Tortillas and Pork Chops

Samuel is, amongst other things, an extremely picky eater. He wasn't always this way. When he was a 1 year old, he ate pretty much anything I offered him. But by the time he turned 2, he had taken on a bland "brown and white diet." His diet consisted of bread, crackers, bananas, cantaloupe, chicken, cheese, hot dogs, french fries, tortilla chips, and popcorn. I would joke with friends and family members that I could literally name all of the foods Samuel would willingly eat on my fingers... 10 things, that's all he'd eat. I never pushed him to eat anything else, because I'd been assured over and over again by our pediatrician that as soon as I made food an issue, it would be an issue. He assured me that this bland diet was common amongst toddlers and that if I let it go, eventually Samuel would start eating a broader range of foods again. And so, year after year I watched as Samuel continued to eat the same 10 foods. His diet remained the same until he entered school. After attending one too many birthday parties for friends where he had absolutely nothing to eat and sat around watching all his friends enjoying the food, he reluctantly added pizza, cake, cookies and ice cream to his diet. Great diet, right? Ugh...

When Samuel was around the age of 6 1/2, he caught a nasty stomach bug and winded up throwing up his dinner of hot dog, french fries and cantaloupe. In Samuel's black and white frame of mind, the hot dog, french fries and cantaloupe made him throw up, so he refused to eat those things again. Out of frustration, I asked around to several friends and family members, and decided that I would start putting 1 spoonful of each item I was making for the family meals onto Samuel's plate. Each and every meal, I would simply place the foods the rest of the family was eating on his plate. I wouldn't force him to eat them. I wouldn't even ask him to try them. I would just offer them to him, in the hopes that the recognition of the foods would eventually allow Samuel to feel comfortable enough to try the new foods.

Good plan? Maybe. But unfortunately, it did not work. From the very first time I placed a new food on his plate, Samuel started crying and screaming at every single meal. I kept offering the different foods, reminding him that he did not need to eat them, but each and every meal ended in tears from Samuel (and often times from me too). Meal after meal I remained persistent, hopeful that eventually the tantrums would end and that meal times would take on a more peaceful tone once again. But after 3 months (yes, 3 months of each and every meal ending in tears, literally), I finally gave up, and stopped putting the new foods on his plate at meal times. He never tried anything new. I was so defeated.

Things remained the same up until a month ago, when Samuel asked me if he could try a bite of something we were eating for dinner, and I just about fell out of my chair. I decided to just try the same game plan I tried 2 years ago, where I put the foods that the rest of the family was eating on his plate. And this time, there have been no fits... no meals ending in tears. But that's not the only thing that has been different this time around. Over the past month he's tried corn, spaghetti and oranges. He didn't like any of them, but he willingly tried them, which is a big step in the right direction in my opinion. Last week, he willingly ate an entire tortilla, and then proclaimed, "That wasn't so bad." And tonight, out of the corner of my eye I could see him eyeing the pork chop on his plate. Before I knew what was going on, he popped the bite of pork chop in his mouth, then continued to eat the rest of the pork chop. Then he asked me if I would put a pork chop on his plate tomorrow night. "Uh yes, Big Guy, I can do that for you."

I know it might be silly, but I literally started clapping and giving him high-fives when he was done. Everyone at the table started clapping for him. And he was so happy about it too. I mean, the fact that Samuel has tried 2 new foods in the past week and actually liked both of them, is quite exciting to me. I am just so hopeful about this.