, “Um, all the foods.” 

Here she is eating a smoked oyster.

 Here is a list of what she won’t eat:  

  •  Mushrooms
  • Things people tell her are spicy (if you don’t tell her, she doesn’t notice a moderate amount of spice)

The list used to be longer, but I recently convinced her to give peanut butter another chance.  Likewise avocado.   

 One thing she does have in common with me is her penchant for eating quickly, and with gusto…    


(I swear, I did not coach her on how to eat it, I just told her when to start eating.  The technique is her own invention.  And it needed to be captured on video.  Yes it did.)  

So, she’s off to a much better nutritional start than I had.  But, we may need to work on the table manners between now and the time she starts dating.

The Best Pooper

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One of my proudest moments as a parent was when my daughter’s teacher told me that Nora was the best eater and the best pooper in class.

Nora was calling bran muffins “cookies” until she was about 18 months old. Some of her favorite foods are olives, hummus, whole wheat bread, broccoli and tuna. She once asked for capers to be added to her casserole.

We never ask Nora to try new foods. If I suspect there may be something she’s reluctant to try, I won’t put any on her plate. I’ll give an ample portion to my husband and myself and nine times out of ten she is jealous of something she doesn’t have and will ask for some. I give her some of what’s on my plate and she feels like a grown-up.

It is not a magic trick to get a toddler to eat well. It’s a matter of consistently offering healthy choices. I’ve noticed that when we do have junk food in the house, it’s all any of us can think about eating. So it’s rare for us to have cookies or ice cream in stock. Often, when Nora asks for a treat, I reach in my pocket and pull out an imaginary piece of candy and tell her it’s pink. Then I give her some apple slices with peanut butter.

Considering that as a child I subsisted on bologna, macaroni and cheese, scrambled eggs and frosting, you’d think karma would dictate that my daughter would be picky. Luckily, this is not the case, and I continue encourage her healthy eating habits. Thankfully, poop is the least of my rewards for the effort.