Articles

Beyond Macaroni & Cheese: Tips for Your Picky Eater – Tried and tested ways to work around the picky eating roadblock

By Tanis Danyluk
Published in Calgary’s Child – Jan/Feb 2009 edition, pg. 41

What are some of the challenges we as parents face when trying to provide quality nutrition to our families? Time, money, allergies and, of course, picky eaters are just a few of the many challenges we face on a daily basis. Well, here are some of my tried and tested ways to work around the picky eating roadblock and encourage good nutrition and quality meal times in your household.

Create a meal plan with your kids. This could be as simple as the night before having a discussion with them regarding what to take out of the freezer for the next day, to sitting down on Sunday as a family and planning out your meals for the week. This takes the stress out of opening the fridge and thinking, “Great, now what am I going to make with a couple of carrots and some leftover rice that the kids will actually eat!” It encourages you to make quality meal choices rather than choices out of convenience. Not only does it allow you to try new recipes and make sure you have the ingredients required on hand, it allows the kids to have a ‘say’ in what they are eating so they will feel empowered and, in turn, excited about eating what is planned.

Let the kids help cook. Delegating little jobs, like taking out the ingredients or stirring, gets them involved. Even something as small as washing the celery will help the kids become invested in the outcome. This way, when you sit down at the table, you can thank them for their hard work in helping to make dinner and encourage them to sample their handiwork. This should promote even the pickiest of eaters to give something new a try.

Model quality mealtime behavior. Make mealtimes a quiet and restful experience. This will allow your bodies to choose the stage of ‘rest and digest’ while eating. It will also enable proper digestion so that each bite taken is being made worthwhile throughout the body. Another note is to have your liquids (preferably water) between meals. This way, the digestive juices are not being diluted and inhibited from doing their job. It also doesn’t enable the picky eaters to fill up on fluids only.

Keep it interesting. Each time you go to the grocery store, pick up something new. A vegetable or grain you haven’t tried before will broaden the range of food and nutrients being provided in the home. If it is understood that each meal needs to be tried at least once, before you know it, your picky eater will become a well rounded eater that can be proud of his or her choices. Enjoy the process of creating a harmonious and relaxing mealtime environment with your family.