Picky eating? Nah!

Hi Marjorie!

Your post really summed up the challenges we have been discussing. In stark contrast, I spent yesterday afternoon with a young father from Yemen who has a 6 month old. With Grandma's guidance, the baby had been eating pureed vegetable soup for the past few months (Amazing, isn't it, how vegetable-based soups seem to be emerging in our research as an an almost universal first food?). This Friday is an important Muslim holiday, and Grandma is baking a whole lamb, stuffed with rice, herbs and ground meat. He was looking forward to the baby tasting the meat. When I mentioned your discovery of the concern over the "strong flavor" of meat, he snickered. He said any baby in his family better get used to strong flavor -- that's what their food is all about. "No picky eaters!" He declared. "That's very American!"

With my own son, 8 to 12 months was a magic window, when he greedily ate any thing "strongly flavored" that came his way. I thought maybe that was just a quirk, but then this past Sunday, the New York Times Magazine ran a food column by Pete Wells (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/magazine/15food-t-000.html?_r=1&ref=dining). He discussed his young son Dexter and how amazed his family was to see how open Dexter was to new flavors when he was an infant of 7 to 8 months. Then, writes Wells, Dexter began turning against previously well-loved foods:

"He discovered things not to like in experiences that previously brought him only pleasure. A lot of parents call this picky eating. I think it was just the birth of that consciousness that, for the rest of his life, will shadow his joys with the knowledge that nothing is as ever good as it could be".

I was really moved by this idea, as well as by Well's suggestion that the movie "Ratatouille" taught his then-toddler how to appreciate new flavors and new taste combinations once again. We will get it from Netflix soon!

Here are two favorite recipes from the period of my son's early openness to new flavors. This is not to say he then rejected all of his favorite early foods. Green peas stirred into a meaty bolognese sauce, a staple of that period, remains his favorite meal. The sauce is loaded with garlic, herbs, tomatoes, and Italian sausage. Now we add pasta for him, but initially it was just peas and sauce (incidentally, one of his first word combinations as well). Note that one of the following recipes has nuts: take it or leave it. I fed it to him by mistake, and he didn't have any reaction. He loved it so much, I kept feeding it to him. I know, I know. Call the allergy police. I'm sure horror stories abound, and thankfully it didn't happen to me. Every mom can make her own decision on this one.

Farro and Porcini Risotto: http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.aced15a43a1d10e593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=a2e76f3988f09110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0dd9349d52e38110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=print&currentslide=1&page=1

Saag Panir (adapted from Suneeta Vaswani's Complete Book of Indian Cooking)

2 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 Tbsp minced or grated ginger
pinch of red chili flakes (optional -- best to leave it out the first time)
2 Tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 10-oz packages frozen spinach, thawed
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nonfat milk or soy milk
2 cups plain yogurt
2 tsp cornstarch
1 package of panir (bland Indian cheese -- if you can't find it, use firm tofu, cut into cubes

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onions, ginger and chili flakes, if using, and saute over medium heat until soft and pale golden.

2. Stir in coriander and turmeric and saute, stirring well, 2-3 minutes.

3. Add spinach and salt. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. In a blender, puree spinach with milk and return mixture to pot; alternatively, add milk to pot and puree with a blender stick.

4. Place pot over low heat. Stir yogurt and cornstarch together than add to spinach mixture. Add panir and mix gently. Covered and simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes.