If you’ve been reading teeny tiny foodie regularly, then you probably know that since last January, when Eliana began eating solid foods, I’ve been working on making her a teeny tiny foodie. (Well, duh! It’s the name of the website). I think there are many pieces to this process, and one of them is for a little foodie to be involved in shopping for the groceries, whether they come from the grocery store, the farmer’s market or corner deli.
It is especially fun when Eliana accompanies me on our weekly Sunday trip to the farmer’s market. Our farmer’s market is right next to a playground, so sometimes she and Matt head to play and I meet them after I shop. But, lately when Eliana does join me at the market, she helps “choose” some of our produce, too. She’s not very picky though. She chooses by reaching out and grabbing whichever piece of produce she can get her little hands on first–she is super curious about all the colors and textures. I try to involve her in this process by talking to her about what we are buying, telling her why I chose one product over another and describing to her what we will do with the different items we buy. And when she is older, she will be given the job of picking out a few vegetables she wants to help prepare that week. For now though, I’ll have to be content with the fact that she is interested in looking at all the fruits and vegetables. She touches them, smells them and tries to bite into them. Then, when we get home, she loves to dump out our shopping bags and touch everything all over again. During this little activity, I channel my inner teacher and make it a “teachable moment” by repeating the names of everything we bought all over again. I think it’s working, too! The last few days Eliana’s been saying a new word: “ah-kull” which you know as “broccoli.” She even responded to the question, ‘What’s a green, leafy vegetable?’ with a confident “ah-kull!”
Aahhh. Happy sigh from the food-focused Mommy.
So, the next time you’re going shopping for groceries, bring the little one(s) along to help create your own little foodie.
And now, just for fun, I’ll share the ttf-inspired version of the rhyme “This Little Piggy” that’s been in my head since one of our recent visits to the farmer’s market.
Here’s “This Little Foodie”
This little foodie went to market…
Hmm, which tomato looks the most tasty?
This little foodie stayed home…
Who needs to go shopping? I’ve got tons of tasty food right here, including ah-kull!
This little foodie had roast beef avocado…
Aaaaa (vocado)
This little foodie had none…
Dreaming of her next meal, no doubt.
And this little foodie went wee, wee, wee walked, walked, walked all much of the way home.
I’ll go anywhere with this guy.
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