Picky Eating

Picky eating is a tricky thing.  I am not talking about the pick and eat, but rather a very limited menu.

Everything the Boy likes falls into these categories: Hamburger, Hot Dog, Chicken Nuggets.  It was until recently, within the last year, that he at least started trying and eating a piece of pizza now and then.  What seven year old doesn't like pizza?  And don't get me started on Cake, for awhile he would go to parties and I would have to eat his pizza and cake.

The Girl on the other hand is picky in two ways, either she wants what is on my plate (literally) or she is like Sally ("When Harry Met Sally") and wants it a certain way, which is usually not possible with the limited kitchen resources.  I really think I need a stocked kitchen like Kitchen Stadium of Iron Chef.

I try to get the Boy to try stuff.  It takes coaxing but he usually will take a small bite, make a face, tell me he likes it and never touch it again.

The Girl is a little more delicate, she won't try anything unless it is on my plate.  Then when she decides on something, as soon as it is in front of her she has changed her mind, even when she specific requests something.  It seems she is all knowing, because if there is something I really like and necessarily don't fell like sharing she knows it.  She will not only want it and try it, she will eat as much of it as she can.

The question is do you tell her something is what she likes if you think she may not like it or throw a fit.  Just today I had to decide if it was truth time over a different kind of bread. The kids love ciabatta, but I made her ham and cheese sandwich with turkey (she says "ham" could be anything from ham to bologna to turkey to etc.) on sourdough.  When she asked what kind of bread I had to make a split second decision, I said "sourdough" and she has kept eating without skipping a beat.  This time I dodged a bullet but most times, I am not so lucky.