Several years ago, my Louisiana Cajun father was visiting, and was outraged to learn I didn’t have any bay leaves and didn’t see their purpose. The next day he went to the grocery store and came back with some bay leaves, and then told me to boil water and throw in two bay leaves. After it cooled a little I tasted it. I think there’s some merit to the notion that most people have stale bay leaves months past their actual use taking up space in their pantries and stews, but I get it now. There really is a purpose to them, if they’re reasonably fresh. It’s sort of like mint without the pomp and circumstance. Like mint’s chill, salt of the earth cousin who works hard but doesn’t want any attention for it.
There's a world of difference in texture avoidance, from your bog-standard "picky eaters" all the way up to "diagnosed sensory processing disorders," and while I won't pretend to be a doctor and do any sort of diagnosing, it may be something to read about and consider.
Beyond that, I was a fairly picky, texture-averse eater as a child, and I found the biggest thing that helped me get out of that and into trying new things was being involved in the planning and cooking process. Being able to "investigate" and get used to the textures with my hands and smells of the various foods allowed the mouthfeel to not be such a surprise, and the flavors took center stage.
I've also heard from parent friends that, if they have a friend(even an adult they like who isn't related to them) who likes to eat everything, having meals with those friends will help kids try stuff. "Oh, Jack/Jill loves [X], maybe I'll like it too" sort of stuff.
(I still do not care for broccoli or cauliflower based on their texture, but can eat them to be polite now, and have added a whole bunch of veggies to my life that I wouldn't eat as a kid)
For the texture/unadventurous kids, my friend calls it "deconstructed" but its the same idea.
One thing I do it take noodles for pad thai, whish together a bit of water with a tablespoon of peanut butter and make my own peanut noodles. Then you can add chicken, veggies, eggs, etc as sides. Over time my son started asking for some with the regular sauce, now he just gets the regular stuff.
If you've got kids who don't like the texture of meat, then shredding, chopping, or just crumbling can really help. Think like a meat sauce, or fried rice. Crumbled up salmon tossed with cous-cous has a pretty consistent texture. I use an OJ, brown sugar and soy reduction to add a little flavor but YMMV.
Dumpling press screams disgustingly big batch of homemade Pierogis to me. Now I’m even more interested in the machine... do you have a pierogi recipe being from NE Ohio aka the pierogi belt?
Topic: bay leaves. I have occasion to go to Cleveland from time to time. It's a 500 mile drive each way, but I go for two reasons: 1) family and 2) Penzey's Spices. Most recently, my Penzey's haul included bay leaves. These bay leaves are game-changers. Penzey's bay leaves come from Turkey, not California, and according to the label, they are superior. It may be true. I will send you a photo by email, Scott, to document this claim. Side note: one ounce of dried bay leaves is a lot of bay leaves. Also, to Matt who commented earlier: please note.
For Brian: I had mad food texture sensitivities and my neurotypical son does too (surprisingly, my autistic son is the more adventurous of the two). Scott’s suggestion of breaking down ingredients is a great one. Half our dinners just end up being grazing boards for them to get them used to new flavours and textures. Letting kids out together their food at their pace is huge. Remember, too, that it’s gonna take numerous exposures to things to get them to really decide if they like it or not. And something prepared one way might not be a fave but it might be in another way. Like I don’t enjoy chopped onions on burgers but I do like them in onion rings or caramelized. It’s a process.
We encourage our kids to take adventure bites and also just talk about it in terms of “you’re learning to like [olives, fried rice, etc].” Also my kids are way more adventurous eaters when we’re out to eat than when we’re at home or when they get to help with meal planning, prep, and cooking. I never thought my youngest would enjoy spaghetti but he goes ham for it now cos he gets to make it with dad.
And ditto to the commenter above who talked about food pickiness and possible sensory processing differences. If it’s really, really bad, you may consider feeding therapy through a speech or occupational therapist. You likely don’t need that, but just know it’s there if it feels right for your family. A great resource is Kids Eat In Color. Their Insta and blog posts are great for understanding how kids learn to like foods. They have a picky eaters course, too. I like their cookbooks for lunches and snacks to try. My oldest loves the kachumber salad in the lunch cookbook (who knew!).
