Tips and Tricks to Help Picky Eating

Picky eating can add undo stress to family mealtime and plans. Try these tips to help keep meals and snacks stress free for picky eaters and their families.

Allow family members to serve themselves from a bowl/platter

Serving meals community style instead of assembling plates for an individual allows each person to pick what they want to eat as well as determine the desired amount. As a result, the individual may feel a sense of control, thus promoting their willingness to try new foods.

Oftentimes, children have most of their decisions made for them in their daily lives. During mealtime, their refusal to eat certain foods or textures may be the only time they feel in control to make their own decisions. As parents or guardians, we can try to eliminate that by encouraging them to make their own plates, including the types of food they want to eat as well as the desired portion. When non-preferred food options are part of the meal, encourage children to take at least one piece or a try a tiny spoonful. However, refrain from forcing them to eat those non-preferred food items. Forcing someone to try something they are not ready for can potentially lead them to completely eliminate that food from their diet. Instead, remind children that they do not have to eat each food item but to just “let the food live” on their plate for the remainder of mealtime.

Make meals fun with silly serving utensils or plates

Allow children to eat macaroni with small tongs, meat balls with a toothpick, or maybe chicken with a chopstick as a spear. Get creative and serve meals on ice cube trays or cookie sheets instead of plates. You can also cut sandwiches in different shapes or characters. Assembling a sandwich face? Try different components of non-preferred food options (ex. create a face with the eyes and nose made of vegetables, with the mouth made of a highly preferred food.). The novelty and excitement of these new dishes and utensils may encourage increased eating. Novel cutlery and presentation can shift the focus of the meal to “can you use these to eat?” as opposed to “will you eat this food?” Try having a picnic on the floor, outside, or in a home-made fort. Novel and fun environments can improve children’s engagement with their meal and promote experimentation with new foods/textures.

When out and about, allow children to try your food and use words to describe the food instead of labeling it as “good” or “bad” 

Describe new foods to children as objectively as possible, such as discussing the temperature, taste, and texture. Express whether the food feels soft or crunchy, juicy or crumbly, hot or cold, etc. If your child is willing, allow them to smell the food, lick the food, or maybe even take a nibble. Describe the flavors as salty, sweet, sour, etc. Classify food smells or flavors as big/small or strong/faint. Allow children to politely spit something out if they do not like it. This way, children can feel comfortable learning about new foods and expand the way they think about food beyond “tasty” or “yucky.” 

Do not be afraid to play with, build with, or create games with food

Interacting with new or non-preferred foods helps children learn the texture, temperature, smells, and even the flavor of the food in a low-pressure environment.

Try to build houses with crackers, fruit, or vegetables. Place a non-preferred food in your mouth and see who can spit it into the garbage or sink.

Many of us grew up hearing “don’t play with your food” because it can seem impolite. However, when in an appropriate environment, food play is a way for picky eaters to comfortably expose themselves to new food sensations without worrying about the pressure to eat it.  

Force feeding is a no-go

Forcing any individual, especially children, to eat a food they are not ready to try can increase their stress level and potentially push them into a fight or flight mode. This can result in them ingraining a negative experience with the food before they even try it. They may then refuse that food even when it is presented in a less stressful environment. When trying new foods, it is recommended to keep the experience fun, positive, and pressure free. This way, children are more likely to remember new foods with positive emotions and may be more willing to try them again.

Interested in learning more strategies to help picky eaters? Check out out blog: Helping Picky Eaters at Home