Sweet Elise

I think I remember the exact moment that Elise turned into a picky eater. Or at least, the moment when I realized she was doomed.

It was a typical mother-of-two instance, when, desperate for a snack that might actually satisfy both girls in body and in spirit, I reached for a large box of Multi-Grain Cheerios I was looking to clear out before our move. As they were stale, and I am human, I fed them to my children (who theoretically shouldn't care about stale food since they should be too young to know the difference, and besides, I would hate for them to be as picky as I was as a kid) instead of dutifully downing them myself.

They both loved the little O's, as I figured they would--gorging themselves and asking for more as I congratulated myself on a win-win-win situation. I went so far as to give the box a permanent place on our kitchen table for a few days, replacing the cheery yellow box of plain Cheerios.



A particularly delicious meal
a few months ago, when
Elise would both eat anything
and smear anything on her
face. (She still smears.)



That is, until I scrutinized the nutrition information (undoubtedly looking for more reasons to congratulate myself, such as a particularly high protein or iron content). Six grams of sugar in one serving?!? Surely not! In a perfectionist-mommy horror-movie scenario, I dove for the multi-grain box and whisked it away, hiding it in the pantry once more and hoping against hope that out of sight would, indeed, mean out of mind.

With great remorse, I reflected that what should've been a special treat for Kalina (as is anything with more than a couple grams of sugar) I'd given by the handful to my poor baby! My dreams of feeding the baby broccoli for breakfast and snacks, as I'd been able to with Kalina, shattered in front of my eyes. Stakes were now raised. Everything must taste as good as Multi-Grain Cheerios from now on.
Overdramatic? Probably. Silly? Most definitely. Wrong? Seemingly not. Elise's tastebuds have tasted sugar--more than the one gram found in Cheerios, anyway--and apparently are ruined for life. Understandably, the only thing that can compare is a nice, juicy, ripe, peeled and chopped soft fruit.
Before this incident, it seemed that my only problem at feeding times was that I couldn't shovel the food in fast enough. The baby probably would've eaten all day long if I'd had the time/patience.

Now, every bite is met with suspicion and all-too-keen discernment. Is this a fruit or veggie I particularly enjoy, or will I get something better if I spit it out? What's the sweetness ratio? And most of all, is Mommy trying to hide broccoli in it? [Side note: why is this healthiest of vegetables also one of the strongest tasting?] Entire bowls of carefully prepared purees are rejected and even finger foods are raged at if they're not juicy and sweet. And sometimes, even them.

"I've tasted a little bit of heaven," my baby informs me. "And I will no longer stand for anything less." I have only given her the good stuff once, by the way, since the original spree, and in its absence, Elise demands fruit.

This is all complicated by the slow, painful emergence of Tooth #1. Heaven forbid Elise ever grow molars. What's more, Elise often seems to prefer to fill up on water than on food. This light fare is hardly conducive to sleeping through the night (nor is teething).

Not that it's bad to be a fruititarian, and especially in the summer when I can buy all manner of berries, mangoes, apricots, plums, etc., without leaving an arm and a leg behind in the grocery store (both of which I desperately need these days). It's just that occasionally babies need things like protein and iron to grow. Plus, Big Sister is boycotting almost all fruit, especially fresh, so this means I'm constantly making two completely different meals whenever it's time to eat. Both will happily devour cherries, which take forever to pit and turn my fingers purple for days. But I digress.

My predicament has forced me to be more creative with what I serve. Will Elise eat chicken if it's mixed in with twice as much applesauce? Sure: a few bites. How about blackberries mixed with yogurt? Sure: a few bites. A Gerber jar of squash? Absolutely! Mommy's cooked and pureed green beans? Not so much.

Anything Elise rejects, by the way, gets frantically waved away by both arms, so that trying to shovel the food into her mouth creates a scenario somewhat reminiscent of the windmill hole of a mini-golf course. Entire spoonfulls of food are occasionally grabbed, with the contents flung across the room.

But while we'll likely have problems in the candy aisle of the grocery store and may need to scrub Elise's teeth extra well as she gets older, there are worse things than enjoying sweets. After all, in Elise's case, there's no doubt she is what she eats.