Kids taste preferences can vary from their parents. Offer them foods you may not like, try not to bring in your own food preferences or food prejudices. Taste buds change, you may not have liked olives in your 20’s but enjoy them in your 30’s. So re-taste foods along with your children. We’ve heard kids may have to try foods more than a dozen times to accept them. So taste along with them –you may be surprised.
I’ve seen young children love foods outside their cultural food exposure, to name a few: sliced radishes, olives, beets, purple potatoes, raw purple onions, dark chocolate over milk chocolate, collard greens, roasted garlic, sushi and pickled ginger.
Be sure to try foods prepared in different ways. I haven’t had much success with sweet potatoes or homemade sweet potato baked fries with my family even though I just love sweet potatoes! So I recently shredded sweet potatoes raw in the food processor and then baked them in the microwave. They were a hit! If your family goes heavy on the ketchup, try mixing tomato sauce in with the ketchup to cut down on the sugar and salt. Start gradually.
What foods have surprised you most that your child, extended family or friend’s kids have enjoyed?
Please comment! I look forward to sharing some good responses.
