Hanging from above the refrigerator when I was a child was a piece of what looked like drift wood, all shiny and lacquered. On it was one big word that we in the family all knew but would cause someone unfamiliar with the word to pause and think. That word was "Kwitcherbellyachin". For those optically challenged, I shall translate - "Quit-Your-Bellyaching". In other words, stop whining already and deal with it.
Naturally, this could be applied to any aspect of life, but the fact that this word hung in our family kitchen could mean only one thing. My mother's motto in the kitchen was, rather bluntly, "If you don't like dinner, there's the kitchen." She has remarked on several occasions that, amazingly, none of us ever took her up on the offer. To this day, she claims, she has no idea how she did it. We either had "very distinguished palates, or were just too polite to complain," as she once put it. I think it was a little of both.
Every night at diner we would manage to plant ourselves in the same place at the table as if our names were etched in the chairs, drawing our bums to the correct seat like psychological magnets. Perhaps it was a fear that if we sat at the wrong place, we would be electrocuted and fried from the inside out, or a trap door would open up to a chasm of alligators, or worse, roaches. Perhaps we didn't care. Whatever the reason, we all wound up at the same place every night and it all worked out to everyone's advantage.
Elizabeth would always sit next to me and I knew it wasn't her way of playing favorites. She did it because she knew if Mom cooked something she didn't like she could pawn it off on me, usually without even asking me. I would watch happily as she would meticulously pick all the mushrooms off her plate and dump them onto mine. It was like watching some kind of innate symbiotic relationship, the human version, played out on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom - from the asphalt Serengeti of West Virginia Avenue. I don't think she ever developed a taste for mushrooms.
Having worked in the food industry for twenty years now, I am constantly reminded of the different, and many times eclectic, tastes. I can't tell you how many times a customer has asked if the salmon was Coho or Sockeye. I always reply that if they can tell the difference, I'll give them a job. One time, a particular restaurant I worked for served a Thai pasta bowl with a peanut sauce. A customer asked for a side of bleu cheese crumbles. I had to wonder, at what point in this person's life did they realize that Thai peanut sauce and bleu cheese were a good combination? Were they tortured mercilessly by their mother's bad cooking? Was it a childhood prank that backfired?
One thing's for sure, you have to start young. I can't remember where I read it (or I would post a link for you) but I had once read that babies are born without a fear factor. Any mother will tell you this. They explore everything. Sure some babies will like strained peas more than others, but still, put a blob on a spoon and point it at their mouth and there you go. Airplane in the hangar. When a child approaches somewhere around three, they will normally start to understand the world around them and will learn from their own experiences what they like or dislike. In other words, they develop that fear factor. If you really think about it, it's no different with other animals. See Mutual of Omaha, Human Version - Season Three. So it's safe to say that a mother or father that has a fear of certain foods, or doesn't teach their young as well, will have children with the same fears.
Take my Jacobson cousins. Every year, sometimes twice a year, we would venture down to Tatooine (Yuma,AZ for those non-Star Wars fans). My Uncle Bruce does not like onions, fresh, dried or powdered. Every time we visited, my cousins would ask, "Did Aunt Lella make it?" If the answer was yes, out came the milk and Cheerios. It was all because they had once looked in horror as she made spaghetti sauce with onions. Ever since, they just assumed there were onions somewhere to be found if my mom did the cooking, even if there weren't.
I have a friend who's mother was not that good of a cook; It was always boxed, frozen or processed. Dining out to them, she once told me, was a trip to Denny's. She was, in my own words, hardwired to believe that this was acceptable. I once made a nice Irish stew for my friends and she commented that the beef didn't seem 'fresh'. When I told her it was lamb, she was suddenly put off. She had grown up in an environment where exploring your taste buds and seeing how far you can push them just wasn't done. I told her that if she would be willing to try, I could get her to like things she had never had before. She wasn't up to it. She liked her comfort zone. Don't we all? Some people's comfort zones are just wider than others.
Once, I had promised to make a friend and her sister dinner, but failed to ask if there was anything they refused to eat. I made some Linguine Bolognese with some fresh Porcini mushroom. She never said a thing. She tucked in and finished the whole thing. Afterwards, she told me that she hated mushrooms but was too excited to have a real chef cook for her and was too polite to complain. She eats mushrooms now. Maybe her fear of hurting my feelings helped her overcome her fear of mushrooms. Personally, I think it has to do with the way they were cooked.
Whenever I hear of someone's dislike of something particular, my first thought is, "maybe it's because you've never had it made right." Usually they'll disagree, but I'm almost always right. Food ill prepared by an inexperienced, or just plain lousy, cook will always play on the fears of a child, especially if you tinker with something they're used to.
