My kids are adventurous eaters -- afraid we are going to lose that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids, 5 and 7, will try almost anything and usually wind up liking most things. We've gotten lucky, but we have also worked very hard to try to expose them to all sorts of cuisines and flavors.

We have some variety in what we eat at home, but a lot of their exposure has come from taking them to restaurants serving all sorts of different cuisines. (This variety is one of my favorite things about this area.)

I'm trying to expand my cooking repertiore, but there are some things I doubt I can make well and, even if I wanted to try, I've had trouble finding ingredients for a lot of things I would want to make.

We've been doing a ton more PBJ, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc. than we normally would -- although we eat all of those occasionally even during normal times.

I worry that if we go too long where they are away from more interesting food they will lose their interest in it. This is partly a vent, but I am also looking to see if people have any suggestions. (Because we have some family members at higher risk, we aren't doing take out right now, which of course would be one way to do it.)

People are dying. This is a pandemic and the U S is the epicenter of the pandemic. There could easily be MILLIONS of death
Whether your will continue to be adventurous eaters isnotveven a concern.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FIRST

WORLD

PROBLEM

IS

A

PROBLEM

NONETHELESS

It’s not a problem though. If your kids stop being so adventurous with their food, is it really a problem? They’ll just be like the majority of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids, 5 and 7, will try almost anything and usually wind up liking most things. We've gotten lucky, but we have also worked very hard to try to expose them to all sorts of cuisines and flavors.

We have some variety in what we eat at home, but a lot of their exposure has come from taking them to restaurants serving all sorts of different cuisines. (This variety is one of my favorite things about this area.)

I'm trying to expand my cooking repertiore, but there are some things I doubt I can make well and, even if I wanted to try, I've had trouble finding ingredients for a lot of things I would want to make.

We've been doing a ton more PBJ, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc. than we normally would -- although we eat all of those occasionally even during normal times.

I worry that if we go too long where they are away from more interesting food they will lose their interest in it. This is partly a vent, but I am also looking to see if people have any suggestions. (Because we have some family members at higher risk, we aren't doing take out right now, which of course would be one way to do it.)

People are dying. This is a pandemic and the U S is the epicenter of the pandemic. There could easily be MILLIONS of death
Whether your will continue to be adventurous eaters isnotveven a concern.

+1. “I’m afraid Larlo won’t like sushi anymore!” Could there be a more privileged white mom post?

[Anonymous]

What a blessed life you must have if this is your worry. People are dying right now and you’re worried about your child’s palate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids, 5 and 7, will try almost anything and usually wind up liking most things. We've gotten lucky, but we have also worked very hard to try to expose them to all sorts of cuisines and flavors.

We have some variety in what we eat at home, but a lot of their exposure has come from taking them to restaurants serving all sorts of different cuisines. (This variety is one of my favorite things about this area.)

I'm trying to expand my cooking repertiore, but there are some things I doubt I can make well and, even if I wanted to try, I've had trouble finding ingredients for a lot of things I would want to make.

We've been doing a ton more PBJ, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc. than we normally would -- although we eat all of those occasionally even during normal times.

I worry that if we go too long where they are away from more interesting food they will lose their interest in it. This is partly a vent, but I am also looking to see if people have any suggestions. (Because we have some family members at higher risk, we aren't doing take out right now, which of course would be one way to do it.)

People are dying. This is a pandemic and the U S is the epicenter of the pandemic. There could easily be MILLIONS of death
Whether your will continue to be adventurous eaters isnotveven a concern.

Oh, DCUM I love thee.

I must have missed in my post where I said that trucks delivering ventilators should be diverted so that I could get delivery of soon du bu paste. Or the NIH should stop coronavirus research and instead work towards research to develop produce with a greater shelf life.

The very fact that I am avoiding takeout and grocery shopping in the stores because I have a high risk family member means that I understand the seriousness of the current situation. That doesn't mean that relatively trivial concerns have to be dismissed outright.

And did you ever think that "worrying" about relatively trivial concerns -- especially concerns that there might be something I could do about it -- is a little bit of a diversion from the really big concerns that I have next to no ability to control?

Np. No matter what you say to defend yourself...you cant.

[Anonymous]

Get takeout? My kids (7, 4, 2) are adventurous eaters too, and most of the places we eat are offering takeout/delivery. Indian, Ethiopian, Thai, sushi, kebobs etc are all things we get delivered regularly anyway. We can’t do Korean BBQ or Chinese hot pot, but I can’t imagine my kids will be afraid to have them again after a few months away. I can never make the food taste as good as the restaurants do, so I stick to easy stuff anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FIRST

WORLD

PROBLEM

IS

A

PROBLEM

NONETHELESS

It’s not a problem though. If your kids stop being so adventurous with their food, is it really a problem? They’ll just be like the majority of kids.

I'd prefer my kids not regress to have the palate of the majority of kids, so yes it is a problem.

