My son must have been an Italian his previous birth. Till the time he was 3, all he would eat was Mac & Cheese, garlic bread or Pasta Pomodoro! It was pure torture the first time we took him to India. All the paatis and mamis conveniently blamed me for not getting him used to 'paruppu sadam'. Unfazed, I replied "Why dont you get him to try it now...not too late". And they did with full gusto. Paruppu with a hint of rasam- came out as a projectile. Paruppu with just ghee and crushed appalam- came out after some serious choking. Paruppu sans anything- was spat out in disgust! I didn't know if I should empathize or just gloat!
God knew that I tried every possible food with V. Healthy kootus, flavourful dhals, aromatic rasams...and the result was always the same. My neighbour once said that she was surprised that I took so much effort to prepare a baby/child's food. Apparently, she just blended up some veggies with rice, added some salt and gave it to her kid. And the irony of it was that the kid practically licked the bowl clean!And here I was making small quantities of appetizing food, subtly flavoured (I liked to use most spices except chilly) to entice my little prince's tastebuds!
There were days when he would eat a slice of cheese , a small bowl of pasta and a cup of yogurt. And that was for the entire day not a single meal! I tried everything with him, even the big No Nos to get him to eat more. But V was too busy exploring and discovering his immediate world and food to him, was absolutely the last priority. I fretted, I cried and sometimes even starved (not intentionally, but just couldn't eat when my little one was not! weird, huh!). And then I just let him be.
Today the scene is quite different. V is a non-fussy eater who LOVES his vegetables (even the yucky ones) and enjoys new foods. Not just that, he can tell me what's in a certain dish and what's not. eg."Amma, this dish tasted better the last time when you had added some garlic". He loves hanging out in the kitchen with me and once even borrowed a Mom and Kids recipe book from the library!Wow...I sometimes wonder if this is the same boy! And I'm so glad that I did not listen to my neighbour and bore him with bland, insipid baby food.
Yesterday, on our way back from school he asked me what his snack was going to be. And I told him that he could have anything he wanted. Pat came the repy"Amma, can I have some hot appams pl"? I was thrilled that he remembered the taste of traditional appams and actually craved it! And the feeling was inexplicable! I made the appams and watched him eat them with great satisfaction. Aah....how easy it is to express love through food!
V has started his food journey maybe a few years later than other kids, but he sure has started it on the right foot. And I'm just hoping that as he discovers new tastes and samples food from the world over he also fondly remembers all the good old home cooked foods that nurtured him!
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