Picky food kid weirdness.

[kijip]

So tonight we served tri color pasta for dinner. T was not happy with either the color or the fact that we had pre-sauced it in our ongoing efforts to ease him into eating pasta sauce. He said that one or the other he could handle but both sauce and tri color was "too much". I told him he knew the rule...he could eat it or he could not or he could make himself a sandwich. He was not into the idea of making himself a sandwich, he wanted pasta (agggghhh). All the while his non-picky brother is chowing down and I am thanking my lucky stars lightening did not strike twice in the picky stuff.

Normally we stick to the rules but seeing an opportunity to reinforce that they all tasted the same, I told him that if he could distinguish between the three colors (because I knew he could not) in a blind taste test, I would boil him of his preferred ww pasta. He was intriqued and agreed. Of course, he could not tell them apart. He could not believe it and found it funny. Once the blind fold was off he ate all the plain ones but insisted that the colored ones were gross. Then, he asked to do the test again in a different order "to confirm our findings". :hysterical: He again had them all mixed up. He then announced that he was going to eat them all since he knew they all tasted the same.

Then he put the blindfold back on and proceeded to eat them. I asked him why he wanted to be blindfolded and he said that even though he knew they were the same, it was good not to know which ones were the green and red ones. That "next time" he would know but that this time he just wanted to pretend they were all plain. I about died laughing (internally) and told him that he better not want a blindfold every dinner.

[Green_Tea]

I about died laughing (internally) and told him that he better not want a blindfold every dinner.

If blindfolds were all it took to get my two picky eaters to down their dinner, I'd buy them in bulk.

Your son is hilarious!
:hysterical:

[sarahsthreads]

If blindfolds were all it took to get my two picky eaters to down their dinner, I'd buy them in bulk.

Your son is hilarious!
:hysterical:

:yeahthat:

Maybe I should try that trick with DD1...that's just truly awesome.

Sarah :)

[ellies mom]

If blindfolds were all it took to get my two picky eaters to down their dinner, I'd buy them in bulk.

Your son is hilarious!
:hysterical:

:yeahthat:

[Naranjadia]

I about died laughing (internally) and told him that he better not want a blindfold every dinner.

I really think your son is onto something here. I may try blindfolds tomorrow night at dinner!

[ShanaMama]

If blindfolds were all it took to get my two picky eaters to down their dinner, I'd buy them in bulk.

Your son is hilarious!
:hysterical:
:yeahthat: I could totally relate to your entire post until he consented to eat the pasta with the blindfold on. No way my DD would do that. Even after being proven that they taste different. (Great idea, btw).
I have given up on buying tri-color pasta as well as twisty pasta. Elbows only. At least they haven't noticed that it's whole wheat.
Oh, & did you know that pasta has a significant amount of protein? Considering it's the only protein my 6 yo eats many days, I am relying on those 6 grams!

[DrSally]

OMG, great solution!
It's so funny, we had a very similar conversation at Costco today. DD loves tortellini. I saw a huge bag, but it was tri-color. I asked DD if she would like it. She looked at the bag closely, turned up her nose, and said she "didn't like it". I asked if it was b/c of the different colors, and she said, yes. Both DS and I told her at the same time that they "tasted the same". Nope, doesn't matter, they're "icky".

[DietCokeLover]

Way to roll with it Mama. That is so funny.

[Gena]

That's a great story! I love how you and your son turned a challenging experience unto something fun.

Have you ever heard the story of the "cinnamon twins"? In the 1980s, a psychologist was studying identical twins reared apart. One pair of subjects were little girls who had been adopted into different families. Then the mother of the first twin was interviewed, she said that the child was a terrible eater, incredibly picky, and every meal was a battle. The girl would not eat anything unless it had cinnamon on it. When the mother of the second twin was interviewed, she said "she eats wonderfully. She'll eat anything; I just have to sprinkle a little cinnamon on it."

The psychologist doing the study was fascinated by the idea that a preference for cinnamon could be an inborn trait. But the real lesson here is how the different attitudes of these two mothers made a huge difference in their relationship with their children. One mother saw the trait as a problem and a constant source of conflict. The other mother saw the same trait as a solution and a tool.

How wonderful that you and your son were able to use the taste test and the blindfold as a learning experience and a fun tool!

[wencit]

I am just :bighand: at your creativity! Brilliant idea!