Ultimately: we put the food on their plate, they decide what and how much they eat.
I’ll step down from my “curling niche sport” soapbox and climb up on the “team handball” one.
It’s fast paced, high scoring and you have bodies flying through the air. If we can get a Major League Cricket circuit rolling in this country, sure enough we can get a team handball league with 8 teams to be broadcast on ESPN+
When the Olympics roll out next year, watch a couple of matches.
I find bay leaves are a bit like salt, or bitters in cocktails--you really shouldn't be able to taste them directly, but I find a lot things taste flat if they aren't included. (Exception: I put a bay leaf in the pot when I make rice for savory uses, and there you can taste it.)
The way my eyes LIT UP when I saw the dumpling press. Comparable only to the wonder I had when a company I was interviewing with told me they do their 401(k) match by how many cents per dollar (last year they were over 90¢/$1!) they will match WITH NO MAXIMUM PERCENTAGE OF SALARY (I am old and boring)
I did grad school in the SEC and completely forgot kU was in the Big 12 (I started UG at Mizzou before upgrading to Cincy). The thought of Bearcats at Kansas in any sport just warms my “end of semester professor” heart.
Kids eating habits: my mom, especially once she started working full time, told us “you can eat what I put on the table or make your own. If you make your own you have to clean up after yourself.” Might be why my brother ate a lot of peanut butter and honey after school.
My daughter is picky when it comes to any kind of spice/sauce on chicken, but even she loves this chicken shawarma recipe I picked up a few years ago. And I'm sure most people of Middle Eastern descent would smack me, but I've yet to find an authentic shawarma locally that tastes better than this one. It's been a hit every time I've made it for company.
Several years ago, my Louisiana Cajun father was visiting, and was outraged to learn I didn’t have any bay leaves and didn’t see their purpose. The next day he went to the grocery store and came back with some bay leaves, and then told me to boil water and throw in two bay leaves. After it cooled a little I tasted it. I think there’s some merit to the notion that most people have stale bay leaves months past their actual use taking up space in their pantries and stews, but I get it now. There really is a purpose to them, if they’re reasonably fresh. It’s sort of like mint without the pomp and circumstance. Like mint’s chill, salt of the earth cousin who works hard but doesn’t want any attention for it.
Hey Brian,
There's a world of difference in texture avoidance, from your bog-standard "picky eaters" all the way up to "diagnosed sensory processing disorders," and while I won't pretend to be a doctor and do any sort of diagnosing, it may be something to read about and consider.
Beyond that, I was a fairly picky, texture-averse eater as a child, and I found the biggest thing that helped me get out of that and into trying new things was being involved in the planning and cooking process. Being able to "investigate" and get used to the textures with my hands and smells of the various foods allowed the mouthfeel to not be such a surprise, and the flavors took center stage.
I've also heard from parent friends that, if they have a friend(even an adult they like who isn't related to them) who likes to eat everything, having meals with those friends will help kids try stuff. "Oh, Jack/Jill loves [X], maybe I'll like it too" sort of stuff.
(I still do not care for broccoli or cauliflower based on their texture, but can eat them to be polite now, and have added a whole bunch of veggies to my life that I wouldn't eat as a kid)
For the texture/unadventurous kids, my friend calls it "deconstructed" but its the same idea.
One thing I do it take noodles for pad thai, whish together a bit of water with a tablespoon of peanut butter and make my own peanut noodles. Then you can add chicken, veggies, eggs, etc as sides. Over time my son started asking for some with the regular sauce, now he just gets the regular stuff.
If you've got kids who don't like the texture of meat, then shredding, chopping, or just crumbling can really help. Think like a meat sauce, or fried rice. Crumbled up salmon tossed with cous-cous has a pretty consistent texture. I use an OJ, brown sugar and soy reduction to add a little flavor but YMMV.
Dumpling press screams disgustingly big batch of homemade Pierogis to me. Now I’m even more interested in the machine... do you have a pierogi recipe being from NE Ohio aka the pierogi belt?
