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Family

Mom shares simple-but-genius hack for getting kids to try new foods and eat their veggies

"They have discovered they love radishes, bell peppers, salami, cheeses, spicy things, sour things…"

Photo by cottonbro studio

Kids can be finicky eaters.

One of the responsibilities of parenting is making sure our kids are fed nutritious foods . Unfortunately, our kids are not always on board with that idea.

Children's finickiness ranges anywhere from will-eat-anything to will-only-eat-chicken-nuggets and everything in between. Picky eating poses a challenge for parents who want their kids to have balanced, nutritional diet, and all too often it turns into a battle of wills. Unfortunately, food battles can create negative associations with eating and mealtimes, which nobody wants. We do want our kids to try new foods and to learn to enjoy healthy eating, however. So how do we do that?

X user Jeff Thompson posed the question : "Kids picky about food…what’s the strategy to get them to try new things?" and people weighed in with their advice. But one response in particular struck a chord both for its simplicity and effectiveness.

Bethany Babcock wrote , "Ok I actually have a great tip for this. Movie nights the kids get a 'snack plate' for dinner. Like a blend of a charcuterie board and veggie and fruit tray. I put all their favorites and sneak in new foods. All arranged super cute."

"It’s the only time I’m full on Pinterest mom," she added.

She explained that the snacking continues as the movie plays and that the dim lights and semi-distracted state leads the kids to try everything that's on their plate. "The new foods go last but eventually everything is gone," Babcock wrote.

She said she gives them dipping sauces like hummus and dressings to dunk their healthy finger foods in. "The key is to put it all one one big board. The kids eat fast trying things because they are afraid someone else will and they will miss out. They have discovered they love radishes, bell peppers, salami, cheeses, spicy things, sour things…" she shared.

Babcock also shared a photo of how she started with the snack plate idea when her kids were toddlers, opening their "boxes" like they were a surprise.

Some people might take issue with the "mindless eating" aspect of munching in front of a movie, but when the munchies are healthy it's a great way to semi-fool kids into trying something they normally might scoff at. According to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, it can take between eight and 15 tries before a child will accept a new food, but parents often give up after a few attempts. The more opportunities you can find to get kids to taste something, the better.

Of course, there are some foods people just don't like regardless of their age, so if a child has tasted something many many times and still doesn't like it, no need to force it. There's a big, wide world of healthy food options out there, and leaning into the variety and the fun of exploring new foods helps kids expand their palate without the battle.

As KidsHealth.org points out, parents are the ones who control the food offerings, so the key is to provide a range of healthy foods in the home and then encourage kids to explore what's offered. If a little dim lighting and movie distraction helps them do that, all the better.

No need to duke it out with kids to get them to eat their veggies or protein or whatever it is you want them to eat. Just keep offering healthy options, make the food attractive, create a relaxed atmosphere around eating and most kids will inevitably come around to trying almost anything you put in front of them.

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Joy

British grandpa blown away when he tries Southern style biscuits and gravy for the first time

What a delightfully heartwarming reaction.

@grandadjoe1933/ TikTok

Ah, biscuits and gravy. the food version of "never judge a book by it's cover. "

If you haven’t stumbled across Grandad Joe ( @grandadjoe1933 ) on TikTok yet, you’re in for a treat. The charming 91-year-old, who lives with his daughter Sasha in the UK, delights over 6 million followers with his infectious joy and enthusiasm—particularly when Sahsa cooks him special meals.

Recently, by “popular request,” Joe got to introduce his taste buds to that deceptively delicious Southern staple: biscuits and gravy.

“Guess what I got for you” Sasha can be heard sing-songing in the clip as she brings a smiling Joe a plate with with a heaping helping of the exotic cuisine.

“It’s from the South, sort of down Texas way, I think. Maybe Alabama,” she explains as Joe readies his napkin.

As she places the plate down, Joe wonders if the biscuits are scones. Which is a fair assumption, since, as we know biscuits in the UK are actually cookies. Whereas scones, while still semi-sweet, appear more like American biscuits.

Of course, Sasha does admit that she did make scones, since “you can’t really get the American biscuits, I don’t think. But I think they’re pretty similar.”

But that hardly seems a problem, judging by the ecstatic look on Joe’s face when Sasha tells him that the gravy includes sausage.

All in all, the video just hits a sweet spot between witnessing an elder display child-like joy, wholesome family bonding, and appreciation of good food. What’s not to like?

Feast your eyes below:

@grandadjoe1933 Here is Grandad Joe reacting to the highly requested American meal of Biscuits and Gravy! Thank you to everyone that recommended it, he absolutely loved it . Please recommend some more recipes for him to try 🙏 #bisuitsandgravy   #grandadjoe   #americanfood   #dadanddaughter   ♬ original sound - Grandadjoe

Needless to say, Joe liked his meal, and his tasting video inspired a few bona fide Southerners to chime in.

“As a southerner (eastern nc) that has introduced this meal to many, I am so happy that grandad Joe likes it so much! ❤️,” one viewer wrote on Reddit .

“This is so funny to me, because I grew up in the south and ate this, as well as, fried chicken biscuit sandwiches for breakfast every morning growing up 😆” another added.

Others felt compelled to share their own personal love for the dish.

