It has nothing to do with luck that makes my daughter enjoy her fruit so much.
As a foreign mother and not forgetting a wife of a VERY Catalan man living in Barcelona I deal with the challenges of living in a different country on a daily basis, even after 14 years! One of the many challenges is the cultural differences in food. Like most people in a mixed culture family I try to ensure my daughter learns about my heritage and culture some of which I do through my cooking combining Catalan and British cuisine.
Over the years I have converted some of my eating habits to a more Catalan style for example I love to rub my bread with tomato but i´m still unable to buy, cook or eat fish with heads!
I believe most peoples food habits stay with you for life the good and the bad.
When I was a little girl my mum used to tell me off for eating all the fruit in one day because it had to last the family the whole week. I have always loved eating fruit much more than meat and carbs.
It occurred to me on a recent visit to England just how much influence I have on my daughters food palate. "Que es aixo?..no son mongetas " that was my daughters response when she was confronted with a plate of baked beans on toast. My niece, nephew and their two friends tucked into their lunch but my daughter would not eat a single bean. " she's very Catalana" I explained to my friend. Don't all children love baked beans? I love baked beans, I was brought up on them. But it's not because she is 50% Catalana that she refused to eat baked beans, it's simply because I've never given her baked beans (although they are on sale in my local supermarket) they are completely alien to her. She would have been so much happier with a plate of mussels or clams.
A child at the age of 4 is not going to ask his mummy for a yellow kiwi for a snack if he´s always been given biscuits for snacking. Children need exposure to healthy foods and different varieties of foods.
Children who have overweight parents are 80% more likely to be overweight.
Mummys often say to me that their child doesn´t eat fruit. ¨do you eat fruit?¨ I ask the answer ¨no¨ - and there you have it. You are a role model for your child.
On a recent visit to the nurse for a check up my daughter was asked..
"do you eat fruit?"
"five times a day", she replied
"what's your favourite food?"
"salmon and broccoli" she replied
NO FURTHER QUESTIONS
I think it's fair to say that for most Catalan children their favorite food would probably be macaroni , my daughters favourite is broccoli and salmon, simply because it´s something we eat on a regular basis and it´s also something I like. My husband didn´t know what broccoli was when I first met him, ¨little trees¨ he called it. He sure knows what broccoli is now, he doesn´t like it. But I would never not put it on his plate or even worse cook him something different, this for me is giving the wrong signal to my daughter. I want all my family to eat well and be healthy. It has been really difficult for my husband to change his eating habits, granary bread (bird bread he calls it), eating fruit for breakfast instead of Cola cao.... poc a poc.!
One of the many things I loved about being a SAHM (stay at home mum) was that I was able to be in total control over what my daughter ate. I breast fed for 9 months, started to introduce her to solids around 5 months (when she displayed interest and curiosity in grabbing our food) and I made all her food. We ate together and she was always by my side when preparing and buying the food. I introduced different flavours very early as well as different textures. I had a no sugar policy, when she was hungry I gave her fruit to snack. I had Annable karmel´s New Complete baby and Toddler Meal Planner to guide me through, this book was my bible. The odd times I took my daughter for check ups ( she was and is a very healthy little girl) the doctor would tell me completely different information about weaning to what I had researched, was this another cultural difference? By attending a Mums & Tots group in Barcelona once a week with other "foreign mummy's in Barcelona" this helped me a great deal. I was not looked upon as a total freak when my daughter would snack on cucumber sticks, unlike I am here in my town! Cucumber is one of her favourite foods!
I am not suggesting that children eat better in the UK than here in Catalunya because that´s just not the case. The snack industry in Britain is huge and people really like to snack. The choice of snacks and processed food is staggering. Low prices and 2 for 1 offers make it hard to not buy processed food , which incidentally are the most profitable for the supermarkets.
At the age of 3 my daughter entered the public school system and that's when everything changed. Unfortunately the school does not have a ¨no sugar¨policy (unlike most pre-schools in England) and parents are able to fill lunchboxes with whatever they desire. I recall attending a parents meeting prior to my daughter starting and I requested a ¨Fruit day¨ - where all children would bring fruit on a certain day...... I am still awaiting a response ! Surely I'm not the only mum at the school concerned about my child's food habits?
My daughter does ask me for Nutella Bimbo sandwiches and Principe biscuits like her friends, my only hope is that perhaps her friends ask their mummy´s for almonds and grapes - what do you think?
However, her lunchbox always comes back empty and she is a happy, healthy little girl....so nope..no need to change our habits.
There are many reasons why my daughter loves to eat fruit but luck isn´t one of them
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139033757/babys-palate-and-food-memories-shaped-before-birth
http://www.nutritionuncovered.com/is-nutella-healthy/
http://www.annabelkarmel.com/bookshop
I would love the hear what you think?
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