I've always asked my kids & grands to try new things. Like you guys, they know if they really don't like it, they don't have to finish it. I love fresh asparagus, and eat it almost every day during it's short "low priced" season. My youngest grand was born after I retired, so she has spent a lot of time with me. I was fixing some once when she was there, and gave her a little to try (she was about 3) and loved it. She's 7 now and asks for it every time she's here. She doesn't quite get it that I can't afford it sometimes. Anyhow, when you expose them to it without judgement, you get surpised sometimes. I have only a couple of veggies that I really don't like (brussel sprouts & lima beans), but I usually revisit them at least once a year to see if that has changed. So far it hasn't.

Revisiting? I like that. When I was a kid, I HATED beets. Mom's rule on beets was we had to eat once slice, if they were served. So usually, my brother and I would take the smallest slice we could find (sometimes I'm sure it drove our parents nuts, as we sifted through the bowl with the serving spoon seeking out the smallest slice possible). Then, we'd try to hold our breat as we chewed and swallowed REALLY quickly and follow it quickly with something to cover the taste.

In my mid-twenties at a family garage sale, we had ordered greek salads that was topped with sliced beets. Mom, took her fork and stabbed a beet on MY salad, because I "didn't like beets." I complained that I should at least be given a chance to decide what I didn't want. I sort of had to try the beet to save face, and decided I really liked them, at least on a salad.

I later read that tastes change periodically for kids and adults, so I passed this information on to my nephew ias well, and used the beet example for him (Allowing kids appropriate ways to laugh at adults, is also healthy in my opionion). So, now he's not only willing to try things, he's willing to try things in different ways and even try foods he knows (or thinks) he doesn't like. I think it's funny to hear him get excited over finding out he likes a food he didn't before or prepared another way.

I wanted to throttle my sister-in-law when she took a carrot out of her 3 year old son's hands as he had dipped it in dip and was bringing it to his mouth, saying "you don't like carrots." I wasn't very tactful in telling her I thought that was stupid. She said that he'd only spit it out. I tried to explain that encouraging him to try things was better than worrying about wasting one little baby carrot. I know it fell on deaf ears, as she and my brother don't like and don't eat vegetables themselves. Enough said, I guess (that they both didn't have weight problems at the time, really irked me too, but that's another story).

Last week, I was in line behind a very fit looking , healthy lady at the grocer. She had sugarfree "skinny cow" brand ice cream sandwiches up on the conveyor. I thought, hmmm, I'll have to try those. So, yesterday when I shopped I bought some. 140 calories each and pretty darn tasty. I wish I'd payed more attention to what else she was buying. LOL.