4 ms·

We put everything on a plate and offer it to the child(ren). Then, if they become hungry later on, they can return to said plate and continue eating. Dessert i

by dvaun 5y ago

We put everything on a plate and offer it to the child(ren). Then, if they become hungry later on, they can return to said plate and continue eating. Dessert is considered "equal", so we place it on their plate. However, that also means that they can't raid the pantry for snacks afterward. It seems to be working. Our oldest ate celery and peanut butter the other day, which is pretty unexpected to us.

gumby 5y ago
In the US most peanut butters include added sugar so your kid may have hacked your system.
- munificent 5y ago
  Shout-out to Adams peanut butter which is delicious and has zero sugar.
  - hathawsh 5y ago
    Some Adams trivia: - It's owned by Smucker's. I normally dislike anything from Smucker's, but Adams is a nice exception. - If you get the giant jar from Costco, the oil separation is a significant issue. There's a simple solution: dump it all into a big mixing bowl (with the help of a silicone spatula), mix it, and pour it back into the jar. I did it last time I bought it and it was worth the 10 minutes I spent. - Once it's mixed well, if you give it a quick stir every time you use it, the oil doesn't separate again.
    - drunner 5y ago
      The other hack for jars of any size is to store them upside down until you open them for the first time. Then when you open the jar, you get to stir the PB and the oil naturally comes up from the bottom instead of delicately trying to force the oil down without spilling it over the sides.
    - aidenn0 5y ago
      Just because this has been bugging me for years: Why are all zero-sugar-added PBs not homogenized? It seems unlikely to me that sugar is the primary homogenizing agent in e.g. Skippy. I dread opening a new jar of peanut butter to the point where I will look for other things...
      - themadturk 5y ago
        I think what keeps homogenized peanut butter homogenized is partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is apparently also not good for you. Adams Natural, for instance (they also make a homogenized version) contains peanuts and (optionally) salt.
    - themadturk 5y ago
      It's owned by Smucker, but not developed by them. It originated early in the 20th century in Tacoma, WA and was purchased in the late 1990s by Smucker.
    - beiller 5y ago
      Oh fun hack. Store the peanut butter container closed on its side in the fridge. More surface area seems to help the separation issue and the fridge solidifies it so it has less chance to drip or leak.
    - julianlam 5y ago
      All natural pb's I've tried don't separate if you store it in the fridge (but importantly, only after the initial stir)
      - njarboe 5y ago
        True, but its not as tasty cold. I guess that is not a problem when making sandwiches for lunch in the morning, if that is your main use case.
    - hrwl 5y ago
      I've taken to using a using an electric hand mixer directly in the jar. It gets the peanut butter thoroughly mixed very quickly. As one might expect, it can go wrong spectacularly if you aren't careful.
- samth 5y ago
  Making your own is really easy in a food processor and tastes excellent.
jokethrowaway 5y ago
Talking by experience, my kids would just eat dessert and cry later that they want more dessert. I went in the opposite direction. I put a small portion of meat on the dish. When it's over, I put some vegetables; rinse and repeat until the portion of food is assimilated. It seems like giving small goals is helping with going through the entire dinner and not having a choice minimises building up dislike for a specific food. I think the reasoning for the second phenomenon is something like: 1. I can eat potatoes or chicken. 2. I like potatoes. 3. I'll eat potatoes. 4. Remember that dislikeChicken++ 4. Go back to 1 until I'm full
- jimmygrapes 5y ago
  This is honestly the most original take I've ever seen on handling picky kids, and despite it being sort of in jest I can't help but think there's some potential validity. Kids tend to be pretty easy to manipulate when it comes to food (e.g. "broccoli is tiny trees!"), as long as you can find the fulcrum point from which to pivot the presentation. I hadn't considered the choice/reinforcement aspect of this before, and will keep it in mind as a harmless test concept!
  - drcongo 5y ago
    I told mine that brussels sprouts were cabbages grown by fairies. They love them now.
    - themaninthedark 5y ago
      I say that broccoli are little trees and then pretend I am a dinosaur eating the trees.
- virgilp 5y ago
  Kids are very different. My first daughter had a healthy appetite while small, then after a cold she became a very picky eater; she remains somewhat picky today, as an adult. The second daughter, we "trained" to eat varied, healthy food. We were proud of ourselves and thought we know "how it's done". The third one broke us completely - at some point we were begging her "eat this cupcake, it has loads of chocolate!"

