Stories from the preschool classroom

I was a preschool teacher for 10 years. Meal times brought out such creativity in the children. Whether it was snack or lunch, they always seemed to amuse me.
Sydney was 5. Very smart little girl. One day at snack we were having brocholi with ranch dip. Sydney sat down at the snack table and declared "I'm allergic to brocholi." "I didn't know that. Your mom didn't tell me", I responded. Sydney proceeded, "She told me that I'm allergic to brocholi. You should put me on the list. And my mom said not to call her, she has a busy day at work." (Sydney was referring to the list of children who have allergic reactions to certain foods.) Sydney had everything planned out! She made a very convincing argument for not eating brocholi for what it's worth!
Alyssa was 5 1/2 (The 1/2 is very important to her!) Alyssa pulled carrots out of her lunch that she had brought from home. "Carrots give me headaches, I can't eat these" she said. I responded, "I think your mom wants you to eat them, that's why she packed them in your lunch box." "My mom forgot that I get headaches when I eat carrots. Maybe she thought it was my brothers' lunch. Yea, she was supposed to put them in his lunch. Can I take them to him?" (Her brother was in another classroom at our school. He was 2!)
Why do children go to any lengths to not eat vegetables? Is it just the law of childhood that we don't like veggies? I don't think so. I do think however that our tastes for certain foods go all the way back to infancy and even to our time in the womb. It's amazing actually. "We are what we eat", and we might as well say, "Our children are what we eat!" "Monkey see, monkey do!"