[elizabethkott]

That. Is. AWESOME.
FWIW, there are kids out there who *can* taste the different dyes in things. I have a HS student who can actually taste the different M&M colors. She got 9 out of 10 correct in a blind taste test. Freakiest (and most non-content related) 9th period ever.

[elektra]

Awesome story! And I'm with GreenTea, bring inn the blindfolds! And I have to admit that I feel like slightly less of a failure in the food department after reading that T is picky about pasta. I had always envisioned both your kids eating every single bit of all the incredibly healthy and tasty-sounding meals you are making inn a regular basis.
However, I guess he did end up eating the pasta after all huh? ;)

[DrSally]

Have you ever heard the story of the "cinnamon twins"? In the 1980s, a psychologist was studying identical twins reared apart. One pair of subjects were little girls who had been adopted into different families. Then the mother of the first twin was interviewed, she said that the child was a terrible eater, incredibly picky, and every meal was a battle. The girl would not eat anything unless it had cinnamon on it. When the mother of the second twin was interviewed, she said "she eats wonderfully. She'll eat anything; I just have to sprinkle a little cinnamon on it."



Great story

[bubbaray]

If blindfolds is all it takes to get DD#1 to eat without talking about being skinny or to get DD#2 to eat AT.ALL, can I please buy them at Costco in bulk??

I'm so freakin' sick of food issues.

[Maggie'sMom]

Great story. DH and I have been discussing blindfolding DD to get her to try different foods. She loves mac and cheese, but won't eat any other kind of pasta. Maybe we will try the blindfold after all.

[kijip]

:yeahthat: I could totally relate to your entire post until he consented to eat the pasta with the blindfold on. No way my DD would do that.

It struck a chord with his little scientist heart and I was counting on that to get him to say yes. I was dumbfounded when he ultimately agreed to eat them all, because I fully expected him to tell me I was wrong about him getting them wrong. I was truly shocked when he ate all the pasta. As you know as a mom with a picky kid, you have to celebrate the little victories of picky eaters, figuring and refiguring everyday to find whatever the heck it is that works.

[sste]

That is brilliant! Maybe he will end up being a food scientist and engineer the sweet potato that ends famine or somesuch! And you can remind him of this then. :)

[kijip]

And I have to admit that I feel like slightly less of a failure in the food department after reading that T is picky about pasta. I had always envisioned both your kids eating every single bit of all the incredibly healthy and tasty-sounding meals you are making inn a regular basis.


Oh, I wish! As I have said often before since T turned picky at about age 5ish, I count on them eating some part of most of what i cook but I don't hold my breath ever about T nor do I make food a battle. He eats or he doesn't, he isn't going to starve himself before the next meal he likes or by eating a limited meal or making himself a sandwich (especially because he loves his breakfast, never ever turns down breakfast so I do have that little bit of luck.) I take no credit for the good things he does eat or the junk he does not eat. Despite his picky stuff he is the best self regulator of sweets and candy I have ever met...I used to think oh, I did something right to cause this. Um, no. Did the same things for F and while he will eat a lot more than T he would also gorge himself on sweets if given the chance. If there is chocolate to be found, he will try and eat it. The main reasons I make healthy meals is because that is what I like (and need!) to eat and because I figure that even if he does not eat them now, as he grows up, healthy options will seem normal. I know I ate only the veggies I saw my parents eating when I first started eating more veggies on my own and I had to learn about the others. This way, at least they will know what greens etc are and how to cook them and think of them as food. And lest anyone think we always cook awesome dinners here...tonight dinner was microwaved pasta sauce, tricolored rotini and a head of lettuce tossed with salad dressing that has been in my fridge for who the heck knows how long. We just got home from 2 essentially back to back camping trips and the kitchen is a disaster of camping stuff waiting to be put away. Dessert? Cold marshmallows anyone?

[sunshine873]

Great story - it sounds like something that will go down in family history to be discussed at every Christmas get-together to come. :)

[egoldber]

If blindfolds were all it took to get my two picky eaters to down their dinner, I'd buy them in bulk.

:yeahthat:

And the thing about the blindfold making it easier to eat the pasta sounds perfectly normal to me! :ROTFLMAO:

I know that many of older DD's food issues are anxiety related. Trying foods that look different, even if they taste the same, are very anxiety inducing for her. So a blindfold might indeed take the edge off!