by dvaun 5y ago

gumby 5y ago

In the US most peanut butters include added sugar so your kid may have hacked your system.

munificent 5y ago
Shout-out to Adams peanut butter which is delicious and has zero sugar.
- hathawsh 5y ago
  Some Adams trivia: - It's owned by Smucker's. I normally dislike anything from Smucker's, but Adams is a nice exception. - If you get the giant jar from Costco, the oil separation is a significant issue. There's a simple solution: dump it all into a big mixing bowl (with the help of a silicone spatula), mix it, and pour it back into the jar. I did it last time I bought it and it was worth the 10 minutes I spent. - Once it's mixed well, if you give it a quick stir every time you use it, the oil doesn't separate again.
  - drunner 5y ago
    The other hack for jars of any size is to store them upside down until you open them for the first time. Then when you open the jar, you get to stir the PB and the oil naturally comes up from the bottom instead of delicately trying to force the oil down without spilling it over the sides.
  - aidenn0 5y ago
    Just because this has been bugging me for years: Why are all zero-sugar-added PBs not homogenized? It seems unlikely to me that sugar is the primary homogenizing agent in e.g. Skippy. I dread opening a new jar of peanut butter to the point where I will look for other things...
    - themadturk 5y ago
      I think what keeps homogenized peanut butter homogenized is partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is apparently also not good for you. Adams Natural, for instance (they also make a homogenized version) contains peanuts and (optionally) salt.
  - themadturk 5y ago
    It's owned by Smucker, but not developed by them. It originated early in the 20th century in Tacoma, WA and was purchased in the late 1990s by Smucker.
  - beiller 5y ago
    Oh fun hack. Store the peanut butter container closed on its side in the fridge. More surface area seems to help the separation issue and the fridge solidifies it so it has less chance to drip or leak.
  - julianlam 5y ago
    All natural pb's I've tried don't separate if you store it in the fridge (but importantly, only after the initial stir)
    - njarboe 5y ago
      True, but its not as tasty cold. I guess that is not a problem when making sandwiches for lunch in the morning, if that is your main use case.
  - hrwl 5y ago
    I've taken to using a using an electric hand mixer directly in the jar. It gets the peanut butter thoroughly mixed very quickly. As one might expect, it can go wrong spectacularly if you aren't careful.
samth 5y ago
Making your own is really easy in a food processor and tastes excellent.

jokethrowaway 5y ago

Talking by experience, my kids would just eat dessert and cry later that they want more dessert. I went in the opposite direction. I put a small portion of meat on the dish. When it's over, I put some vegetables; rinse and repeat until the portion of food is assimilated. It seems like giving small goals is helping with going through the entire dinner and not having a choice minimises building up dislike for a specific food. I think the reasoning for the second phenomenon is something like: 1. I can eat potatoes or chicken. 2. I like potatoes. 3. I'll eat potatoes. 4. Remember that dislikeChicken++ 4. Go back to 1 until I'm full

jimmygrapes 5y ago
This is honestly the most original take I've ever seen on handling picky kids, and despite it being sort of in jest I can't help but think there's some potential validity. Kids tend to be pretty easy to manipulate when it comes to food (e.g. "broccoli is tiny trees!"), as long as you can find the fulcrum point from which to pivot the presentation. I hadn't considered the choice/reinforcement aspect of this before, and will keep it in mind as a harmless test concept!
- drcongo 5y ago
  I told mine that brussels sprouts were cabbages grown by fairies. They love them now.
  - themaninthedark 5y ago
    I say that broccoli are little trees and then pretend I am a dinosaur eating the trees.
virgilp 5y ago
Kids are very different. My first daughter had a healthy appetite while small, then after a cold she became a very picky eater; she remains somewhat picky today, as an adult. The second daughter, we "trained" to eat varied, healthy food. We were proud of ourselves and thought we know "how it's done". The third one broke us completely - at some point we were begging her "eat this cupcake, it has loads of chocolate!"