According to what traditionally is known as "The First Thanksgiving," the 1621 feast between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag at Plymouth Colony contained turkey, waterfowl, venison, fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin, and squash. William Bradford noted that, "besides waterfowl, there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many." Many of the foods that were included in that feast (except, notably, the seafood) have since gone on to become staples of the modern Thanksgiving dinner. -Wikipedia
With that being said, I can personally think of a lot of things on the thanksgiving table that I don't usually eat, and doesn't sound too appetizing. To be honest with you, I was 19 years old the first time that I tried sweet potatoes, and 20 years old when I actually attempted the sweet potato pie. Why? I don't know.. Potatoes being sweet didn't exactly sound like something my taste buds were calling out to me.
Looking at what the pilgrims ate, there is no way I would have ate waterfowl, venison, fish, lobster, clams, or squash. I think that the modern day turkey day dinner has changed somewhat, but kept a lot of the tradition still alive. At our house, we typically have two meats, turkey and ham. Along with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, salads and pumpkin pie. All of this sounds so good, and I eat all of that, but compared to some other families, we probably have a boring Thanksgiving table.
There is a few things on our Thanksgiving table that we have that I don't eat, because my husband likes them. He cooks up some chitlins, which I never eat when he cooks them. Sorry that intestines from the chicken doesn't sound very appealing to me. lol. He also fixes greens, which are okay *shrugs shoulders* on a good day. He also makes this cornbread stuffing that everyone in my family loves but me. That has crumbled up corn bread, bell peppers, onions, celery, chicken broth, liver and gizzards. Again, liver and gizzards, no thank you.
Thanksgiving is the season of giving, loving and sharing amongst friends and family. It seems like whenever we get together with family and have a good time, food is always one of the main ingredients in the mix. Food is one of the most basic necessities in life. We all have our own tastes, what we like and what we don't like. The holidays aren't any different. There are usually more options and a lot more food on the holidays though. Tis the season to gain weight. :)
10/31/10
Today Is Halloween!! Candy Anybody?
I actually was reading an article on the most popular candy on Halloween, and why. It’s common knowledge that baby candy bars are really popular for Halloween. We can simply think back to our own experience as kids trick-or-treating to come to this conclusion. However, are candy bars really the most popular treats? You might be surprised by the answer.
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
This past weekend was Halloween weekend. Lots of candy, lots of little trick-or-treaters in their little costumes, and lots of gore and freight. Another thing that comes to mind during the halloween, and harvest seasons would be PUMPKINS! Whether you are carving the pumpkin and making a scary face, painting or coloring the pumpkin, or making a pumpkin pie, bread or cake, pumpkins are seen all over the neighborhood this time of the year. It was so much fun to take my son to the pumpkin patch so he could choose his very own pumpkin to carve.
After we helped him carve his little pumpkin we took out the pumpkin seeds. Call me stupid but I honestly didn't know that you could just take the seeds out of the pumpkin, soak them, salt them up and cook em. I guess I never put two and two together. I didn't even think that pumpkin pie came from the actual pumpkin. All I ever seen was pumpkin pies at Perkins, or maybe a tin-can of pumpkin pie filling at the store. This was interesting to find out.
So my son and I cleaned up the seeds and baked them. I never tried pumpkin seeds before. I didn't know what to expect. Would they be crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle? Would there be a kernel in the middle like sunflower seeds have? I just hoped they were a tasty alternative to the potato chip. After they came out of the oven, my husband said to let them cool off for a while. I didn't really know what to think of it all. An hour later, I took my first attempt at the seeds. I thought in my mind while they crunched in between my teeth, "mmm, this is pretty good!"
After eating the pumpkin seeds, this ran my mind wild. You know how you start doing one thing, or think about one thing, and it leads to another? Like a revolving door? I'm sitting there thinking about the pumpkin seeds, and excited about carving pumpkins, and I ask myself. Why didn't my parents ever do anything like this with me? They never carved a pumpkin with me, cooked pumpkin seeds, or any sort of Halloween fun and festivities. It's not like they are religious or anything, they were just more lazy parents. And being as I was the first born child, I think I was the "practice," the one who you don't know what to expect or how to parent so you just "do your best."
Looking back now, I can't do anything about my past and how I missed out on fun activities on the holidays. I just have to make sure that I do all the fun stuff with my son, and make sure that he does things that I missed out on. It's hard to clean up spilled milk, but there's potential to turn any bad situation into good. :)
After we helped him carve his little pumpkin we took out the pumpkin seeds. Call me stupid but I honestly didn't know that you could just take the seeds out of the pumpkin, soak them, salt them up and cook em. I guess I never put two and two together. I didn't even think that pumpkin pie came from the actual pumpkin. All I ever seen was pumpkin pies at Perkins, or maybe a tin-can of pumpkin pie filling at the store. This was interesting to find out.
So my son and I cleaned up the seeds and baked them. I never tried pumpkin seeds before. I didn't know what to expect. Would they be crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle? Would there be a kernel in the middle like sunflower seeds have? I just hoped they were a tasty alternative to the potato chip. After they came out of the oven, my husband said to let them cool off for a while. I didn't really know what to think of it all. An hour later, I took my first attempt at the seeds. I thought in my mind while they crunched in between my teeth, "mmm, this is pretty good!"
After eating the pumpkin seeds, this ran my mind wild. You know how you start doing one thing, or think about one thing, and it leads to another? Like a revolving door? I'm sitting there thinking about the pumpkin seeds, and excited about carving pumpkins, and I ask myself. Why didn't my parents ever do anything like this with me? They never carved a pumpkin with me, cooked pumpkin seeds, or any sort of Halloween fun and festivities. It's not like they are religious or anything, they were just more lazy parents. And being as I was the first born child, I think I was the "practice," the one who you don't know what to expect or how to parent so you just "do your best."
Looking back now, I can't do anything about my past and how I missed out on fun activities on the holidays. I just have to make sure that I do all the fun stuff with my son, and make sure that he does things that I missed out on. It's hard to clean up spilled milk, but there's potential to turn any bad situation into good. :)
Waldorf Salad STINKS =P
Oh there is so much fun stuff to eat during this season! First Halloween hits, then Thanksgiving, then CHRISTMAS!! Tis the season for good tidings, family gatherings and stuffing ourselves to the gills. I'm actually pretty happy that this quest is almost over. It has been so much fun trying new things, but it's just become a huge hassle with my current situation in life right now. UGH.
So this past weekend, I took my stab at the big ole letter w. When I think of W, Watermelon comes to mind first. Ohhh Yummy! But as for trying something new, I already knew of a salad that my grandmother makes, that I never eat during the holidays. I think I never really wanted to try it because it had mayo in it, and I don't think that mayo, lettuce and fruits go together as a good combination. Waldorf salad is what I am talking about. If you don't know what that is, it's a salad that is homade, or you can buy it at Hy-Vee near the deli and hot food they serve.
Waldorf salad typically consists of apples, celery, mayo, walnuts, greens and sometimes marshmallows. This is how my grandmother makes it. If you talk about what is in it, it sounds funny but it's a popular salad, so people must like it right? Well my grandma made me some, as part of my quest, and so I tried it. Waldorf salad, you did not impress me by any means, and I surely don't care to EVER try you again. I personally think it would have been good WITHOUT the greens, and instead of mayo, through in some cool whip. Then again, I suppose that wouldn't be waldorf salad. :(
Ya win some and ya lose some huh.
