Introducing new foods to kids

We all know that raising healthy and happy eaters can be challenging at times. We often face new feeding challenges every day, some we win and some we lose. As parents we want to see our children enjoying food with the first bite but this is often an unrealistic goal. Kids, especially, toddlers thrive on routine and ritual and are also testing every limit while trying to exert some independence. As a result, getting kids to try new foods can be a tall order. Little ones often don’t mind eating the same thing day in and day out. They may also find a new food scary or overwhelming. Encouraging your kids to try new foods can be tricky but it is not impossible. Here are a few tips to help you out.

Ask your child to pick out a new food to try

Bring your kids grocery shopping or to a farmers market (when Covid isn’t a thing anymore!) and ask them to scavenge the produce section for a new fruit or veggie to test out at home. Getting them involved in this process of picking something new might make them more excited to try it.

Get your kids involved in the kitchen

Look for recipes to prepare this new food together. Once kids are invested in planning for and preparing a snack or meal with the new food, they may be more inclined to take a bite. Allow your kids to explore the new food, smell it, touch it, lick it, squish it. I know we all grew up being told not to play with our food, but allowing kids to play with their food and engage all their senses, might actually help them eat a wider variety of food.

Talk about the new food without pressuring your child to eat it

Encourage your children to talk about the new food. What are its physical properties, colour, texture and temperature. Talk about where it comes from and how its usually prepared. Ask the kiddos if they would be interested in trying the new food cooked up in a new way or raw (if possible) next time.

Offer small portions of the new food along with old favourites

Offering small, reasonable portions of the new food along side a familiar food might be the winning ticket to kids trying something new. Introducing a new food in this way helps kids to feel more comfy with the idea of trying something new and not overwhelmed by it. Offering this new food with a familiar food, helps kiddos feel safe, meaning that they know there is other food available for them to fill up on and there is no obligation to eat the new food or even try it. This takes the pressure off. Anytime a kid is pressured to eat, you can be pretty certain that they aren’t going to! You could also serve the new food family style and lead by example. If your kids see you enjoying this new food, it might be enough to pique their curiosity and help themselves to a serving. No need to over sell it or exaggerate your enjoyment of this new food, play it cool and they may follow your lead.

Spice it Up!

Try adding more flavour to the new food. Herbs, spices, sauces and dips might make the new food more appealing to little ones. Serve this new food in different forms, cooked, raw (if possible), grated, cut into shapes, whole, on a stick (of course, be sure these methods are safe for your little one based on their age or development and experience with eating, for example, do not serve pieces of hard fruit or vegetables to kids under 4, this could be a choking hazard). Try different ways to cook it up, maybe its sautéed on its own, or tossed into a salad or soup. If you offer new foods this way, the intent is not to hide the food, but just to offer it in different ways, be up front with your kids about what’s on the plate!

Offer it up when kids are hungry

You know your kid best and have hopefully created a meal and snack structure for them, so use this to your advantage when encouraging variety in their diet. If kids are grazing all day long and not hungry for meals and snacks, when a new food is offered, you can be sure that they won’t be taking a bite. Offer a new food when your kiddos have the biggest appetite, this might be a time when they are more inclined to experiment with something new.

And lastly …

Don’t take it personally when they aren’t interested in trying something new

This one can be really hard, for me too! After you have put all this effort into planning and preparing a meal or snack, having frowns and refusal at the table can feel like a personal attack. But trust me, its not! Being skeptical of new foods and putting on the breaks when being offered a bite is totally normal for kids and this should be your expectation when offering something new. Actually, research suggests that it can take multiple (and by multiple I mean 10-20) tries before a kiddo is open to trying something new. So don’t take it personally when your dish isn’t a hit right out of the gate. Try and try again! Of course, we all have our food preferences, so it may be that you child really doesn’t like the food you are offering. My oldest daughter will not eat bell peppers, never has and likely never will, despite them being on the table every single night. So try to respect your childs food preferences. If after multiple tries, your kiddo, just isn’t interested, maybe its truly a food preference and its time to move on. Of course, to determine this, they do have to at least try it at some point. So again, perseverance not pressure is the key here.

So although feeding kiddos and raising healthy and happy eaters can be a challenge at times, with a couple tips and tricks you’ll be well on your way to increasing variety in their meals and snacks.

More questions or concerns about your kids eating? Let’s connect. Send me a note today to set up a meeting, I’d love to chat!