I may have to re-think my entire feeding strategy where Simon is concerned. Thus far I’ve prepared tasty, nutritious food for him and presented it regularly so he will eat a wide variety.
At the baby food stage, I had success. He happily ate yogurt, all fruits, red lentil stew, potatoes and leeks, squash and corn, etc. Then we introduced a bit of finger food with crackers and biscuits, and were also successful.
The next step is getting him onto table food, and here the going has been rougher. Some days he’ll gobble up smoked salmon. Other days not. Some days he’ll eat the broccoli in the macaroni and cheese. Other days he picks it out and tosses it overboard. He rejected my risotto and pasta and squash outright. He’s never eaten an avocado. He doesn’t like tomatoes. Many of the new things I give him to eat become projectiles before they are ever sampled.
Then yesterday at lunch, he eyed me while I was (guiltily) munching on tortilla chips and Mexican eight layer dip. So I gave him some, expecting to see the “how could you do this to me?” face if he actually put any in his mouth and prepared for the cleanup if he tossed it overboard.
Heh. He ate it carefully, then looked around for more. And more. And still more. And finally ended up eating enough to call it ½ lunch. Let’s analyze the ingredients, shall we?
Layer 1: refried beans seasoned with cayenne pepper.
Layer 2: guacamole with garlic and lime juice.
Layer 3: sour cream.
Layer 4: salsa
Layer 5: diced tomatoes.
Layer 6: green onions
Layer 7: black olives
Layer 8: shredded cheese
Later yesterday, as I was preparing dinner, I noticed that Simon had strayed from his toy kitchen and was instead playing in the cats’ bowls. He splashed the water all over the floor and himself, necessitating a pre-dinner change. But more interesting, apropos this discussion, is that I also watched him take a piece of brown kibble out of his mouth and spit it out. The boy tried to eat cat food. Cat food!
So the heck with mildly flavored, organic foods prepared just for him. I’m bringing on the Mexican, the Indian, the Thai etc. Because if he can handle cumin, chile powder, olives, and green onions—and if he’s willing to try cat food—what ever am I holding back for?