Got Picky Eaters?

The way to their tummies is through their hearts!

Argh! My kids don’t like vegetables! Of course, I can relate. I remember how I would eye tomatoes as a kid. Even though I thought they tasted gross, I couldn't help but admire their luscious appearance. That visual appeal helped open my mind to actually eating them.

Now I realize that food likes and dislikes are not simply determined by taste buds, and through the years I have learned to love many healthy foods, not by their initial taste, but from the lasting effects of how they made me feel.

With that in mind, I wanted to start a conversation with my children—a dialogue that goes beyond, “Eat that. It’s good for you.” And I’ve managed to melt at least a little of their resistance, like cheese melting over broccoli “trees,” by keeping things playful at the table.

Here are eight great questions I’ve come up with to help picky eaters think outside their pastatarian habits:

1. What food do you think looks good, but you don’t like how it tastes?
2. If you made a rainbow out of foods, which foods would you use for each color of the rainbow?
3. Where does your favorite food come from?
4. If bites of your dinner were airplanes carrying packages to your body, where would the packages go and    what would they do there?
5. If you had a magic garden, what foods would you grow?
6. If you were a chef, what foods would you serve in your restaurant?
7. Imagine that you made a playground out of giant vegetables. What would you use for the slides, swings, jungle gym, trees, sun, or clouds?
8. What is the craziest food that you would ever try?

It’s amazing how adding imagination makes things taste better. My good friend Sarah finds it easier to get her kids to eat fluffy clouds and little green planets rather than mashed potatoes and peas… I suppose for the same reason foods sometimes taste better when served on a picnic blanket or a Disney princess dish.

 
By Kate Cordell, MPH

Kate Cordell is a local mom of two. When she’s not cajoling her picky little foodies into trying veggies, she moderates MyPromise Kids Facebook Group. It features a Question of the Day and lets parents post their kids’ silly-sweet answers. For more nutrition tips, Kate suggests visiting MyPyramid.gov.