Why So Few Recipes?

I love to cook, and I was very excited when our son started eating solids so we could share our food with him. I had initially planned to post a recipe a week that I found to be particularly successful. Why only two so far? It turns out we have a picky eater.

my lunch box might as well be empty

I have so long avoided using the word "picky," instead using thesaurus companions such as "selective" and "choosy" and even "discerning." But let's not kid ourselves.

It isn't that he won't try new foods or that he won't eat more than a couple types of foods. He has eaten and enjoyed spicy Indian food and rommegrot, a Norwegian sour cream pudding. He's chowed down on beets and lentils, spinach and persimmons. However, many meals for him are a teensy bite of each thing, even when we offer him a variety that includes his favorite foods or things he ate with gusto just the day before.

When he was sick this past week, he mostly refused to eat. It was starting to get distressing. But tonight when I was putting away the groceries, he saw the hummus, and he started smacking his lips. Feeling hopeful, I scooped some into a bowl and took out crackers. He was double-dipping like George Costanza at a buffet. I even gave him seconds.

There are different types of eaters, and there are even different types of picky eaters. Those kids who only eat pasta and Cheerios? At least they are eating. Our little guy is unpredictable, and every meal I hope hope hope that more will end up in his belly than on the floor.