The only thing worse than brussel sprouts...

Jake is a good eater.  Actually, Jake is a fantastic eater!  From the time he started solids, I made it my mission to expose him to nutritious foods, hoping to successfully brainwash help him develop a palette for healthy foods.  While I second-guess myself about a lot of mom-related things, I am thankful that Jake & I make a pretty good team when it comes to his nutrition.

In fact, I still try to get myself to eat as well as he does. There were times when he was a toddler when I'd serve him his favorite stir-fry tofu and broccoli for lunch while I maybe had some left-over pasta & called it "mommy's tofu."  When he was about 2 1/2, though, the game was up.  One fateful lunch, when he asked what I was eating, I told him "mommy's tofu" but he pointed his finger of accusation at my plate & told me I in fact had pizza.  The gig was up and I do try to eat better, especially around him.

He has always liked a surprising variety of foods, so it's kind of crazy to me, the one thing he won't eat.

When he turned 1, we gave him some feta cheese and he devoured it, along with the peas.  We also gave him a dill pickle, like a practical joke, but after the initial surprise, he decided he *loved* dill pickles right away (and still does.)

 

 

This kid is always ready for dinner & packs his own entertainment.

 

 

Here he is at 2 with a plate of kale, blueberries, cheese, and pita.  We both love this kind of dinner!

He has always loved broccoli and cauliflower.  Of course, when he was 1 he called them "trees and flowers" so I think he just thought they were fun to eat & had no clue that most kids don't like them.  I still haven't told him.  :)  Here he is at 3 when we met Andy for lunch at Microsoft one day.

 

 

 

Here I washed a couple of bunches of kale so that I could make juice.  Jake kept swiping them out of the sink, even when I asked him to please wait.  He had already eaten an entire plate of kale so I really didn't think he needed the extra pawfuls.  We have a kale plant in the garden from which he steals leaves, even when it's not really ready to give up the outer layer yet.  Andy has some basil plants that Jake begs to eat every day.

Cabbage.  Jake likes.

 

 

Here's one veggie that I still can't love.  I wish I could, but I can't.  For some reason, Brussels sprouts always taste bitter to me.  This weekend, Andy roasted a cookie sheet full of them and Jake & he ate them all, no problem.  When Andy told him they were ready, Jake shouted "yay" and ran down in excitement!  Weird!

 

 

This evening, on the drive home from Snoqualmie Falls, I thought about how thankful I was that not only did Jake love fruit, but that he loves his veggies, too.  One of his favorite comfort foods is even stir-fried tofu, although he also loves it when Andy cooks him steak.  I tried thinking of something that Jake really doesn't like, but couldn't come up with anything.

After helping Jake with his bath, reading him some Mother Goose, and putting him to bed, I went downstairs to tidy up the kitchen.  When I looked at his leftover plate from lunch, I realized that there is one thing that is majorly worse to Jake than broccoli, cabbage, or Brussels sprouts:

 

 

Crusts.