So this past weekend, I took my stab at the big ole letter w. When I think of W, Watermelon comes to mind first. Ohhh Yummy! But as for trying something new, I already knew of a salad that my grandmother makes, that I never eat during the holidays. I think I never really wanted to try it because it had mayo in it, and I don't think that mayo, lettuce and fruits go together as a good combination. Waldorf salad is what I am talking about. If you don't know what that is, it's a salad that is homade, or you can buy it at Hy-Vee near the deli and hot food they serve.
Waldorf salad typically consists of apples, celery, mayo, walnuts, greens and sometimes marshmallows. This is how my grandmother makes it. If you talk about what is in it, it sounds funny but it's a popular salad, so people must like it right? Well my grandma made me some, as part of my quest, and so I tried it. Waldorf salad, you did not impress me by any means, and I surely don't care to EVER try you again. I personally think it would have been good WITHOUT the greens, and instead of mayo, through in some cool whip. Then again, I suppose that wouldn't be waldorf salad. :(
Ya win some and ya lose some huh.
10/28/10
This week started off JUST RIGHT
Yeah, I'm slacking on blogging.. What can you do? Sue me? Ugh, I have been stressing about so many other things like keeping up with some bills, the fact that I am NOW just starting to feel the affects of the recession, and I haven't had a break from my crazy two year old in I don't know how long! The only thing that is even allowing me to sit here and blog right now is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on DVR.
With all that being said, let's get down to business. Tried lots of new things in the past few days, and will make a VOW to blog at least once every day from here on out. I still need to come up with what, appx 15 more blogs? I really want an A in English, but dang this is a lot of work. =P Whoever said college was easy, lied to you... or they are genius smart... But even then, they would have to put forth the EFFORT to actually BLOG on their quest, despite the fact that their geniusness gets them further than others on most endeavors.
Okay, I realize that I am getting off track here. I don't have much to say, and I am actually just saying whatever pops into my head at this point. Hoping that is okay.. back to what we are here for... I whistled my way through C, Q, and U over the past few days, trying some really fun stuff!! Monday I tried some Clam Chowder, which I never tried (for yet again, some reason I do not know, it just didn't sound good). I actually enjoyed the texture and will be getting that instead of just chicken noodle for the winter months. :)
For the letter Q, my mom made a quiche with ham and cheese. Quiche is like one of those foods that you hear on the t.v. like holiday fruitcake. Something everyone makes but no one ever eats. It was actually good, and I enjoyed it. Of course, I like ham and cheese. Had some Upside down cake for the letter U. Yeah I know that I've had that before, and I LOVE IT... Hey, can't win em all. =P
With all that being said, let's get down to business. Tried lots of new things in the past few days, and will make a VOW to blog at least once every day from here on out. I still need to come up with what, appx 15 more blogs? I really want an A in English, but dang this is a lot of work. =P Whoever said college was easy, lied to you... or they are genius smart... But even then, they would have to put forth the EFFORT to actually BLOG on their quest, despite the fact that their geniusness gets them further than others on most endeavors.
Okay, I realize that I am getting off track here. I don't have much to say, and I am actually just saying whatever pops into my head at this point. Hoping that is okay.. back to what we are here for... I whistled my way through C, Q, and U over the past few days, trying some really fun stuff!! Monday I tried some Clam Chowder, which I never tried (for yet again, some reason I do not know, it just didn't sound good). I actually enjoyed the texture and will be getting that instead of just chicken noodle for the winter months. :)
For the letter Q, my mom made a quiche with ham and cheese. Quiche is like one of those foods that you hear on the t.v. like holiday fruitcake. Something everyone makes but no one ever eats. It was actually good, and I enjoyed it. Of course, I like ham and cheese. Had some Upside down cake for the letter U. Yeah I know that I've had that before, and I LOVE IT... Hey, can't win em all. =P
10/25/10
Friday and Saturday are ALWAYS the best days of the week!
The second to the last weekend of the quest, and I'm still kickin! By now you have probably realized that I am no longer doing the quest the way that I originally planned, which I hope is okay, but I am actually completing the quest in the most efficient way possible! Not to mention that I am having a ton of fun with it as well!
Friday night my 15 year old sister got to join in on the quest a little bit. We went to Taco Bell for supper and had some nachoes with jalapenos on them! My most recent memory of having jalapenos is when I had some nachoes at the local Wal-Mart with my dad as a kid, and he tricked me saying that they were pickles. Me being young and naive, believed him and I swallowed them with pride as my face was beating red from the heat.
Still hot as ever, I must say. I don't think that my taste buds, mouth or tummy likes spicy food at all. I must say that Katie enjoyed them much more than I did. I only survived through with extra cheese and meat trying to drown out the spark in my mouth.
Saturday, I was excited enough to get to try a few new things. One of them being a beverage, which I haven't done yet on my quest. I thought it would be really cool to try Wine, and no I don't mean like a little taste at communion service at church. I meant a glass, or two. I have heard that wine is an acquired taste, and you have to drink a lot of different wines to know the differences. Well I wasn't on an adventure to try all kinds but I did have a glass of one particular kind. Now is wine like vodka? The cheap stuff tastes nasty? Because I honestly didn't see the beauty in the arbor mist chardonnay that we were drinking.
I also got the chance to try a deliciously amazing cupcake! Don't think that I am only trying foods that I thought I wouldn't ever like, or have bad thoughts about. My quest goes much deeper than that. The fact of the matter is, I need to try new and different things! So I did. We went to the new cupcake shop on main in Ames, and well, the typical me would have gotten something chocolate. Instead, I got a pink champagne cupcake with a kiwi frosting. Oh my, was it so good. If you haven't been, I suggest you swing through there sometime!! They have the most interesting flavors of cupcakes from Samuel Adams, to fall harvest, red velvet and peanut butter chocolate!
Must go there again! =D
Friday night my 15 year old sister got to join in on the quest a little bit. We went to Taco Bell for supper and had some nachoes with jalapenos on them! My most recent memory of having jalapenos is when I had some nachoes at the local Wal-Mart with my dad as a kid, and he tricked me saying that they were pickles. Me being young and naive, believed him and I swallowed them with pride as my face was beating red from the heat.
Still hot as ever, I must say. I don't think that my taste buds, mouth or tummy likes spicy food at all. I must say that Katie enjoyed them much more than I did. I only survived through with extra cheese and meat trying to drown out the spark in my mouth.
Saturday, I was excited enough to get to try a few new things. One of them being a beverage, which I haven't done yet on my quest. I thought it would be really cool to try Wine, and no I don't mean like a little taste at communion service at church. I meant a glass, or two. I have heard that wine is an acquired taste, and you have to drink a lot of different wines to know the differences. Well I wasn't on an adventure to try all kinds but I did have a glass of one particular kind. Now is wine like vodka? The cheap stuff tastes nasty? Because I honestly didn't see the beauty in the arbor mist chardonnay that we were drinking.
I also got the chance to try a deliciously amazing cupcake! Don't think that I am only trying foods that I thought I wouldn't ever like, or have bad thoughts about. My quest goes much deeper than that. The fact of the matter is, I need to try new and different things! So I did. We went to the new cupcake shop on main in Ames, and well, the typical me would have gotten something chocolate. Instead, I got a pink champagne cupcake with a kiwi frosting. Oh my, was it so good. If you haven't been, I suggest you swing through there sometime!! They have the most interesting flavors of cupcakes from Samuel Adams, to fall harvest, red velvet and peanut butter chocolate!
