I have always, always, always been a picky eater. There were years during my childhood where I would eat completely plain pasta for dinner (healthy, huh?). I’ve never been good about eating my vegetables, and a lot of the vegetables I eat aren’t always the healthiest/freshest options: green beans from a can (never fresh), peas from a freezer bag (never fresh), spinach, corn, carrots, potatoes, and asparagus (all fresh). That about does it for my vegetable consumption. Oh and I recently started eating tomatoes and avocado (ok, so technically fruits).

What’s on my “do not eat” list? Let’s see… broccoli, cauliflower, squash, fresh peas, fresh green beans, bok choy, brussel sprouts, beets, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, kale. I’m sure there are many more I’ve missed!

I’ve been able to get away with avoiding all of these vegetables thus far in my life. And, to be honest, I don’t avoid them because I necessarily want to. I’m incredibly picky and struggle with different textures. I wish that I could look at a big basket of veggies from the farmer’s market and crave them! I’m just not there yet.

However, I want Baby H to be a great, adventurous eater. By raising her in the city (versus the small town I grew up in), she will be exposed to such a wide variety of food like Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern, Korean, Mexican and Greek food. And that’s all well and good, but I know deep down that most of her eating habits are going to be formed at home and I am going to have a huge influence in that arena. I can’t exactly force her to eat her peas and broccoli if I won’t do the same. But if I’ll eat it there’s a stronger chance that she will too. I want a child who grows up eating and enjoying her vegetables and has a healthy lifestyle!

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So… I’m trying to make the changes in my diet now that could positively affect Baby H in the future. I know these are going to be baby steps on my part. If I’ve hated something for 30 years, I don’t know that I’ll start loving it tomorrow. But I can start tasting and trying and learning how we can prepare some of the vegetables so that I will enjoy them.

I’ve already tackled two on the list – broccoli and cauliflower! Mr. H makes a super yummy stir fry and includes broccoli in it. I’ve found that because the broccoli soaks up the flavorful sauce, the broccoli isn’t so bad! And, just the other night we made a fantastic pasta dish with cauliflower, garlic, red pepper and Parmesan. It was amazing and I can’t wait to have it again! Unlike in the past, I didn’t avoid eating the cauliflower on my plate.

It’s going to be a process getting my healthy eating habits up to par. But I’m excited to one day say to Baby H: “Mommy’s eating her vegetables, now you eat yours.” Because this little face is worth me eating all of the broccoli in the world if that means she’ll be healthier!


Have you worked on healthier eating so that you’re a better role model for your little one?