Sixty years ago, it was common to use canned tomato soup as a base for homemade spaghetti sauce. Once, when my mom was a teenager, she made a real Italian spaghetti sauce with stewed tomatoes. My Uncle Tom wouldn't touch it. He was so used to the smooth sauce made from tomato soup, the tomato chunks grossed him out.
Children, or in some cases grown men, that don't like vegetables, usually don't like the flavor or texture. Sometimes it's the principle. Even if they like vegetables, they won't eat them because they are...vegetables. You have to learn to manipulate the vegetables to soften up the texture and bring out their natural sweetness. My mom used to do something to carrots that is called "blanch and shock" otherwise known as parboiling. This is just a simple technique of partially cooking vegetables in boiling water for just a couple of minutes (about 4 – 5 for carrots) and then immediately cooling them in ice water. This stops the cooking process and leaves you with a carrot that is softer and sweeter than raw carrots but not mushy like canned or frozen. We use this technique in the professional kitchen when roasting carrots. They caramelize in the oven much better than raw carrots, are sweeter and softer. They are great cold, too, with some peanut butter.
One thing to remember is that kids don't like mushy, soggy vegetables. Come to think if it, neither do I. It's best to remember that vegetables have different cooking times. If you toss in some zucchini the same time as the carrots, the zucchini will be a mess before the carrots are done.
The fresher the vegetables the better. Frozen is ok when using some vegetables like broccoli, carrots or green beans. Things like spinach and zucchini should always be fresh. Never, ever, EVER use canned spinach! I don't care what Popeye says. Even if it's in a casserole or a nice baked Greek Spanikopita, canned spinach will ruin anything. It is a soggy, over-cooked, over-salted mess. Zucchini and yellow Summer squash tend to get bitter when overcooked. It might be a good idea to de-seed the squashes before cooking and leave them slightly firm and crisp. They're sweeter that way.
This is one reason I love Asian food - full of vegetables that are fresh and never overcooked. The great thing about a wok is that it's designed for high heat without burning. This sears the vegetables, softening them while leaving them crisp.
Of course there are other alternatives. Instead of zucchini, use butternut or banana squash. Young kids might eat banana squash simply because the name would amuse them.
Mushrooms are a different problem all together. Elizabeth would tell me that mushrooms taste like dirt. Well, of course. That's how they're grown. It would be like eating a potato straight out of the ground. Unfortunately you can't really wash mushrooms. They will start to deteriorate and turn mushy the second they hit the water. Luckily most mushrooms you buy at the store come relatively clean. If you have to wash mushrooms, don't do it unless you are cooking them immediately. Don't cook too many mushrooms at once. That will cool down your pan and steam the mushrooms, turning them mushy. Just like other vegetables, you want a nice high heat to sear the mushrooms, making them soft, yet crisp. Mushrooms are also like bananas. If you are going to put them in a salad (which I would not recommend for beginners) they should be nice and white and fresh. If you want to make banana bread, you save your bananas until they are brown and very ripe. Mushrooms that are turning darker have fuller flavor and are best for cooking.
Besides cooking foods right so kids don't get turned off by mushy, overcooked, over seasoned food, it helps to get them involved. This could actually be your best weapon against fussy eating. The final Harry Potter movie is coming out. Why not have a Harry Potter party? The books mention a lot of meats and sweets, but there are also quite a bit that can involve vegetables. I have the entire list of foods mentioned in all seven books. Just let me know if you want it and I will post it.
The City of Ember, while not the best movie adaptation, mentions a lot of food and all are vegetarian. There are some great soups, stews and such mentioned.
Artemis Fowl was known to eat well including a Spanish appetizer called tapas. Tapas can be anything, including vegetables.
What child is not a fan of movies? Remy, the Little Chef was a master of a famous French vegetarian stew called Ratatouille. Get your child involved in the cooking. They will be thrilled to be eating Remy's creation.
Is your child studying a foreign country in school? Use the opportunity to explore. It's just another way to get your child involved in the cooking process all the while helping your child with their 'homework'.
Another problem you might encounter is the stigma that comes with “eating healthy”. Sometimes It's impossible to get kids to eat whole grain breads. I have a recipe for an Oatmeal Molasses Bread that looks brown like whole wheat and will satisfy any child's sweet tooth. It makes a great PBJ! You could 'fib' a little and use whole wheat flour and the kids will not know the difference.
So, I will post some recipes soon, especially ratatouille, the oatmeal molasses bread and some from City of Ember, but to reiterate, don't overcook the food, allow the food's natural sweetness and flavors to come out, use the freshest of foods, start introducing new foods when your children are young and, most importantly, get your child involved. I can't promise guaranteed success (every child is different), but don't give up and don't get upset if it fails. You may lose the battle, but you should at least have fun trying.
Bon appetit!
