Kids

by Miss K

Strawberry Fever

In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver talks about how, if you plan on enjoying your fruits and vegetables seasonally, you really have to go all in during say, asparagus season, practically gorging yourself in order to ~~hold you over~~ make you so tired of a particular produce item that you will be okay without it for the next 10 or 11 months or whatever, until the season comes around again. I understand her reasoning, and it might work for me with parsnips or eggplant, but for the most part, I rarely get sick of any particular form of farm stand goodness. Last summer I personally ate at least a hundred peaches. (I’m not exaggerating.) My son, born in September, came out with a good bit of fuzz on him, and I’m pretty sure I know why.

Now we are back around to spring, and I have already been enjoying plenty of arugula straight from the bag, much to Dear Husband’s bewilderment. Strawberries have yet to make it this far north yet, though, so yesterday my boy and I, along with some fellow fruit lovers, hit the road and headed south, specifically to Shlagel Farms in Waldorf, MD.

by Miss K

One-Man Food Fight

Let’s face it.

Feeding a baby is gross.

And by face it, I mean rub it all over our faces, put it anywhere but inside our mouths, and hope that some nutrition is absorbed through our pores. At least, that’s seems to be my darling child’s interpretation of “face it.” As in:

“Elijah, open your mouth so I can spoon some mush into it.”
“No, Mom, I’d rather face it.”

In the past few weeks we have progressed from total body coverage to mainly face/bib/hand/spoon, but it’s still a messy, messy business, this baby feeding.

in Personal 2 comments

by Miss K

The Unfortunate Fungus Incident

One of my favorite foodie books (an ever-growing category if ever there was) is Hungry Monkey: A Food-loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton. My own 4-month-old monkey is still happily gorging himself day and multiple times each night on breast milk, and is growing steadily rounder as a result. However, as a godmother to two just-turned-four-year-olds, I found myself nodding along with many of the book’s tales.

One moment that remains caught between the teeth of my memory is when the author describes how he spent hours lovingly seasoning and reducing a pot of split-peas and ham in order to disguise some leftovers for yet another post-holiday meal. After he finally perfects the rich green broth, he confidently places it on the table for his family’s presumed enjoyment. His daughter inspects the bowl, smiles sweetly, and says something like, “But daddy, you know that I don’t like soup.” That’s right. Not peas, not ham, not green food. No, she has determined that she cannot stomach an entire category of cuisine, an entire course. Let me just say — I feel you, man.

in Cheese / Personal / Recipe / Veggie 1 comments

by tvff

Building a Better Eater

As you may know, we recently had a new addition to the TVFF household. She’s a bundle of joy and all that good stuff, but I have to admit that I haven’t been too impressed with her one-ingredient diet. It’s not quite the wide-ranging palate that I had hoped for from my offspring.

OK…I understand that we’re doing the best thing possible for her health by feeding her exclusively breast milk. To tide myself over, I’m already dreaming up combinations of pureed goodies that I’ll be making in lieu of buying those jars of baby food. But isn’t there anything that I can be doing now to turn my kid into a gourmand?

Apparently, according to What to Expect the First Year, there just may be…

Because what you eat affects the taste and smell of your breast milk, your breastfed baby is exposed to different flavors well before he or she is ready to sit down at the dinner table, which may help shape future eating habits.

It goes on to theorize that spicy foods like salsas and curries eaten by the mother may help young children be better able to handle those sorts of bold flavors once it’s time for him or her to move on to solid foods. Needless to say, that meant that the nightly dinner menu has been significantly revamped to include a wide variety of Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Indian, Malaysian and Polish items.

How effective will this be? Who knows. But I’d be interested if anyone out there has seen any kind of evidence — anecdotal or scientific — that supports the fact that I can be doing something now that will result in not having to find “chicken nuggets” on the menu every time I take my kid out with us for dinner.

More On Kids’ Eating:
Feeding Monsters
Why America Eats Shit
Kids Are People Too

(Photo: The Adventures of Kristin & Adam)

in Personal 9 comments

by BS

in Lists 0 comments

by gansie

What Not to Buy Your Child for Christmas

Just Like Home McDonald’s Drive-Thru with Play Food [Toys R Us]
(And please check out the video from the link above)

(Photo: Toys R Us)

in Holiday 4 comments

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Philly Beer Week – Fun for the Whole Family

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

– It’s Beer Week here in Philadelphia — a celebration of the wonderfully vibrant beer culture of the city. Unfortunately, our toddlers have shitty taste. Seriously, kid…Miller Lite?

– Paula Deen gets a little handsey with The Situation. Also getting handsey? Paula’s maid, who helped herself to $10K worth of the food personality’s jewelry.

After the jump…a lesson in marketing.

in Celebs / TV 2 comments

Strawberry Fever

One-Man Food Fight

Let’s face it.

Feeding a baby is gross.

The Unfortunate Fungus Incident

Building a Better Eater

Top 10 ES Posts of 2010

10. The Cutest Eater in the World Contest

9. NYC Tour De Poutine

8. Mudslide Cupcakes

7. 100 Ways to Cook a Sweet Potato

What Not to Buy Your Child for Christmas

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Philly Beer Week – Fun for the Whole Family