My kids are not adventurous eaters. I’ve had to work hard at introducing new foods. In fact, they were most curious when I first introduced solids, but by 18 months they became highly skeptical of most food. They would glare suspiciously at new things as though a fatal poisoning was about to take place. I would present, they would reject, and so it went. The experts told me to present the same food up to 20 times and not force them to eat it. But I reckon I introduced broccoli about 150 times and it was still rejected!

“Fussy stages” are pretty common amongst toddlers. But now that my eldest is six and my youngest is three, I am fighting back. In my bid to make mealtimes less stressful and more fun, I have adopted a new strategy. And it begins with taking back some control. One thing I’ve learnt is you will never broaden a child’s food horizons by asking them what they want for dinner each night. They need to be encouraged to try different foods, with some real flavor. This might not work with a spicy vindaloo, but consider how many Aussies love vegemite purely because they grew up on it?

While I appreciate that each child is different and entitled to favour some foods over others, I do think kids need to be open to new and exciting flavours. Being a foodie, I want nothing more than my kids to embrace new tastes and be passionate about food. So, in my quest to extend their palates, I have introduced a night dedicated to trying new foods….

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