LadyJane wrote:


> I firmly believe that there are no fussy eaters (where children are
> concerned) just dead lazy parents who can not be bothered to introduce
> or experiment with food where their children are concerned. My kids
> LOVE all foods - because they've been encouraged to try all sorts of
> different dishes. They may not like them, but they will at least try
> and then make a judgement. Getting kids to at least 'try' different
> foods is half the battle in broadening their tastes. IMHO


I was refusing to eat as a small child. My parents would set a timer if
we refused to eat our dinner (usually the vegetables). My brother and
sister would wait the half hour and then eat it in a hurry. Even as a 5
year old, I would go to my room and get ready for bed as they went to
get the time. If I didn't like it, I did NOT eat it.

They certainly offered plenty of variety. And good home-cooked meals.
The problem is that I am oversensitive to certain textures and flavors.
I wasn't able to explain it back then as I was too young. But certain
foods made me gag, and others just bothered me a lot. I still don't eat
most of them.

When I went to camp, they served oatmeal for breakfast, an item that
makes me gag. I asked for cereal. They said I had to take 3 bites of
the oatmeal first. I skipped breakfast that day. I didn't argue. I just
wasn't going to eat those 3 bites.The next morning, they gave me
cereal.

I do try a lot more things than I used to, unless it contains an item I
know I won't eat. My Chinese co-workers have brought in many things
that are new to me, and I have tried most of them. I like some and
don't like some. But I do give most of it a try.

I agree that parents need to offer a lot of variety of real food to see
what their kids like. But I wouldn't blame them automatically for a
picky child. Some kids really are picky from the beginning.

-L. wrote:

> I totally do not get that mentality. There are *so many* easy things
> to prepare that don't take a lot of time. Yet people will sit in the
> drive-through line at McDonald's for 20 minutes to get their burgers
> and fries, and then take another 5-15 minutes to get home.

You mean people actually wait to eat the meal at home? When I have to
resort to fast food it is because I'm eating it right there on my way
someplace else..often while driving.

wff_ng_7 wrote:
> "Nancy Young" > wrote:
> > Mine overwinters and I'm just south of NYC. Then we'll have
> > a wicked cold winter and it won't make it. So I have to replant
> > it every so often. Right now my rosemary bush is pretty big, and
> > it had flowers for the first time I've ever seen that in these parts.
>
> I guess rosemary is more hardy than I've been led to believe. I wish I could
> grow it at my house, but there are factors other than climate. I have
> essentially full shade behind my house and no place in front. If that wasn't
> bad enough, the house behind me (rowhouses) has a bottomless bucket of
> peanuts for the squirrels, who manage to dig up most anything I've planted.
> At least the squirrels are entertaining.

I recall one herb farm in Massachusetts that had a 3'diameter shrub of
it, but they kept it in a wooden bucket planter, so probably wheeled it
in during the cold weather.

As far as the squirrels go, plant daffodils. Those are the only bulbs
that they won't dig up.
&*^$%(&*$% tree rats!

maxine in ri

Mordechai Housman wrote:

> There were a few places in Brooklyn, though, where you could exotic
> herbs, roots, and so forth. The big local Shopright had a nice, very
> large selection, though I didn't see too many people overwhelming the
> store and rushing to those aisles.

Few?? My stepson and his Mom just moved to an area off Avenue U in
Coney Island, Brooklyn. He took us for a walk last time we were there,
and within 3 blocks of his apartment, there were dozens of small,
medium, and large produce, fish, and grocery storelets, all with
eye-popping varieties of interesting seasonings and foods.

Shoprites tend to have a good selection of herbs and spices, and most
of the large supermarkets I've seen in the northeast and in Canada this
summer, have a section of fresh herbs in with the produce.

> Where I live now, in Rockland County, there is (AFAIK) only one
> supermarket near me that carries fresh herbs and such: such as rosemary,
> chives, basil, and so forth, though not as wide a selection as I'm sure
> many people here would demand in their local stores. It's actually one
> of the smaller supermarkets, but they have a decent selection of
> vegetables. So I have changed my shopping habits to shop in this store
> as much as I can.

I'm going to bet it's a Pathmark. I'm curious as to what part of
Rockland county you live in (you don't have to say, of course), but the
areas I've been to (Harriman, Tuxedo, Ringwood, UGL, Hewitt) the
markets carry at least a decent variety of fresh and jarred seasonings.

> In one other VERY big supermarket I asked the guy if he had fresh
> rosemary, and he said he didn't know what it was, and no one ever asks
> for it. I was a bit stunned, to tell you the truth. Rosemary is not such
> an exotic spice. I hadn't asked for the root of some Mexican vegetable,
> such as a friend of mine used to use a lot. So I went to the dried spice
> rack to show him what it was, and I couldn't find it there either!! Even
> in Brooklyn it hadn't been this difficult!
>
> Oddly, this very big supermarket has a much wider (and often better)
> selection of fruits than the other one. So I wind up having to go to the
> big place for fruits and a few other things, and to almost the other
> side of town for vegetables and herbs and so forth.
>
> But my point here is to wonder: have any of you ever discovered adults
> who were really unaware of some basic foods? Is this common?
>
> Mordechai

Depends on the adults. Those who have to feed themselves, and do not
have the budget to eat out or buy packaged foods, learn what is in the
stores. Those whose spouses do all the cooking and shopping may well
not know anything beyond what is served at the table.

It's not uncommon to have school kids visit a farm, so they can see
where food comes from, where milk comes from, etc.

And I had one woman in a diet program tell me that the perimeter of the
supermarket (where the produce, fish, meat, chicken, dairy and baked
goods are) was much more expensive than buying canned goods.

Was your accquaintance yeshivish? It's possible that he might not be
familiar with food preparation. Depends on how much housework his
mother made him do. Or what kind of cook she was. Some people believe
that canned and frozen foods are better or easier to prepare than
fresh. Sometimes they're right.

maxine in ri

Mordechai Housman wrote:

> I try to introduce new foods to my kids every so often, but the two
> younger ones (ages 8 and 6), almost always refuse to even try them. The
> oldest (almost 10), will cautiously try some things, and usually likes
> them.
>
> So it's not always the parents' fault entirely. Some kids really ARE
> afraid to try new things.

We have the teaspoon rule in my house. You have to try at least 1
teaspoon-full of any food served at dinner. If you don't like it,
fine, just finish your portion and you're done. Kids won't starve
themselves, and if they don't eat at one meal, they'll make up for it
at the next.

After trying something 3 or 4 times (yes, each time the food is served,
the teaspoon rule applies), they usually find it's not so bad, and go
back for more. IT does help that this has been the rule since she was
4, but we've impressed on her that if she's eating at someone else's
house, she needs to at least try what they serve.

We did have visitors once who only at white foods (my husband noticed
this). Milk, bread, potatoes, chicken breast. I didn't know what to
make of them, since I like to cook with a lot of color (sweet potatoes,
multi-color veggies, etc.) Mom and daughter both. I felt sorry for
them.

maxine in ri