Poppie asked me to give more background on THE chocolate bunny for Easter. (see below blog, “you better watch out.” for more info). Those of you who know Joelle know that she is a very, very “discerning” eater. One of my favorite things to mention is that it is at least refreshing that her pickiness isn’t only with real food but also with desserts. The girl likes chocolate. Period. For example, in her Easter basket she also got a lollipop, white chocolate covered rice krispie treat and a sugar cookie. She did not eat any of those…. only the chocolate bunny. She would have eaten all of it in one sitting had we let her. She acts like a desert that hasn’t seen rain in awhile when she gets around chocolate. (The only disclaimer here is the kid influence. She will occassionally have a lollipop if a little friend is having one.)
Anyway, months before Easter, that was the carrot that Nana dangled in front of her… The easter bunny won’t bring you that chocolate bunny if you’re not a good girl. I think it really was 2 months. So, it makes it all the more funny that she turned it around and tried it on Nana!
A comprehensive list of food Joelle will eat:
* any pasta (NO sauce)
* broccoli, only cooked
* raw carrots, NOT cooked
* fried fish (luby’s or frozen)
* peanut butter sandwich, no crust or peanut butter licked off crackers
* goldfish, pretzels, chips, bread (she likes her carbs, at least I usually give her whole wheat)
* occassionally, apple – only with apple dipping sauce
* chicken nuggets
* grilled cheese, no crust
* cheddar cheese, american cheese, once in a while string cheese
* macaroni and cheese (luby’s only)
* cashew nuts (no other nuts, except peanuts ground into butter)
* sucked juice from the orange, she spits out the “crust”
* fruit snacks (but only certain brands)
* chocolate anything (M’s are a favorite, chocolate cookies, chocolate ice cream, etc.)
* cake (really only likes the frosting like her mommie, will tolerate a little of the “cake”)
* honey nut cheerios and white milk
* pancake with honey (with=covered generously)
* sometimes the danimals yogurt drink
* Lunchable-style pizza meals, once in a while “real” pizza
The BS that they feed parents, “…keep offering your child a variety of foods. It takes some kids up to __ times exposure to try it.” Whatever. It is NOT for lack of trying that Joelle doesn’t eat a variety of foods. I’m just trying to say…. she wanted that chocolate bunny.
Pico DiPaolo 
May 11, 2006 at 9:50 am
That’s a much larger list than Meg’s two cousins (Maddie and Christopher) in Dallas will eat. Their diet consists of:
* “Circle soup”, chicken soup with those “O”s .. and Christopher will have you transfer the soup from one bowl to another, making sure not to take any chicken in the process
* Popcorn
* McDonald’s chicken nuggets and fries
* I think sometimes they’ll eat pancakes for breakfast, but I can’t remember for sure
* Juice for Christopher
* Sodas for Maddie
And that’s really all I can think of. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them eat anything else unless forced to (which is rare).
May 12, 2006 at 10:38 am
Yeah, that seems like a pretty good variety to me too…
I heard (was it you that told me?) that kids are predisposed to be picky because their little bodies are more vulnerable to food borne diseases. Not sure though.
May 12, 2006 at 5:50 pm
You might think that it seems like a good variety. Sure, try that for a week, no problem. Can you imagine if you had to eat from only that list for three years?
Seriously, the real pain is that she won’t even TRY something else. It’s immediately a scrunched up face, a stuck out tongue and a cry that makes it sound like she’s on Fear Factor when we put a small piece of turkey or something on her plate. Not touching her regular food, just on the plate.