If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? This may be one of life’s most difficult questions to answer, as choosing your favorite food could quickly turn it into a meal you despise. Sometimes, we just need to learn that it is possible to have too much of a good thing (or a delicious thing), especially when we’re children.
One mom recently detailed on the Malicious Compliance subreddit how they managed to teach their daughter a lesson after she demanded her favorite food all the time, so below, you’ll find the full story, as well as some replies from amused readers.
Kids tend to be fanatics when it comes to their favorite foods
Image credits: Caleb Woods (not the actual photo)
So to teach their daughter a lesson about moderation, this mom agreed to start serving salami pizza for every single meal
Image credits: Sigmund (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Gold-Carpenter7616
Later, the mother responded to a few questions and provided additional details on the situation
We all have preferences, and it's completely normal to have one particular favorite food
Image credits: The Nix Company (not the actual photo)
We all have preferences when it comes to eating, and it’s completely normal to have a favorite food that you might find yourself craving more than anything else. For me personally, some perfectly roasted sweet potatoes or buffalo cauliflower will hit the spot any time. But as we grow up, we learn that everything is better in moderation. That fabulous cake at the bakery down the road won’t taste quite as special if you have access to it every day, and that amazing pizza you dream about after eating it wouldn’t be as mind blowing if it was served to you multiple times a week. Moderation is something that it seems like many of us have to be taught as adults, but actually, small children tend to be perfectly in tune with their hunger and satiety cues.
According to Nemours Health Systems, “All toddlers will exhibit cues to their own fullness, even unconsciously, as an effort to prevent uncomfortable overeating.” And while it can be important for parents to encourage and model healthy eating habits, kids intuitively know when they’re hungry and when to stop. There are certain factors that can lead to children becoming obsessive about particular foods, such as being a fiend for candy if it’s only ever allowed on special occasions. One possible reason for this young girl desiring salami pizza all the time is because her parents did set limits on how often she could have it. Of course, they only did this to ensure she ate a healthy, balanced diet with many nutrients. But we all know that being told we can’t have something often makes it much more enticing.
However, it's important for kids to learn not to become obsessive over these foods
Image credits: Zahra Amiri (not the actual photo)
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Ashley, of Veggies & Virtue, explains on her blog that children often become obsessed with certain foods, particularly sugary ones, because they’ve been demonized. She recommends revamping our children’s relationships with the foods they’ve become obsessed with to teach them how to incorporate them into a healthy diet without allowing them to occupy excessive amounts of mental energy. In the example of sweets, Ashley says to allow them into your child’s diet on a semi-regular rotation, even when they don’t ask for them. “By offering dessert with dinner, the sweet becomes a part of the meal just like any other food would be,” she explains. “Being offered at the same time as other foods, it also frees up your child’s mental attention by permitting dessert to be eaten freely before, in bits during, or after their meal itself. It is incorporated into the meal and not a reward or bribe contingent on their eating performance.”
Ashley also notes that it can be wise to share with your little ones when the next opportunity to eat the food they’re obsessed with will be, so they don’t have to spend time and energy worrying about it. If they know pizza will be served again next Saturday night, there’s no point in asking about it all the time or whining that they’re craving it. They simply have to learn to wait, and they might even forget about it until the day comes. Ashley also recommends figuring out which foods your kids are obsessed with and choosing to incorporate them in place of other treats they might not be thrilled about. For example, if the whole family is eating freshly baked cookies, but one child would rather have some candy instead of a cookie, that is a valid option. The same sweet craving is honored, and they learn not to take sweets whenever they can have them simply because they’re sweets.
Moderation is key when it comes to eating a healthy, well-balanced diet
Image credits: Brooke Lark (not the actual photo)
Moderation is important when it comes to our diets to ensure that we all get a well-rounded range of nutrients and to simply ensure that we don’t become tired of eating the same foods over and over again. As this young girl quickly learned, it’s incredibly boring to eat pizza for every single meal, and food fatigue is a real thing. Have you ever gone through a phase of making oatmeal or avocado toast every single morning for months until one day the idea of eating it sounded extremely unappetizing? Incorporating a wide range of foods in our diets can help combat this fatigue, as well as mixing up which meals we eat every week, incorporating theme meals, incorporating a mix of fresh and cooked ingredients into our dishes and focusing on the social aspect of meals rather than simply the food.
Even as adults, it can be tempting to overindulge in certain foods that we’ve just discovered or find ourselves craving all the time, but it’s important to remember that our diets need variety for a reason. Thankfully, this parent reported that their daughter learned from this experience and enjoys an occasional salami pizza nowadays, so it seems like the malicious compliance was all in good fun and absolutely worth it. We would love to hear your thoughts on this story in the comments below, pandas. Have you ever exhausted yourself by eating one food far too many times? Then if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article discussing picky eating, look no further than right here!
Amused readers shared similar stories of children obsessed with their favorite foods
Others shared their reactions to the mom's malicious compliance