It is better for them for health and other reasons to remain willing to eat a wide variety of foods. It is better for me if they do it as well because it would enable me to continue to go to interesting restaurants.

Is this the biggest problem facing the world today? Of course not, and I never said or implied it was. In fact, my OP was very clear that it was not the biggest problem that I personally was facing. But it is a problem nonetheless and one that DCUM might actually have some useful thoughts about. I would not say the same about my bigger problems so I didn't post about them.

[Anonymous]

My oldest ate everything until about age 8, then entered the dreaded buttered noodle phase (obviously not the only food, but still), and by 16 was eating everything again.

Just don't make food an issue. Make it, eat it, offer it, don't push it or punish over it, keep introducing new things and encourage one bite, and respect that people have different taste buds and appetites.

If there is a medical issue, then follow doctors orders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FIRST

WORLD

PROBLEM

IS

A

PROBLEM

NONETHELESS

It’s not a problem though. If your kids stop being so adventurous with their food, is it really a problem? They’ll just be like the majority of kids.

I'd prefer my kids not regress to have the palate of the majority of kids, so yes it is a problem.

It is better for them for health and other reasons to remain willing to eat a wide variety of foods. It is better for me if they do it as well because it would enable me to continue to go to interesting restaurants.

Is this the biggest problem facing the world today? Of course not, and I never said or implied it was. In fact, my OP was very clear that it was not the biggest problem that I personally was facing. But it is a problem nonetheless and one that DCUM might actually have some useful thoughts about. I would not say the same about my bigger problems so I didn't post about them.

You don’t have to make PBJs and grilled cheese, you’re just choosing to. Buy the ingredients and spices to make foreign foods and learn how to cook them as as a family. This is not insurmountable.

[Anonymous]

1. Cook yourself
2. Order takeout, transfer out of containers, wash hands

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FIRST

WORLD

PROBLEM

IS

A

PROBLEM

NONETHELESS

It’s not a problem though. If your kids stop being so adventurous with their food, is it really a problem? They’ll just be like the majority of kids.

I'd prefer my kids not regress to have the palate of the majority of kids, so yes it is a problem.

It is better for them for health and other reasons to remain willing to eat a wide variety of foods. It is better for me if they do it as well because it would enable me to continue to go to interesting restaurants.

Is this the biggest problem facing the world today? Of course not, and I never said or implied it was. In fact, my OP was very clear that it was not the biggest problem that I personally was facing. But it is a problem nonetheless and one that DCUM might actually have some useful thoughts about. I would not say the same about my bigger problems so I didn't post about them.

You don’t have to make PBJs and grilled cheese, you’re just choosing to. Buy the ingredients and spices to make foreign foods and learn how to cook them as as a family. This is not insurmountable.

That's what I have done, to the degree that I can get the ingredients. Have you noticed that its a little hard to get a lot of things these days, particularly if you are relying on delivery.

But, the poster who said that H Mart was on instacart gave a good idea that I will check out, because maybe it will have broader options than I have been able to find through Amazon.

[Anonymous]

OP, you can't pretend to not be insufferable because you are.

You're not fooling anyone.

[Anonymous]

OP, your kids will be fine. I was the pickiest eater ever until about age 10...and now I eat pretty much any cuisine.

This is a wake up call, though, to expand your cooking repertoire and keep a broader variety of ingredients on-hand once we resume something closer to normal life. I'm Asian-American, so my spice cabinet is more varied than average, I'm guessing...but I tend to have the spices available for a pretty broad variety of cuisines. I generally avoid more complicated dishes of cuisines I'm less familiar with, but I try to mimic the spice profiles. It's an easy way to create variety without needing a lot of exotic ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, your kids will be fine. I was the pickiest eater ever until about age 10...and now I eat pretty much any cuisine.

This is a wake up call, though, to expand your cooking repertoire and keep a broader variety of ingredients on-hand once we resume something closer to normal life. I'm Asian-American, so my spice cabinet is more varied than average, I'm guessing...but I tend to have the spices available for a pretty broad variety of cuisines. I generally avoid more complicated dishes of cuisines I'm less familiar with, but I try to mimic the spice profiles. It's an easy way to create variety without needing a lot of exotic ingredients.

Stocking up a little is a good idea and it might give me a few more options. But, I'm in pretty decent shape with spices. I don't have any meat (other then frozen beyond meat "sausage") and I have very few vegetables. That makes it hard to do much and my attempts at resupply have so far been unsuccessful.

Before we ran low, I was doing a decent job of making real meals some of the time. I made a Paella and Japanese curry soup, for example. I can make chili and the like, and I am supposed to get some tofu soon, so that will open up a few other options.

But, since I've got enough food overall, including protein with beans, cheese and hopefully tofu, I'm not inclined to take the added risk of shopping.

[Anonymous]

There's this amazing thing called the internet where you can look up recipes of things that your kids like to eat from restaurants.

if you can't find an ingredient because it's at a specialty store you can probably find some kind of equivalent or work around. Or just go to the specialty store because I'm sure they need the business too.