Food Adventure – Kumquats
15.15.13
Thursday in our house is a day that I like to get the kids to try a new food they might normally avoid. In order to make it sound less intimidating we call it, ‘food adventure day’ and I let Annie pick the food.
I love being able to go to Wholefoods for Food Adventure Day. They lay out their fruit and veg in such an appealing fashion that it’s hard to get Annie to settle on just one item. Also they have a good range of ‘weird things’ that I don’t normally see in Asda.
I always make sure I point out that pirates wouldn’t have been able to eat sandwiches or pasta when they landed on a new island, they’d have to try the local fruit and vegetables, just like on food adventure day, and if it’s good enough for a pirate, it’s normally good enough for Annie.
This week Annie picked kumquats. I love them and their contrasting flavours, my parents had a little kumquat tree when I lived at home and I was a bit gutted that it only bore fruit the once.
I made sure to cut them open so Annie could see what they looked like and we could talk about what type of fruit they were. She examined a seed and looked at the different chambers inside the kumquat and we talked about why we thought you could eat a kumquat skin but not an orange skin. Annie’s theory? ‘Orange skins taste gross probably’!
Then it was time to taste…
Ez was slightly less horrified by the taste, but not much! He obviously didn’t like it, but he tried it again and again before eventually spitting it out and handing it to me.
Just in case the kiddo’s reactions left you in any doubt as to their opinions on kumquats…it’s a big thumbs down from Annie!
Annie can be quite neophobic so I like to encourage her to push her boundaries and this is a great way of doing just that. She is learning that it’s fun to try new foods and I’m so proud of her for stepping outside her comfort zone, even if she doesn’t end up liking the thing she tried.
How do you get your kiddos to try new foods?
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Carin says:
February 15th, 2013 at 10:21 am
Ok, I’m just so inspired by this. My girl is a bit fussy and not too fond of trying new things either (unlike her brother who’ll try everything once), so this would be perfect for us. I do try to make them try a bite of everything I make, whether she’s gotten it into her head she doesn’t like it or not, but had not thought to do this. We’re surrounded by Asian shops too, which means we have lots of unusual (for us anyway) foods to try. Great idea Em!
Emma says:
February 15th, 2013 at 2:04 pm
I love the looks on their faces! It’s great you’ve got them to try new stuff though…more than I manage to do myself. Still so many fruits and veg I’ve never tried because they look horrible :-)
Em says:
February 16th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Thanks and good luck Carin. We use the, ‘try just one bite’ routine too but you know how tricky that can be with a stubborn kiddo who’s made up their mind that they won’t like it! We also read Green Eggs and Ham and I get to remind her that the character in that didn’t think he’d enjoy the green eggs and ham but when he tried it it turns out they were delicious.
Cheers Emma, I’m intrigued by all the odd looking fruit and veg and so is Annie, I need to tap into that excitement before she gets too old and jaded ;-)
Emma (My Little 3 and Me) says:
February 16th, 2013 at 9:23 pm
A weekly new taste adventure is such a great idea. My boys are great at trying new foods but they often don’t like them so I end up forgetting to keep introducing them. This is a great idea. Love your photos too.(I’m in love with my 50mm as well, my fourth baby tee hee- I saw your twitter profile.)
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Em says:
February 25th, 2013 at 1:12 pm
Thanks Emma, we missed last weeks food adventure because of my bad back and Annie was not happy about it! And I totally agree with your 50mm comment too, she’s a great lens :)
Belle says:
March 5th, 2013 at 12:14 pm
Watching little ones try new food is always awesome. I love the faces they make. I’ve never had a kumquat before and I must say that your kids’ reactions are not encouraging. This is a fantastic idea, though, and I’m all for going on taste adventures with my kiddos!