By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist
Getting kids to try new foods can be, in a word – challenging. From “eww”, “no way”, or just simply flinging the undesired food from their plate – kids find a variety of ways to protest palette expansion. Some little ones are just picky eaters, while others, with help of persistent parents, do come around eventually and try new foods. What about eating octopus? While parents may resound with their own “no way”, Nancy Tringali Piho has a different story.
As recently reported on TODAY, Nancy’s 2 year old son reached over and helped himself to some octopus off a ceviche platter while on a family vacation in Miami. In fact, Nancy explained, he couldn’t get enough of it garnering the attention of several diners in the restaurant. This very incident prompted the title of Piho’s new book “My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children who Love to Eat Everything”.
Piho joins the ranks of several culinary authors of recent books sharing tips and stories for foodie parents hoping 
to share the food they love with the children they love. Just because a restaurant has a kids’ menu doesn’t mean parents need to order from it, explains Hugh Garvey feature editor of Bon Appétit magazine and co-author of “ Gastrokid Cookbook: Feeding a Foodie Family in a Fast Food World”. In fact, claims Garvey, his 5 year old son and 8 year old daughter enjoy anchovy and olive pizza, artisanal cheese, and even bear meat.
Garvey, along with the other author of Gastrokid Cookbook Matthew Yeomans say don’t “cook down” to your kids otherwise you create a bias for them hindering their willingness for culinary adventuring. Feeling like the world was becoming one giant chicken nugget, author of “Too Many Cooks: Kitchen Adventures with 1 Mom, 4 Kids, and 102 Recipes” Emily Franklin says she does not make separate meals for her kids encouraging them to try new things.
It is not just sophisticated palates for their children these authors seek, but also being able to bond over delicious meals with loved ones – a ritual even more poignant for a chef or true lover of food. These authors are among many in a movement to take the fear out of getting kids to try new foods by revamping the old pizza and chicken nugget routine. Ellyn Satter, a pioneer of the concepts of feeding relationships between parents, children, and food explains it best: the parent is responsible for the what, and the child is responsible for the how much. Next time you make your favorite meal for dinner, make it for the whole family as you might be pleasantly surprised.
By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist
Getting kids to try new foods can be, in a word – challenging. From “eww”, “no way”, or just simply flinging the undesired food from their plate – kids find a variety of ways to protest palette expansion. Some little ones are just picky eaters, while others, with help of persistent parents, do come around eventually and try new foods. What about eating octopus? While parents may resound with their own “no way”, Nancy Tringali Piho has a different story.
As recently reported on TODAY, Nancy’s 2 year old son reached over and helped himself to some octopus off a ceviche platter while on a family vacation in Miami. In fact, Nancy explained, he couldn’t get enough of it garnering the attention of several diners in the restaurant. This very incident prompted the title of Piho’s new book “My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus: Raising Children who Love to Eat Everything”.
Piho joins the ranks of several culinary authors of recent books sharing tips and stories for foodie parents hoping
to share the food they love with the children they love. Just because a restaurant has a kids’ menu doesn’t mean parents need to order from it, explains Hugh Garvey feature editor of Bon Appétit magazine and co-author of “ Gastrokid Cookbook: Feeding a Foodie Family in a Fast Food World”. In fact, claims Garvey, his 5 year old son and 8 year old daughter enjoy anchovy and olive pizza, artisanal cheese, and even bear meat.
Garvey, along with the other author of Gastrokid Cookbook Matthew Yeomans say don’t “cook down” to your kids otherwise you create a bias for them hindering their willingness for culinary adventuring. Feeling like the world was becoming one giant chicken nugget, author of “Too Many Cooks: Kitchen Adventures with 1 Mom, 4 Kids, and 102 Recipes” Emily Franklin says she does not make separate meals for her kids encouraging them to try new things.
It is not just sophisticated palates for their children these authors seek, but also being able to bond over delicious meals with loved ones – a ritual even more poignant for a chef or true lover of food. These authors are among many in a movement to take the fear out of getting kids to try new foods by revamping the old pizza and chicken nugget routine. Ellyn Satter, a pioneer of the concepts of feeding relationships between parents, children, and food explains it best: the parent is responsible for the what, and the child is responsible for the how much. Next time you make your favorite meal for dinner, make it for the whole family as you might be pleasantly surprised.