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Fun adventures with Indian food

One of my ex-boyfriends lived on meat and potatoes alone. Seafood?. Yuck. Salad? "Rabbit food". Vegetables? NOPE. Fruit? Bananas, okay, but that's were he drew the line!

Mind you, he was a nearly grown man and had a diet that a nutritionist would cry over. Seriously, I didn't know GI-tracts could function with such little fiber.

How did these eating patterns develop and why did they persist into adolescence? I wondered whether his parents just sat back and allowed this to happen over time. I couldn't fathom this since I think if I told my parents I was simply not going to eat the majority of food groups, they would have just smacked me upside the head. Eating is, and has always been, a huge part of my family.

I've talked about how I think our 2 1/2-year old daughter could be the poster child for Good Eating, but after seeing some recent articles about toddler picky eaters, I started reflecting more on why this might be the case. Why do some children become picky while others don't? (This coming right after Jolie's first introduction to Indian food in which she embraced the new flavors and spices with an open-mind and open mouth.)

Maybe a part of this is personality. Jolie's got a bursting enthusiasm for life, and it seems natural that it would also translate into her relationship with eating. One of her teachers once told me that she loved watching Jolie eat since it was clear how much joy she derived from it. (That's my sumo child!)

But I think there are other factors at play. Research in pediatric nutrition has shown that it takes multiple exposures to the same food before a toddler may accept it. Not 1-3 tries, but upwards of 10.Which means that giving up on a food or class of foods after only a few attempts is not an adequate trial. Also, parental example plays a role as well, and parents who eat a variety of foods in front of their kids lead by example. Research has also shown that rewarding a child for eating certain foods can actually backfire and cause the child to dislike the food even more.

i think my husband and I have done a lot of this with Jolie and I think it's made a difference in her acceptance of a wide variety of foods, and importantly, a willingness to try new ones.

Things that have worked for us:

• Serving a variety of foods for our family dinners, and giving her the chance to sample all of it (unless it is too spicy, etc)
• Not making a big deal if she won't eat a certain food. After seeing us happily eat it, she sometimes changes her mind. (But also not offering a different alternative - she may just end up eating plain white rice.)
• Exposing her to a wide variety of ethnic foods from an early age, including Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Central American, Italian, and now, Indian.
• Giving gentle praise and remarking on how strong she is going to be when she eats vegetables.
• Being good examples by eating a variety of foods ourselves, and clearly enjoying it!

And while our first foray into Indian food with Jolie was as good as could be expected (she LOVED the Mango Lassi - a mango yogurt drink, and dug the Naan bread, mint dipping sauce, and homemade cheese), some of the main dishes were a bit too different-spice-y for her to get into. But, that just means more exposures are in order...and more pregnancy-induced Indian food cravings answered!

_{Disney Family does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Call your doctor regarding any medical condition. Never disregard your doctor's advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Disney Family site.}