100 new foods

Yams

 yams_FeedMeDearlySweet potatoes, yams, aren’t they all the same thing? In fact they’re not, with yams being starchier and drier than the orange-fleshed tubers that we’re used to seeing in the stores. And while sweet potatoes are delicious, sometimes I find them to be cloyingly sweet. Yams are a little more my speed; the kids’ reaction? Even sliced and baked into something that resembles a potato chip, yams held little appeal. One day they’ll come around… 

ME:  OK, guys. We’re trying a new mystery food.

SAM: Potato chips?

ME: It kind of looks like a potato chip, doesn’t it? But it’s actually not a potato chip.

SAM: What is it?!

ME: I’ll give you one. It’s a yam, like a sweet potato…but it’s white. Isn’t that interesting?

EMMA: I’m not going to have it!

ME: You don’t have to have it. You want to try it Lauren?

LAUREN: Mmm…

ME: You like it?! It’s good, right?

LAUREN: Kind of.

ME: Who else wants to try?

LAUREN: Um, why are they so hard.
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100 new foods

Rhubarb

rhubarb

We generally like to try things raw around here, but once in a while we encounter something that’s actually poisonous to eat in its raw state. I’ve since learned that only a rhubarb’s leaves are poisonous, not the stalk. But any talk of poison, leaves or otherwise, is bound to send kids running in the other direction. My solution was to make the rhubarb into jam, which didn’t fix the underlying issue: rhubarb, sadly, wasn’t a hit.

ME: Ok guys.  What is this mystery food?

SAM: Jelly.

ME: Well it kind of looks like jelly.  You know what?  The reason why we’re eating jam as mystery food today is because in its raw form, rhubarb is is actually poisonous. Sam, You can pass that around (I pass him the rhubarb stalk).

SAM: No, I’m not touching it, it’s poisonous.

ME: No, no.  It’s fine just don’t eat it.  What color is it?

LAUREN: Um, pink.

ME: What does it remind you of, Sam?

LAUREN: I’m scared to touch it.

ME: You don’t have to be scared to touch it.

(Emma takes a huge bite out of the raw stalk.)

ALL OF US TOGETHER: Oh my God Emma, don’t eat it!

(Emma runs from the room crying.)

ME: Oh we scared her, we scared her.  [going after Emma] It’s ok.  Remember you can’t eat it sweetie? Remember that you have to eat the jelly rhubarb, not the raw rhubarb? Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.

LAUREN: That is poisonous.

ME: Yes. Ok, Sam, get your finger out of the jelly.

ME: Oh, poor sweetie.  Remember, it’s poisonous if you eat it raw.  That will make you sick if you eat it raw, it has to be cooked.  Want to come back?  Come on, we want you here with us.

LAUREN:  [whispering to Sam] Ok it’s fine, just eat it.

ME: Ok.  So who’s going to try the jelly?

SAM:  Me, me I want to.

LAUREN: I don’t like it.

ME: Huh?

LAUREN: Don’t like it.

ME: Here, you try it, SAM.  There you go.

SAM: I want jelly.

ME: This is it.

SAM: That’s jelly?
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100 new foods

Kiwi

kiwi 229

Mikey where are you? MIKEY!!

If you read last week’s post, you’ll understand the significance of Mikey and why he’s so important to our mystery food challenge. Mikey was not here with us this week. Mikey was not interested at all in our new food. Not even after I told her that she could chase the tiny little monster seeds and eat them. She had Cookie Doodle on the brain and once that happens, attention is a thing of the past.

It’s not like I was encouraging them to try radishes or beets, we’re talking kiwi here. Kiwi is one of my favorite fruits. As a kid I used to swipe every last piece from a buffet table’s fruit platter; my tongue would be raw for two days. How my kids don’t like kiwi is beyond me…

ME: Guys what’s this called?

SAM: Banana!

ME: It’s not a banana.

SAM: Spaghetti and meatballs!

ME: It’s not a banana. It’s not spaghetti and meatballs.

SAM: An orange!

ME: It’s not an orange. Why don’t we let Emma answer.

EMMA: It looks like a little bit of juice.

ME: Cool, Lauren what is this?

LAUREN: I forgot what it is.

ME: Does it start with a K?

LAUREN: Kiche?

ME: No, it’s not quiche.

ME: It’s called….

SAM: Kiwi!

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100 new foods

Spaghetti squash

butternut 228

It’s hard for me to admit this, but my kids hate squash. Their only real experience is with butternut, which is probably the least offensive, the  least squashiest of all squash. The word squash is starting to look weird.

I figured if a gateway squash exists, spaghetti squash would be it. Cook it, separate it into strands, and all of a sudden you have something that resembles noodles.

We had one taker. Emma is turning out to be the Mikey of our family. Those of you who grew up in the 80s will remember Mikey. He pimped Life cereal for years. “Let Mikey try it…” Mikey was the youngest, about Emma’s age. These days, Mikey’s probably sporting gray facial hair and a combover, but I respect the guy. He was the kid with a perfect appetite, the kid who would try anything. It took Emma some time to get comfortable with spaghetti squash, but once she did, she channeled her best Mikey. All of a sudden, she was the kid who ate everything.

ME: OK guys, spaghetti squash. Emma I’m going to give you a little bit. Lauren don’t try it yet, I want you to smell it and do all of that first.

EMMA: Eeeewwww….

ME: We don’t say ew in this house. Remember?

EMMA: Ack!

ME: We don’t say ack either.

EMMA: I don’t like it.

ME: I don’t like it is the same thing. We can’t say these things. What does it look like? (I sample a bite).

LAUREN: Hey no fair, you get to eat it before us!

ME: That’s because I’ve had it before.

EMMA: It looks like a banana.

ME: How come?

EMMA: Because it looks like a flower.

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100 new foods

Beets

beets 227

Because of our blood orange success, I was convinced that gore was the way to go when introducing bright red fruits and vegetables. I was wrong. I highly, highly recommend that you don’t offer new foods by saying this: “hey kids, we’re doing a mystery food tonight and it’s going to be bloody!”

The beets were rejected pretty quickly. Sam and Emma liked them for a tenth of a nanosecond before deciding that beets were horrible. Talk of garbage came up a few times, which I understand. Beets have a certain earthy quality; getting accustomed to them can take a while.. I’m not down and out on beets yet though… they have potential. Next time I’ll try to spruce them up with a little blood orange juice. We’ll see what happens….

ME: Hey what is this?

SAM: It’s not bloody.

LAUREN: I would guess that it’s reddish black on the inside.

ME: But what is the name of this?

LAUREN: Blood orange?

ME: It’s not blood orange.

EMMA: It looks like a little bit like juice.

ME: A little bit right, it’s really dark red like your red juice.  It’s like solid juice. Like your favorite, like cranberry juice.

EMMA: Yeah, I’ll smell it. (Sniffs) Yummy!

ME: Yummy? Does it smell so good?

EMMA: Yeah.

ME: What does it smell like?

EMMA: I want to eat it.

ME: Well let’s give everyone a chance to smell it first. Sam, what does it smell like?

SAM: Garbage.

ME: What do you think it smells like?

LAUREN: Yummy!

ME: OK, so two yummies and a garbage.

EMMA: I want to eat it!

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