Gourmet Chloe

I know it is probably too early to make long-term assumptions, and of course she could suddenly decide next week that she will only eat baked beans, but so far Chloe seems to have a rather sophisticated palate.  For a 2 year old.  I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, she has dined at more Michelin starred establishments in her 2 years than her father has in his whole life, and I'll give myself a little pat on the back for being a decent cook as well.  I've certainly pushed (and found) some of her culinary limits - I'm not sure if it is a good thing or not that a 2 year old has "too spicy" in her vocabulary, or that she uses it so often!  At least I know that if we travel to South East Asia she won't turn her nose up at the local dishes.  The Pork Laarp I made one night went down a treat, much to my surprise.     

She initially showed a fair bit of disdain for salads - "No green" was the usual reaction to the sight of lettuce - but that issue has been neatly resolved.  Find salads without lettuce and she is a veritable salad monster!  Luckily our local bakery has a delicious salad counter and does take-out.  That's her 5-a-day sorted out.  Yummy.

Due to the usual toddler concept of "sharing" - i.e if you have something, they want it too (and they expect to get it) - she has developed a bit of a taste for one of my favourite lunch-time feasts.  Avocado toast (thanks Kate for introducing me to this one!).  Now, she used to be slightly critical of my ingredients as I like to use the "too spicy oil" a.k.a chilie oil, however I decided she could like it or lump it.  I don't make my lunch to her specifications, even if she thinks I should.  I think her spice tolerance has increased of late though as recently when I've tried to put her off eating my lunch by telling her I made it with the "too spicy oil" she has retorted:  "Not too spicy, just right spicy."  And so of course half my lunch gets handed over to her once again.....

Now I will admit it isn't all exotic, healthy food.  She likes her ice cream as much as the rest of us and one of her favourite snacks are Animal Cookies.  She is a sucker for bagels and likes her Oatibix cereal with a little more sugar than I'd prefer, but such is life.  Sometimes she likes it with a fair bit of milk too - this is what happens when you let her pour:

Yes, there is some cereal under there somewhere....(I think she secretly adds that much just cause she likes to mix & stir things so much)

So for now I will be thankful that she generally eats whatever is put in front of her, but I'll try not to feel too smug about it.  With a Toddler, anything can change in a heartbeat.