Love of Vegetables Starts Extremely Early IMHO

My parents liked all fruit and most vegetables, which made it easier to like them since we had their example. A few vegetables were never eaten because my father didn't like them (i.e. zuccini and eggplant) and I didn't even know they existed until after my parent's divorce. Since they were children of the Depression, there was very little waste of food in our house. We were told to clean our plates if we wanted to eat dessert. We did, so we did. They also encouraged eating veggies by things like putting peanut butter on broccoli (my brother still eats it that way) and with playing Popeye after eating spinach. "See how strong you are now!" There were also lots of casseroles, soups and stews so vegetables were pretty well disguised. I still do that.

My husband OTOH, never learned to eat vegetables. I think money was so tight in his household his mother just didn't make food that her two sons wouldn't eat. His adult kids also don't much like them, nor do the grandchildren. Having a good example matters. I make vegetables for dinner, because I like them, but I don't expect him to eat more than a bite or two because he just isn't interested.

I didn't like vegetables as a kid and I still don't like them today. But now I have the freedom to not eat them.

Most vegetables are almost devoid of energy (calories), it's not in our natural instincts to consume them. Eating vegetables is almost the equivalent of eating nothing in terms of energy.

It's why the majority of children hate vegetables.

MikePfirrman wrote: »

...Is it me or is it too late after year 3 or 4 to start kids on vegetables?

No. It's not too late to start the kids on vegges at year 3 or 4. Or ever, really. Mostly because a liking of veggies is more nature than nurture, best I can tell.

Because...

People have genetic differences that alter how they perceive bitterness (they are 'bitter taste receptor genes' One of these is called TAS2R38). If a person has genes that makes them perceive a higher level of bitter, they are going to like fewer veggies. if they perceive a lower level of bitter, they are going to like more veggies (at least based on bitterness). Age is not going to make this different in any way.

This can LOOK like nurture...because the family is being raised with similar exposures to veggies, and lo and behold, they like veggies the same. Except they also have the same genes. So the deciding factor for if nature or nurture is the issue would be finding cases where you have different genes between the two parents...which is what I had.

I grew up with lots of veggies (farm mom) - hated them then, hate them now. I still eat them, but I don't LIKE them. They taste unpleasant (and I have been VERY creative with these suckers).

My kids' dad grew up with lots of veggies - liked them okay then, really likes them now.

We have 2 kids. Also had lots of veggies from early, early on. One of them didn't mind veggies much, and likes them now. One of them is just like me: hated them then, still hates them now. They will eat them, but only if they can alter the taste enough that they can't taste them anymore.

And both me and the veggie-hating kid perceive most veggies as quite bitter and unpleasant tasting. And the kids' dad and my other kid don't find them very bitter at all, so I'm guessing this is a big part of their liking of veggies.



Another vote in the nature column: children like sweet tastes more than bitter ones. That is not due to them being introduced to veggies too late, or not getting enough variety, or not being forced to eat veggies. That's literally their biology.

"Children are born preferring sweet tastes, which attract them to mother’s milk and even act as an analgesic. They prefer higher levels of sweet than do adults, with preferences declining to adult levels during middle to late adolescence, which coincides with the cessation of physical growth." ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC4654709/#:~:text=Children's%20preference%20for%20sweet%20and,to%20bitter%20tastes%20until%20adolescence. )

Children also are physically more bitter sensitive than adults are, and that changes around adolescence. So a lot of those folks who say that they 'learned to like' veggies? Maybe they did. Or maybe they just matured and started having less trouble with bitter foods as the rest of the population does, you know?


I'm not saying that how we feed our kids doesn't matter. One has to get used to new foods, and introducing a lot of foods when young can be a great thing. But I am saying that I have yet to see any evidence that actually supports the idea that introducing veggies young is what gets kids to like them (that seems to also take into account genetics and other physical factors).

DebbsSeattle wrote: »

I did not have kids but my sister had two. Funny enough, with her number 1 she craved meat and potato type meals. With number 2 she could not go in the grocery store as the smell of meat and blood made her sick. So she ate mostly fruit and veg with number 2.

Child one is a meat and potato lover.
Child two loves fruit and veg.

I wonder if there has been any study of food preference looking back to a mothers gestational diet?

Had I never had a doughnut, I would not crave one would I!?!

I only have anecdotes myself but based on my own experience (six pregnancies and six children) and that of my friends, this is not widespread at all though we've all heard of it. I did not experience intense cravings at all for particular foods for any of my pregnancies though I am prone to intense morning sickness and did have food aversions based on smell. My appetite in general increases after the sickness resolves or if it abates for a while. But it has had no bearing on what my children have liked to eat as they got older. The way nutrition passes to the baby in utero wouldn't reflect the taste of the food.

That said, it is true that the taste of breastmilk can change based on what a mother eats, and babies might react to that (I have had a couple babies refuse to nurse, for example, if I have a glass of wine - there's no risk of the baby being intoxicated but it can affect the flavor). And I think there's some evidence too that pregnancy cravings might reflect nutritional deficiencies that can be common in pregnancy. But unless there are extreme circumstances these won't affect the baby either - one reason calcium is so important in pregnancy is not for the baby's sake but for the mother's - if the mother doesn't have sufficient calcium in her diet her body will take calcium out of her bones to grow her baby. This is why it used to be pretty common for women to lose teeth in pregnancy..

