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Pleasing the picky palate
As an infant, my daughter was a champion eater. She gamely tried whatever concoction I placed in front of her. Butternut squash was sucked down in seconds. Mango chunks were eaten with glee. Even peas were tolerated.
But by age 1, my daughter began to turn up her nose at food. We fell into a sad rotation of mac- and-cheese, cheese quesadillas and cheese ravioli. Ketchup was our saving grace.
Thankfully I am not alone in my food battle of wills, as evidenced by Annabel Karmel’s new cookbook, aptly titled The Fussy Eaters’ Recipe Book.
All the recipes I tried were relatively simple. Many dishes have 10 ingredients or less. If your family has wheat allergies, there’s a good gluten-free section. However, if your child detests vegetables, this is probably not the book for you.
I tested out some of the recieps on my own picky eater. Here's how it shook out.
A smoothie move
I serve fruit at every meal. Sometimes it’s eaten and other times it’s fed to Jake, our canine garbage pail. But I’d never made my daughter a smoothie before. This recipe is super simple. Just throw some strawberries, a banana, yogurt, honey and milk in the blender and mix it all together.
Picky eater’s perspective: She slurped the smoothie, smacked her lips and asked for more.
Berry burst
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Makes 1 glass
½ cup fresh or frozen summer berries
1 small banana, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons strawberry yogurt
2 teaspoons honey
¼ cup cold milk
1. If using frozen fruits, leave them to thaw for about 20 minutes. Put the berries, banana, yogurt and honey into a blender and whiz for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth.
2. Add the milk and whiz again until frothy.Pour into a glass to serve.
A sweet treat
Baking with fruit is brilliant. Even my husband, a fervent fruit-hater, likes banana bread. The key to this recipe is making sure the bananas are really ripe and brown. Don’t even think about omitting the crumbly topping — it makes the muffins.
Picky eater’s perspective: Even with a belly full of grilled cheese, she quickly put away a whole muffin.
Jamaican banana muffins
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes 8 muffins
1/3 cup canola oil
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1 medium egg
1 heaping cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons very hot water
½ cup raisins
For topping:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with 8 paper cases.
2. Mix together the oil and sugar. Add the mashed bananas and mix thoroughly. Beat the egg with a fork, add to the banana mixture and mix well.
3. Sift the flours, salt, baking soda and ground cinnamon into a medium bowl. Add the little bits that were sifted out of the whole wheat flour. Add half the flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix well. Add the hot water and mix in thoroughly. Mix in the remaining flour and the raisins.
4. Divide the mixture among the muffin cases.
5. Combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the muffins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the muffins are well risen and spring back gently when you press the tops. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Just add ketchup
This was the one recipe that disappointed me. The teriyaki sauce lacked punch. Next time, I’ll stick with the bottled stuff.
Picky eater’s perspective: She wasn’t very interested until I brought out the ketchup.
Teriyaki beef skewers
Preparation time: 6 minutes (plus at least 1 hour for marinating)
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Makes 4 skewers
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon mirin (a sweet Japanese rice wine)
¼ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 teaspoon canola oil
½ pound top loin, shell steak or other tender steak, fat removed and cut into ½-inch cubes
4 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes
1. To make the teriyaki sauce, put the soy sauce, honey and mirin in a medium pan. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 seconds (or for 1 minute in a small pan). Allow to cool, then stir in the ginger and oils. Toss the cubed beef in a bowl with the marinade (it will be quite sticky) and marinate for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight in the fridge.
2. Preheat the broiler. Remove the meat from the marinade and thread onto the skewers. Place the skewered meat on a baking sheet lined with foil. Baste with some of the marinade left in the bowl and broil for 2 minutes. Turn, baste with the marinade and broil again for 2 minutes. Baste once more with the marinade and juices collecting in the foil and broil 1 minute longer.
3. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Alternatively, you could cook these on a grill pan.
Nobody puts baby in the corner
My daughter scoffs at time outs. She bites. She pinches. Did I mention she's a redhead? Luckily she's cute as a button. Join me as I navigate the joys of toddlerhood!
As an infant, my daughter was a champion eater. She gamely tried whatever concoction I placed in front of her. Butternut squash was sucked down in seconds. Mango chunks were eaten with glee. Even peas were tolerated.
But by age 1, my daughter began to turn up her nose at food. We fell into a sad rotation of mac- and-cheese, cheese quesadillas and cheese ravioli. Ketchup was our saving grace.
