Lunch With the Yellow Room

October 17, 2024

I wanted to share my lunchtime today with you. Yesterday, a parent mentioned that their child wasn’t eating much lunch, which is a common concern. Eating in a preschool setting can be quite different from eating at home—there are lots of distractions with other young children around. Even as adults, we probably eat differently in large groups compared to a small family dinner.

As children turn 3, their taste preferences start to shift, and it can become more challenging for them to explore new foods. Don’t worry, though! Research shows that with continuous exposure to a variety of foods, children stay open to new tastes as they grow.

Yesterday, when I spoke with this parent and their child, I asked, "What's your favorite food to eat at school?" The child told me about some pouches her mother makes that she really enjoys. I shared with her that I had made miso soup the night before and was planning to make lentil soup for dinner. I asked her if we could have lunch together tomorrow. We shook hands and agreed to have lunch, where she could try my soup if she wanted.

Today, I brought two thermoses of homemade lentil soup and joined the Yellow Room for lunch. I talked to the children about my food and asked about theirs. They each showed off their fruits, pasta, sandwiches, dumplings, and even mussels! Kiara, who I had come to eat with, turned her body away from the soup, letting me know she wasn’t interested. I asked her, “is this your way of telling me you don’t want to try it? Thank you for letting me know.” I asked if anyone else would like to try, and Peter and Jayden excitedly volunteered. They loved it! Some of the other children said, "Nooooo,” and I responded by modeling, “No, thank you.”

Soon after, Mac and Lucien from another table asked to try some, and Peter and Jayden even came back for more. Peter asked if lentils had a lot of protein—he was excited to learn that they do! This sparked a conversation about how different foods help our bodies. Sam showed us his strawberry and asked about its benefits, so we talked about vitamins and fiber.

Then Ahad told us he was done with his lunch, "is your body telling you that you are full?" “Yes” he said. We all discussed how our bodies send us messages—whether we're hungry, full, tired, if we are hot, and how maybe today or bodies told us we were cold and needed to zipper our coats. We took a moment to practice listening to our bodies. We did this by asking our bodies if they were full and then listening for signs. Does your stomach feel full? Does it feel like it does to eat more? A piece of fruit perhaps, are we tired? . Sam made us laugh when he said his body told him he needed a chocolate chip—something we could certainly relate to!

Although Kiara didn’t try the soup, she sat with us and slowly ate her lunch, watching the others enjoy their meal. Over the years, some of my favorite teaching moments have been during mealtimes. Children have so much to say about food and its effect on their bodies.

I’d love to share the lentil soup recipe with you. It’s a simple, nutritious macrobiotic recipe from my mother, and I make it often in the winter, so there will be more opportunities for the children to try it. Remember, it can take many exposures to a new food before a child might even be willing to taste it.