Some kids are picky eaters and some of them come up with creative ways to get rid of foods they have an aversion to.
When I was care giver for two of my grandkids, I tried to stay a step ahead of them, but it wasn’t always easy. George usually came over to help out with mealtime. One day when Grasshopper was four years old, Gramps wouldn’t let him have one of Mommy’s homemade cookies until he cleaned his plate.
Gramps wasn’t paying attention that day, and soon enough, Grasshopper’s plate was empty, so he got a cookie.
As it turned out, Grasshopper pulled a fast one on Gramps that time. When I cleared the table, I discovered a surprise in his cup: the rest of Grasshopper’s chicken and probably all the kidney beans, too. Not his favorite!
Here are some other funny food memories some friends shared with me:
Paul Kyle:
“My brother used to hide peas in his milk. They stuck out like a sore thumb in the clear glass.”
Anthony V. Toscano
Anthony remembers this from when he was four years old: “I used to store my mushy cereal inside my cheeks, hamster style; then slow-walk to our half basement and bury the gooey stash in the gravelly soil. I hated the texture of mushy cereal. Still do.”
Melissa Lewicki:
“My little sister hid her deviled egg sandwich in the center, lidded bowl in the Lazy Susan. After a few days the smell was dreadful. Mom never figured out where the smell had come from until we moved six months later and she found that petrified sandwich when packing up the Lazy Susan.”
Thanks for the chuckles, Paul, Anthony, and Melissa. I got a big kick out of your stories.
What are your thoughts? Do you have a similar picky-eater story to share? Do you have a food you have an aversion to?
I’d love to hear from you!
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I just let it sit there. No way was I ever eating another Brussel’s Sprout. I did try giving it to the dog, but even he didn’t want to eat them.
That’s hilarious, Alex, that even the dog didn’t want it! I’m not a big fan of Brussel’s Sprout either, but I guess they packed with lots of nutrients. Oh well!
LOL – my brother was the picky eater in our family, but he stuck to the old classic, sneak it to the dog. Me, I don’t like celery, but luckily I was never forced to eat it!
Isn’t that something that celery is the food you don’t like? Good thing it’s easy to avoid. What a crackup that your brother the dog anything he didn’t like. I wonder how parents don’t notice when kids do that? Our dog was never near the dinner table, so I wasn’t able to pull that trick!
Lynn, our mom made two foods that were horrible, and I refused to eat them. I chose to go to bed hungry rather than eat that mushy ick. Do you remember: tuna casserole and canadles? Canadles, if I’m spelling right, is a German dumpling dish and really it should have stayed in Germany. I had no way of sneaking this food away from me, because there were cameras on me. haha
I sure do remember Mom’s tuna noodle bake. That’s what we called it, and I don’t remember hating it or loving it. I ate it. I did like canadles, or is it canadels? I even made it after George and I were married a couple times. They’re a lot of work, so I gave up on them and George wasn’t crazy about them, but I don’t remember you hating them. Isn’t that something that you would go to bed hungry rather than eat those foods? Too bad about the camera! Hahahaha! Too bad the dog was never near the table when we were eating! I hated liver. One time Mom told us it was steak, just to get us to eat it, and I remember chewing it very slowly and thinking it was the worst steak in the world!
Thanks for leaving your comment and sharing memories!
Atleast we were fed, right? And mom always made things from scratch, so I should probably be thankful, even for the icky meals!
Yep, at least we were fed. I know Mom stretched every dollar and she did cook from scratch. Her spaghetti sauce was always the best, and she knew none of us would eat the tomato chunks so she quit putting them in the sauce. I think maybe she used the blender? We always picked the chunks of tomatoes out of the sauce. Bleck! Haha!
Well, I was fortunate, because my dad would help me “clean my plate.” Sometimes he’d sit at the dinner table with me (I wasn’t allow to leave until my plate was clean) and when my mom would get up to go to the kitchen he’d swipe stuff off my plate and eat it. I guess he wasn’t too concerned about my health or proper growth. I remember one time he stuffed half of a baked potato into his mouth. I though he was going to choke. But, when mom returned to the table, she didn’t question it, just let me be excused.
Although, in hindsight, I think she probably knew. Mom’s have superpowers like that.
And that’s why little girls love their daddies so much.
Thanks for the fun post.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
Your dad is a hero, Patricia! I laughed and smiled the whole time I was reading your comment. Yes, that’s why little girls love their daddies so much. Thanks for sharing your special memories.
My mother cooked seldom and when she did, her two favourite dishes were toad in the hole and kedgeree. At least the first had sausages but too few and a lot of doughy stuff with it, while the kedgeree was so gross all of us kids hated it. Even the smell of it cooking was a stomach turner. Unfortunately, the rule was we couldn’t leave the table till our plates were cleared. I remember one night sitting at the table for hours staring at broccoli and eventually, in the end, I had to eat it to be able to leave!
Wow, Yvette, I’ve never heard of toad in the hole or kedgeree. I’m wondering if “toad” was an actual ingredient, but I’m guessing that’s just the name of the recipe. Isn’t that awful that you couldn’t leave the table until you ate everything? Amazing more of us aren’t traumatized by things like this from our childhood! LOL! I didn’t like broccoli either, and I remember one time when we lived with my grandfather, I didn’t eat my peas, and I was left all alone at the table, not allowed to leave until they were gone. It seemed like hours, but I’m sure it was closer to a half hour in reality, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat those peas, which were cold by then. My mom didn’t make me eat them and I was able to carry on with regular life, but if I had to deal with that every day as a kid, wow, I wonder how neurotic I would have turned out! Haha! I admire how you were able to eat those foods you hated. Such a brave, wise child!
I like Patricia’s dad, too….and I smiled, too, when reading what she wrote. And I am going to bet her mom knew what was going on, so really, they are both hero’s!
I know, huh? Such a sweet story.
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