Lemon DNE Pickle

I didn’t think it possible to find a food that LJ would turn down. Sure, there are some foods for which he opens his mouth less enthusiastically, but he opens his mouth nonetheless. We have found two distasteful foods: lemons and Gerber Beef and Carrots.

The lemon we tried at a restaurant. At first, he shoved it in his mouth as eagerly as any “thing” – he puts every “thing” in his mouth. He screwed up his face into a reaction that you would associate with…well, eating a lemon, but he kept gnawing on it nonetheless. Then, he dropped it. So, I picked it up and started to hand it to him and he forcibly shoved my hand away. This, dear reader, was a first. Prior to this, he has not pushed a food away. I’ve suspected that he didn’t really care for some foods, but he would continue to open his mouth. I think he is the perpetual optimist…always hoping the next spoonful would hold something different and more palatable…like bananas. But, with lemons he has learned that a little realism is a good thing.

Gerber Beef and Carrots we tried here at home. I started giving him “simple recipes” which are a fruit or a vegetable mixed with some sort of meat (turkey, chicken, beef, etc. – hmm…I not really sure what the etc. would be, but…). He does enjoy sweet potato and turkey and he likes pears and chicken. He liked beef and carrots ok, but I think that was due to his optimism (see above). The second day of beef and carrots…they were left over and had thus been in the refrigerator. I thought, “no one wants to eat cold beef and carrots,” so I warmed it in the microwave a bit – just enough to take the chill off. He ate a bit, screwed his face into an expression we have come to associate with eating a lemon, and shuddered. So, I tried another bite and…yep, he forcibly pushed my hand away.

I’m not giving up on the Beef and Carrots, but I am giving up on the lemon. I don’t think he is lacking in any nutrient that a lemon provides, so I’m not concerned.

Oddly enough, he rather enjoyed a dill pickle spear at a local hamburger/laundromat yesterday. Yes, you read that correctly. There is a place here that is a restaurant (with super-good hamburgers) connected to a laundromat. So, you enjoy a great burger, a piece of to-die-for peanut butter pie (unless, of course, eating peanuts might cause death for you – “hi” SJ) and smell fabric softener all at one time.