Picky Eater?

Here is What to Do to Change That!

 

I have heard from many parents that their child will only eat a few foods, refuses vegetables, demands fast food and pretty much lives on chicken nuggets.

It seems like all families have at least one picky eater.

Children often need to see a food 5 to 15 times before they will put it into their mouth! So be patient and you will need to not only try a food once but more like two weeks in a row!

Picky eating can be a phase such as some kids who will only eat a few different foods but usually this is short term.

The issue arises when the picky eater is now eating only junk food such as chicken nuggets, French fries and mac n cheese as the main meal sources and is refusing whole foods and this becomes an on-going issue.  Or the child is a snack food junkie and is never hungry at meal times.

What Can You Do to Change This?

It is frustrating for sure and often it is easier to give in. You are just so tired, and so tired of fighting with your child.

And your child knows your breaking point!

Does this sound familiar?

Here are 8 steps to incorporate to help get your child (and your family) back on track to a healthier way of eating. Some of this can apply to teens as well.

 

Lead by Example

If you eat out at McDonalds every day, of course that is what your child is going to want too. Children want to follow what their parents do so the healthier you eat, the healthier your child will eat. Don’t expect to eat a fast food meal but expect your child to eat a salad.

Take a hard look at your own diet. I hear all the time from prospective clients “I eat healthy”. A  food log is so important because you may think you are eating healthy but in reality you eat healthy about 20% of the time.  A food log is a very eye opening process and for some if can be difficult and for others very enlightening.

Thus, it may be best to work on the diet of the family, not the diet of the child and make household dietary changes. Children are more often on board with this when it is a “family choice” instead of the child seeing it as “being punished” or “being forced” to eat differently or selectively chosen in the family to eat differently than everyone else.

If you are not sure if your diet is healthy or not, have a nutritionist review your food journal.

Make this a fun journey that the entire family is taking together!  You and your child will have greater success using this approach.

Remember, this is not a punishment but a REWARD!

What To Do When Your Child Does Not like Bitter Foods

Because we have gotten so used to processed foods our taste buds have been altered, meaning kids are going to not like bitter foods such as dark leafy greens.  So be prepared for this on the first try.

Here is when the foods need to be given several chances. So if they tried it once and don’t like, say kale, you need to try again, and again…you don’t want your child getting in his head right away that she doesn’t like these foods.

Here is why

According to Researchers (Monell Chemical Senses Center) have discovered that eating a food multiple times actually CHANGES the TASTE of these foods!

This has to do with saliva.  In your saliva, there are about 1000 different proteins and these proteins are the key to how you taste your food.

What you eat can change the signature of these proteins.  So when on a processed diet, it is very unlikely your child has been exposed to bitter foods.  So exposure, repeatedly, is the key so that the perception of how these bitter foods taste changes.

Once these proteins “awaken” when you eat new types of foods, you/your child will actually start to like and enjoy these flavors.

The taste buds have been thrown out of whack so you need to be patient to get them to like different foods such as bitter foods. It will not happen on one try.

Be Patient

As I stated, a child may need to see a new food 5 times and up to 15 times with toddlers before they will consider trying a bite. For instance, if your child is new to broccoli, put a piece of broccoli on her plate every day. She doesn’t have to eat it…yet. And don’t make a big fuss about her ignoring the food. Eventually, most kids will try a bite. Some will take more times to see it than others.

Food made fun is also helpful for kids. In the instance of broccoli, cook it different ways, have different dips or sauces to dip the broccoli into, let the kids stand it up on their plate to make it look like trees, etc..

Have the children come to the table hungry.  If they were playing video games and chowing down a bag of chips and guzzling juice boxes while you were preparing dinner, they are not going to want to eat the healthy food put in front of them.

Make Healthy Eating a Family Affair

This is like leading by example but now that the whole family is going to eat healthier, kids should be involved in shopping, food prep, cooking, table setting and so forth. No child is too young to help in the kitchen!

