Feeding Bébé

French Wisdom on Feeding Kids and Recipes for Dips. And in the Kitchen Playground: How to Use a Can Opener.

A week or so after Hank, my grandson, was born, my daughter Lauren’s wrists were hurting. I took her to the doctor and in the course of our conversation he told us that he’d been treating women with this condition for 20 years. When he became a single father (by choice), he understood in a whole new way: his wrists hurt. It was, he said, the result of the repetitive motion of lifting and nursing a baby, and he gave her splints for both hands.

We kind of fell in love with him, especially since when he spoke of his 4 year old daughter he beamed. He recommended a book, which had nothing to do with hurting wrists, but which had a lot of great ideas: Bringing up Bébé One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckman.

Lauren read it right away and then I did. I won’t get into the whole book but what really interested me was the French take on feeding kids. If you are a caregiver, pregnant, or have a young child, or grandchild, I highly highly recommend this somewhat controversial book.

There is a section at the end of the book that summarizes different topics, and here are the headlines from Chapter 4: Bébé Gourmet.

• There Are No “Kid” Foods

• There’s One Snack a Day

• Don’t Solve a Crisis with a Cookie

• You Are the Keeper of the Fridge

• Let Kids Cook

• Serve Food in Courses, Vegetables First

• Everyone Eats the Same Things

• You Just Have to Taste It *

• Keep Foods in the Rotation

• You Choose the Foods, She Chooses the Quantities

• Variety, Variety

• Drink Water

• Looks Matter

• Talk About Food

• Have the Day’s Nutritional Balance in Mind

• Dinner Shouldn’t Involve Hand-to-Hand Combat

• Eat Chocolate**

• Keep Meals Short and Sweet

  *Looking back, and talking to my grown children, I largely raised them this way. If you are familiar with my writing, you know that I am not a fan of making children taste things. But now I’m not as sure. I talked to my kids about this and they both said that while I never said “you have to take one bite”, that that message was implicit. I don’t recall ever battling that issue. I agree with all of these but I don’t know if you have to state each of them.

  **Meaning: Don’t get crazy about dessert.

One of the things I did that I think really made a difference was to have hummus, vegetables, and cut up fruit out on the table when they came home from school. They walked into the house hungry and ate what was in front of them.

Hummus

Active Time 20 minutes/Total time 20 minutes/Makes 2 cups

Kitchen Gear

• Can opener (adult needed)

• Strainer or colander

• Cutting board

• Sharp knife (adult needed)

• Food processor or blender (adult needed)

• Measuring cups

• Measuring spoons

Ingredients:

• 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 cup tahini

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons warm water

Instructions:

• Put the chickpeas, garlic, salt, and cumin in the bowl of the food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until the chickpeas are finely chopped.

• Add the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and water and process until the mixture is silky-smooth. Add an extra tablespoon of water if you want it smoother. Taste the hummus: does it need a pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon? If so, add it and then taste again.

• Serve right away or transfer to a lidded container and refrigerate up to 4 days.

Notes: For the variations below, the method stays the same, but the ingredients change a bit. Or feel free to make up your own recipe! Former Kids Advisory Board member Hannah Stein adds capers and cayenne to her “very tasty” version.

Lemony Scallion Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped (or 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder)

• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1⁄2 cup tahini

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil

• 3 scallions, greens and whites, chopped

• Grated zest of 1 lemon

• 1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons warm water

Pesto Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped (or 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder)

• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

• 1⁄2 cup toasted almonds

• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil

• 1⁄4 cup warm water

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Guacamole Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and coarsely chopped (or 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder)

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 2 tablespoons warm water

• 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

• Pinch chili powder

Ranch Dressing/Dip

Active Time 10 minutes/Total time 10 minutes/Makes 1 cup

Kitchen Gear

• Cutting board

• Sharp knife (adult needed)

• Medium bowl

• Measuring cups

• Measuring spoons

• Spoon

Ingredients

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice

• ½ teaspoon mustard (any kind you like)

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped onion (or ½ teaspoon onion powder)

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced (or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder)

• 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives, dill, or parsley leaves

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

• Put all the ingredients in the bowl and mix well with the spoon.

• Taste the dressing on a lettuce leaf or a carrot stick. Does it need more vinegar or herbs or a pinch more salt? If so, add it, then taste again.

• Use right away, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.

Kitchen Playground: How to Use a Can Opener

1. Set the can on a flat, hard surface.

2. Pull apart the two handles of the can opener. Flip the can opener over and look at the two wheels on the bottom. One is jagged (bumpy on the edges) and one is smooth. Place the smooth (cutting) wheel against the inside of the little rim at the top of the can and close the two handles tightly together with your left hand.

3. Place your right hand on the little wing-like part of the can opener. Slowly twist the wing while still squeezing the handles closed. This should make the smooth wheel start cutting into the can’s lid and rolling around its edge. Continue to turn the wing until the smooth wheel has gone all the way around the top of the can.

4. Pull apart the handles of the opener.

5. Carefully, carefully lift up the top of the can. Use a fork to press down one side so that the other side pops up, then carefully pull it out. (Remember: the cut edges will be sharp!)