French Kids Eat Everything?!

You've probably heard of this book called, French Kids Eat Everything.

Karen LeBillion shares 10 rules that she learned from the French on how to raise happy, healthy eaters.

Although Max is eating plenty, sometimes i feel like im feeding him the same exact thing- or at least same exact ingredients daily because they're reliable aka he will eat them without fuss. 

am i exposing him enough to enough variety? 

if he doesnt like his meal and doesnt eat, do i wait until he does eat it (which could be hours) or prepare what he likes as backup so he gets SOMETHING to eat?

will the above cause him to become a picky eater and not try new foods because he knows mama will not let him starve and give in to what Max really wants?

maybe this is a developmental thing and we should just go with the flow?

Stuff like that floats around in my head y'know just because i can't stand picky eaters, and hell no do i want to raise one. In my childhood, we ate what was on our plate and finish it or id get the "you're lucky you have something to eat, there are kids around the world who have nothing to eat" guilt trip. Honestly it worked, i love food. Though i have my share of likes and dislikes (ie. bittermelon), im willing to try new things, but i hate that guilt trip tactic and dont want to follow the same suit in my household. 

Here are a few rules that resonate for me:

1. Parent's schedule meals and menus

im still on the fence about this because im not going to let Max go hungry if he's not wanting to eat the meal we have cooked. im good with giving him bits and pieces of the foods we have prepared and something he would normally enjoy. at least i know he will eat and have tried something new. Definitely still a work in progress.

2. Eat family meals together

in an ideal world this would be awesome, but as a shift worker this isnt always possible, but we try. i do notice that Max eats the most when he uses his utensils and eats something that resembles what we are eating..thank goodness for multiple days off! with this rule, we have made dinner being the meal we put the most effort in eating together as a family.

3. Eat your veggies

eat veggies as a first meal? that's a cool idea. Max is all about peas, carrots, and corn right now- as in the frozen variety, so im not complaining too much as veg is veg. when he's older, perhaps we can introduce the salad. kids are definitely the hungriest at the start of each meal and of course will eat more of what is in front of them. 

4. you don't have to like it but you do have to taste it

im totally feeling this rule. funny though that we have no problem convincing him to try ice cream and sweets, y'know the good stuff ...but a cauliflower? another story

5. No snacking

love this and have been applying it to Max since solids was initially upgraded from the basic pureed stage. he's definitely not one of those kids who can snack all day and still be eating full meals, he needs to be hungry to be more adventurous

6. eating is joyful

i read this mom's story where she waited for 3 hours for her toddler to finish his meal. like CIO Eating instead of CIO sleeping. super sad and totally not something i would ever do. eating is messy fun, we joke at the table, we have fun plates and utensils, we socialize.  whatever it takes to create the positive environment right?

^^ is that a raised pinky i see as he eats his watermelon?!! ^^

^^ pizza wheel, watermelon, and whole milk! clearly a winner ^^

oh the joys of parenting!