[hillview]

HILARIOUS. Nice work mama!
/hillary

[ThreeofUs]

Oh, my gosh, Katie! That sounds hilarious -- and pure genius on your part.

[rlu]

:yeahthat:

And the thing about the blindfold making it easier to eat the pasta sounds perfectly normal to me! :ROTFLMAO:

I know that many of older DD's food issues are anxiety related. Trying foods that look different, even if they taste the same, are very anxiety inducing for her. So a blindfold might indeed take the edge off!

My folks have always had a lemon tree so my sister and I grew up making our own lemonade. That got boring so we would add food coloring to make pink or blue or green lemonade and those tasted fine. Once you put in too many colors you end up with brown lemonade and we just couldn't bring ourselves to drink it (and neither would my mom). Presentation definitely sets expectation. DH eats SOS which I can barely look at without gagging.

[lizzywednesday]

...
FWIW, there are kids out there who *can* taste the different dyes in things. I have a HS student who can actually taste the different M&M colors. She got 9 out of 10 correct in a blind taste test. Freakiest (and most non-content related) 9th period ever.

My brother Joe and I are two people who haven't outgrown this.

If I can taste the food coloring, I don't eat it.

I thought that tricolor pasta, however, was colored by using vegetables and not chemicals? Am I fooling myself?

BTW, OP, this gives new meaning to the phrase "blind taste test" ... way to use the scientific method to your advantage.

[larig]

my poor mom, I think I was just like your son. I love the way you handled the situation!

[ilfaith]

I thought that tricolor pasta, however, was colored by using vegetables and not chemicals? Am I fooling myself?


I know that I can taste a difference in the different colors of pasta...which (at least the kind I buy) are colored and somewhat flavored with spinach and tomato. I suppose when they are all covered with spaghetti sauce, it's difficult to tel them apart.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Wait. All three colors taste the same? No way.

I can absolutely taste the differences. And I don't like the green ones. (spinach - yuck!) I'll tolerate the red ones. But I prefer the plain ones and will eat them all first.

[DrSally]

I think some tricolored pastas do use spinach for the green and tomato for the red. That may be the taste difference for some.

[kijip]

Wait. All three colors taste the same? No way.

I can absolutely taste the differences. And I don't like the green ones. (spinach - yuck!) I'll tolerate the red ones. But I prefer the plain ones and will eat them all first.

Covered in red sauce? To me they are barely distingishable. Also this was a box that I bought in a small grocery store for camping. Bertoli brand maybe? I don't think there is a huge amount of flavor in any of them, lol.

[maestramommy]

:hysterical: Very creative idea Katie! T is so funny! Sorta reinforces the idea eating is as much for the eyes as for the mouth.

[Melaine]

That's hilarious! I really thought you were going to say he could actually ID all the colors blindfolded (DH can do that with M&Ms!). So funny.

[Globetrotter]

That sounds like something my ds would do :ROTFLMAO:
I have had so many battles with sauce or a tiny bit of sauce contamination from a spoon that was used for something else, and so on.

That's a great anecdote, though!

[ErinMC]

If blindfolds were all it took to get my two picky eaters to down their dinner, I'd buy them in bulk.

:hysterical:

Agreed!

[ShanaMama]

Katie, I had to come back & tell you that I told DD about your blindfold idea & she loved it! She's not quite the sophisticated scientist that T is, but she agreed to try cottage cheese blindfolded! (When we visited Israel she ate cottage by the carton. It is much creamier there & she's refused to even TRY American cottage cheese). She pretty much missed the point of the taste test insisting I give her different foods to guess (choc chips were her preferred option!). But at the end of it all she agreed that American cottage cheese s not too bad & it just might be making it's way onto her preferred list! She even had a couple of spoonfuls for breakfast today!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Covered in red sauce? To me they are barely distingishable. Also this was a box that I bought in a small grocery store for camping. Bertoli brand maybe? I don't think there is a huge amount of flavor in any of them, lol.

well, covered in red sauce is kind of like being blindfolded LOL

yes I can still taste the difference, or at least I still don't like the green ones. I can sense a texture difference too.

I fully admit this might be all in my head. I should try the blindfolded taste test.

[Cuckoomamma]

What a cutie!

Have to say, though, you lucked out. I, and my whole family, can definitely tell the flavors apart. Maybe it's a taster/non-taster gene!