Must go there again! =D
Helping The Picky Baby/Toddler
I think that this video has a cool way of getting the average picky eating baby to try more foods, either by preparing their food, eating outside, etc. Picky eating is very common throughout childhood and sometimes stays with you into adulthood. The fact is that as children we like to explore food rather than actually eat it!
It's common if your child shows one or more of the following behaviors;
•Your child may be unwilling to try new foods, especially fruits and vegetables. It is normal for your preschooler to prefer familiar foods and be afraid to try new things.
•For a period of time, your preschooler may only eat a certain type of food. Your child may choose 1 or 2 foods he or she likes and refuse to eat anything else.
•Sometimes your child may waste time at the table and seem interested in doing anything but eating.
•Your child may refuse a food based on a certain color or texture. For example, He or she could refuse foods that are red or green, contain seeds, or are squishy.
Happy Picky Eating :)
10/23/10
*singing* E is for Eggs, F is for Fish, G is for Grapples?!
I've had lots and lots of fun the past few days trying new things! My best friend took it upon herself to go ahead and motivate me a little more on this adventure. We have been tackling on different letters by the day as our quest is winding down more and more each day!
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to taste something you may or may not heard of. Grapples. It's basically just like it sounds. An apple that tastes like a grape. When I was told about such fruit, I had to do a little investigation of my own before I decided if it was something I wanted to do or not. Apparently grapples are Washington Extra Fancy Gala or Fuji apples because they take on the best grape taste. These juicy grapples are made with concentrated grape flavor and pure water. I must say, if you haven't tried a grapple, they are DELICIOUS! Although, I must say, if you don't like artificial grape (suckers jolly ranchers etc) I wouldn't recommend it, as they are strongly flavored and very juicy!
Besides Grapples, I have also gone on quite the endeavor recently. My husband eats everything with hot sauce, and when I mean everything, I truly mean everything! From chicken, to cottage cheese, noodles and steak he throws a dab to a couple tablespoons on to EVERYTHING! I personally have never ate with much hot sauce. I think that it is the way you are raised. He was raised having hot sauce on all the food his mother cooked, so it's like you had to eat it or you went without. Hot sauce is such a overpowering taste in your mouth...a shock, if you will.
So for one meal, I ate EXACTLY what he ate. Chicken, stuffing and beans - all with hot sauce douced throughout, and even more hot sauce on the chicken. I swear he soaked the chicken in hot sauce before even putting it into the oven. When I ate this meal with him, I went through 4 glasses of ice water, 2 cups of milk and STILL had a burning urge in my throat for a few hours after. WOWZA. Red Hot is no joke. Now I'm sure there are arguments as to what the hottest hot sauce is, but I'll tell you, this was enough to light my mouth on-fire!
How hot can you handle it?
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to taste something you may or may not heard of. Grapples. It's basically just like it sounds. An apple that tastes like a grape. When I was told about such fruit, I had to do a little investigation of my own before I decided if it was something I wanted to do or not. Apparently grapples are Washington Extra Fancy Gala or Fuji apples because they take on the best grape taste. These juicy grapples are made with concentrated grape flavor and pure water. I must say, if you haven't tried a grapple, they are DELICIOUS! Although, I must say, if you don't like artificial grape (suckers jolly ranchers etc) I wouldn't recommend it, as they are strongly flavored and very juicy!
Besides Grapples, I have also gone on quite the endeavor recently. My husband eats everything with hot sauce, and when I mean everything, I truly mean everything! From chicken, to cottage cheese, noodles and steak he throws a dab to a couple tablespoons on to EVERYTHING! I personally have never ate with much hot sauce. I think that it is the way you are raised. He was raised having hot sauce on all the food his mother cooked, so it's like you had to eat it or you went without. Hot sauce is such a overpowering taste in your mouth...a shock, if you will.
So for one meal, I ate EXACTLY what he ate. Chicken, stuffing and beans - all with hot sauce douced throughout, and even more hot sauce on the chicken. I swear he soaked the chicken in hot sauce before even putting it into the oven. When I ate this meal with him, I went through 4 glasses of ice water, 2 cups of milk and STILL had a burning urge in my throat for a few hours after. WOWZA. Red Hot is no joke. Now I'm sure there are arguments as to what the hottest hot sauce is, but I'll tell you, this was enough to light my mouth on-fire!
How hot can you handle it?
10/20/10
Picky Eaters In The New York Times
Thought this was a very interesting news article that I would like to share. Can you imagine, our kids are picky because of US? Thoughts on this article??
Picky Eaters? They Get It From You
Over in New Jersey, the Bakers changed their November family vacation to accommodate Sasha, an 11-year-old so averse to fruits and vegetables that the smell of orange juice once made him faint. Instead of flying to Prague, Sasha’s parents decided to go to Barcelona, where they hope the food will be more to his liking.
And at the Useloff household, young Ethan’s tastes are so narrow that their home in Westfield, N.J., works something like a diner.
“I do the terrible mommy thing and make everyone separate dinners,” Jennifer Useloff said.
All three families share a common problem. Their children are not only picky eaters, prone to reject foods they once seemed to love, but they are also neophobic, which means they fear new food.
But for parents who worry that their children will never eat anything but chocolate milk, Gummi vitamins and the occasional grape, a new study offers some relief. Researchers examined the eating habits of 5,390 pairs of twins between 8 and 11 years old and found children’s aversions to trying new foods are mostly inherited.
The message to parents: It’s not your cooking, it’s your genes.
The study, led by Dr. Lucy Cooke of the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in August. Dr. Cooke and others in the field believe it is the first to use a standard scale to investigate the contribution of genetics and environment to childhood neophobia.
According to the report, 78 percent is genetic and the other 22 percent environmental.
“People have really dismissed this as an idea because they have been looking at the social associations between parents and their children,” Dr. Cooke said. “I came from a position of not wanting to blame parents.”
Nutritionists, pediatricians and academic researchers have recently shifted focus to children who eat too much instead of those who eat too little. But cases of obesity are less frequent than bouts of pickiness.
In some families, communal meals become brutal battlegrounds, if they haven’t been altogether abandoned. Cooks break under the weight of devising a thousand variations on macaroni and cheese. Strolls through the farmers’ markets are replaced with trudges through the frozen food aisle.
For parents who know that sharing the fruits of the kitchen with family is one of the deep pleasures of cooking, having a child who rejects most food is a unique sort of heartbreak.
Hugh Garvey, an editor at Bon Appétit magazine, knows the heartbreak firsthand. He shares his experience on gastrokid.com, a blog he created with a British pal that details the gastronomic life of families. His daughter, 6, is an omnivore’s dream child. But his son, 3, will eat only brown food.
“The way I comfort myself is the way any quasi-sane parent comforts himself,” Mr. Garvey said. “It’s like potty training. Eventually, they’re going to graduate from diapers. In the end, he’ll eat something green.”
Most children eat a wide variety of foods until they are around 2, when they suddenly stop. The phase can last until the child is 4 or 5. It’s an evolutionary response, researchers believe. Toddlers’ taste buds shut down at about the time they start walking, giving them more control over what they eat. “If we just went running out of the cave as little cave babies and stuck anything in our mouths, that would have been potentially very dangerous,” Dr. Cooke said.
