Studies Have Shown...

As a dietitian, it is really hard for me to admit this. But I am having a very difficult time keeping my cool when Caroline doesn't want to eat. Caroline is now 19 months (tomorrow!) and even though I have been warned many times that she might develop picky eating habits soon, I never believed it. What? My daughter? A picky eater? No, it won't happen to me. It can't happen to me. I introduced spinach and carrots to Caroline when she was still floating around in my uterus. And studies have shown...It's not that she doesn't like the food (though admittedly sometimes she isn't crazy about it). It's just that she would rather pull her socks off, put her tiny size 4 feet on the dinner table, and count to 9 (one, two, two, four, one, nine) on her fingers. And when I offer her quiche (which I thought was one of her favorite foods), she screams, NO! My sister Sophie said that as long as Caroline gets enough food throughout the day, refusing to eat at some meals is not that big of a deal...and that I should be happy that Caroline is becoming a little independent person. I know she is right and in fact, studies have shown...Somehow, all those studies I've read seem to have little meaning after I've taken off my "dietitian" hat and put on my "real mom with real challenges" hat.

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, February 28: Breakfast - blueberry muffin, pearsauce; Lunch - BBQ chicken (Creswick Farms), mashed potatoes, lettuce, blueberries (frozen, Walton Orchards); Snacks - hummus, whole grain Melba toast, broccoli

Childcare Center Menu, February 28: applesauce, blueberry muffin; Lunch - BBQ chicken, lettuce, honeydew, mashed potatoes; Snacks - graham crackers