Top 10 Ways to Turn Around Picky Eating
(click on image for our Homemade Hummus Recipe)
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1. Put Veggies out right after school
I'm not sure about your kids, but the second mine walk in the door from school they're completely famished and begging for food. This is the very best time for me to fill them up with the good stuff. Cut up a bunch of veggies and set them on the counter- the more color the better. I like to serve them with some ranch dip or hummus. Ideally, I like to have the veggies cut up ahead of time so they are ready for the after school rush. Click here for how I prep my veggies for the week.
2. Serve Veggies First on their plate at dinner
This goes along with the same mentality as the last one. When dinnertime rolls around everyone is clamoring for food. Before my husband and I put anything else on their plate (for our little ones or picky eaters), we put the veggie on there first. Until the veggie has been eaten, we don't give them anything else to eat. Usually the main course is what everyone is excited about, so they are more likely to hurry up and eat their veggies to get to the tastier stuff. If I've seen the kids eat a ton of veggies after school, I can skip this step and just let them have the main course.
3. Try a bite or two
There are just some foods we do not like. I refuse to be a short order cook, but I do try to be respectful when there are just one or two items that are really distasteful to my kids. For example, one of my daughters has a strong distaste for tomatoes. It's a melt down every time. Most nights it's easy to just leave the tomatoes out of her salad or something. But every so often I leave a bite or two of tomato for her to "try again to see if she likes it." Our tastes change as we grow up, and studies have shown with more exposure to a certain food, the more you are likely to acquire a taste for it. So we keep trying!
4. Model healthy eating yourself
If you aren't eating your veggies- the kids are definitely going to snub their nose at their own. Kids learn from example and they will be watching you.
5. Have them help in the kitchen
Having the kids help make the food gets them much more interested in what it tastes like. They feel ownership and a sense of pride in what they created. One tip I have for this- do it on a night that you aren't rushed. For me school breaks and weekends are the best time to have the kids working in the kitchen. A stressed mama is not a patient teacher, and we're aiming for positive experiences together. Also, if you have more than one child- one on one is much better if you can swing it. Have the others play outside or hang out with dad or a friend while you work with the one- if you can!!
6. Cut back on the snacks in the late afternoon
Sadly, if my little ladies have even a couple crackers- they are satisfied enough to not want to eat their veggies at dinnertime. It's a crazy thing. So we stay away from granola bars, crackers and other snacks in the afternoon. They are great on the go, and have their place, but they really don't work for our family after school.
7. Free reign on veggies or fruit
That being said, we still need to have snacks! I give my kids free reign on vegetables and fruits- pretty much any time of the day. Bananas are an easy one. I do have to be careful to make sure we have a variety of produce around though. There have been times my son has said he's hungry so I'll say, "Go eat a banana." And he replies with, "I've already had 3!" Whoops!!
8. Let them pick out Veggies at the Store
This goes for fruits, too. And if you are going to the store with out them (which is a much easier option most of the time!), have them have some input as to what veggies to put on your shopping list.
9. Grow a Garden
Planting seeds and watching them grow is such a fun project to do together. It really is a miracle. When my kids were really little we had a big garden in California. I had just instituted the no cracker policy before dinner- and we would catch my 2 year old hiking out to the garden to chomp on green onions. His breath was horrible, but it was a riot! He loves onions to this day.
10. Read books together about eating picky eating
Two of our very favorites are Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss and How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food, by Jane Yolen. It's always fun when you can get as dramatic as possible. My husband is definitely the most fun- throwing things into the air like the dinosaurs, etc. (Both books are inexpensive and available on Amazon. Click the titles for the Amazon link.)