About a month ago, sometime around when this picture was snapped, my 4-year-old declared she is no longer a vegetarian. My wife and I are “vegetarians” who eat a bit of fish here and there. We’ve kept our daughter on the same diet, but told her that it’s her choice if she wants to eat meat — it’s not something we’re adament about, we just don’t eat it ourselves — and that we’d just want her to eat sustainably-raised and kindly-killed meat if she eats it.
She’s had a bit of proscuitto at some parties in the past and loved it. After declaring her desire to be a carnivore we asked her what meat she’d like to eat. She said, “only cow, that’s the only meat, pigs and chickens and ducks aren’t really meat, I want to eat dead cow.” We suggested she eat meat at school and not at home, but she said, “I only want to eat meat at home.”
We’re flexible.
We did our grocery shopping at Whole Foods that week instead of Rainbow Grocery so she could pick out some meat. She selected some all beef cocktail franks (not super healthy, not super unhealthy, already cooked which is nice for those of us who don’t want to cook meat) and we designated a small cast iron fry pan in our house to be the meat-cookin’ pan for our carnivorous preschooler. She ate a few franks. She’s asked for them since but then declined to eat them when they’re hot and ready to eat. She’s tried bits of a few different types of meats at restaurants but didn’t like it. She tried a bite of turkey at thanksgiving and spat it out.
I’m pretty amused. I’m proud of her for trying out something new and taking advantage of a choice when, really, kids don’t have that many choices. She’s my rock star.
Any updates on Lucy’s experimentation with meat? You are open-minded parents! Have a super-happy new year!