What surprising things do your kids love to eat?

[goldenpig]

I remember being fairly picky as a child (ie "my favorite vegetable is corn"), so I consider my kids to be way better eaters than I was back then. They're not that adventurous by any means, but there are a couple things they like that surprise me. And they inherited it from DH.

Like ikura, or salmon roe sushi:
http://www.cardinalsushi.com/images/80918_original.jpg
Or kippered herring fillets from a tin:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2291313726_fc0662a3f3_o.jpg
The three of them (DH, DD and DS) will fight over who gets to finish these. As for me, no thank you!

What interesting foods do your kids love to eat that surprise you?

[MMMommy]

DDs surprisingly like tekka maki (raw tuna sushi), raw salmon sushi, and saba (Japanese broiled mackerel). DD2 loves runny egg yolk. DDs both like seafood of any kind - clams, shrimp, crab, lobster, fish, squid, etc. I'm surprised they even like the little dried fish (anchovies?) served as part of the Korean side dishes at Korean BBQ restaurants.

[SoloMelody]

cluster beans
http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2005/10/26/cluster-beansgawar-curry/

They are earthy pungent tasting beans. Some adults dont like it...but DD loves it.

[lovebebes]

haha goldenpig i love that your kids love that! My older two love those two things too.

The baby, now she's funny. She loves salad, the lettuce leaves not just the veggies, and always eats them. And today at dinner she ignored her tomatoes, cucumbers and chicken in favor of the ONIONS. I cut them thick thinking it would be easier to avoid getting them onto the kids plates when i served the salad...well the baby picked them all out, ate them, and said "i love spicy". I couldnt believe it.

editing to add: goldenpig, they actually eat the regular pickled herring, not even from a tin (so no added flavors like most times with the tin, you know how that herring is a bit sweet? well they eat the regular pickled herring. as a matter of fact we will be having that tomorrow for birthday dinner for my mom. other things on the menu tomorrow: boiled potatoes, garlic stuffed olives, salad and a giant flaky delicious napoleon cake made from scratch by my mom. i swear there is no sweet more delectable.)

[fedoragirl]

Olives
Lettuce
Tzaziki
I can't think of the others but my kids eat pretty much every ethnic cuisine out there.

[AngelaS]

Mine love mussels, clams and escargot. They aren't going to be cheap dates.

[maestramommy]

sardines from the can. They love it with ramen
Olives
whole fish. "I want to eat the eye! I want to eat the eye TOO!"
Hot and sour soup
They don't like avocado, but Dora loves guacamole.
salad. Dora loves red onions.
Dora loves all kinds of seafood (clams, mussels, shrimp lobster), Laurel is getting there.
Sukiyaki hot pot. Dora and Laurel will use the raw egg dipping mix with soy sauce and BBQ sauce.

[brittone2]

The older two have always loved sushi and will do raw, but I don't think they've eaten sashimi yet.

Raw cabbage. When I'm cutting up a cabbage to stir fry, roast, etc. they will reach in and "steal" a bunch of cabbage chunks to snack on before I cook it. DS1 prefers it raw to cooked by far.

Cooked turnips

Kale (DS1 likes kale salad with lemon juice and olive oil in particular). All 3 love kale chips.

Sardines. DS1 started eating them at 2-3 yo and would refer to them as "sar beans."

All 3 could eat their weight in nice olives each week if I could swing that ;) A good sized container of olives often ends up split between them for a snack before bed, along with some cheese.

Parsley salad (finely chopped onion or green onion, parsley, tomato, cucumbers, lemon juice, EVOO, salt)...they fight over who is going to get the leftovers.

Lamb, tsatziki, etc.

Whenever we would go out to a little local Italian place for dinner, DD and DS1 would order pizza, and then proceed to eat most of my chef salad. So eventually I convinced them maybe they should just order themselves a chef salad, and they frequently do. DD orders that more often than anything else. DS1 pretty much never orders off a kid menu at this point, between his appetite increasing and his dislike of most sterotypical kid foods. The last time we went out to dinner he ordered a rack of ribs ;)

eta: all 3 drink kombucha. After reading some of the other posts, I'll add they are also stinky cheese lovers. I remember DS1 asking someone at WFs handing out cheese samples if it was an aged cheddar because he could detect the crystals ;) I think he was about 4 yo. They went on to give him a whole educational tour of the cheese department LOL.

[hellokitty]

GP, lol my kids love any kind of tinned fish as well. I didn't even like that stuff as a kid. Sushi, kimchi, oysters, clams, mussels, pretty much any type of seafood, esp with ds1. I always joke to dh that being in the Midwest is unfortunate for our family of seafood lover and I'm convinced my kids wil all settle at either coast just for the food. Oh and ds1&2 also like venison. Omg, I cannot stomach that stuff. Ds3 hasn't tried it yet, so I don't know if he'll like it or not.

