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Novel ways to help a fussy eater

Blogs, Family support for picky eating, Picky eating support / By
Novel ways to help a fussy eater, Judith Yeabsley|Fussy Eating NZ, #TheConfidentEater, #FussyEatingNZ, #TryNewFoods #HelpForFussyEating, #HelpForFussyEaters, #FussyEater, #FussyEating, #PickyEater, #PickyEating, #SupportForFussyEaters, #SupportForPickyEaters, #CreatingConfidentEaters, #TryNewFood #PickyEatingNZ #HelpForPickyEaters, #HelpForPickyEating, #Wellington, #NZ, #JudithYeabsley

Novel ways to help a fussy eater

Let’s look at some new ways to move the dial.

And some fun stuff you can do with your child.

If you have a fussy eater, then involving them more in the food sphere is helpful. Eating, like reading is multiple touch-points that over time help to make change.

Interacting with food in any way helps to build a comfort level with it. That is always a primary goal, to help your child become more comfortable around food. The more food anxious they are, the more important it is.

Experimenting away from the table can help as it takes away the pressure of eating. None of these suggestions are about “getting your child to eat something new”, all of them are about building comfort, which longer-term will be helpful for eating variety.

Think of these as building blocks rather than a magic wand.  This can help you (and them) relax and enjoy the process. Reading one book doesn’t suddenly mean your child will read, but each one you share with them, gets them closer to doing so!

Novel ways to help your fussy eater

These are in no particular order and can be adapted to suit a child’s age and stage. Even if your child is older, please do not rule things out. Many strategies can capture interest even for those tough tweens and teens.

I can just imagine how my teens would roll their eyes and yet be looking on curiously if I did some of these things.

1. Songs/phrases – changing the words of songs or common phrases to include a food. It can be done in ways of love. It can be done to be silly, and it can be done to get attention. Which song/phrase you use and how you do it depends on the age of your child.

Creative ways to help a fussy eater, Judith Yeabsley|Fussy Eating NZ, Mum singing, #CreativeWaysTo HelpAFussyEater, #CreativeWaysToHelpAPickyEater, #TryNewFoods, #TheConfidentEater, #FussyEatingNZ, #HelpForFussyEating, #HelpForFussyEaters, #FussyEater, #FussyEating, #PickyEater, #PickyEating, #SupportForFussyEaters, #SupportForPickyEaters, #CreatingConfidentEaters, #TryNewFood #PickyEatingNZ #HelpForPickyEaters, #HelpForPickyEating, #RecipesPickyEatersWillEat, #RecipesFussyEatersWillEat, #WinnerWinnerIEatDinner, #Recipesforpickyeaters, #Foodforpickyeaters, #Wellington, #NZ, #JudithYeabsley, #BookForPickyEaters, #BookForFussyEaters, #ThePickyPack, #FunFoodsForPickyEaters, #FunFoodsForFussyEaters

I am picturing my boy’s response if I substituted food for a key word in a contemporary song 😊. I remember for a while we used ‘panda’ as a substitute expletive and all of us still sometimes occasionally use it for entertainment value!

For littlies, there are so many songs that could resonate for them and sound so different with a food substituted for a word.

2. Food art – this can be super complex or really basic. I used to do this all the time for my boys, but admittedly it was as much for me as them!

I ran sessions in schools and community groups, and was always great fun. You can chop some fruit and veg or other foods into shapes and then let children build a picture. Or give them free rein to get creative.

It’s a cool activity to do when friends are over too. It means they are touching foods, interacting with them, becoming more comfortable handling them and perhaps even thinking about eating them.

3. Growing seeds – in Aotearoa New Zealand one of the supermarkets runs a regular spring promotion. You receive little individual pots with seedlings to grow for every x dollars spent.

