Shaping the Palate

I recently heard a radio segment on NPR about latest research showing that a pregnant woman's choice of foods during pregnancy may shape a baby's food preferences later in life. I have to say - I tried that and it didn't work for me. When I was pregnant with Scarlett, I wanted to make sure that my child grows up to have a diverse palate like my husband and I. I didn't want my child to be the stereotypical American that would only eat meat and potatoes and spaghetti. So I ate like I normally would: Indian food with a lot of different spices, Chinese food (of course), Mediterranean food, spicy Thai food, Moroccan food, etc. I did the same when I was breastfeeding, thinking that she would taste all the different flavors that I've been enjoying. No such luck! Not only did she not develop a diverse palate, she is a very picky eater. The first three years of her life, she was pretty much a starch-a-tarian. She ate many fruits, just about no vegetables, bread, noodles, and crackers. It wasn't until this past year that we've discovered her picky but discerning palate for expensive food. She normally doesn't eat meat. She just doesn't like the texture/chewiness of them. Rarely, I can get her to eat some meatballs or chicken or ham. She doesn't even like cheese sticks, one of the staples of kids cuisine. Then we found out that she likes strong/expensive cheese: blue cheese, gorgonzola, french cheeses, just don't offer her cheddar or mozzarella. A couple of weeks ago, my husband bought one aged, T-bone steak for the two of us to share in celebration of his transition from his old job to working at Apple. That one steak was somewhere in the neighborhood of $30. Scarlett wanted to try it. So we thought, sure! Well, she loved it. Ate 5-10 bites. So we told her that she better marry a rich person!