My kids may be many things – not all of them wonderful – but one thing they surely are is good eaters. And by good eaters I don’t mean that they always eat massive quantities of food, in that old-fashioned fifties-era definition of good eater equals large appetite. No, I mean that they are not fussy or particularly picky eaters. They have, by and large, rather grown-up tastes, and will usually eat whatever the grownups are having, which makes meal planning and prep a good deal easier.
They’re equally happy setting in to a plate of spicy butter chicken with biryani and naan as they are quaffing down a bowl of KD. They’ll roll up a chicken fajita with onions, salsa and even roasted peppers (okay, they tried roasted peppers once and didn’t like them…but anyway, they tried them!) and they’ll have a small serving of marinated flank steak with a side of rice pilaf. But, they’re also perfectly contented with the more typically kid-friendly meal of chicken nuggets with plum sauce and a side of baby carrots.
Yesterday we offered to make dinner for Nana and Grumpy (it seemed the polite houseguest thing to do) and my oldest suggested chicken parmigiana. Honestly! How many 8 year-olds would suggest that? And how many 6 year-olds would grin and say “yum…chicken parmigiana!” when served it? My guess is that (outside of Italy, perhaps) they’re in the minority.
Now, don’t think that I take any kind of credit for this good eating behaviour, because I don’t. I like to think I’m a little too smart to fall for that. I will happily take some credit when they remember their pleases and thank-yous, but taste…no, I don’t think I can take credit for their that. It’s just one of the ways I scored in the parenting lottery (and believe me, there are deficits in other areas that compensate for this win).
Still, I like that they like a variety of foods, and I appreciate that I usually don’t have to make a grownup’s meal and a kid’s meal at dinnertime. It’s just one of those things about my kids that I like and appreciate.
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that is so great that your kids enjoy such a variety of foods! i strongly agree with not making two types of dinners each night – it’s just way too much.
You deserve some of the credit, Kath – for introducing them to the variety of foods they now like.