Creative ways to help a fussy eater, Judith Yeabsley|Fussy Eating NZ, Seedlings, #CreativeWaysTo HelpAFussyEater, #CreativeWaysToHelpAPickyEater, #TryNewFoods, #TheConfidentEater, #FussyEatingNZ, #HelpForFussyEating, #HelpForFussyEaters, #FussyEater, #FussyEating, #PickyEater, #PickyEating, #SupportForFussyEaters, #SupportForPickyEaters, #CreatingConfidentEaters, #TryNewFood #PickyEatingNZ #HelpForPickyEaters, #HelpForPickyEating, #RecipesPickyEatersWillEat, #RecipesFussyEatersWillEat, #WinnerWinnerIEatDinner, #Recipesforpickyeaters, #Foodforpickyeaters, #Wellington, #NZ, #JudithYeabsley, #BookForPickyEaters, #BookForFussyEaters, #ThePickyPack, #FunFoodsForPickyEaters, #FunFoodsForFussyEaters

It totally brought out the inner child in me as I was excited to get them home and see which ones we had received. I grew them on the kitchen windowsill.

One of my neighbours transplanted theirs into the front garden and they had the most amazing display of veg.

Growing seedlings can be really simple. When I was young, we used to grow cress in a cleaning cloth soaked in water in an old meat try on the kitchen windowsill. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

Even in middle-age there is something magical about watching seedlings grow. Or instead of seedlings you can use the bottom of a lettuce immersed in water to grow new shoots.

It’s great for children to understand how and why plants grow, to water them and watch them angle towards the sun and talk science too!

4. Painting – using spices to paint can be great fun. Brightly coloured spices like turmeric or paprika can be mixed with water and used as paint for brushes, fingers, or stamps. Not only do you get the colour, but you get the aroma.

Just make sure clothes and tables are well protected as spices can also stain. 

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5. Colour coded meals – it can be fun to make everything on the plate the same colour, especially if that is a bit whacky. And yes, I realise most picky eaters prefer everything beige 😉 However, you can make it fun using a brighter colour.

For example, having a red apple, jam on toast, red jelly, and strawberry ice cream. Or you could change the colour of things using a natural food colour. Blue milk on the cereal, blueberries, and blue yoghurt.

Any time your child’s meal is a little different it’s a positive. If you can make meals more interesting and fun and have a child interacting with food, it’s a win.

6. Dips & sauces – for some children these are a win, for others, anything liquid is a flat no! That’s okay, I have a substitute!

For those who enjoy dips or sauces it can be great fun to have different bowls at the table and the opportunity to dip foods in. Using a skewer or cocktail stick (they have safer ones for littlies) or just fingers, you can dip into sauces.

If liquid is a no, what about ice cream or yoghurt? Can your child dip cookies, crackers, or fruit into a bowl of ice cream? Teaching a child to mix foods is great skill building.

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Or if mixing even with ice cream is a no, then what about using sprinkles or choc chips to dip into for sweet things. Or perhaps salt (have a few grains in a bowl) for savoury foods.

7. Recipe search – looking through recipe books or web-based searches can be a great way to give your child charge over what is going to be cooked. It could be savoury, or you could do desserts.

Having something that everyone is excited about can be a really positive experience.

Although these sort of experiences can be fun, it’s also important that you don’t make them about eating. It’s not unusual for hesitant eaters to get all excited about making something, get to the end and not be able to eat it.

Rather than being disappointed and feeling you have wasted your time, I like to reframe and think of it as a great opportunity to have a child interested, engaged, and excited around food. These experiences do help!!

8. Nibble tray/muffin tray – preparing a nibble tray can be excellent whether your child is 5 or 15. You can arrange tasting options in tiny bowls, silicon holders or even muffin tins.

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Even as an adult we are drawn to beautifully presented food and having lots of different things to pick from can be fun.

You can serve these directly to your child or put them in the fridge and have them grab them when they are ready for snacks or lunch.

Hopefully this has given you a few new things to try with your children. As I was writing I also realised how many other novel ways to gently support hesitant eaters I had, so next week look out for part 2.

Please also feel free to share with other parents 😊

Judith, MA Cantab (Cambridge University), MSc Psychology (first-class honours), is working on a PhD, an AOTA accredited picky eating advisor and internationally certified nutritional therapist. She works with 100+ families every year resolving fussy eating and returning pleasure and joy to the meal table.

She is also mum to two boys and the author of Creating Confident Eaters and Winner Winner I Eat Dinner. Her dream is that every child can approach food from a place of safety and joy, not fear.

Learn more about Judith here: https://theconfidenteater.com/about/

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