Picky Eating in Children

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Do you remember as a child sitting at the dinner table with your family and feeling disappointed as soon as the plate was placed in front of you? Our parents worked hard to feed us (I hope), working, making sure we ate at all. But growing up as a fussy eater and regularly being served the things I couldn't bear was the thing that most baffled me. Kraft dinner was one of those dishes for me.

Eating mac and cheese

My parents did all they could because I was one of the unfortunate children in a low-income household. Seeing food go to waste was an awful outcome, but your parents made it the food knowing you didn't enjoy it.

It was a recurring theme. To the point where I didn't eat anything that night. I couldn't bear the stench, the noise of that squishy gross sound the noodles made with just a little movement, and the taste made me want to vomit. However, they continued to cook it. And it would be discarded the following day. Fortunately, my parents eventually stopped buying KD. There was no reason to when all the kids who liked it had moved out and the one kid who disliked it was too little to move out.

But that didn't stop my parents from cooking dishes they enjoyed but I didn’t like. I was a picky eater, and I couldn't eat things I despised. It wasn't the serotonin surge; it made me physically nauseous to eat anything my taste buds didn't approve of.

Now that I'm older, I wonder what the point is of forcing your child to eat foods they don't like. Obviously, there are some things you need in your body to keep healthy, but boiling broccoli the same way every day won't change how it tastes to someone.

Try a different recipe—and no, vegetables do not belong in brownies or smoothies—stop hiding veggies from your kid (This may erode your child’s trust). Experiment with other recipes for the item they dislike. It could be the way you cook it rather than the food itself.

Family putting away groceries

However, if your child is anything like me, any variant of Kraft dinner makes me want to cry. Talk to your kids about the foods they enjoy eating—of course, they can't have ice cream every day. However, communicating and preparing food that everyone appreciates reduces the likelihood of waste.

When children grow up, they will not buy broccoli and boil it as you did. They will purchase foods they enjoy eating and explore new meals they have not tried before. So, why are you teaching your child to force themselves to eat foods they dislike?

Why not teach them diverse ways to cook things, and explore other options? It is selfish to prepare dishes that we enjoy but that others dislike. We would never do that to a guest, so why would we do it to your own family?

Here is a recipe I loved as a kid even though I had a small palette. Remember, if you do not like anything in the ingredients list, swap it out for something you do. Nothing must be exact.

Spinach Strawberry Walnut Salad 

Ingredients

  • Baby spinach

  • Strawberries

  • Walnuts (or any type of nut)

  • Strawberry salad dressing

No need to worry about measurements, add portions you feel are right.

Directions

  • Add spinach to a large salad bowl and drizzle with the amount of salad dressing you desire.

  • Gently toss to coat.

  • Sprinkle dressed spinach evenly with strawberries, and walnuts.

Cat .M — I've grown so accustomed to my nickname that if you addressed me by my full name, I wouldn't respond. But just for the record, my full name is Catherine. M I'll mostly talk about the world's problems, but I'll only do the bare minimum to fix them. Maybe it's a lack of motivation, but when all you hear is how bad the world is, you grow up not caring. I hope you find a little bit of positivity in my posts!

The Preferred Foods of Animals

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Preferred foods are something we can all relate to. We all eat an assortment of different foods, but the age-old question “What is your favorite food?” always comes up at some point. For us, humans that is, it`s generally easy to let others know what our favorite foods are, I mean, all we need to do is say, I like pizza the most for example. But did you know that animals have favorite foods? Better yet, is the fact that their favorite foods aren`t always what we think might think.

Preference is usually a result of the mixture of our taste buds, how accessible the food type might be, and how good it makes us feel. Sugary foods might give us a boost in the short run, but we`d usually be crashing later. Junk foods such as pizza and fast foods might be filling and taste awesome, but we might get bloated or sick of it in the long run. Now for the healthy foods, for the rare few of us that enjoy these more, they might not always taste the greatest. I know I`d prefer a chocolate bar over blueberries, but the benefit of favoring such a healthy food stands in it`s nutrition. And nutrition is how animals pick their favorite foods.

Now some of you might be thinking, how does that work? What if the healthy food tastes horrible but holds great nutritional value? How come this animals prefers that one? The answer is simple. Do you know someone who dislikes pineapple? Or do you know someone who adores pineapple? The same reasoning why one person might dislike or prefer a certain food is the same reason an animal might prefer a more nutritious food over what we might be offering them.

Animals have a nose for their food’s nutritious value; you`d kind of have to if it meant surviving in the wilds, right? But we`re also talking about animals that live as pets. The natural nose and desire for a nutritious meal is what grants them the ability to choose their preferred foods.

Alright, lets get into some examples! Think about a classic one, the monkey and the banana. Think the banana is their favourite food? Nope! In fact, monkeys would pick grapes, apples, carrots, and nuts before going for the banana. Here`s a fun fact though about bananas and monkeys; did you know that monkeys are usually given bananas to maintain high amounts of sugar? Let`s think of cats next, a kitten would usually jump at any opportunity for milk over water or any other liquid. But as it grows older, did you know that a cat wouldn`t be looking to feed on fish? In fact, meat is the primary source of food they`d be looking for.

Last but not least, dogs are a famous pet, one that people might think prefers bones and meat over other foods. While they do enjoy a solid bone to gnaw at, dogs can be considered diet conscious, preferring- and choosing foods that are high in vitamins and proteins. While they might eat anything from meat, leftovers, the veggies you didn`t want to eat, or your socks, they will always be happy to take your vitamin and protein filled food options.

Looking back, we could agree that humans and animals both have preferred foods. While we`ve gone past the need to be diet conscious thanks to our medicine and supplements. But, the instinct is still hard wired in animals across the world. So, keep an eye on that pet of yours, give it a few more veggies if it`s a dog, and more meat if it`s a cat. But remember, while we can use our words to showcase what we prefer, they can only use their actions. So, keep your eyes open, and you might just catch another surprising fact about the preferred foods of animals.

Zackary Brunet is a year 2 Professional Writing student who adores reading and writing. An aspiring novelist, Zack can be found hiding in his room, headphones on with music blaring, his fingers typing away on his computer`s keyboard. If you can`t find him there, look for his gaming set-up, or look for his secret stash of food, and you`ll be sure to find him.