A natural skepticism of new foods is a healthy part of a child’s development, said Ellyn Satter, a child nutrition expert whose books, including “Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense” (Bull Publishing, 2000), have developed a cult following among parents of picky eaters.
Each child has a unique set of likes and dislikes that Ms. Satter believes are genetically determined. The only way children discover what they are is by putting food in their mouths and taking it out over and over again, she said.
“Of course, it’s hard when children are just so blasé about food or refuse it, especially for parents who spend a lot of time thinking about it and preparing it,” she said.
The genetic link makes sense to Jennifer Useloff, whose son enjoys only variations on the same theme: bread and cheese, with some fruit and the occasional chicken nugget. His younger sister, Samara, isn’t as picky but sometimes follows her brother’s lead.
Mrs. Useloff, 36, was once a picky eater herself. Although she drank gallons of milk, she couldn’t abide raw fruits or vegetables. New foods with strange textures literally frightened her.
The aversion lasted until her 20s, when she worked to overcome her fears. Even today, she refuses to buy cucumbers.
“I feel guilty,” she said. “I worry that I’ve done this to them.”
Even though food neophobia appears to be genetic, doctors say parents of picky eaters can’t just surrender and boil another pot of pasta.
“We have to understand that biology is not destiny,” said Patricia Pliner, a social psychology professor at the University of Toronto. “This doesn’t necessarily mean there is nothing we can do about the environment.”
People who study children prone to flinging themselves on the floor at the mere mention of broccoli agree that calm, repeated exposure to new foods every day for between five days to two weeks is an effective way to overcome a child’s fears. (Other strategies for getting children to eat are included in an accompanying article.)
Of course, attempting to introduce the same food week after week can be a Sisyphean task. Some parents just give up. That is more or less what Jessica Seinfeld did.
Mrs. Seinfeld, the wife of the actor Jerry Seinfeld and the mother of three young children, became fed up with trying to get her children to eat fruits and vegetables. The oldest, Sascha, who is 6, is so picky she used to dictate what the rest of the family ate.
“It made cooking in my house impossible,” Mrs. Seinfeld said. “I was so miserable every night. I felt like a failure as a cook and a failure as a mother.”
So Mrs. Seinfeld took an end run around the problem and developed a method of feeding her children that is, essentially, based on lying.
Her new book, “Deceptively Delicious” (Harper Collins), outlines a series of recipes based on fruit and vegetable purées that are blended into food in a way that she says children won’t notice. Half a cup of butternut squash disappears into pasta coated with milk and margarine. Pancakes turn pink with beets. Avocado hides in chocolate pudding and spinach in brownies.
“My theory, and my husband will back me up on it, is that all of this food tastes better,” she said.
And even though she admits to leaving a box of macaroni and cheese on the counter when she’s making the stealth vegetable version, she doesn’t think her children will mind when they discover that mom’s pulled a fast one.
“My kids now are really starting to get that this is a special way my mom knows how to cook,” she said.
Some experts don’t buy the method.
“It doesn’t strike me as the best strategy,” Dr. Pliner said.
There is the issue of being found out, at which point a child might not trust new foods the parents present. And hiding foods doesn’t help a child learn to appreciate new tastes, she said.
“What we want children to do is like a lot of different foods,” she said. “If squash is perfectly disguised, children are not learning anything. Well, they are learning something, but it’s not to like squash.”
If neither repeated introduction nor hiding the vegetables works, and as long as a pediatrician is keeping an eye on the child’s health, the experts suggest nothing more than patience.
“Unless it becomes a huge issue, it tends to be a little more fleeting than parents think,” said Harriet Worobey, director of the Nutritional Sciences Preschool at Rutgers University. “I know a year can seem like five to parents, but these food jags are normal.”
Picky Eaters? They Get It From You
Sylwia Kapuscinski for The New York Times
Ethan Useloff of Westfield, N.J., rejects a cheeseburger. His sister, Samara, does not. Their mother, Jennifer, was a picky eater as a child.
Over in New Jersey, the Bakers changed their November family vacation to accommodate Sasha, an 11-year-old so averse to fruits and vegetables that the smell of orange juice once made him faint. Instead of flying to Prague, Sasha’s parents decided to go to Barcelona, where they hope the food will be more to his liking.
And at the Useloff household, young Ethan’s tastes are so narrow that their home in Westfield, N.J., works something like a diner.
“I do the terrible mommy thing and make everyone separate dinners,” Jennifer Useloff said.
All three families share a common problem. Their children are not only picky eaters, prone to reject foods they once seemed to love, but they are also neophobic, which means they fear new food.
But for parents who worry that their children will never eat anything but chocolate milk, Gummi vitamins and the occasional grape, a new study offers some relief. Researchers examined the eating habits of 5,390 pairs of twins between 8 and 11 years old and found children’s aversions to trying new foods are mostly inherited.
The message to parents: It’s not your cooking, it’s your genes.
The study, led by Dr. Lucy Cooke of the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in August. Dr. Cooke and others in the field believe it is the first to use a standard scale to investigate the contribution of genetics and environment to childhood neophobia.
According to the report, 78 percent is genetic and the other 22 percent environmental.
“People have really dismissed this as an idea because they have been looking at the social associations between parents and their children,” Dr. Cooke said. “I came from a position of not wanting to blame parents.”
Nutritionists, pediatricians and academic researchers have recently shifted focus to children who eat too much instead of those who eat too little. But cases of obesity are less frequent than bouts of pickiness.
In some families, communal meals become brutal battlegrounds, if they haven’t been altogether abandoned. Cooks break under the weight of devising a thousand variations on macaroni and cheese. Strolls through the farmers’ markets are replaced with trudges through the frozen food aisle.
For parents who know that sharing the fruits of the kitchen with family is one of the deep pleasures of cooking, having a child who rejects most food is a unique sort of heartbreak.
Hugh Garvey, an editor at Bon Appétit magazine, knows the heartbreak firsthand. He shares his experience on gastrokid.com, a blog he created with a British pal that details the gastronomic life of families. His daughter, 6, is an omnivore’s dream child. But his son, 3, will eat only brown food.
“The way I comfort myself is the way any quasi-sane parent comforts himself,” Mr. Garvey said. “It’s like potty training. Eventually, they’re going to graduate from diapers. In the end, he’ll eat something green.”
Most children eat a wide variety of foods until they are around 2, when they suddenly stop. The phase can last until the child is 4 or 5. It’s an evolutionary response, researchers believe. Toddlers’ taste buds shut down at about the time they start walking, giving them more control over what they eat. “If we just went running out of the cave as little cave babies and stuck anything in our mouths, that would have been potentially very dangerous,” Dr. Cooke said.
A natural skepticism of new foods is a healthy part of a child’s development, said Ellyn Satter, a child nutrition expert whose books, including “Child of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense” (Bull Publishing, 2000), have developed a cult following among parents of picky eaters.
Each child has a unique set of likes and dislikes that Ms. Satter believes are genetically determined. The only way children discover what they are is by putting food in their mouths and taking it out over and over again, she said.
“Of course, it’s hard when children are just so blasé about food or refuse it, especially for parents who spend a lot of time thinking about it and preparing it,” she said.
The genetic link makes sense to Jennifer Useloff, whose son enjoys only variations on the same theme: bread and cheese, with some fruit and the occasional chicken nugget. His younger sister, Samara, isn’t as picky but sometimes follows her brother’s lead.
