picky eaters

I have a woman-crush on Elisabeth Hasselbeck.  It started back when she was a contestant on Survivor--before she was a cast member of The View.  I thought she was so cool--and I guess I still think she's pretty cool.  When I flipped on the tv and The View co-host was on the screen, I wasn't in a hurry to change channels.  I was even more intrigued when I heard Elisabeth talking with a chef about cooking multiple things to make all her kids happy with their meals.

I have no sources, except the show, to back up what I'm about to share with you.

The chef said that he had a pediatrician once tell him that if a person is not exposed to a food before his or her third birthday, that it is a natural instinct to have a fight or flight reaction and be apprehensive of the food and not be able to eat it.  Whaaa!?  That's crazy, right?  But if that's really true, then we need to start trying more foods.  We try a lot, but still, we've got less than two years to get in the rest!

They also discussed how, if you've missed this window, how to get your kids to eat.  They talked about giving your child the option of eating the (one) good meal that you've cooked, or to not eat.  All, except Whoopi, agreed that eventually the child will come back to the table and try it when he or she gets hungry enough.

So what do you think!?  Have you found this to be true with your kids?  Do you cook multiple meals for your kids?  Are you a picky eater?

This is my pin board of kids food: http://www.pinterest.com/maryfromky/eat-kids-food/

Do you have a pin board to share?