The Secret Life of Kids: Are Picky Eaters Still Picky When No Grown-up’s Around to See?

Dec 18, 2009 by

I sometimes suspect that kids may be like the white people in Eddie Murphy’s classic Saturday Night Live sketch, “White Like Me.”

Murphy goes undercover, disguising himself as white, and discovers the “truth” about how wonderfully white people treat each other when blacks aren’t around.

White shop keepers are not only suddenly warm and friendly once all blacks leave the premises, but they also give away their wares for free to other whites. A cozy party with champagne for all the whites on board breaks out on the city bus as soon as the last black person gets off.

If we parents could disguise ourselves as kids, might we witness a similarly drastic shift in our youngsters’ attitudes toward all those healthy foods some of them don’t want to eat?

My daughter recently reported that when she took a liver pâté sandwich to school, a group of her…

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Liver and spinach that kids will love: Spinach Crepes Bernoise

Dec 3, 2009 by

Think it’d be nice if you could get your kids to eat liver? or spinach? How about both at once? Here’s an unusual, easy and delicious recipe that my kids have always loved. The key: pretend you have no interest in whether they eat them or not, but enjoy them yourself. Ask very casually if they want to try any. Do not urge them. If they are hungry and you do not press them, they are pretty likely to try it.

Spinach Crepes Bernoise

Spinach crepes:

3 C fresh spinach

3 C milk

2 ¼ C sifted flour (whole grain if desired, or mix of whole and white)

4-5 whole eggs

Pinch of salt (to taste)

Pinch of nutmeg (to taste)

6 T melted butter

(you might want to actually bump this up to 4 c of spinach and milk and so forth. There are never too many crepes. We eat them plain if we run out of filing.)

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