Obligatory to re-read every time bay leaf discourse comes up https://www.theawl.com/2016/03/the-vast-bay-leaf-conspiracy/
Topic: bay leaves. I have occasion to go to Cleveland from time to time. It's a 500 mile drive each way, but I go for two reasons: 1) family and 2) Penzey's Spices. Most recently, my Penzey's haul included bay leaves. These bay leaves are game-changers. Penzey's bay leaves come from Turkey, not California, and according to the label, they are superior. It may be true. I will send you a photo by email, Scott, to document this claim. Side note: one ounce of dried bay leaves is a lot of bay leaves. Also, to Matt who commented earlier: please note.
For Brian: I had mad food texture sensitivities and my neurotypical son does too (surprisingly, my autistic son is the more adventurous of the two). Scott’s suggestion of breaking down ingredients is a great one. Half our dinners just end up being grazing boards for them to get them used to new flavours and textures. Letting kids out together their food at their pace is huge. Remember, too, that it’s gonna take numerous exposures to things to get them to really decide if they like it or not. And something prepared one way might not be a fave but it might be in another way. Like I don’t enjoy chopped onions on burgers but I do like them in onion rings or caramelized. It’s a process.
We encourage our kids to take adventure bites and also just talk about it in terms of “you’re learning to like [olives, fried rice, etc].” Also my kids are way more adventurous eaters when we’re out to eat than when we’re at home or when they get to help with meal planning, prep, and cooking. I never thought my youngest would enjoy spaghetti but he goes ham for it now cos he gets to make it with dad.
And ditto to the commenter above who talked about food pickiness and possible sensory processing differences. If it’s really, really bad, you may consider feeding therapy through a speech or occupational therapist. You likely don’t need that, but just know it’s there if it feels right for your family. A great resource is Kids Eat In Color. Their Insta and blog posts are great for understanding how kids learn to like foods. They have a picky eaters course, too. I like their cookbooks for lunches and snacks to try. My oldest loves the kachumber salad in the lunch cookbook (who knew!).
Ultimately: we put the food on their plate, they decide what and how much they eat.
The Bearcats were just crowned National Champions in disc golf!
Accept no substitutes. 100% certified yacht
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6kVRZHsbV6LZEBiqzSzFvq
I’ll step down from my “curling niche sport” soapbox and climb up on the “team handball” one.
It’s fast paced, high scoring and you have bodies flying through the air. If we can get a Major League Cricket circuit rolling in this country, sure enough we can get a team handball league with 8 teams to be broadcast on ESPN+
When the Olympics roll out next year, watch a couple of matches.
I find bay leaves are a bit like salt, or bitters in cocktails--you really shouldn't be able to taste them directly, but I find a lot things taste flat if they aren't included. (Exception: I put a bay leaf in the pot when I make rice for savory uses, and there you can taste it.)
The way my eyes LIT UP when I saw the dumpling press. Comparable only to the wonder I had when a company I was interviewing with told me they do their 401(k) match by how many cents per dollar (last year they were over 90¢/$1!) they will match WITH NO MAXIMUM PERCENTAGE OF SALARY (I am old and boring)
I did grad school in the SEC and completely forgot kU was in the Big 12 (I started UG at Mizzou before upgrading to Cincy). The thought of Bearcats at Kansas in any sport just warms my “end of semester professor” heart.
That dumpling press looks like it would make some great pierogi. Jus sayin'.
Kids eating habits: my mom, especially once she started working full time, told us “you can eat what I put on the table or make your own. If you make your own you have to clean up after yourself.” Might be why my brother ate a lot of peanut butter and honey after school.
I still won’t eat boiled spinach.
My daughter is picky when it comes to any kind of spice/sauce on chicken, but even she loves this chicken shawarma recipe I picked up a few years ago. And I'm sure most people of Middle Eastern descent would smack me, but I've yet to find an authentic shawarma locally that tastes better than this one. It's been a hit every time I've made it for company.
(for 2 lbs of thighs):
• 2 lemons, juiced
• ½ cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• A pinch ground cinnamon
• Red pepper flakes, to taste