Kids’ Strange Food Requests: From Cereal Pizza to Marshmallow Rice

Young children start developing food preferences as they grow, a process that is often unpredictable and varies greatly from child to child. A picky eater may love a certain food for a while, then suddenly refuse it, only to return to it later—or vice versa. Sometimes, for weeks, they may eat only one or two favorite foods and refuse everything else.

The challenge is that, despite offering healthy food options, many children tend to crave unusual combinations. For fun, here are some stories from mothers who shared the strangest things their children have asked to eat—and their reactions.

My Genius Son and Cereal Pizza

One mother recalls:

"My son Ziyad loved pizza and crunchy cornflakes with milk. One day, while the family was preparing to eat pizza for dinner, Ziyad came up with what he thought was a 'brilliant' idea: he sprinkled a big handful of cornflakes over the hot pizza. The result? Unusual crunching sounds and a mix of melted cheese and cornflakes. Everyone hesitated to try it, but Ziyad was thrilled with his discovery, even calling it 'Breakfast Pizza.'"

My Strange Children

Another mother shares:

"When I was in middle school, I used to make 'pizza bags' from crushed salted biscuits, spicy sauce, pepperoni, and shredded mozzarella. I’d put them in a sandwich bag and crush them. My seven-year-old son drinks ketchup—one bottle lasts him a week or two, depending on dinner. My other child loves toast with cream cheese, mustard, sausage, and jam. Once, he even ate a croissant with chocolate and mayonnaise. When he was little, he was obsessed with the spice rack, mixing cumin in yogurt or cinnamon on vegetables. We just let him experiment."

Rainbow Marshmallow Rice

"My son Fouad doesn’t like traditional sweets, but he loves white rice. One day he found a bag of colorful marshmallows and decided to add them to his hot rice. The marshmallows melted into a sticky rainbow-colored mixture, like something out of a cartoon. Amazingly, he finished the whole dish and asked me to write down the recipe so it wouldn’t get lost."

Pasta with Cocoa Sauce

A mother recounts:

"My son, not yet five, refused to eat regular pasta with red sauce and insisted on cocoa and sugar sauce instead. I hesitated but let him try it. The taste was very strange, but he ate it quickly and called it 'Sweet Pasta.'"

Ice Cream Hamburger

One mother shares:

"Putting ice cream in a burger or croissant isn’t unusual nowadays, but years ago it was rare. My daughter loved both burgers and ice cream equally. At a fast-food restaurant, she asked the server, 'Can I have a burger with strawberry ice cream instead of lettuce and tomato?' Everyone laughed, but the server agreed. My daughter was ecstatic eating the hot burger with cold ice cream."

Candy Salad

"At my daughter’s birthday party, there was a regular vegetable salad on the table. My five-year-old decided the salad looked 'sad' and needed something fun. She snuck into the kitchen and added colorful candy (jelly beans) and jelly, mixing it with cucumbers and tomatoes. The guests refused to try it, but she was delighted with her 'festive' salad."

Kunafa Soup

"Imagine a child asking for kunafa soup! My six-year-old daughter loved kunafa so much that I sometimes made a healthier version at home. One day, while preparing vegetable soup, she added a piece of kunafa for extra 'freshness.' The result was a very unusual soup, but she was proud to have invented 'sweet soup.'"

Mashed Potato & Jam Sandwich

"My son loved mashed potatoes so much that he wanted to take them to school in a sandwich. He spread them between two slices of bread with strawberry jam! For him, it was a sweet-and-salty delight; for his friends, it caused days of laughter."

Onion Milk

"This might be the strangest story. My 14-year-old daughter had a cold and learned onions could help, but she didn’t like cooked onions. So she put raw onion slices in warm milk and drank it 'like tea.' It tasted awful, but she believed it would help her recover."

Pickle Juice & Peanut Butter

"When I was little, I loved dipping toast in orange juice, which my mom hated. I also loved peanut butter with pickles or cheese. My eldest daughter became obsessed with pickle juice, drinking it straight from the jar. My three-year-old loves rolling butter slices in lettuce leaves, just because we feed the leaves to the rabbit!"

Breakfast All Day

"My son believes breakfast is the best meal any time of the day. He wanted fried eggs with pancakes and yogurt for dinner. Once, he mixed pancakes, eggs, peanut butter, and grape jam on one plate. It wasn’t appetizing, but he loved it."

Peanut Butter & Mustard Sandwiches

"Around eight years old, my cousins convinced me that peanut butter and mustard sandwiches were trendy. I ate them for a year! My daughter now eats peanut butter with jam but likes it because the flavors stick together. My ketchup-obsessed son could eat anything with ketchup—even strawberries once, thankfully he stopped eventually."

Chocolate & Pickle Sandwich

"My four-year-old daughter Joanna once confidently asked: 'Mom, I want a chocolate sandwich… with pickles.' I thought she was joking, but she was serious. The sweet-and-sour combo brought a big smile to her face, and she insisted on eating it every day for a year!"

Pica: Eating Non-Food Items

All of the above seems normal compared to children who crave non-food items like ice, dirt, chalk, hair, paper, soap, or detergent—an eating disorder known as pica, which typically appears after age 1.5 years.

Causes of Pica:

• Lack of maternal affection

• Exposure to family violence

• Vitamin C deficiency

• Iron deficiency

• Malnutrition

Children with pica often appear pale and lack energy, and consuming these items can be toxic or cause intestinal blockages.

Treatment:

Pica requires both psychological and dietary intervention. Therapy may involve sessions with a specialist, while dietary treatment addresses vitamin or iron deficiencies through supplements and balanced meals. Love, attention, and adherence to medical advice are essential to help the child overcome this disorder.

Why Kids Ask for Strange Foods

Despite being funny, these behaviors have explanations:

• Curiosity and experimentation: Kids don’t know the 'kitchen rules' and mix flavors freely.

• Mimicking incorrectly: Children imitate things they see on TV or online but do it in a random way.

• Creativity: Some children have a vivid imagination and may invent genuinely tasty recipes.

• Attention-seeking: Asking for odd foods can make others laugh or react in surprise.