Mission: Make my son an omnivore.

As I was pregnant and fantasizing about the qualities of my yet-to-be-born son, the idea that my son will be a foodie like me and pretty much like everything crossed my mind. Fast forward a few months, I was so proud of my son when he would eat zucchini cubes, saag paneer, and even brussel sprouts. Brussel sprouts (just in case you missed it the first time). Well, this kid has actually become quite the picky eater:
1. He will only eat meat if it's off of the bone.
2. He will not eat twisty pasta. Any other shapes and textures are fine, just not twists.
3. He does not like anything green. He will spit it out. He must have chlorophyll detectors in his mouth or something.

On the plus side, he loves corn and will eat sweet potatoes and avocado. String cheese is also always a safe bet.

For the past few months, to get veggies into his diet, I will puree veggies that he doesn't like and add that to a sauce. I've added spinach to smoothies. I've baked low-sugar cupcakes laced with carrots and zucchini. But recent traveling has made me realize that he needs to get used to eating veggies as they are. So for the next few days, weeks, months, or maybe even years, I'm going to embark upon a mission: to get Nathan to eat more veggies (the green ones in particular).

After doing some research on the internet, I've come across these interesting facts about toddlers and food:

1. Toddlers like to have their food spread out around the edge of their plates, separated, instead of mixed together in the middle. (This makes sense because Nathan always deconstructs his sandwiches)
2. Toddlers like to dip their foods. (Nathan has just discovered this recently.)
3. It typically take 5-6 exposures to a particular food for a toddler to like it. 
4. Toddlers prefer steamed veggies to raw veggies. 

So with this new slew of information I have come up with a plan to introduce a few veggies to Nathan each day, with a different focus on top of that.

Day 1
Goal: Create positive associations with veggies.
Menu: Steamed carrots and broccoli
Dips: Peppercorn yogurt dressing/ketchup
Methodology: To create a desire, we started eating the veggies. Dipping and saying "Mmm" after each bite. Soon, Nathan showed interest and pointed at his plate of veggies. To model, I dipped my broccoli into his dressing and ate it. He soon followed and mimicked my movements. To praise and encourage, after he put the food into his mouth, regardless of whether or not it stayed in there, we cheered. After about 10 minutes, 50% of his veggies (of a plate of 3 carrot sticks and 5 spears of broccoli) were put in or near the vicinity of his mouth. 2% probably made it into his stomach. Victory? I'd say so. He actually tried the food, spit it out, and tried it multiple times afterwards. He was happy at the end of the training session and so far, no negativity is associated with veggies.

I have a whole variety of veggies in the fridge. Bring it!