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their palates and ultimately aid them in becoming well-rounded citizens of the world. Ok, maybe this is stretching it a little but I don’t think so. ere’s a direct correlation between a good diet and genius. Just take a look at this list of famous veggie lovers:
1. Benjamin Franklin
2. Mohandas Gandhi
3. Coretta Scott King
4. omas Alva Edison
5. Albert Einstein
6. Jane Goodall, PhD
7. Steve Jobs
8. George Bernard Shaw
9. Leo Tolstoy
10. Leonardo da Vinci
11. Franz Kafka
12. Paul McCartney
13. Cesar Chávez
14. Rosa Parks
15. Fred Rogers (“Mister Rogers”) – my hero
In order to raise good eaters, we have to start with our own baggage, and come to terms with any pre-conceived notions we may have. No vegetable should make people cry. And no in uential people, including a former president, should be popularized for inane comments about things like broccoli. Veggie haters need to kindly pound sand and stay out of your way because your mission is to get the good stu into their mouths and help them thrive. If you’re saying to yourself right now, good luck, you don’t know my kids. Oh hell yes I do.
“Children have the ability to express their disdain for foods at a very early age and they show it by spitting it out, throwing it across the room and painting the walls, the carpet and the walls with it.”
My son was a phenomenal eater as a baby. He’d slurp up his sweet potatoes and pound his peas. Apples were his favorite and he’d down the pureed pears and plums like a champ. I’d mix them with bananas, wheat cereal and even a little in his milk. When he turned 2, things
Chart of most nutrient dense foods, Dr. Joel Fuhrman
got a little more challenging. Children have the ability to express their disdain for foods at a very early age and they show it by spitting it out, throwing it across the room and painting the walls, the carpet and the walls with it. at was my son. Anything green ew from his mouth in a projectile explosion that left us both crying. I could’ve taken that rejection and appeased him with something sweet. I kept trying. Now, my son is my little chef in the kitchen and loves to be part of the process – and eats a good variety of veggies but it’s taken years of work. Taste buds are like muscles. ey need to be conditioned, tested and strengthened so that they can take on new avors. Studies show that it can take up to 20 times of trying a food before a child has truly developed a taste for it but it requires some creativity and patience as parents instead of the easy, fast food route or tap out.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your child left to their own devices will likely not have the brain capacity to pick what’s best for them. You’re in control and the ultimate decision maker. You have to be their ‘frontal lobe’ as America’s favorite brain doctor and child psychologist Dr. Daniel Amen says.
Why we slip down the rainbow
Most babies experience a variety of fruits and vegetables as some of their earliest food experiences. When our little ones start making the transition to solid food, they start with fruit and veggies – peas, carrots, spinach, green beans, you name it. Yet, somehow, from that point until they reach children’s menu age, the color fades from the plate like a person about to faint. From a palette of
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