Tips for feeding summer produce to picky eaters from newsletter authors
8 reported
NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe interviewed Greta Caruso and Fanny Singer, authors of The Green Spoon Substack newsletter about feeding children. The two friends, who had children within a month of each other in 2022, started the newsletter after finding feeding their own kids harder than expected despite their professional cooking backgrounds. They surveyed other parents, including professional chefs, and found widespread guilt and shame about what they feed their children, with many reporting years of kids eating only “white food” like pasta, bread, and cheese. For summer produce, Caruso suggested offering a crudités platter with dips before dinner to reduce pressure. Singer recommended a “polenta pizza” recipe that folds fresh corn kernels into polenta, sets it on a greased sheet pan, and tops it with tomato paste, cannellini beans, basil, mozzarella, and other summer produce. Singer noted it can take up to 14 or 18 exposures to an ingredient before a child may decide they like it.
What’s reported
Greta Caruso and Fanny Singer have been friends for over 20 years and had children within a month of each other in 2022.
They write The Green Spoon, a Substack newsletter about feeding and cooking for children.
They started the newsletter after finding feeding their own kids harder than expected despite being professional cooks.
Every parent they spoke to expressed guilt and shame about what they feed their children.
Some professional cooks reported years where their kids would only eat white food (pasta, bread, cheese).
Caruso suggested a crudités platter with dips before dinner as a low-pressure way to introduce summer produce.
Singer described a polenta pizza recipe using fresh corn, polenta, Parmesan, butter, salt, tomato paste, cannellini beans, basil, mozzarella, and other summer produce.
Singer stated it can take up to 14 or 18 exposures to an ingredient before a child might decide they like it.
Key figures
Ayesha Rascoe – NPR host
Greta Caruso – co-author of The Green Spoon newsletter
Fanny Singer – co-author of The Green Spoon newsletter
Sources: NPR