Mrs. Useloff, 36, was once a picky eater herself. Although she drank gallons of milk, she couldn’t abide raw fruits or vegetables. New foods with strange textures literally frightened her.
The aversion lasted until her 20s, when she worked to overcome her fears. Even today, she refuses to buy cucumbers.
“I feel guilty,” she said. “I worry that I’ve done this to them.”
Even though food neophobia appears to be genetic, doctors say parents of picky eaters can’t just surrender and boil another pot of pasta.
“We have to understand that biology is not destiny,” said Patricia Pliner, a social psychology professor at the University of Toronto. “This doesn’t necessarily mean there is nothing we can do about the environment.”
People who study children prone to flinging themselves on the floor at the mere mention of broccoli agree that calm, repeated exposure to new foods every day for between five days to two weeks is an effective way to overcome a child’s fears. (Other strategies for getting children to eat are included in an accompanying article.)
Of course, attempting to introduce the same food week after week can be a Sisyphean task. Some parents just give up. That is more or less what Jessica Seinfeld did.
Mrs. Seinfeld, the wife of the actor Jerry Seinfeld and the mother of three young children, became fed up with trying to get her children to eat fruits and vegetables. The oldest, Sascha, who is 6, is so picky she used to dictate what the rest of the family ate.
“It made cooking in my house impossible,” Mrs. Seinfeld said. “I was so miserable every night. I felt like a failure as a cook and a failure as a mother.”
So Mrs. Seinfeld took an end run around the problem and developed a method of feeding her children that is, essentially, based on lying.
Her new book, “Deceptively Delicious” (Harper Collins), outlines a series of recipes based on fruit and vegetable purées that are blended into food in a way that she says children won’t notice. Half a cup of butternut squash disappears into pasta coated with milk and margarine. Pancakes turn pink with beets. Avocado hides in chocolate pudding and spinach in brownies.
“My theory, and my husband will back me up on it, is that all of this food tastes better,” she said.
And even though she admits to leaving a box of macaroni and cheese on the counter when she’s making the stealth vegetable version, she doesn’t think her children will mind when they discover that mom’s pulled a fast one.
“My kids now are really starting to get that this is a special way my mom knows how to cook,” she said.
Some experts don’t buy the method.
“It doesn’t strike me as the best strategy,” Dr. Pliner said.
There is the issue of being found out, at which point a child might not trust new foods the parents present. And hiding foods doesn’t help a child learn to appreciate new tastes, she said.
“What we want children to do is like a lot of different foods,” she said. “If squash is perfectly disguised, children are not learning anything. Well, they are learning something, but it’s not to like squash.”
If neither repeated introduction nor hiding the vegetables works, and as long as a pediatrician is keeping an eye on the child’s health, the experts suggest nothing more than patience.
“Unless it becomes a huge issue, it tends to be a little more fleeting than parents think,” said Harriet Worobey, director of the Nutritional Sciences Preschool at Rutgers University. “I know a year can seem like five to parents, but these food jags are normal.”
There's a Party In My Tummy
YO GABBA GABBA!!!
If you haven't seen Yo Gabba Gabba, then 1. you must not be a parent of a toddler, or 2. you don't care for huge colorful creatures singing and dancing on television. They have a song on there called, "Try it, You Might Like It" and it has been stuck in my head ever since I started this quest. The vid up there is of this mighty little toddler not wanting to eat his green beans but with the help of his little brother singing to "try it you might like it" he takes the plunge and enjoys those green beans!
The quest has become pretty difficult. I'm not going to feed you a bunch of bull and say that I've stayed on board, when I clearly know that I haven't. Although, I can say every day I have tried something new and still working with the different letters. Like I said before, when I started my quest I believe that I set myself up for failure. I was gung-ho about it for a little while but then it gets too exhausting with the hubby going to work, the kids schedule and job searching. Boy I have been through a lot in the last week or so.
With all that being said, I ran through a few different letters since Monday. When the letter Y comes to mind, I think yams and yolk. Okay well I like yams, and that's not trying something new. Yolk however brought up a good opportunity! Ever since I was a child, eggs came scrambled. My dad always ate sunny side up eggs and dipped his toast in it, while for whatever reason, I couldn't stand to taste the yolk. Another assumption that I created in my head about the taste of yolk, when I never ate it before. Doesn't this lead back to Freud and that dog with the uncontrolled stimulus and response and what not. Golly!
ANYWAY- Sunny side up eggs it was for me, and I can honestly say, I didn't mind. I dipped my toast in the yolk and thought it was pretty dang good actually. The moistness on my toast was a nice texture and combination with the egg and bacon.
Leaving you with "There's a Party in my Tummy"
10/18/10
ReD LoBster Experience
Well Ladies and Gents, I surely would have been online updating you a lot more but thanks to my husband's friends puppy, he chewed my laptop charger to shreds and well, let''s just say I'm 85 bucks in the hole and not too happy about that fact! Anyways, I had a wonderful weekend and tried a few different things that I was excited to get my hands on.
On Saturday I got a chance to go to Red Lobster which was exciting. I had only been there once before, and devoured the biscuits like mad! Yummy! Besides that, I ate chicken strips before. This time I knew I had to try different things. Instead of following the alphabet, I figured I needed to take an opportunity to try some different things on this special occasion. One of my biggest fears is seafood. Like I've said before, I don't know if it's the taste, the smell or the way it's cooked but I just can't wrap my head around seafood.
I knew that I didn't know if I would particularly like certain things so I just ate what my husband was eating. Lobster tail and scallops. I wish he would have taken a picture of me trying these things, he said my face was a beat red, and priceless. I do know, I don't care for either one of these items. The scallops almost seemed rubbery and chewy, hard to swallow. Lobster tail, I don't get it. Why is it so expensive? It seemed like crab legs to me. It was a fun night overall, and I was happy with myself that I tried the food. Afterall, that is the important part of my quest; the fact that I get to try different items and instead of automatically saying I don't like something I can actually say I tried it and for whatever reason, don't care for it.
On Saturday I got a chance to go to Red Lobster which was exciting. I had only been there once before, and devoured the biscuits like mad! Yummy! Besides that, I ate chicken strips before. This time I knew I had to try different things. Instead of following the alphabet, I figured I needed to take an opportunity to try some different things on this special occasion. One of my biggest fears is seafood. Like I've said before, I don't know if it's the taste, the smell or the way it's cooked but I just can't wrap my head around seafood.
I knew that I didn't know if I would particularly like certain things so I just ate what my husband was eating. Lobster tail and scallops. I wish he would have taken a picture of me trying these things, he said my face was a beat red, and priceless. I do know, I don't care for either one of these items. The scallops almost seemed rubbery and chewy, hard to swallow. Lobster tail, I don't get it. Why is it so expensive? It seemed like crab legs to me. It was a fun night overall, and I was happy with myself that I tried the food. Afterall, that is the important part of my quest; the fact that I get to try different items and instead of automatically saying I don't like something I can actually say I tried it and for whatever reason, don't care for it.
10/15/10
Such a Sweet Interview!
Such a Sweet Interview
There is just something about the smell of grandma’s house that is so comforting to the heart and soul. Every time I go to my grandma and grandpa’s house, I smell peanut butter balls and chocolate chip cookies. It’s almost as if grandma knows that the grandkids are coming and she throws together her very best goodies. If anyone knows a little something about cooking a variety of foods and for a crowd at that, it would be grandma! That is why I chose to interview my grandma with a few quirky comments from my grandpa as he sat by her during this heart felt interview.
