I didn't like meat very much when I was younger, but a lot of that was because it was too much work. I definitely didn't like hamburgers and I know that the few times we went to McDonald's I got a filet-o'-fish. I love (good) hamburgers now.

Was it here that there was a link about kids and foods that explained that bitter was the last taste that one develops? So there is actually a reason kids often don't like certain vegetables.

"It's fuzzy puppy cuddle time, motherfuckers!"

I need this shirt. I'm also liking Jilli's idea of wearing it with a victorian jacket and petticoated skirt.

The thought of wearing it to the school and showing it to Draconian Dictator and seeing his expression also makes me so happy.

Was it here that there was a link about kids and foods that explained that bitter was the last taste that one develops? So there is actually a reason kids often don't like certain vegetables.

I don't remember seeing a specific article linked here, but I've definitely read that taste preferences for bitter and sour mostly don't develop until later in life (puberty?), so kids refusing green veggies are similar in reasonability to supertasters doing so - the broccoli really does taste that much worse to them than it does to the rest of us.. And it kind of makes sense from an evolutionary perspective - bitter and sour are flavors that plants use to tell animals not to eat them, and younger animals have more reason to avoid being poisoned than older ones.

Dylan's food options are currently limited to things that can be eaten with no teeth, but he LOVES hamburger buns with Gerber spinach puree on them. Not quite as much as he loves mangoes, but if I feed him the spinach-bread first I get to feel good about feeding him something green.

I'd heard it works differently-- that kids have a lot of taste buds like supertasters do. And we all lose taste buds as we grow, which may be the reason we develop tastes for things that would be too much or too bitter when we had more taste buds (like scotch, say).

Emmett's palate is slowly expanding - sometimes under duress. It was a huge deal to get him to eat a salad last week since he's violently anti vegetable.

He preferred hot dogs to hamburgers until fairly recently. He will eat a burrito if it is: grilled chicken, rice, cheese. No beans, no salsa, no guacamole. And I am find with feeding him that as it is relatively healthy.

We wind up eating a lot of ravioli and torellini because it's the only thing I can make that everybody in the family will eat.

Matilda's still pretty adventurous in her eating, but that often wears off in toddlerhood.

Hec,

Are you still working near me?

Are you still working near me?

Not at the moment. Though that means I'm free to roam all over the place and could just as easily meet you downtown for something.

But if you're wanting to drop off French couture for Matilda you just might have to see her in person.

Also: I was in North Beach yesterday and decided that you, me, Juliana, Matilda and JZ need to go to this place called Melt. Traditional Fondue! (Also Welsh Rarebit) It looks super Neuchfatel.

I do remember brocolli and baked or mashed potatoes tasting awful when I was a kid. While I'll cop to having been a picky eater, those things specifically changed flavors when I hit my late teens and became favorite vegetables. Yellow squash and asparagus became tolerable too, though I still wouldn't sit down to a full plate of them like I would the former two.

I wonder how much childhood finickyness was due to texture issues, as a lot of the things my mom fixes to this day are odd consistencies and textures compared to what you'd get in a restaurant. Though that difference is a plus with foods that improve with overcooking like ham, meat loaf, and okra. (And I myself have never gotten the knack of cooking hamburgers or cornbread like she does, despite having been taught by her and performing every step in exactly the same fashion.)

ION...This past weekend I got to see my "baby" bother! I hadn't seen him or his wife since Jan 2007 as they are presently living in Edinburgh while John is working on his PhD at New College. I miss them so much and am so jealous that they've been living over there.

The big news is my s-i-l is expecting their first baby in September! (of course it will be at the same time John's dissertation is due) Right now Angela is in the 24/7 sickness stage. We are all hoping that gets better for her, soon.

So, it looks like they will be extended their stay in Scotland by at least 3 months. They figure taking advantage of the health care offered there (especially since Angela works at the Royal Infirmary in Radiology) is also to their advantage. By January 2009 they hope to be ready to return to the states and John will start working.

D drinks canned carrot juice. No, not carrot juice that comes in a can, but the juice from canned carrots. And green beans.

I can't STAND canned carrots and beans, and the juice?! Forget it! So gross.

He's an odd child.

He'll try just about anything (like his dad, not his uber-picky mom.) Before he had much in the way of solids, when he was barely crawling, he discovered salsa unattended. HUGE hit. He'd dip handfuls out and shove it in his mouth. And it was the hot kind!

He even tried crocodile (alligator?) at the meat'n'three my brother loves.

Sushi, however is a no go. He ordered it once, insistently. After one bite, he rejected it. My brother told him he orders, he eats. So he did. And it all came back up 10 minutes later. So my brother now has had to revise the eating out rules.