Luck of the Food Draw

Is your kid a picky eater?

I wasn’t. Bryan wasn’t.

So it isn’t too shocking that Declan is not either.

Although, I will say that Bryan, especially, was never exposed to any exotic foods, so there was nothing really to be picky about. He had his first taco at 18. He used to say “par-mee-zee-an.” Clearly hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill were the main course… pretty much always. With corn for flare.

Me? My mom came over from Germany when she was a child so I had all those crazy German liverwursty foods to contend with, but in general Germans are meat and potatoes people – so my food upbringing was pretty normal too.

Declan, however, has traveled with us, and OH MY WORD, has eaten OUT with us. I may have mentioned this, but we eat out A LOT. A LOT A LOT.

For example, this was my kid’s favorite meal in Ireland:
Kinsale_37

When I saw Jen (@thejennui) in Park City, she was telling me how I massively took all this for granted. That her daughter could tell the difference between Canadian Kraft Mac & Cheese and American Kraft Mac & Cheese. And she refused to eat it. And that it prevented them from traveling sometimes.

I sat there dumbfounded.

I mean, I knew we were lucky. My kid eats sushi, steak, vegetables, chicken, soup, fish, salad, and, yes – the occasional mac & cheese. Many times now, he and I even share a meal – making our eating out habit more affordable. Kinda. Seeing as sometimes he has my meal and his meal too. (Can’t wait for that teen growth spurt, woo woo.)

Point being, *now* I feel LUCKY lucky.

This article has 7 comments

  1. Betty

    This is killing me, because my kids are so fussy, but in weird ways. My seven-year-old lives on cucumbers, spinach, romaine, pickles and potatoes. She’s constantly hungry and bored with food, but refuses to try anything new.

    She’s never even tasted jam. She flat out refuses, because it “looks weird.” Maybe if jam were green…

  2. jamie

    I know! mine eat all that good stuff too–started Courtney on Sushi when she was 2! I grew up eating exotic food from many cultures because my stepdad liked to make it. Wait til he hits the teen years, tho….it will be a challenge just to keep him full–man, my boy can EAT!!!

  3. Bridget

    Of my 3 kids I have one fairly good eater, one great eater and one conditional eater(based ENTIRELY on his mood). Luckily the only thing they don’t *really* like are processed meats. It kills my husband that my kids won’t eat hotdogs.

  4. Table4Five

    Please describe what’s in that dish from Ireland, it looks good!

    My husband is the pickiest eater on the planet, raised by a father who’s even worse. My boys are fairly picky, my daughter will eat most anything but only in minute amounts. It makes planning our meals super fun 😛

    Will you be at BlogHer? Would like to say hello!

  5. Kim Hosey

    I’m pretty lucky too. My son decided when he was four or so to be a vegetarian, but other than that, he’s open to anything. My husband’s the picky eater, or rather, if I refuse to smother whatever we’re eating in Country Crock margarine (as was the diet of his upbringing), he’s way picky. He also turns his nose up at things that “look funny.” He told me he didn’t want minced garlic because it “looks like seeds.” I camouflaged it and served it to him anyway. He loved it.

  6. Aimee Greeblemonkey

    Elizabeth – it was some sort of cracked crabs… a restaurant in Kinsale, Ireland called Fishy Fishy. Silly name – AMAZING food.

    And YES, I will be at BlogHer! Looking forward to seeing you!

  7. Aimee Greeblemonkey

    And by the way – everyone’s stories are making me laugh!

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