Somewhere along the line I realized that always taking the nutritional high road wasn’t getting me anywhere with my kids. As a dietitian it can be tough to break certain nutrition rules, but I have found that doing so is often exactly what’s needed to expand my kids’ food preferences.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s best to maximize nutrition early, but later when children drop certain foods, you may want to consider a gradual approach.
Because with kids, the hurdle is often getting them to deem a food acceptable. Once that hurdle is overcome, it’s easier to modify the food to be more nutritious.
So here are some nutrition rules I break in order to help my kids get out of their food comfort zone. (more…)
Yes, I’ve lately made peace with my son’s ketchup habit for this reason. I would use ranch dressing the same way if only he liked it. A friend used to let her toddlers have one or the other on almost everything they ate, and now a year or two later they’ll eat almost anything and they’re no longer hooked on the dips.
About the salt, I don’t see why you should even see it as a compromise. Doesn’t recent research increasingly indicate that conventional wisdom has falsely demonized salt? My understanding is that as long as you’re eating home-made food most of the time and don’t actually have high blood pressure there’s little or no evidence in favor of avoiding salt. And in my opinion, the veggies you eat are healthier than the veggies you don’t eat, for kids and adults alike. My M.I.L. is obsessed with health food and especially avoiding salt, and as a result my husband grew up hating every type of veggie. Our first year together, every time I cooked a new veggie he was shocked to discover it could actually taste good.
You are right Anna doesn’t really count. I think the message is that you should consider making changes you might not make for yourself.
I love this. Great ideas and wisdom here. Thanks for sharing.
Great ideas and I can relate to so many of these. I loved iceberg lettuce as a child and it was a gateway to all kinds of greens. Ditto to generous sprinklings of salt on raw veggies. Only one of my kids is sold on salmon–so I’m going to consider breading it next time!
Thanks Sally. Little D isn’t into salmon either and doesn’t much care for breading. But peanut butter….maybe peanut butter salmon??
Salmon satay maybe?
Tge Meal Makeover Moms have an awesome breaded salmon nugget recipe I made a few weeks ago. It was a hit with the whole family!
I recently found your website while looking for resources to deal with my really picky 2 year old. He does not even touch anything other than Cheerios, toast, crackers, Mac and cheese, plain noodles, plain whole wheat flatbread or cheese pizza. He used to be an okay eater up until a few months ago. I still try to offer a variety of foods every day. Today he refused noodles because they had cabbage in them. There are days when he would not have much of anything except milk until evening when one of us eventually gives up. The advice in this article is great, I have tried some of it with him, but it has not worked for me. For example, I gave him a chocolate chip pancake the other day. He picked the chocolate chips, ate them and said he was done! It does not help that he is at 10th percentile as far as his weight. Short of refusing him anything but what’s on the table or feeding him crackers all day, what can I do? Sorry about the long comment but I am at the end of my rope and would really appreciate some advice.
Hi Shivani. That’s a tough age because the mental awareness is just not there and growth really slows. Has his growth always been about 10% or has it been declining? It’s important to know the red flags just in case. This post should help you http://www.maryannjacobsen.com/2013/08/the-nagging-question-every-parent-of-a-picky-eater-asks-part-2/
Such a great post. I went through exactly the same process with my 5 year old. It was tough for me to do it at first, and I wasn’t always convinced it was going to work, but it is starting to pay off. Now my daughter eats a wide range of foods including salad, vegetables, whole wheat pasta etc. We are just going through the caesar salad thing too. I just have to breathe and remember that a bit of romaine instead of spinach is going to be beneficial in the end!
Thanks for sharing Esther…it’s always good to hear others experiences.
Well, first of all, if my son didn’t like bagels I certainly wouldn’t introduce him to chocolate chip bagel! I would probably just rejoice that he didn’t eat those yucky things (like the fact that he doesn’t like cake either, yay! ) And as for caesar salad…well, he doesn’t like that either….but I think it’s a good choice to not eat caesar salad too. BUT…I understand what you’re trying to say Maryann and I applaud your sacrifices. What we do is give our son the power to choose what KIND of salad he wants…but our “rule” is he has to eat a salad with dinner. So, when he makes the salad for the family at dinnertime he makes all sorts of interesting concoctions. Some are fruit salads, some are veggies, sometimes both! Always healthy because it came out of our refrigerator or garden. And it’s always what he wants and how he likes it. And OH the pride in his face when the whole family is ooo-ing and ahhh-ing over his masterpiece. We all win, really! I’d like to add….ALWAYS supervise your child in the kitchen.
Thanks Jenny. I knew the bagel one might get some comments. Little D is pretty picky I suspect it has to do with his language delays and being late on so many things. So I look for expansion anywhere I can get it and I find that one good experience (whether healthy or not) leads to another and so on. Also, we really enjoy going out for bagels once or twice a month ; ) I like your story about the salad. Big A loves to make salads too.
I understand about the bagel: no, it’s not health food, but it’s on the other hand good for kids to learn to eat a range of foods, especially foods that social situations might put them in the position of being expected to eat. My son has little use for bread or pasta, and while I know that’s probably all to the good nutritionally, I also think it would be good if he eventually learns to at least tolerate them.
What a great article. For 3 years, my twin girls both ate pretty much everything and if anything the problem has been that I fear they are eating too much. Now, one of the girls is becoming a little more choosy. I would be more ok with sacrificing some of what I want her to eat, but the problem with it is that her sister will then want to eat that stuff in addition to what else she eats. They’re built differently too- the eats anything daughter is a little bigger and the choosier one is naturally a little more petite. Would love to know your thoughts on this situation!
I wouldn’t put anything out that you aren’t okay with both of them eating. Maybe you can try some different strategies and see how it goes. It sounds like either way, if you follow DOR, they will each regulate. Make sense?
Thanks Maryann. Makes sense, just becoming a little more difficult!!
Great article! I have used everyone of these except the salt on veggies, thankfully I have 2 little ones who love carrots (for now anyway!)
Thanks Hiba. Great to hear!
Such a great post! I have never tried salt on veggies, but love that idea!!
This is a great article! A gradual approach to helping kids learn how to eat a variety of food makes so much sense. No judgments on the types of changes being offered. I love these ideas! Thank you.