“Biscuits and gravy is one of the tastiest and easiest ‘impressive’ comfort foods to make for people. I love making it for people and I love seeing how much they enjoy it. Not great for you, but worth the few extra miles you have to run the next day every time,” one person shared.

“It's one of my fav breakfast foods!!! My lovely wife makes it all the time. She adds a little bit of cayenne pepper to spruce it up just a bit. I'm drooling just thinking about it.” wrote another.

And others still simply shared their love of sweet Grandad Joe. I think this commenter sums up what we’re all feeling:

“May we all live with this much glee and wonder in our everyday lives.”

And by the way, if you’re jonesing to watch more endearing videos of Brits trying American foods, click here , here and here . Bon apetit.

food
Joy

A new trend has Americans going out to dinner earlier than ever before and with good reason

Are we turning into our grandparents?

via Adirienn/Pexels

Two women enjoy a tasty early dinner.

Eating an early dinner has always been a stereotype associated with older, retired people who don't have to worry about work schedules and traffic. Plus, older people tend to have an early-to-bed, early-to-rise schedule and are more concerned about thoroughly digesting their meals before hitting the hay.

But an unexpected change in the great American culture means that older people and Gen Zers are more likely to fight each other for a 5 p.m. reservation at their local diner. A recent story in The Wall Street Journal shows that an increasing number of Americans are going out to dinner earlier.

According to Yelp data cited by the WSJ, restaurants currently seat 10% of diners between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. That number has doubled since 2019 when only 5% of people went to restaurants between those hours. People are also taking Ubers to dinner earlier these days, with a 10% jump in rides between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and a 9% drop in those after 8 p.m.

The trend has also caught on in New York City, which, at one time, was known for being a city that never sleeps. RESY reports that reservations across New York City made at 5:30 p.m. have jumped from 7.75% to 8.31% over the past two years, while 8 p.m. reservations have fallen to 7.8%, down from 8.31%.

So what has happened? Have Americans been so run down by the last few years that they’re now acting like their grandparents? Is it more important to binge TV before bedtime than burn the midnight oil with friends? The Robb Report attributes the change to hybrid work. These days 34% of people work from home most of the time, so they can leave the house a lot earlier than before. Plus, when you’re cooped up in your house all day it’s nice to get out and enjoy a bite to eat as soon as possible.

Broadway has adapted to the new trend by scheduling its performances earlier in the day. Movie theaters accommodate the new early-bird lifestyle by adding more early screenings and canceling those that run late at night.

eating early dinner, American habits, Amer

A group of friends enjoying an early dinner

via Alex Haney/Unsplash

Devorah Lev-Tov from RESY New York applauds the change. “A few years ago, we would’ve joked about dining with all the old folks or being condemned to screaming children. Yet now, 5 or 5:30 p.m. is my preferred time to dine … And I’m not alone,” Lev-Tov writes.

According to research, this new change in the American lifestyle could benefit our collective health.

A study published by Cell Metabolism found that people who eat all their meals within a 10-hour window and finish dinner earlier in the day are less hungry, burn calories faster and have a lower risk for obesity.

This rapid change in America’s dining habits shows how sometimes the things we think are deeply embedded in our culture can easily change overnight. The next question is, will brunch still be brunch when people begin eating it at 7:30 a.m.? Because then it’s just breakfast, and drinking champagne for breakfast feels uncouth. But then again, that could change, too.


This article originally appeared on 7.4.23

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Science

100 years ago, people were eating things that most of us will never taste. So what happened?

Um ... where did all the seeds go?


Time travel back to 1905.

Back in 1905, a book called "The Apples of New York " was published by the New York State Department of Agriculture . It featured hundreds of apple varieties of all shapes, colors, and sizes, including Thomas Jefferson's personal favorite, the Esopus Spitzenburg.






That was 110 years ago, when commercial apple orchards were still pretty rare and when even in the biggest of those orchards, everything was done by hand.

1905, image of an apple orchard in Oregon

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But why is that apple book such a big deal? The book is significant because most of the apples listed in it have all but disappeared in the past century. DISAPPEARED. In fact, we used to have thousands of apple varieties, but most of those have largely vanished due to industrial agriculture. Now, many varieties are only found tucked away in agricultural research centers and preservationist orchards.

Fact: Today, the 15 most popular apple varieties account for 90% of all apple sales in the U.S. The most commonly sold apple? Red delicious.

2015 looks so different.

The fate of all those apple varieties is not uncommon. "In the last century, nearly 75% of our agricultural crops have disappeared. They're simply gone. Today, farmers primarily grow 12 crops. And of these, we mainly eat potatoes, rice, corn, and wheat."

So what gives? Why the huge shift? In part, the shift has a lot to do with seed regulation. Back in the day, farmers would save seeds from year to year and share them with friends and neighbors. But nowadays, most seed production is controlled by big companies — and those companies patent their seeds , prohibiting things like seed saving or sharing.

So what do we do now?

Not all hope is lost (yay!) . It may be an uphill battle, but there are lots of small farmers working to preserve the freedom to freely share and use seeds. People store thousands of seeds from all around the world in buildings called seed banks, and trade with other farmers at seed swaps.

"They're preserving culture and biodiversity, one seed, one plant, and one person at a time." How 'bout them apples? (No, really, I bet those antique apples they're swappin' are ridiculously tasty.)

To check out the full story from The Lexicon of Sustainability, watch the video below:


This article originally appeared on August 14, 2016

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