[georgiegirl]

Smoked salmon, capers, fancy olives, seaweed, sautéed onions and peppers, smoked trout, pesto

and then theres things that mainstream kids probably woudnt eat: feta, kale, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, sushi (mostly California rolls because I don't want to get then hooked on the expensive stuff), tzaziki, hummus, tabbouli, fancy cheese

[karstmama]

he likes raw tomatoes & i can't stand them. he *doesn't* like mac & cheese...i think i'll have to revoke his 'kid' card!

[twowhat?]

DD2 loves brussels sprouts :thumbsup:

[SnuggleBuggles]

Crab sticks. Ds1 just adores them. He gets sushi and pretty much picks off the crab. Won't eat real crab of crab cakes though.

[lizzywednesday]

DD2 loves brussels sprouts :thumbsup:

Nice! I was an adult before I could tolerate Brussels sprouts!

My DD eats bread crusts. She also eats her pizza crusts.

She turns up her nose at breaded chicken and will not eat chicken nuggets (so I never buy them), will eat anything with cheese, loves fresh-ground black pepper and has eaten onions with no complaints.

She's loved broccoli since she was itty bitty, can't get enough cole slaw and will eat my salad greens, so I've started giving her salad for herself.

She also eats quinoa, beets (I love beets), fun cheeses like Gouda (we get the double-cream Gouda from TJ's), sometimes bleu cheese, occasionally feta and definitely sharp cheddar. The sharp cheddar has raised eyebrows at the deli counter - they've never seen a kid who enjoys sharp cheese before.

We've shot videos of her eating barbecue ribs, which she loves. (The first time she had ribs she was 16 months old.)

She went through a phase where, if it was on Mommy's plate, DD needed to eat it. I'm fine with that because I'm a fairly adventurous eater myself, so I didn't stop her.

[sweet_pea]

Ok, after reading some of the other responses I don't know how adventurous these things are, but DD likes:

smoked salmon
squash or pumpkin soup
cabbage
stinky/sharp cheeses

[marymoo86]

DD loves, loves hummus and bacon. She will often ask for either after she is done with dinner and eaten her fruit.

[hellokitty]

Oh and I forgot to add that DS1 like lemons. Yes, like he will eat them like an orange. Ppl are always bowled over when they see him doing it. For some reason he LOVES sour foods. He has an odd palate for a kid. He doesn't like typical kid food either, we often end up ordering him an adult entree.

[ilfaith]

My kids all love sushi. We now only take them to all-you-can-eat sushi buffets because ordering off the menu for them has become cost-prohibitive. They like mushrooms (which I still don't eat). DS1 and DS2 will devour raw oysters. DS3 likes all kinds of cheese...the stinkier the better.

DS1 also loves brussels sprouts...but he has only had them roasted, because that is the only way I like them.

[BabbyO]

Not exactly adventurous, but my kids have been fighting over broccoli lately. I actually saw Stachio "Steal" a piece of broccoli off of peanuts tray the other night (I was already washing Peanut up...so not really stealing, but Stachio was trying to sneak it! LOL!

They also eat Salmon like it is the last thing on earth.

If we let them they would finish a jar of olives - black, green, kalamatas - between them.

Neither likes pizza much, but who can blame them when the best substitute we've found for cheese is shredded potatoes!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

-raw tomatoes
-lemons/limes (DS only)
-broccoli (DS only)
-olives
-olive hummus
-roasted seaweed

[amldaley]

Not surprising to me (and should not be surprising here) but certainly surprising to others...DD1 loves brussels sprouts.

[kdeunc]

DS1 loves cabbage and collard greens.

[PunkyBoo]

Punkin has always loved sushi. Boo loves salads and lemons. He'd chew on lemons if I'd let him. I'm not a fan of sour but Boo loves sour things. The funniest thing was when we got a yellow grapefruit in a csa box (despite grapefruit being on my exclusions list). I let Boo taste it and he puckered and shivered and said "yuck!" Then 20 seconds later he ran back and asked for more. Over and over again till he'd eaten about half the grapefruit!

[elbenn]

This is a fun thread.

Dried seaweed
Brussel Sprouts
Sushi

[sste]

Seaweed salad - - an expensive habit of my kids!

[goldenpig]

Fun responses! I think my kids like a lot of the things that others have listed. I think salty and sour must appeal to a lot of kids.
My kids also LOVE:
olives
pickles
lemons
nori (seawead)

and some things I never ate when I was a kid:
broccoli
cauliflower
couscous
quinoa

[Tondi G]

DS1 is not extremely adventurous but he is a good eater and we never have trouble finding him something to eat at restaurants or parties. I'm thrilled he will eat salad, but it has to have ranch dressing and it can't be too tangy. He has a sensitive mouth cause he can't eat spicy foods and has been this way since he was tiny! He will happily sit down to a plate of cherry tomatoes from my Mom's garden ... just slice in half with a sprinkle of salt ... he's a happy boy. When he was toddler he use to disappear in the back yard and we'd find him in the garden with tomato seeds dripped down the front of his shirt all the time!

