The first time my son tried bananas, he spat them out. I continued to eat bananas myself, but prepared different food for him. About two weeks after his first taste of bananas, I tried again. He still didn't like it. After another two weeks, he was trying to play with my banana while I was talking to a friend. Knowing that he didn't like bananas and that I didn't mind eating after him, I allowed him to mouth my banana. He ate half of it before I realized he suddenly liked bananas. I had to get myself another banana.
Before bananas, avocado was the first solid I gave my son. He didn't love them, but he tolerated them because he was hungry. As I introduced more foods that he loved, he became less willing to eat avocados and they became phased out of his menu. When we lived in Chile, however, the abundance of avocados resulted in my desire for him to eat avocados. For three days, I mixed avocado with banana for his breakfast. After those three days, he began to enjoy eating plain avocado.
Teaching children healthy eating habits starts early. If they are hungry, they will eat. If they eat something of good quality enough, they will start to like it. I have done this to myself to switch to dark chocolate and natural yogurt, instead of milk chocolate and yogurts with added sugars. You may be surprised with the healthy foods your child enjoys naturally or learns to enjoy. Repeated exposure to an unfamiliar taste either through mixing with a flavor they do like or from simply trying again can train the taste buds into enjoying the flavor your child (or yourself) did not enjoy previously.
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