Kids can eat more than hotdogs

[kuan]

For the last week I've had my niece and nephew visiting. They're 6 and 9 respectively. Anyway, their parents leave me a package of hotdogs and white wonder bread with instructions on how to heat them in the microwave. (It's ok, I'm used to insults)

Guess what, the kids never ate a single hotdog all week. In fact, they ate what the grownups ate, which is spaghetti, ribeye steak, pan fried noodles, no-sugar peanut butter, potato bread, tandoori chicken, buckwheat pancakes, pineapple and strawberry tarts, etc.

What is up with people who think that kids can't eat anything other than hotdogs and junk?

Kuan

[katbalou]

dear kuan,
i have the same problem with my nieces and nephews parents, in my case the kids are just spoiled and are used to getting what they want at home. when they come to my house the rule is that you have to try what i serve otherwise you will be very hungry!
all of the kids have gone home with requests for new items to be added to their menus. i think a lot of it has to do with the parents just caving in to their little darlings.
by the way i'm also the aunt they all threaten their kids with - if you don't behave, you're going to live with......
kat

[ChefHogan]

I do not have that problem with kids at all, my son calls McDonnals food poison, he hates all fast foods. I feel proud to bring him to quality retaurants and watch the face of the server when he orders surf & turf, he is insulted when they offer him a kids menu. I think this is due to the fact where I have always cooked at home quality meals and when we go out for dinner it is to a restaurant not fast food.

Now the problem, when he goes to some of his friends, they go to Fast Food junklets and he will not eat it, so now I make him tupperware dishes to take with him to his sleepovers.

Hogan

[BiltmoreCook]

There is this kid that frequents our hotel with his parents. I think he's about 11 or 12. Anyway, they let him come down to the Dining Room by himself, as either they want time alone, or he wants to eat before they do. This kid asks all sorts of questions about things on the menu, and decides accordingly. Usually opting for the halibut, grouper, or lamb. He also requests for some sparkling grape juice, once though even went as far as asking if we could cook off the alcohol of a wine that would pair nicely with his dinner, then cool it down. His manners are more polite than most of the adult guests we get. I find it awesome that this kid is getting a good base in good quality food, and not the stop'n'slop burger places.

[ChefHogan]

Bada Bing, thats going to be my kid...

[Live_to_cook]

Difficult eaters routinely eat things at other people's houses they would never voluntarily ingest at home, in my experience. (Then Grandma says, "What do you mean she doesn't like spinach?")

We have three kids, and two will eat some of anything that's not spicy, while our middle (Zoe, 3) will literally go to bed hungry before she eats something she doesn't like, which is many things. Thankfully, she eats a wide variety of vegetables, as long as they're cooked from fresh, and frozen peas and corn.

[chrose]

I only have one to deal with and while he is a normal kid who likes all the usual kid foods. He does go by the family rule that he has to try evrything that is served. If he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to eat it. He has enjoyed many things he didn't think he would like thanks to the rule.
The kid does though have a taste for the high class and spicy thank god. He would rather have a candlelight dinner anyday over McDonalds. For him Duck L'Orange is " to die for"!

[mike]

ChefHogan.. I like yor kids attitude.
My own have been taght that fast food is bad & e numbers explained to them. Im sure that all these preservatives & additives will have serious health reprecussions in the long run. Threr has been no lomg term testing on these substances so no one knows what the end result will be.
My lad gets taught how to make things like thai curry at school which is great as cooking skills were generally taken off the primary & secondry schools sylabus some years ago.
I also take them fishing & mushrooming & berry pickimg we then make stuff out of the ingredients.
whats sad is that I cant really recommend them to a career in cooking unless its a personal passion as the conditions & pay generally suck
#

[Peachcreek]

My oldest loves food but is only an OK cook.
My second oldest likes different food (favorite is sushi) and is a prep person at a restaurant and seems to have a knack for cooking.
My middle child would live on hotdogs, pizza, bologna, top ramen and mac-n-cheese if given a choice. Pickle relish counts as a veggie, right? I hope the produce growers thank Sony for their part in helping young teens eat better. Won't eat your broccoli? No Playstation!! Works every time.
My 3 year old eats nothing. Really. Getting that kid to eat ANYTHING is a chore. And he won't touch hotdogs, hamburgers, fish, veggies. His favorites are PBJ, grilled cheese sandwiches, or mac-n-cheese (but only from the BLUE box). His latest thing this summer is a hotdog bun with ketchup and no hotdog...
My 2 month old just eats constantly. And you wonder where the heck he puts it.

[miahoyhoy]

I have a photo somewhere of my son, who was 3 at the time, polishing off an ounce of beluga. Now his favorite food is calimari. We haven't eaten at Mc D's in over a year. they know why the fat people are fat.

jon

[Jim]

I do not push my own food snobbery on my kids, however, they are encouraged to try everything. As a result, my oldest (8)understands what regional food means and will ask about the area in which we happen to be traveling. I think that's cool! My 2 other kiddies aren't so inquisitive, but hope that they will siphon some of the curiosity from their big sister.
Also, including the kids in meal preparation is essential! Showing them how different ingredients come together or how the application of heat alters food peeks their curiosity. It is quite a kicker to give my 8 year-old the works for pesto and watch her make it, while my 5 year-old is rolling out fettucine on the Imperia.

[Mezzaluna]

What a great thread!

I have no kids of my own, but spend my professional life with middle-schoolers (ages 11-14 or so). Food is part of my classroom. For example, when we read a book set in Mexico, I bring in nopales, tomatillo salsa, etc. A book on marine biology means tasting seafood. Believe me, they eat it. I even had to break up a "Fear Factor" game with the Cholula with one group of kids!

My students have tasted, in various classes: sushi, noodle kugel, tamales, inexpensive caviar, seaweed salad, and other items as well as what I mentioned above. Some of them eat entirely processed food at home, often from Sam's Club (warehouse store). Many have never tasted well-prepared fresh veggies.

I took a group of about 20 kids to Odessa Piper's Through the Seasons Cooking School in Madison a year ago. Chef Eric Rudolph did a fabulous job of introducing new foods to the kids. He started with simple roasted asparagus, then moved on to roasted corn salsa with quesadillas and some other things, always connecting them to familiar foods (quesadillas = interesting grilled cheese, etc.). The kids helped make everything. Everyone tasted everything. Some kids wondered at the great flavor of the asparagus, which they had always thought would taste "gross".

We do what we can, I guess. I grew up in a home where you ate what was prepared for everyone (minus food allergies) and were encouraged to participate in meal planning and preparation.