Inspirations: Thanks, Todd and Nancy

As a "young adult" I had lots of ideas about how I would parent. Some of those ideas vanish as soon as you are, in fact, a parent, but when it comes to food I am sticking to my guns. I have seen far too many parents fall into the trap of feeding their children a bland, benign, and non-nutritious selection of narrow foods. We aren't going to go there.

I am determined to raise a child who will eat almost anything almost anywhere. The can have their preferences, but I expect that food off of any restaurant menu at any venue should offer enough variety to find many things they would enjoy. I know it isn't going to be an easy road but I am sure with the effort and support I have it is in fact possible. I want a child who can ask for inari or a pupusa and pick up a bottle of sriracha and know what to do with it. After all, I ate what was served to me as a child and adored blue cheese and lima beans and spicy foods.

There have been some wonderful inspirations for me out there. Todd Kliman, the Washingtonian food writer, has inspired me as I have followed the adventures he has had with his son who is about 2 years old at this point. After the birth of Alexander, he mentioned in an email that soon enough we would be going out again, and that stayed with me in the early days when I felt we would never leave home again (until he was 5 days old when we went out for lunch and I was a nervous wreck).

I have also been inspired by Nancy Tringali Piho, the author of My Two Year Old Eats Octopus. This book is a must read for any parent planning to dine out with their child frequently and is an entertaining and insightful read written by an experienced parent. Some of the best parenting and pregnancy advice I received was to not read too much, and I obeyed this. Besides Dr Sear's Baby Book this is the only parenting book I have read!

Lastly, in my travels all around the globe I have seen children eat just about anything, and with gusto. These experiences have allowed me to eradicate the idea that a baby or child needs only bland, sweet or fatty foods and can in fact ingest and thrive on a spice and flavor filled diet.

I hope Alexander is along for the ride, because it is going to be a fun one!