My son loves noodles. Just plain spaghetti noodles with a little butter or olive oil. He doesn’t like to spoil it with any sauce. I keep trying to encourage him to try them differently- marinara, cream sauce, maybe some meatballs… but no, just noodles. It makes me think of a photo of me as a little girl, where I’m eating spaghetti and it’s smeared everywhere. I expected this to be some sort of normal baby ritual- the marinara sauce spaghetti mess. But my son won’t get near a sauce, so when he’s done he just looks like he’s oiled up and ready to wrestle.

The joy of noodles

He loves noodles so much that when we went on a two week cruise where he could order absolutely anything he wanted for dinner, every single night he ordered a big plate of plain noodles with butter. One night he tried chicken nuggets and then sent them back in exchange for noodles.

So I’ve embraced this and now make a big batch of noodles all at once, put them in a gallon freezer bag and keep them in the fridge, ready to heat on-demand. That way, I can make noodles in about 15 seconds instead of cooking them from scratch every time. I’ve also started getting those “Hidden Veggie” type noodles and other healthier varieties rather than regular old pasta. The only time he complains is when the noodles are a different color. Some of the veggie ones are more on the orange side than yellow.

To be honest, I’m just happy any time my picky little eater shows excitement about eating something besides chocolate and gummy bears. We have a lot of arguments over what consists of “real food” and why he needs to eat it. So if he loves noodles, I’ll make noodles! I have also had some success getting him to eat other pastas like bow ties and corkscrews, as long as it is served with just a little butter.

Before the pasta obsession, he went through a serious Puffs phase and a hot dog phase. From speaking with other moms, I gather this food fixation is a universal toddler (and child) trait. So what food is your kid obsessed with right now?

P.S. – Never stock up on what your kid is eating because then they will immediately not want to eat it EVER again. My son has currently switched to angle hair pasta, and specifically the protein variety. He doesn’t want regular size noodles anymore!