Maybe it's the word 'pepper.' Maybe it's the seeds inside. Maybe it's the smell. My children have been avoiding peppers forever. My son complains loudly at pickup when his school has served peppers as the snack. My daughter won't eat black beans if she can see peppers inside. But somehow, magically, she suddenly wanted to give peppers a try. It's thanks to Daniel Tiger, a PBS Kids character that my son is wild about. He sings a nifty little song that goes like this: "you've got to try new foods 'cause they might taste good!"
I love that Daniel Tiger. And did you know he's the 21st century version of Mister Rogers? Awesome.
So I bought a rainbow of peppers, sliced them and plated them. My daughter was genuinely excited to try them – I was psyched. My son never wavered from his anti-pepper stance.
Here's the bottom line: my daughter tried all four colored peppers and rejected all of them. I told her that the flavor changes when you cook them, and she's still open minded about that. My son put the tip of his tongue on a red pepper, declared it yucky and excused himself from the table. And my baby? Well, she devoured them. :)
What new foods have you introduced lately?
