Food Wars

Among all the battles I’ve had with the kids, none has been as epic as the one we’ve had with food. And I’m not referring to food fights, although there have been some.

For people that are so small, they seem to have big ideas on nutrition. Most of the time, all they need to do is look at the food before deciding what is allowed into their mouths and what’s not. At first, it all seemed random and arbitrary but after observing their eating patterns for a while, I’ve narrowed down their criteria in determining whether food is edible.

1. Texture

As a rule of thumb, anything that’s crispy is sure to be a hit. Whenever Truett is introduced new food he hasn’t tasted before, he’ll peer at it for a moment and then ask the question: “Is it crispy or not?” If it is, it goes straight into his mouth.

If it isn’t, it will be subjected to the following tests.

2. Color

You’d think that being kids, the brighter the color, the more likely they are to eat it. Unfortunately, the contrary seems to be true. Earthy colors have a higher chance of being eaten, like beige, chocolate and golden brown.

Generally, the brighter the color, the more suspicious they get, with green leading the pack on the list of banned food. Purple, red and orange are approved on a case by case basis, mostly depending on whether they are M&Ms.

3. Temperature

This is pretty much a no brainer, i.e. the colder the better.

In summary, this.