Don't try to trick them

by picky eater
(SF, CA, USA)

Worst advice is trying to mask foods, or alter their taste. The idea of introducing new foods or flavors slowly by adding to a favorite dish is the worst advice I can imagine! I hated cooked carrots, so putting them into a stew made the entire stew inedible. Hate any strong flavors, especially hot spices. Paprika, chili powder curry powder and red peppers makes anything inedible. The "plainer" the better. Love cheese and can handle cheese sauces, but that's about it. Prefer salad without dressing, and ONLY butter, never margarine. It's a "texture" thing. If you want to introduce a new food or vegetable, offer it plain with attention to texture. Nothing worse than it being overcooked. My memories are of vegetables were they were either "yellow mush" or green mush, with the mush being squash, or any other veggie cooked to oblivion. Plain corn, plain beans, plain peas are great but mixed together become unpalatable; succotash is nasty. Can handle only "A" vegetables. Avacado, artichoke, and finally asparagus once I had them cooked to a proper texture. Love raw carrots but never cooked, broccoli now raw and can tolerate cooked to be polite, but don't put a brussel sprout in front of me. Cauliflower is a waste of time. Really, what DOES cauliflower taste like?

I believe the root of my food issues was from traveling the world from ages 3-10. Kids need consistency and predictability. We hate expecting a coke only to be given and RC cola. Every country had a different twist on things, so I became a purist. Enjoy fish or meat broiled or over the barbecue, and sans sauces. Hope this helps some of you. Please don't try to sneak a kids least favorite food into their favorite! KEEP THEM SEPARATE and don't make them eat if the food has gotten cold. It will make a bad problem worse!