Expanding our palate

In roughly the past two weeks Mercedes has had: quesadilla, chicken enchilada, shredded beef burrito, spanish rice (we like mexican), sweet and fiery chicken, mar far chicken, pork fried rice, chow mein (and chinese), chicken adobo (filipino), and just last night some good ol' barbequed country ribs.

There are multiple things I hope to accomplish with Baby-led solids.  The most important is my desire for her to have a wide range of foods she likes.  I want her to enjoy all sorts of foods and not be afraid to try new things. I don't to raise a picky eater or a kid who you to bribe, threaten, and cajole into taking a bite of something they haven't had before.

Another thing I hope to accomplish, which I guess is just an offshoot of that, is I want her to prefer foods that are good for her, or atleast foods that aren't bad for her.  I want her to love her fruits and veggies, which I think I've already accomplished to some extent.  I've heard stories about babies turning their noise up and clamping their mouth shut when it came to pureed green beans or pees, but Mercy loves grabbing a string bean to munch on or a handful of pees.  I don't want her to grow up and be one of those kids who screams for McDonalds or doesn't want to eat her dinner because she only wants twinkies and candy, or a child who won't drink milk or water because she only wants pop or juice.

I know I won't be able to keep all of that away from her, she has already successfully thieved a sour punch straw (or skittle or gobstopper, we're still not sure), some Mickey d's fries, and a bite of cookie (that one she snatched right out of my hand!). But, I can hope to cultivate in her a preferance and appreciation for better tasting and better for her food.