I started off the interview with a broad statement. “Let’s just start from the beginning,” I said. I wanted to know all about my grandma’s childhood and more specifically what the cooking experience was like growing up in her household. My grandma started off with tears welling up in her eyes, “At my house, as a child, we did not eat.” At first I was shocked because this was a side of my grandma’s history that was untold. I listened closely as she began to tell her story. I asked for her to discuss further into her childhood story more but she was extremely hesitant. She told me the basics of how things were in the 1940’s and how it was rough growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Grandma went on for twenty minutes describing how there were five children between her mother and father. Her father decided to stray from his family and started on an adventure with another woman. Soon this woman was pregnant and had his child. My grandma said with a saddened voice, “He did not care about us kids. He didn’t care if we ate, if we had clothes on our backs, or if we went to school.” Eventually my grandma’s father had four more children with the mistress and moved her into the home that my grandma and her siblings lived in. I started to cry with my grandma.
She went on about how they didn’t have much food. They each had a slice of bread and jam every day, and on Sunday’s her grandmother would come over and cook them a big supper. Grandma said the usual Sunday evening supper would consist of a roast, potatoes, bread and vegetables. Her grandmother knew that the kids were starving but couldn’t do much to help, except bring them supper once a week and make sure they ate very well that day. As a child, my grandma sat in the kitchen watching her grandmother fix supper and always was curious about cooking. This sparked her general interest in wanting to work at a restaurant.
When my grandmother turned 17, she had gotten a job at the local car hop. First she started off by serving customers on her roller-skates, but then she took an interest in cooking. By this time, grandma was eating better because she could take leftover food home from work for free. They put grandma on the grill for a few days, and realized she wasn’t cut out for the work. She always wanted to learn how to cook, but didn’t know where she would acquire these skills from.
At the age of 21, my grandma met the man of her dreams, at the very same car hop she once tried to learn how to cook in. My grandpa, fresh out of the army, was looking to settle down and get married. Within three months my grandparents were married. My grandpa, a man from Iowa, had to take a slick talking Pittsburgh girl to a little old farm. “I was terrified to know what my grandparents were going to think! For heaven sake; I barely knew the girl but we were in love,” my grandpa stated.
After a month on the small farm in Iowa, my grandma was going stir crazy. She thought that she married the man of her dreams, and everything was falling into place but my grandpa was very upset with her. My grandma did not know how to cook or clean. Those are two very major things that a farm wife must know how to do. So it began. My grandpa had to teach my grandma how to cook. Although my grandpa knew a lot, he asked his grandmother for some guidance and advice. After all, she was a farm wife for 50 plus years.
Grandma told me stories of food turning out absolutely awful and my grandpa with his snide remarks always had to put his two cents in. In the end, my grandma turned out to be an excellent cook for her grandkids. I feel sorry for my mom and her siblings who had to endure the time when she was just an average cook. Grandma tells me, “Cooking is a learning process just like anything else. If you don’t know about something, ask.”
It surely took my grandma many years to learn how to cook all kinds of different food. Now that she has the skills necessary, she could cook an eight course meal for an army! Italian night is my favorite. I’m so very lucky to have such a diverse grandma who was open and willing to learn how to cook different kinds of food for different occasions. I unfortunately, never learned how to cook. Hopefully one day my house will smell just as sweet as grandma’s when my grandkids come over.
10/14/10
Adventures with the letter A
Wednesday, when I picked the letter A out of the hat, I was really excited. For the letter A, I already had some foods planned out that I wanted to try for fun!! Asparagus, anchovies, and avocado. I think instead of eating foods with all A's all day yesterday, I had made it a point to try all three of these foods.
First I got to try the anchovies on a pizza. Never again, trust me. EWWW! I can't describe the feeling of disgust that overwhelmed my veins when I took a big bite of pizza with the anchovies on it. We even ordered the pizza with extra cheese just to try and take a little bit of the taste away. I can honestly say that eating food and anchovies, will be the furthest thing on my mind for a long time!
Now as far as the avocado and the asparagus, yummy. We had made some sort of avocado spread to eat with some pita chips. With the asparagus I had just fried some up because I heard that's a goodway to eat them dipped in ranch dressing. I loved it. Next time I want to actually try asparagus with a salad or a certain dish, maybe savored in a little butter. I was so proud of myself and the fact that I got to try so many different items this very day. This is becoming more and more fun when I think of the little things that I am accomplishing.
All in all, it was a A for the day!
First I got to try the anchovies on a pizza. Never again, trust me. EWWW! I can't describe the feeling of disgust that overwhelmed my veins when I took a big bite of pizza with the anchovies on it. We even ordered the pizza with extra cheese just to try and take a little bit of the taste away. I can honestly say that eating food and anchovies, will be the furthest thing on my mind for a long time!
Now as far as the avocado and the asparagus, yummy. We had made some sort of avocado spread to eat with some pita chips. With the asparagus I had just fried some up because I heard that's a goodway to eat them dipped in ranch dressing. I loved it. Next time I want to actually try asparagus with a salad or a certain dish, maybe savored in a little butter. I was so proud of myself and the fact that I got to try so many different items this very day. This is becoming more and more fun when I think of the little things that I am accomplishing.
All in all, it was a A for the day!
10/13/10
"T" on Tuesday? Sounds good!
Yesterday was a good day and I was really excited because I actually got to eat a few different things that I had never ate before. For breakfast I had toast and tea, which was A-Okay by me being as I'm just getting over a sickness and am still getting back to my normal old self. I've been down in the dumps lately. When a ton of bricks hit ya, it surely doesn't feel too good getting back up dizzy and with a migraine. Anywho-
For lunch my sister was eating a tuna fish sandwich, which I have never taken a liking to. I don't know if it's the way the tuna smells, or the thick syrup (oil) that it sits in the can with, or how it's multi-colored. Yes, I don't like meat that has different colors to it. Well, I figured, let's do this. Of course I basically drowned the tuna in some mayo and slapped some cheese on that bad boy, but all in all, it was alright. I can't say that I would eat tuna on a regular basis, but I can say if there is NO FOOD left on this earth, and somehow there is a magical jar of MAYO, a loaf of bread and cheese- I could suffer with some tuna on that sandwich. :) I was told that "fresh tuna" is a lot better? Am I right or wrong?
As far as the evening went, my family and I went out to a local favorite in town, Starbucks (no, not the coffee shop, it's an ice cream shop) and had supper. I worked there as a teenager and I have my favorite sandwich, the beefburger. Well, today isn't B, and I couldn't have that, so I figured what better time to try something new! One of the most popular sandwiches among the older folks is the tenderloin. A good 12 inches of fried pork tenderloin on a bun with some onions, pickles ketchup and tomato. I never tried this sandwich mainly because I didn't care for the pork fritters at school and figured they were like the same thing?
Long story short, I actually enjoyed the tenderloin! I may even start ordering that sandwich instead of the beef burger. Now we are making progress here people!! Can I get a "Hell Yeah!"
