Veggie Bling Bling

In a way I really understood her strategy. Kinds of that age don’t have that much to say about their live. By keeping her mouth shut she managed to take control and noticed that this was the moment that her mum would start behaving in interesting ways. I do respect that attitude. But obviously, for me, as her well intending mother who wanted her to be healthy that was a real challenge.

Next to the play in power-balance, putting something unfamiliar in your mouth really is kind of scary- even voor adults. Especially when it comes from a spoon that’s held by someone else. The way to learn to accept a new flavour is by repeating the tasting experience. Research shows that a person needs to taste something about 7 times on average before accepting a new flavour. Tasting 7 times with limited time in between the moments of tasting shapes new neurological pathways. Compare it to learning a new language: repetition within a short timeframe is key.

So there were two things I knew I needed to change. First of all, I had to break the cycle of the dining table ritual. Next to that, I had to find a way to make her taste the same vegetables multiple times.

I decided to cooperate with her daycare and I invited all the kids to my studio for a ‘workshop’. I called it the ‘Veggie bling bling’ workshop and told them we were going to make jewellery with vegetables. There was one crucial thing: the kids needed to use their tiny teeth to shape the veggies. Of course there were some cookie cutters, knifes and a drill, but to make the shapes of bracelets, necklaces and the occasional sword, the kids were directed to use their naturally sharp assets: their tiny sharp teeth.