DS2 is WAY more adventurous. He LOVES sushi ... well sashimi really .... he takes his sushi apart and eats the fish first and then the rice. He loves dry roasted seaweed to eat as a snack. He eats spicy stuff ... likes indian curry and spicy korean bbq. I have never offered him sardines or fish from a can (aside from tuna) so I have a feeling that at age 7 if we tried now he would probably not want to try it. He is my Broccoli boy, has loved it since he was just over a year. He will eat brussel sprouts but they have to be soft with butter and salt.

Both of my kids love Brie cheese ... DS1 likes sharp cheddar and both will try and usually enjoy stronger cheeses ... my sister buys from a specialty cheese shop. Both of my boys love pickles!

[anamika]

Spinach/any greens - we make it the Indian way with dal and coconut - DD will ask for it regularly
Barley - I make a barley kale risotto and DD will eat it at for every meal until it is all gone!
The seaweed snacks from TJs - she will eat the whole box in one go if I let her
On a side note, is my DD the only one who missed the memo that dipping foods in things is fun?

[stinkyfeet]

Both of my kids LOVE Persian and Afghan kabobs (and we are Chinese). DS1 asks for it all of the time, and we have to eat it at least once A week.

The also like this extra creamy Brie called fromage d'affinois. While we have tried other cheeses like port salut, they prefer the extra creamy Brie.

[mik8]

My 9 y/o DD likes to eat plain rice rolled in fish eggs (the kind used in sushi). She was introduced to it since she was little because we frequent Japanese restaurant.

[Cam&Clay]

When DS1 was five, he listed his favorite foods as hot dogs and escargot.

[sntm]

Escargot, raw oysters, sashimi, broccoli, goat cheese, dark chocolate, capers, olives, sardines, pate, ikura and caviar, "green juice", strong garlicky things...
Still prefers pepperoni pizza though ;)

DS1 once suggested we serve escargot at his birthday party. He was 7.

He is also not a dipper.

[smilequeen]

Well they like all sorts of more traditional Chinese foods that most American kids probably wouldn't eat.

They love Pho. They love sushi. They love edamame and hummus. Calamari.

My oldest will try anything which is good.

They love my green smoothies, but I don't tell them that I put spinich/kale in them and I serve them in stainless steel thermos cups so they can't see that they are green...so that probably doesn't count.

[DrSally]

Sardines and really sharp cheddar

[alleycat]

I've always been amazed at what DD2 will eat but I guess she's just a typical BBB kid.

DD2 is 3 years old, some of her favorites are:
clams
oysters
fish eyes, she eats the whole head but the eyes are her favorite
fish skin
tobiko (flying fish roe)
onions
scallions
curry
really spicy korean instant noodles
almost all green leafy vegetables

DD1 is 5 years old and what I consider a picky eater. But she loves garlic powder in her scrambled eggs, pho, whole steamed fish, and Singapore fried rice noodles (which have a spicy curry flavor).

Both DDs love fruit. The fruit they love the most is dragon fruit. For something that's pretty bland, not really sweet and at anywhere from $3-$10 a pound, depending on the season, it's expensive.

I can't wait to see what the 4.5 month old will have taste for.

[mypa]

DS: V8, nori, dried cuttlefish
DD: Kimchee (washed off), nori, squid, onions when she was younger but not anymore

I remember eating a lot of loose leaf lettuce as a child because I looooved vinegar. I would eat/drink bowl fulls until my lips turned white. I still love vinegar (and lemons).

I also ate raw eggs. My dad would poke holes on either end and I would suck in out. I do not eat raw eggs anymore, can't believe I did that.

I also remember fighting over fish eyes with my brother. It's fun seeing kids still liking fish eyes!

Interestingly, both my kids ate spicy foods when they were toddlers but cannot tolerate them anymore.

[smiles33]

What a fun thread! BBBers seem to be mor adventurous so I'm not surprised our kids have picked that up, too.


DDs like many of the aforementioned foods: Afghan kabobs, lamb, nori, seaweed salad (we buy the huge one from Costco that would cost $50+ at the local Asian store), fishcake, daikon, hummus, broccoli, green onions (usually in my mOm's homemade green onion Pancakes), all cheese (but they finish an entire container of TJ's goat cheese in one sitting!), pomegranate seeds (DD2 can finish 2-3 packages from TJ in one day!), indian food (mostly chaat), snow crab and lobster