Levi eats like a pauper in the morning, a king in the afternoon, a prince in the evening. There are days when he gorges himself on crackers. There are days when he eats practically nothing, sending me into Worryland.
This is what he likes to eat at almost 14 months old.
- refried black beans
- chicken soup
- salmon
- lentils
- hummus
- avocado smoothie
- graham crackers
- rice cakes
- buckwheat crepe
- cheese crackers
- sausage/bacon (Applegate--no nitrates)
- beef
- oatmeal
- cheerios
- Manchego cheese
- millet pancakes
- tater tots
- Greek yogurt
- applesauce
- nut butter sandwiches
- turkey
- teriyaki tofu
- mashed potatoes
- sweet peas
- ketchup
What is absent from this list?
Fruit. Glorious, vitamin-packed, mood-boosting, colorful fruit. Don't get me wrong. Levi LOVES fruit. For rolling, for throwing, for dropping. All the apples and tangerines that sit in our fruit bowl are woefully bruised. Levi signs "peach," "pear," "grape," "orange," and "apple." I have no question in my mind that he views fruit as the best toys in the house and thinks we are insane for trying to get him to eat those wonderful toys.
In his playgroup I watch (with yearning) the other children munching happily on peeled grapes and kiwi chunks. One even cried when she finished her kiwi snack. But Levi? He squashes whatever fruit is presented in front of him to eat. He flings it behind him and does not bother to watch its trajectory and splatter.
Levi generally doesn't like vegetables as made manifest in the photo below, but there are a few exceptions: sweet peas and that hidden spinach in his avocado smoothie drink. Carrots in his chicken soup. Caramelized onions with his chicken. But they're all hidden, camouflaged. Levi refuses to open his mouth when a gorgeous broccoli stalk in its naked glory is offered. Vegetable-wise, we manage.
But fruit? Ha ha. Levi dismisses fruit as something to be eaten.
I am amazed by his ability to identify which foods are actually fruit. He loves carrying sugar pumpkins around the house but when offered pumpkin as a food, he waves his hand in the air dismissively like some indignant king. I want to add a crown and some fat rings to his chubby fingers when he does that.
How. Does. He. Know?
Sliced strawberries and peaches, squashed blueberries, orange segments, apple and pear chunks, bananas, peeled grapes all have been rejected by Levi. One look and on the floor it goes.
I keep offering tidbits of fruit daily--author Karen Le Billon of French Kids Eat Everything says it takes 7-15 tries for a child to accept new foods. At this point it looks like Le Billon forgot to add on the zeros--more like 70-150 tries for Levi.
Voltaire once wrote a clever insult, "I'm seated in the smallest room in the house. Your letter is before me. Soon it will be behind me."
If Levi could, he'd probably lock eyes with me and say, "Your fruit is before me. Soon it will be behind me." Splat.
Eating with my toddler isfrustrating quite an adventure.
Fruit. Glorious, vitamin-packed, mood-boosting, colorful fruit. Don't get me wrong. Levi LOVES fruit. For rolling, for throwing, for dropping. All the apples and tangerines that sit in our fruit bowl are woefully bruised. Levi signs "peach," "pear," "grape," "orange," and "apple." I have no question in my mind that he views fruit as the best toys in the house and thinks we are insane for trying to get him to eat those wonderful toys.
In his playgroup I watch (with yearning) the other children munching happily on peeled grapes and kiwi chunks. One even cried when she finished her kiwi snack. But Levi? He squashes whatever fruit is presented in front of him to eat. He flings it behind him and does not bother to watch its trajectory and splatter.
Levi generally doesn't like vegetables as made manifest in the photo below, but there are a few exceptions: sweet peas and that hidden spinach in his avocado smoothie drink. Carrots in his chicken soup. Caramelized onions with his chicken. But they're all hidden, camouflaged. Levi refuses to open his mouth when a gorgeous broccoli stalk in its naked glory is offered. Vegetable-wise, we manage.
But fruit? Ha ha. Levi dismisses fruit as something to be eaten.
I am amazed by his ability to identify which foods are actually fruit. He loves carrying sugar pumpkins around the house but when offered pumpkin as a food, he waves his hand in the air dismissively like some indignant king. I want to add a crown and some fat rings to his chubby fingers when he does that.
How. Does. He. Know?
Sliced strawberries and peaches, squashed blueberries, orange segments, apple and pear chunks, bananas, peeled grapes all have been rejected by Levi. One look and on the floor it goes.
I keep offering tidbits of fruit daily--author Karen Le Billon of French Kids Eat Everything says it takes 7-15 tries for a child to accept new foods. At this point it looks like Le Billon forgot to add on the zeros--more like 70-150 tries for Levi.
Voltaire once wrote a clever insult, "I'm seated in the smallest room in the house. Your letter is before me. Soon it will be behind me."
If Levi could, he'd probably lock eyes with me and say, "Your fruit is before me. Soon it will be behind me." Splat.
Eating with my toddler is
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