30 days – 30 new foods

My oldest daughter is 10-years-old and she is by far my pickiest eater! She eats the same thing for lunch every day (a salami or ham sandwich – without cheese or condiments – yogurt, baby carrots and an apple) and dinner is a challenge every night. She has an insatiable sweet tooth and is tentative (and often indignant) to try anything new or different. I know I’m not alone as a parent when I admit that feeding kids is hard! (Meanwhile, my middle daughter will eat anything. Her favorite foods are sushi, kale, salmon and pickles).

My 10-year-old is at a new public middle school this year that has an amazing and intensive focus on social emotional well-being, diversity and commitment. Part of the school focus requires that each student complete activities around a set of virtues (things like acts of kindness, community service, self awareness activities, etc.). Her current “phase” requires, among other things, that she complete a 30-day challenge or practice. For 30 days she has to practice something and document it every day. After much deliberation on what she should do (Practice piano? Write 30 letters? Run 30 miles? Draw 30 pictures?) we finally agreed on the perfect challenge – every day she will TRY a new food that she’s never tried. Yes, some will be sweet, but she’ll also try new fruits and vegetables, meats and seafood. Today, I took her to World Market so that she could pick out some food items from around the world to try – she picked mochi from Japan, noodles from Korea, banana chips from Hawaii, octopus from Spain! She has committed to also trying new things on menus and interesting things that her dad and I cook up and then writing a short review in a journal. We have decided to also document all of her new foods on @TheWanderingRumpus Instagram page – so please follow along!

Any foods we should definitely try? Let us know on Instagram or in the comments! Wish us luck!