Thankfully I am not alone in my food battle of wills, as evidenced by Annabel Karmel’s new cookbook, aptly titled The Fussy Eaters’ Recipe Book.
All the recipes I tried were relatively simple. Many dishes have 10 ingredients or less. If your family has wheat allergies, there’s a good gluten-free section. However, if your child detests vegetables, this is probably not the book for you.
I tested out some of the recieps on my own picky eater. Here's how it shook out.
A smoothie move
I serve fruit at every meal. Sometimes it’s eaten and other times it’s fed to Jake, our canine garbage pail. But I’d never made my daughter a smoothie before. This recipe is super simple. Just throw some strawberries, a banana, yogurt, honey and milk in the blender and mix it all together.
Picky eater’s perspective: She slurped the smoothie, smacked her lips and asked for more.
Berry burst
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Makes 1 glass
½ cup fresh or frozen summer berries
1 small banana, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons strawberry yogurt
2 teaspoons honey
¼ cup cold milk
1. If using frozen fruits, leave them to thaw for about 20 minutes. Put the berries, banana, yogurt and honey into a blender and whiz for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth.
2. Add the milk and whiz again until frothy.Pour into a glass to serve.
A sweet treat
Baking with fruit is brilliant. Even my husband, a fervent fruit-hater, likes banana bread. The key to this recipe is making sure the bananas are really ripe and brown. Don’t even think about omitting the crumbly topping — it makes the muffins.
Picky eater’s perspective: Even with a belly full of grilled cheese, she quickly put away a whole muffin.
Jamaican banana muffins
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes 8 muffins
1/3 cup canola oil
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1 medium egg
1 heaping cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons very hot water
½ cup raisins
For topping:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with 8 paper cases.
2. Mix together the oil and sugar. Add the mashed bananas and mix thoroughly. Beat the egg with a fork, add to the banana mixture and mix well.
3. Sift the flours, salt, baking soda and ground cinnamon into a medium bowl. Add the little bits that were sifted out of the whole wheat flour. Add half the flour mixture to the banana mixture and mix well. Add the hot water and mix in thoroughly. Mix in the remaining flour and the raisins.
4. Divide the mixture among the muffin cases.
5. Combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the muffins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the muffins are well risen and spring back gently when you press the tops. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Just add ketchup
This was the one recipe that disappointed me. The teriyaki sauce lacked punch. Next time, I’ll stick with the bottled stuff.
Picky eater’s perspective: She wasn’t very interested until I brought out the ketchup.
Teriyaki beef skewers
Preparation time: 6 minutes (plus at least 1 hour for marinating)
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Makes 4 skewers
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon mirin (a sweet Japanese rice wine)
¼ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 teaspoon canola oil
½ pound top loin, shell steak or other tender steak, fat removed and cut into ½-inch cubes
4 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes
1. To make the teriyaki sauce, put the soy sauce, honey and mirin in a medium pan. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 seconds (or for 1 minute in a small pan). Allow to cool, then stir in the ginger and oils. Toss the cubed beef in a bowl with the marinade (it will be quite sticky) and marinate for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight in the fridge.
2. Preheat the broiler. Remove the meat from the marinade and thread onto the skewers. Place the skewered meat on a baking sheet lined with foil. Baste with some of the marinade left in the bowl and broil for 2 minutes. Turn, baste with the marinade and broil again for 2 minutes. Baste once more with the marinade and juices collecting in the foil and broil 1 minute longer.
3. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Alternatively, you could cook these on a grill pan.
Nobody puts baby in the corner
My daughter scoffs at time outs. She bites. She pinches. Did I mention she's a redhead? Luckily she's cute as a button. Join me as I navigate the joys of toddlerhood!
Comments
I remember when my champion eater became persnickety. He was about 2. So one day I tried to make a stealthy milkshake with veggies ground up in it. I suppose I put too much greenery in it, and the milkshake was a familiar shade of poop green, it smelled, and it tasted awful. Hayden, of course didn't like it one bit. This was his first taste of any kind of milkshake whatsoever, so he automatically thought milkshakes were gross. It wasn't until probably a year later that we introduced him to Steak N Shake and he learned what a real milkshake tastes like :) So much for trying to sneak veggies into his diet.
Check out my blog, That's Why We Can't Have Nice Things!
Jennifer! You read my mind... the other night Breleigh ate only shredded cheese for dinner!!! I will definitely try some of these (and probably go buy the book!)... thanks so much!