Tae Kwon Do Food!

Friday, I brought home part of a california roll left over from my lunch. For those of you who don't know what a california roll is, it is similar to a sushi roll but the seafood is completely cooked. I had probably eight pieces left over along with some soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger. As I walked in the house and made my way to the fridge, Isaac spotted the container of food and after a brief pause exclaimed, "Tae kwon do food!" I don't know how long after that Bethany and I laughed but it must have been at least a couple of minutes before we could regain our composure. I explained that it was kind of like Japanese food and not anything related to the sport of tae kwon do. He didn't care much for the clarification but wanted a better look at the rolls. I showed him, indicating where the carrot, seaweed, crab and avocado were. His interest was piqued and he had to have some. By this time, Belle had shown some interest and Johnny too. I gave both Belle and Isaac a bite which they enjoyed. I put some soy sauce and a smidgeon of wasabi on another bite and fed it to Belle. She made this gagging noise and bolted to the sink for a drink of water. The look on Isaac's face portrayed a curiosity about the taste in conflict with the instant replay in his mind of Belle's reaction to the additional ingredients. He was the poster child of UNSURE! I coaxed him to try it. He did and then flew off the barstool and b-lined it to the bathroom for a drink from the sink there. If there would have been a fire hydrant within a reasonable distance, he probably would have opted for that. Two down, two to go. I walked over to Johnny and he flat out refused to try anything. Sabrina made it know that she wanted in on the action as she fussed from her high chair at the table. I slipped her a piece of ginger. Not one second passed and her hands went up over her mouth. Ha ha! It must not have been too bad though because I stuck my hand out towards her chin, thinking she'd spit it out in my hand, but she shook her head "no" and waved my hand on. (She has so much personality!)

It has been my goal to have children who will eat most of what I eat. That's right, I made it a goal. Growing up, I couldn't stand babysitting some people's kids who fussed about eating. Also, when you're on a mission and you're invited to eat at someone's house, you can't send back the food they serve. Childhood is a good time to practice eating a wide variety of foods.

So far, we're doing pretty good at being open to new foods. Belle, Isaac and Sabrina somewhat have more similar interests in the food I eat whereas Johnny is pretty discriminating. In fact, Isaac did ask for one more piece of the california roll before it was all gone. Since getting married, I've been able to convince Bethany, who's VERY picky, to try Chinese food, which she's usually OK with. I'm still working on transitioning her from mayonnaise to Miracle Whip though I'm not holding my breath for that one.