For lunch my sister was eating a tuna fish sandwich, which I have never taken a liking to. I don't know if it's the way the tuna smells, or the thick syrup (oil) that it sits in the can with, or how it's multi-colored. Yes, I don't like meat that has different colors to it. Well, I figured, let's do this. Of course I basically drowned the tuna in some mayo and slapped some cheese on that bad boy, but all in all, it was alright. I can't say that I would eat tuna on a regular basis, but I can say if there is NO FOOD left on this earth, and somehow there is a magical jar of MAYO, a loaf of bread and cheese- I could suffer with some tuna on that sandwich. :) I was told that "fresh tuna" is a lot better? Am I right or wrong?
As far as the evening went, my family and I went out to a local favorite in town, Starbucks (no, not the coffee shop, it's an ice cream shop) and had supper. I worked there as a teenager and I have my favorite sandwich, the beefburger. Well, today isn't B, and I couldn't have that, so I figured what better time to try something new! One of the most popular sandwiches among the older folks is the tenderloin. A good 12 inches of fried pork tenderloin on a bun with some onions, pickles ketchup and tomato. I never tried this sandwich mainly because I didn't care for the pork fritters at school and figured they were like the same thing?
Long story short, I actually enjoyed the tenderloin! I may even start ordering that sandwich instead of the beef burger. Now we are making progress here people!! Can I get a "Hell Yeah!"
10/11/10
The weekend really kicked me in the behind!
Sniffling, sneezing, coughing, sore throat. One word. Sick. :(
So I took off Saturday, so I could just relax and grill out with the family. It was too gorgeous of a day to not take advantage of a last minute barbeque of the season! We all know it's probably going to be snowing in a month's time, afterall it is Iowa for heavensakes. So I had a wonderful Saturday with family and friends and then it hit me.
Sunday morning I woke up with a horrible head cold. Chest was so congested, I felt as if a ton of bricks hit me in the middle of the night. Man, was this going to be a problem. :( There was just simply no way that I could go about my journey with such a roadblock. I sipped on broth and ginger ale all of Sunday while I ran the vaporizer trying to clear this thing up as quick as it came. Now it's Monday and I'm still kicking this thing... I'm hoping to draw a letter later on today and at least have the chance to try something new. I'm learning that this quest is really more about trying something "new" everyday pertaining to a certain letter, rather than eating food all day that starts with the letter.
So I took off Saturday, so I could just relax and grill out with the family. It was too gorgeous of a day to not take advantage of a last minute barbeque of the season! We all know it's probably going to be snowing in a month's time, afterall it is Iowa for heavensakes. So I had a wonderful Saturday with family and friends and then it hit me.
Sunday morning I woke up with a horrible head cold. Chest was so congested, I felt as if a ton of bricks hit me in the middle of the night. Man, was this going to be a problem. :( There was just simply no way that I could go about my journey with such a roadblock. I sipped on broth and ginger ale all of Sunday while I ran the vaporizer trying to clear this thing up as quick as it came. Now it's Monday and I'm still kicking this thing... I'm hoping to draw a letter later on today and at least have the chance to try something new. I'm learning that this quest is really more about trying something "new" everyday pertaining to a certain letter, rather than eating food all day that starts with the letter.
10/9/10
D stands for Delicious!
Friday morning started with the big letter D! Danish roll from Casey's HERE I COME! Absolutely devine. For lunch I had duck. Never tried it before, and it was seemingly good. Yes, it tastes like chicken to me! :P The rest of the day went well, but I didn't have much to munch on... I was doing a lot of homework and typically enjoy a tasty snack to go along with working. Shucks..
Being as it's Friday night we decided to order Dominoe's! Deep dish is all I have to say! An exciting end to a good day. Happy that I tried something new again, and enjoyed it. However, unlike the salmon, I don't think I will be eating duck very often. Just not on my top ten meats list.
Now instead of me going on and on about the food that I had eaten today, I figured I would switch it up a little bit. Tell ME, what is your FAVORITE FOOD that starts with D, and why? Can you think of anything food that begins with the letter D that you think I should have tried?
Being as it's Friday night we decided to order Dominoe's! Deep dish is all I have to say! An exciting end to a good day. Happy that I tried something new again, and enjoyed it. However, unlike the salmon, I don't think I will be eating duck very often. Just not on my top ten meats list.
Now instead of me going on and on about the food that I had eaten today, I figured I would switch it up a little bit. Tell ME, what is your FAVORITE FOOD that starts with D, and why? Can you think of anything food that begins with the letter D that you think I should have tried?
10/7/10
Day 3 In Full Swing
Can I get some applause please? (waiting to hear claps and shouts)
*Phew* I swear. This is harder than it looks people! But hey, if my classmates can quit smoking, watch a different movie everyday, and write letters to lord knows who, I can do this too right? Last night I thought I've had enough. The letter "O" was really whoppin me, and boy, did I want to get my paws into the pumpkin thats full of Halloween candy. With words of encouragement from family, I took a breather, popped open a can of soda (HEY, I said I would EAT foods with each letter of the alphabet. Never did we clarify drinks. Don't judge me! lol) and proceeded to sort this out in my mind.
Dinner was getting cooked and I honestly didn't have a clue as to what to eat with an "O." I surely would have went to the Japanese steakhouse and ordered Octopus if I wasn't so broke, but times are hard and I had to do what I could do. So yes, I opened up two cans of oranges, and that is all I ate for supper. :( No culturally extravagent adventures yesterday!
So Today is Day 3 and I got the letter "S" today! AWESOME! I already knew one thing that I wanted to try that starts with s. Salmon. For breakfast I ate a sausage and salami sandwich. Nothing new there. I then called my grandma and asked her if she would like to go out to lunch today. Of course, she is always down for whatever so I picked her up and we headed off to her favorite local restaurant.
I was so excited! I was going to be trying new things, and remaining within my boundaries, an absolute win-win. I ordered salmon with spanish rice. Never trying salmon before, I was skeptical but ecstatic at the same time. As the waitress sets my plate down it looked like some sort of apricot sauce glazed over the top of the fish. Exquisite, I must say. As I took my first bite, chewed and swallowed I said to my grandma, "Why have I never liked seafood?" She said to me, "Maybe because you weren't brought up around a variety of food. We were always a meat and potatoes kind of family." I agreed, that must be it because I really enjoyed it!
Now it's 3 in the afternoon and I'm still thinking about the salmon. I'm so happy and proud of myself that I got to try something completely new and would typically turn my nose up to. For supper, I am cooking steak, scalloped potatoes and snow peas. To top it all off, strawberry shortcake!! YUMMO! Hopefully the strawberries are descent given the season. :)
Just when I thought I wanted to give up, I had an absolutely wonderful day! I can't wait to see what letter I am going to draw tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to try something new, and enjoy it just as much as I did the salmon. Until we meet again.
*Phew* I swear. This is harder than it looks people! But hey, if my classmates can quit smoking, watch a different movie everyday, and write letters to lord knows who, I can do this too right? Last night I thought I've had enough. The letter "O" was really whoppin me, and boy, did I want to get my paws into the pumpkin thats full of Halloween candy. With words of encouragement from family, I took a breather, popped open a can of soda (HEY, I said I would EAT foods with each letter of the alphabet. Never did we clarify drinks. Don't judge me! lol) and proceeded to sort this out in my mind.
Dinner was getting cooked and I honestly didn't have a clue as to what to eat with an "O." I surely would have went to the Japanese steakhouse and ordered Octopus if I wasn't so broke, but times are hard and I had to do what I could do. So yes, I opened up two cans of oranges, and that is all I ate for supper. :( No culturally extravagent adventures yesterday!
