I have again, a child who does not eat well’

Image: Elinor Veldman

Tasty and healthy cooking for the whole family, just go for it. With her family cookbook On! hopes presenter, food journalist and cookbook writer Jet van Nieuwkerk (33) will make that fun and easy once and for all.

“How I had been looking forward to Frenkie’s (2) first bite. He was four months old and I had been looking forward to it for ages. I had thought it through carefully: it had to be mashed sweet potatoes. I made quite a moment of it.

With my friend Ward in the starting blocks with the camera and exactly four months after his birth, I spooned Frenkie a spoon. He hated it, spat it all out and turned his head away, retching. Logical, he had never tasted anything but milk. But I thought: see, it’s me again – the gourmand with a child who doesn’t eat well.

Keep trying

Fortunately, as we tried more, things got better. A matter of not giving up and trying again the next day. Sometimes a plate of tomatoes flew through the air, even though he liked it the next day.

“As a starting mother, I was a bit dizzy with the methods”

Incidentally, in the beginning I always gave him pieces of food, not whole pieces of food. As a new mom, I was a bit dizzy with the methods, and I decided to do what felt right to me. Oh, that sometimes meant a ready-made pot. But packaged fresh frozen. Although it is of course no problem to cook some vegetables yourself and freeze them in small portions.

Variation

As a child I was fed very differently, I have the impression that the Disk of the Five has changed considerably over the years. Quinoa was simply not there in the past, but the views were also different. My nursery diary says, “Jet ate some nice chocolate sprinkles today.” Or: ‘It was Friday, so pancake day’ and ‘We got some nice fries.’ That is no longer conceivable now, is it?

My mother cooked fresh and varied meals for my brother and me every evening, with lots of vegetables. But they were less varied then than they are now. It wasn’t until I started living on my own that I found out what a job that was. My father never touched a pan, he was good at other things. So I was spoon-fed healthy cooking, just like my mother learned from my grandmother. I’m glad I’m now passing that on to Frenkie.

Read also – Culinary writer Vanja: ‘My trick to get them to eat vegetables? Get it done first’ >

Healthy food

At a certain period in my life I really went too far in healthy eating. From the age of sixteen I struggled for several years with the eating disorder orthorexia, an obsession with healthy food. No, making food my job is not a coping mechanism. At most it’s a trigger, I think – that might be something to be aware of. Fortunately I haven’t run into any problems yet, I think my eating disorder is really over.

With Frenkie I don’t make a fuss about the occasional unhealthy splurge. For example, I never rigidly adhered to the rule that he was not allowed sugar until his first year, but I did give it to him in moderation. And although there are no fries on the table at home, I really don’t mind if Frenkie is served it outside the door. The freezer is at his eye level and he can already ask for an ice cream. Sometimes I say yes, sometimes no. And he always gets a good birthday cake. But during the week we don’t eat dessert and we rarely have sweets in the house.

On!

When On! first appeared as an e-book in the spring of 2022, I received many enthusiastic responses. There wasn’t really a cookbook with simple dishes that were tasty for toddlers and the rest of the family. But there were also questions from mothers if I could also think of dishes without gluten or lactose. That inspires me for future releases. This cookbook is part of a series, after which I would like to make a book for a family with older children.

“Did you know that a child can taste new food faster if you put it next to something he already knows?”

With the birth of Frenkie, a whole new, extra world opens up for me in terms of food, so much fun. I have expanded the printed version, which was recently published, with tips and advice from nutrition and children’s coach Susanne Verzuu. I had to, because I think it’s important that the nutritional value and health of my recipes are correct. She also gave some eye openers. Did you know, for example, that a child tastes new food faster if you put it next to something he already knows? Yes, Frenkie tasted everything. And approved – although sometimes it also depended a bit on his mood.

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Attention and time

Involving your child in eating is important and fun to me. There are few eating rules in Ward and me at home, but one is sacred: when we eat, we take time and attention for it. Then we set the table, and everyone helps. Frenkie is now of the age where he can also help with the cooking. Then he puts the beans in the pan, shoves peels in the waste bin. Or he puts the cutlery on the table. I really believe that contributes to learning to eat healthy.