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I think that generally, in this country we do a very bad job of cooking vegetables. And, I think that we just generally expect that kids don't like vegetables. I grew up eating a Mediterranean diet. My grandparents and most of my neighbors were Italian immigrants. We lived in a part of NJ where you could grow just about anything. We had lots of fresh vegetables, lots of fish, and my grandmother made all of her pasta by hand with a combination of white flour and semolina. I don't think any vegetable was cooked longer than a minute or two, and there were always piles of vegetables at every meal. It was just part of the diet.
I have a Korean foster son, and he enjoys things like smoked squid legs and seaweed. It's just the normal diet for his culture. Kids in other countries eat all sorts of things that Americans consider ghastly. So, really, I think it's more just our culture. Americans tend to give kids more bland, smooth foods for a longer time, and then later, the fast food, high-sugar, high-fat culture kicks in. It's just so bad for all of us. I remember thinking that roasted peppers were the best thing in the world, and I clearly remember eating them for lunch when I was too young to go to school. I don't think you'd find too many American parents who'd consider roasted peppers toddler food! LOL
That's my theory, anyway. |
I think we expect that kids won't like veggies, and .... - sm
