I know beets don't necessarily seem like a typical kid food, but I've made beets at least 3 times before for Henry, and he has LOVED them everytime. He's signed for "more", and once even finished all the leftovers that I thought I'd get to eat for lunch! So when Henry wouldn't even touch the beets, I could not believe it.
At lunch, when I put the beets on Henry's tray, he shook his head "no". I thought he didn't realize what it was, so I said, "No, Henry, it's beets...you love them!". His response was to throw the beets, one by one, on the floor. I then left the topic alone, and decided I'd approach it at dinner.
At dinner, I again tried to give Henry the beets. Again, he refused. I was also feeding him the Morningstar Chicken Strips (vegetarian) at the time, and Henry absolutely loves those (at least for now...or so I'm learning). So, I decided to spear a bite on the fork first and then spear a piece of the chicken strip. Henry took the bite, and then removed the beet from his mouth and deposited it on the floor. I still felt he hadn't given it a fair chance. So, I got tricky...I cut the chicken strip bite in half, speared one half on the fork, then a bite of beet, and then the other half of the chicken bite (see pic below). Henry took it and actually ate a few bites. I don't feel victorious though because eventually he started spitting the bite out, removing the beet, and then eating the rest of the chicken strip.
I guess Henry is no longer a fan of beets. I'm not counting beets out though. I will still continue to make them, and offer them to Henry whenever we're having them. But I finally learned the lesson that I taught to my mother all the years I was growing up...just because a kid says (or shows) that they love a certain food, it doesn't mean they'll be in the mood for it the next time it's served!
On a side note, anyone have tips on how to stop a 16 month old from throwing food off his tray?
Happy and (mostly) healthy eating!
Willa won't eat beets, but she did try a little of these beet carrot potato latkes, they were awesome (although I cut out half the onion)
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no advice on throwing the food on the floor, at least at your house you can pick it up and give it back to him if you want. over here its gone before it hits the floor
Estyn - Those latkes look great...and the butternut squash and apple ones on that site also sound really interesting. Perhaps I'll be making more latkes post-chanukah...
ReplyDeleteAnd considering how often Henry throws food on the floor, I wouldn't trust the cleanliness of my floor anyway :)
when Ruthie starts to throw her food on the floor (or plays with it) that normally means shes done....unless of course she didnt like it at all
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