My Hungry Monkey

I just finished reading the book Hungry Monkey, A Food-Loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater by Matthew Amster-Burton that my dear friend Holley gave me and I am so inspired. It's a memoir written by a food writer in Seattle who shares his tale of exposing his daughter to all sorts of culinary experiences from sharing in the preparation of food to partaking in exotic delicacies.

When Samantha started to eat solid foods I followed the book, Super Baby Foods by Ruth Yaron (I am not going to link it - I am so anti this book now). It is probably one of the most popular baby food books out there. Amster-Burton basically puts this book to shame and I don't blame him. I have completely adopted the Hungry Monkey philosophy and love the fact that Samantha eats whatever I make for dinner. Because of this, Samantha will try spicy foods, all kinds of seafood (including sushi) and numerous other items that most little ones won't go near. She doesn't always clear her plate or like what I give her, but we always try to get her to have just a taste. I even have given her (plug your ears) non-organic veggies and heaven forbid SUGAR! It's kind of like the Fallon philosophy on TV - it's fine in moderation (And I am convinced Sam's expansive vocabulary has something to do with some of the shows she watches). Restricting all the "bad stuff" is only going to make her want it more.

My little monkey helping me in the kitchen.

Lately Samantha has been on a veggie kick (the book has an entire chapter on kids and vegetables and it is so true - I think Samantha went on a vegetable strike for months. I am sure her love for veggies right now is just a phase.)

And her latest fav - FROZEN VEGGIES! She eats peas and corn straight from the bag, no need to heat them up. (Thanks Dancing Grandma for this great tip!)