As far as your last point, I think that might be even more true - rather than not being exposed to healthy foods, I think there might be more danger in overexposure to the hyperpalatable - kids do naturally seek out sweet taste, which would naturally be satisfied by fruits, but if the typical response to that interest is constant junk food, fruit's never going to appeal as sweet enough. This seems to be something you can train yourself (or your kids, if you're responsible for them) out of, eventually, though, so it's not like the damage (if you want to call it that) is irreversible.

siberiantarragon wrote: »

My sibling and I grew up eating the same meals, which were vegetable-heavy, and I love pretty much all vegetables while my sibling can't stand most of them. I've heard that pickiness with food is mostly influenced by genetics but not sure how true it is.

Weirdly my biggest food aversion has always been milk, which we were forced to drink big glasses of at least twice a day. Milk still grosses me out to this day (unless it's in coffee or something) so I use plant-based milk. The annoying thing is I love cheese and yogurt and I didn't even realize until I was an adult that they contain just as much calcium as milk. So I don't know why my mom was so insistent on forcing me to drink milk when it disgusted me (other than that she was generally mean and sadistic).

I'm also not a huge fan of meat especially if it has bones, skin, cartilage, etc. in it. I don't know why people are so obsessed with meat because I really don't think it's the be-all and end-all of food.

Also you definitely can start liking vegetables later in life. My partner is on the spectrum and an extremely picky eater but he has broadened his palate a lot over the course of our relationship because I've experimented with cooking vegetables in a way he likes.

Milk has been pretty aggressively pushed to parents as absolutely vital healthy food. It's less processed than cheese or yogurt, and has been subsidized/price controlled in some areas which makes it more accessible. It is also really nutritious, which makes sense given its original intention.

Milk alternatives have become much more common than they used to be, and there's increased awareness of things like lactose intolerance (afaik it's really only people descended from Northern Europeans who are the most likely to be able to tolerate cow's milk - other cultures drank other milks).

So if that's your only evidence, I'd cut your mom some slack. She was likely just doing her best with the information she had.

My mom fed me all the vegetables and we had a garden. It was a naturally desired food source for me. My husband grew up on meat and potatoes. His mom never made them eat anything if they didn't like it. My husband came to me hating salad, fruit, vegetables. I sat him down with a satsuma one day and made him peel and eat it. He grimaced the entire time. But years later he eats more prodice than me and he loves it. He LOVES it. Whenever his parents come for dinner his mother sometimes will say, oh, he won't eat that he hates salad or he hates that vegetable. She's always shocked when he eats it and likes it. You can change your tastes in adulthood but it took effort.

I have three daughters- the older two always ate all the vegetables and loved them. They were never picky about anything. My youngest has an extremely keen sense of smell and is what I would call a "super taster" and an extremely picky eater. She's 8 and no vegetable has crossed her lips in years..... we're currently taking her to occupational therapy for food issues. So yeah, three kids raised in the same home under the same circumstances and methods, vastly different outcomes. Take from that what you will, but I see it as evidence that liking vegetables is at least in part a trait you're born with.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

StealthyJen wrote: »

I have three daughters- the older two always ate all the vegetables and loved them. They were never picky about anything. My youngest has an extremely keen sense of smell and is what I would call a "super taster" and an extremely picky eater. She's 8 and no vegetable has crossed her lips in years..... we're currently taking her to occupational therapy for food issues. So yeah, three kids raised in the same home under the same circumstances and methods, vastly different outcomes. Take from that what you will, but I see it as evidence that liking vegetables is at least in part a trait you're born with.

I think genuine supertasters are now believed to be a genetic variant, analogous to the genetic variant that predisposes people to find that cilantro tastes just like icky soap. ("Genuine supertaster" as opposed to discretionary picky eater triggered more by social or psychological factors, though I admit that's a bit of a circular definition.)

I was having just this discussion with a friend last night! I was telling him about my "chocolate parsnips" I made last night. He said the only parsnips he even remotely likes are dredged in flour and sauteed. He said otherwise he doesn't like them, and his sister can't stand them. He suggested his sister's response was similar to the "soapy cilantro" genetic "defect." I kind of doubted that there's a specific genetic alteration that predisposes someone to dislike parsnips.

Honestly, I think it depends on how you cook it too. No kid is going to like unseasoned, overcooked peas for example. But seasoned with some firmness still? May have different results!

Now I'm a incredibly picky eater. It's mainly sensory issues and not wanting to leave my food comfort zone. My parents fed me fruits and veggies early on as a kid, and I love them now. I will devour an entire tray of roasted brussel sprouts, but will barely touch grilled ones. It's about finding what your kid likes, and being patient when introducing new things. Their pickiness is built to keep them from poisoning themselves after all! (But not stop them from eating dirt I guess. Ah well.)

Savvybel wrote: »

I could always eat anything and everything whereas my two siblings were more picky. I'm the middle child and would devour veggies and fruits as a kid, and spicy foods! I especially always loved tomatoes and would pick them fresh off the vine and eat them like apples or with some salt and pepper, but my little brother hated them with a passion. My mom gave us the same meals and I'm not aware that she did anything differently when we were babies.

I've always done what is called in some circles "baby led weaning," though IMO it's really "I don't feel like doing extra or paying extra for specialized baby food." Basically, baby sits at the table/on my lap and is offered safe food from the same things everyone else is having, maybe cut up or mashed a little more than it would be for an older person.

My 9 month old is without a doubt the most enthusiastic about food at her age. Her older sister had to have occupational and nutritional therapy shortly after turning one because she wouldn't eat anything and her growth sharply slowed down as my milk supply lessened. Even now I really, really have to push her to get her to try things. At almost three, she has a less varied diet than the baby. It can be discouraging, because I want her to not feel so limited. She does get a multivitamin every day, but IMO picky eating really only "works" if you're guaranteed to be able to get what you like. Maybe I'm too pessimistic but I'm not sure that's going to be the case for subsequent generations, as it was for many of us who grew up in the twentieth century.