The younger you get them started, the better, as then they will have these wonderful cooking skills when they get older.

When I was young, not only did I watch my grandmother and mother cook, but we were required to take “Home Economics” classes which included cooking and baking.

Today kids just don’t have these skills because these classes aren’t offered, most meals are pre-prepped, and families are so rushed. We also are not as inter-generationally connected and don’t get recipes “handed down” like we did in the past.

Younger kids can tear kale off the stems, tear up lettuce, rinse veggies, can mix, whisk and stir. Kids can learn how to crack open eggs, learn dry and wet measuring and measure ingredients out. Older kids can learn knife skills and start chopping, peeling and much more.

If you, yourself, feel lost in the kitchen, start off by finding a cooking class in your area. This can be a fun family activity too!  (I also  teach cooking skills in my kitchen if you are local and customize this to the client!)

The earlier you start introducing your kids to cooking and whole food prep, the more independent they will be in the kitchen later in life and more inclined to choosing healthy food choices.

Eat Meals Together

It used to be that families ate together nightly.

This is not the case any longer.  How many times per week does your whole family sit down together for a home cooked healthy meal?  I have found that in most households it is once a week and sometimes not even that.

We eat in the car, in front of the TV or computer. Kids and teens may be allowed to take their meals to their rooms.  We all eat at separate times and in separate places.

Not only is getting your kids to eat whole foods important, but how are they going to do this if you never eat together?

Start slow-if you never eat at the dinner table as a family, set up a night once per week to do so.  Then you can gradually build from there.  I know with both parents working and kids involved in extracurricular activities it is difficult to achieve this 7 days per week.  Just do the best you can. Even once per week can have a huge benefit.

Make the family meal a stress free time as well. This isn’t the time to nag about homework or studying for a test or critique how they did in their last soccer game, or that they are not eating the new food on their plate.  If kids are stressed they are not going to eat the food on their plate.  Digestion slows down, your body tenses which makes the family dinner an unenjoyable event.

Personally, I love “Table Topics” for dinner time. You can find these cubes with cards on amazon.  They are great to keep at the table. It allows for open ended dialogue with no pressure and stress. You will also learn some new things about your children!

One Household, One Meal

When did the shift happen?

It used to be you ate what was made, no questions asked, but somewhere along the way, parents started making multiple meals…I was guilty of this too.

What I mean by this is that everyone at the table is not going to have a different meal because Bobby doesn’t like carrots, and Mary won’t eat salad and so forth. A parent should not have to make 2, 3 or four different meals.

If your child declares that they suddenly want to go vegan or vegetarian, which seems to be a common trend among adolescent girls from what I have seen, then they need to pitch in and learn about how to eat healthy within that diet. You should not be expected to make separate meals for them. If they want to change their diet, they will need to take an active role in cooking then.

When I was growing up, there was one meal. If we didn’t finish it, and later we wanted a snack, my mother would say “if your hungry enough for a snack, then you are hungry enough to finish your dinner”. Yup, she saved my plate of food, so no chips, or ice cream until I finished the rest of my dinner.

 

Make it Fun!

This is a critical step if you want kids to eat a variety of whole foods.

Cooking often seems like a chore at the end of the day and we are so tired that it is easier to prepare a meal from a bag or order in. This is okay to do on occasion but slowly that every couple weeks turns into weekly and before you know it, it is a daily habit and the kids expect fast food.

Not only do they expect it, but processed foods, fast food is highly addictive. It is also nutrient deficient so now you all are craving it and don’t have the energy to prepare a home cooked meal because you don’t have those energizing nutrients in your body!

If this is the case, go slow with adding in whole food meals and snacks. Maybe you need to start off with just one home cooked meal per week right now and build from there.

But the responsibility should not just fall on the mom, which it often does.

Everyone should pitch in but make it fun.

