I still remember some of the nasty “smoothies” made for a truth or dare that I boldly drank in order to prove I didn’t back down from a dare. Or the cultural “delicacies” I ate on missions trips to not offend the hospitality being shown. Or the full fish, eyeball in and everything I ate for an amazing race themed birthday party. There’s something about eating things that are scary that trains our minds to conquer fear. Everything in you says no, don't eat that, but you learn to train your mind as you tell yourself, “there is no real danger here, I can do hard things”, as you swallow something seemingly unbearable and it soon becomes a great story to share.

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Having these little moments of low risk bravery not only makes great memories but helps us learn that we can do more than we thought we could, that we can be brave.

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There are of course other little acts of bravery you could take on but there’s something about an eating challenge that helps us get past that mental block. Bravery is a matter of the mind and we don’t give ourselves or our kids enough practice in growing and stretching our mental strength. Eating something gross is not really a desirable thing to do on a free Saturday afternoon, but doing it together, taking a video, making it a memorable moment, and maybe even having a surprise reward after for everyone who did it will be something your kids remember and reminds them they can do hard things.

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Some ideas of what to eat:

• Go to a different cultural restaurant or store and order something you would never get. I.e. vietnamese fish, chinese chicken feet, Mexican pig feet, Laos frog soup

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• Add a bunch of random ingredients to a blender and make a weird smoothie everyone takes a sip of.

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• Order some fried crickets and try them.

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• Go to a seafood market and get some whole fresh squid or octopus for everyone to try.

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• Dig up some worms, rinse them, and swallow one whole.

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If you accept this challenge and bravely eat something "scary" together, take a video and tag us on social media so we can see and share your act of bravery with the community. @legacymakerfamilies