Picky Eaters
Did you know that French fries have become the 3rd most common vegetable eaten by children 9-11 months and the number 1 most common vegetable eaten by 15-18 month olds?!
Tips for "Picky Eaters"
Here are some of my favorite tips for getting your “picky eaters” to try new foods.
1. Get Them Involved- recruit their help when meal planning and grocery shopping. Let them pick out a new fruit or vegetable to try and let them help in the kitchen when preparing the new item.
2. Shapes/Textures- sometimes changing the shape of a fruit or vegetable changes the texture enough to get your little ones interested in taking that first bite. One example would be sweet potatoes; they can be cut into a fry shape, puréed/mashed, baked like a chip, diced, or even spiralized.
3. Make It Fun- this just takes a little creativity; try cutting their food into fun shapes with cookie cutters, or making them the perfect size to dip into their favorite sauce/condiment. We personally love hummus and guacamole!
4. Routine- try structuring snack and meals times to be approximately the same time each day so you don’t have an all day snacker that isn’t hungry when it’s time to sit for a meal.
5. Get Creative- if your little one(s) aren’t embracing new foods you can sneak them in some of their usual favorites. This way they are still getting the vitamins and nutrients as well as being exposed to the flavor. This can easily be done with pasta sauce, soups, smoothies and baked goods like muffins.
6. Last but certainly not least, Set An Example- if you are trying new healthy foods your kiddos are more likely to follow suit. Encourage them by talking about the shape, color, smell, texture and taste!
What are some of your favorite tips and tricks to get your kids to try new foods?
I would like to introduce you to Isabella, she is my extremely busy 2 year old.
She is quite the adventurous eater, but she is definitely becoming more independent with her food choices.