Everyone in the household can take turns finding a recipe and preparing it f the kids are older. Or have the kids take turns picking one new vegetable each week from the store and then searching for ways to eat this new food.

OR have younger kids pick colors of the rainbow-for instance, this week, they need to pick out red foods such as red peppers, beets and radish. Next week they can pick out orange foods, then green, then purple and so forth.

Other ways to make eating fun: Play a game of guess this food-blindfold the child and have them taste a food and describe it to you, provide information on the new foods such as orange foods will help your eyesight, or green foods will energize you and make you strong and red foods are good for your heart. For older kids, they may benefit from knowing whole foods will help them with focus in school, give them more energy and muscle for their sport activities and so forth.  Buy some kid friendly, whole food cookbooks which show you ways to make food more creative and appetizing on your child’s plate.

Snacks Should Be Healthy Too!

Snacks are equated with junk food now a days and it seems like we are snacking more and eating less meals.  The problem is we are filling up with calories but not nutrients and then have no appetite when meal time rolls around.

Many kids are looking for a snack right after school or after extracurricular activities.  Be sure to have heathy snacks ready. This is really simple-have a fruit plate with different types of fruit and a veggie plate with some dip out on the counter so that when they come into the house it is the first foods they will see. They are more likely to snack on these foods if they are right in front of them versus in the fridge.

Or if they want snacks in their backpack for after school or snack time at school, it doesn’t have to be a bag of chips or cookies.  When I go into schools to talk to classrooms, most of the children are eating processed foods for breakfast, lunch and snack time with dinner the only healthy meal of the day.

They make so many fun and handy containers today so you have plenty of packing options for healthy snacks.  Pack fruit and veggies and dip for snacks at school daily so they get used to it. Mix up the fruit and veggies that you offer so that there is variety.  Add in some nuts or some nut butter for dipping and you have a snack that contains protein, fat and carbs and loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.

Be Strong, Be Firm,

Don’t Backdown or Give In!

Ah, this is the hardest part. You may not realize it, but your child may be in complete control of food choices in your household.  Your child also knows how long it will take before you finally cave and give in.

I have seen this many times. A parent feels “bad” so they don’t make their child eat whole foods, or a parent says, “chicken nuggets and French fries are all he will eat”.

If you take the chicken nuggets and fries away, yes, he is going to throw a tantrum. Probably a long one. And he may even refuse to eat for a while. Trust me, your toddler is not going to starve to death. Eventually, he will see that if he is hungry, he will have to eat what you are offering.

And healthy food can taste good. The problem is, his taste buds are so used to lots of sugar and salt so it takes time to adjust to the flavors of whole food. Once you remove the processed foods, the taste buds come back to life and you and your children will notice the flavors of whole foods.

To be clear, while it may seem like you are punishing your child, based on her behavior, keep reminding yourself you are HELPING your child!  Eventually, your kids will thank you, although it could be years before it happens!

What about Teens?

Yes, what about teens who are now independent with fast food choices in high school, juice, soda and snack machines, out driving and so buying whatever food and beverages they want.

It is harder to make the changes with teens. Therefore. if your kids are younger, do it now!  Honestly, you will not regret it.

But it still can be done with teens.

The approach with teens is different.

What are they interested in, focused on?

For instance, if they are an athlete, provide information that a whole food diet can make them faster, stronger, improve performance in their sport. (this is not a lie, it really can!)

Academically, whole foods will improve attention, focus, and concentration.

Tired all the time and spending their own money on energy drinks?

Whole foods diet is energizing and there is no need for tons of caffeine.

Do they have a mental health issue? Food is directly linked to our moods and how we feel.

So yes, getting a teen to change their diet is doable! Not as easy as with toddlers but it can be done!

Bottom Line

Whole food eating is not a diet, but a way of life in order to live a long, healthy and fulfilled life.

If you do not know even where to start with making changes in your family, please give me a call-I would love to help you!