So Today is Day 3 and I got the letter "S" today! AWESOME! I already knew one thing that I wanted to try that starts with s. Salmon. For breakfast I ate a sausage and salami sandwich. Nothing new there. I then called my grandma and asked her if she would like to go out to lunch today. Of course, she is always down for whatever so I picked her up and we headed off to her favorite local restaurant.
I was so excited! I was going to be trying new things, and remaining within my boundaries, an absolute win-win. I ordered salmon with spanish rice. Never trying salmon before, I was skeptical but ecstatic at the same time. As the waitress sets my plate down it looked like some sort of apricot sauce glazed over the top of the fish. Exquisite, I must say. As I took my first bite, chewed and swallowed I said to my grandma, "Why have I never liked seafood?" She said to me, "Maybe because you weren't brought up around a variety of food. We were always a meat and potatoes kind of family." I agreed, that must be it because I really enjoyed it!
Now it's 3 in the afternoon and I'm still thinking about the salmon. I'm so happy and proud of myself that I got to try something completely new and would typically turn my nose up to. For supper, I am cooking steak, scalloped potatoes and snow peas. To top it all off, strawberry shortcake!! YUMMO! Hopefully the strawberries are descent given the season. :)
10/6/10
Overview of the first 2 days of my journey so far!
And so it began.
Monday we were directed to begin our quest that we proposed to our English Professor. I don't know exactly how prepared I really was. I mean come on, is this a little outrageous or what? Every day, I can only eat foods from a certain letter of the alphabet. I started to doubt myself right from the beginning, which clearly is NOT a good sign, but I swallowed my pride and said that I can do this. I need to make this drastic change in my life so that I can be a better person as a whole and say that I actually did it.
After I checked my Blackboard Monday, I decided I would start my journey Tuesday morning. Monday night I endulged in all of my favorites. My husband and I went out to eat at Old Chicago and I had my favorite meal, chicken alfredo. Deelish! :) When I went to bed Monday night, I thought to myself, "This is exciting Manda! Embrace the opportunity to go on a quest. Have fun with it!"
I woke up Tuesday morning and had this anxious feeling inside. You know, that feeling when you know something big is happening that day. I went to the hat in my kitchen that I put a piece of paper of each letter of the alphabet in, and took a leap of fate. Verdict was, "B." "Okay," I thought to myself, "this is do-able. Maybe it won't be so bad afterall."
So my journey began with the letter B on Tuesday morning. I fixed Biscuits and gravy with Bacon. Simple enough, right? Well, that's not my purpose of this quest. The point is that I need to try things that I don't normally eat, but still maintain within my letter boundaries. So I told myself that I would fix something out of the normal for supper! Lunch came by and I fixed bowtie noodles, broccoli and cheese, and had a slice of bunt cake. Yummy! After lunch, I threw together a banana nut bread to bake in the oven, and continued with my research to see what I could come up with for dinner time.
I'll be honest folks, I didn't get to fancy with my research! I hopped on Google and typed in foods that start with the letter B. Needless to say, I came up with a lot of good items that I haven't ever tried, or rarely eat. After writing down what I thought would be a good dinner, I headed off to the grocery store. What was on the menu, you might ask? Bologna, Baked Potato, Butternut squash (which I've never tried), and a baby spinach salad (I've tried spinach ONCE in my life, and oh my, I was disgusted at the time.)
6 o'clock rolled around and the house was starting to get that lovely smell. Food is almost done, I thought to myself. I set the table and prepared the plates. Bologna and baked potato with butter, no problem at all. Then it was time to open thy heart and taste buds to the new grub. Butternut squash, I'm sorry but you will not be entering my mouth again. It's nothing against you, but I personally think you would be better off in someone elses mouth. :) As far as the fresh baby spinach, wonderful! I definitely enjoyed that! To top off an amazing day, I ended it with a slice of birthday cake! MMM. Come on, It was my son's birthday yesterday! I couldn't resist....
Now we are half-way into Wednesday and the letter for today was O. This morning I started off with Oatmeal and an orange. Absolutely fantastic. For lunch I hit up the local chinese joint for some orange chicken. This was fun because I usually always get Sesame chicken there. I must say that the genuine taste of orange was strong, and almost a little overwhelming but good. I still need to figure out what I want to cook for supper, and it must be something new to try. I will update you tomorrow on the evenings events and what letter is drawn tomorrow! yippee.
Monday we were directed to begin our quest that we proposed to our English Professor. I don't know exactly how prepared I really was. I mean come on, is this a little outrageous or what? Every day, I can only eat foods from a certain letter of the alphabet. I started to doubt myself right from the beginning, which clearly is NOT a good sign, but I swallowed my pride and said that I can do this. I need to make this drastic change in my life so that I can be a better person as a whole and say that I actually did it.
After I checked my Blackboard Monday, I decided I would start my journey Tuesday morning. Monday night I endulged in all of my favorites. My husband and I went out to eat at Old Chicago and I had my favorite meal, chicken alfredo. Deelish! :) When I went to bed Monday night, I thought to myself, "This is exciting Manda! Embrace the opportunity to go on a quest. Have fun with it!"
I woke up Tuesday morning and had this anxious feeling inside. You know, that feeling when you know something big is happening that day. I went to the hat in my kitchen that I put a piece of paper of each letter of the alphabet in, and took a leap of fate. Verdict was, "B." "Okay," I thought to myself, "this is do-able. Maybe it won't be so bad afterall."
So my journey began with the letter B on Tuesday morning. I fixed Biscuits and gravy with Bacon. Simple enough, right? Well, that's not my purpose of this quest. The point is that I need to try things that I don't normally eat, but still maintain within my letter boundaries. So I told myself that I would fix something out of the normal for supper! Lunch came by and I fixed bowtie noodles, broccoli and cheese, and had a slice of bunt cake. Yummy! After lunch, I threw together a banana nut bread to bake in the oven, and continued with my research to see what I could come up with for dinner time.
I'll be honest folks, I didn't get to fancy with my research! I hopped on Google and typed in foods that start with the letter B. Needless to say, I came up with a lot of good items that I haven't ever tried, or rarely eat. After writing down what I thought would be a good dinner, I headed off to the grocery store. What was on the menu, you might ask? Bologna, Baked Potato, Butternut squash (which I've never tried), and a baby spinach salad (I've tried spinach ONCE in my life, and oh my, I was disgusted at the time.)
6 o'clock rolled around and the house was starting to get that lovely smell. Food is almost done, I thought to myself. I set the table and prepared the plates. Bologna and baked potato with butter, no problem at all. Then it was time to open thy heart and taste buds to the new grub. Butternut squash, I'm sorry but you will not be entering my mouth again. It's nothing against you, but I personally think you would be better off in someone elses mouth. :) As far as the fresh baby spinach, wonderful! I definitely enjoyed that! To top off an amazing day, I ended it with a slice of birthday cake! MMM. Come on, It was my son's birthday yesterday! I couldn't resist....
Now we are half-way into Wednesday and the letter for today was O. This morning I started off with Oatmeal and an orange. Absolutely fantastic. For lunch I hit up the local chinese joint for some orange chicken. This was fun because I usually always get Sesame chicken there. I must say that the genuine taste of orange was strong, and almost a little overwhelming but good. I still need to figure out what I want to cook for supper, and it must be something new to try. I will update you tomorrow on the evenings events and what letter is drawn tomorrow! yippee.
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