6 Tips for Getting Your Picky-Eater to Eat Real Food

6 Tips for Getting Picky Eater Eating Real Food - Miracle Maker Mom

I never believed in picky eaters… until of course I had one.

I always thought it was the talent of the parent who made delicious and nutritious foods for their kids and didn’t give into the quick snacks of today’s world – that guaranteed good eating and well-fed kids.

Well, life can be humbling in that way…

My first 5 kids have all been good eaters.

Some won’t eat if they’re not hungry but will eat fine when they are - this translates to not hungry at dinner time but starving at bed time… but it also means slim and trim (I guess we need to take the good with the bad), and others love to eat something yummy whenever something yummy manifests itself.

However, my 6th child came along and changed all that.

I finally understood what other mothers were talking about – a child who will literally starve herself because she’ too busy, doesn’t like dinner, or isn’t in the mood to eat.

I guess I just don’t relate to ever feeling like that… I happen to like food and don’t at all feed tortured by eating it… :)

So here are some tips and tricks I’ve come up with over the years that have helped keep my daughter from starvation.

1. Figure out if it’s sensory related

I’ve had a few aha moments over the years when I’ve figured out what she doesn’t like about a particular food.

The sensory input that it provides.

I noticed that soups were on the no no list. She’d only eat plain broth with soup croutons or a pureed soup with soup croutons.

One day I finally got it. Some of the veggies had gotten into her clear broth without her noticing and when she felt them in her mouth – well that was it.

“Ew! Gross. Mushy. Squishy. Disgusting.”

But the crunchy soup croutons made the soup palatable.

Try to see if there’s a common factor in the foods your child avoids. Are they all mushy? Does he like crunchy or salty or spicy?

I’ve since developed a sensory diet for my daughter for her oral senses. Lots of gum chewing, pretzel and salty nut snacking.

She’ll eat the crunchy peanut butter and chewy fruit leather. I took two of my kids to OT for a while, but somehow I pick up on other sensory issues much faster than oral.

But it is definitely worth taking the time to notice if it’s a sensory issue that’s bothering your child. A lot less pulling teeth to get him to eat.

But what I found to be the important piece – was understanding my child. I finally understood why she avoided certain food like the plague - why she was so ‘picky’.

She just didn’t like the feel of the food in her mouth. Understandable, no?

2. Use the first-work-then-fun attitude

“First let’s get dinner eaten, then we can play that fun game, go for that bike ride, read that book together, call Grandma.”

Just like we motivate kids to get their chores done, so we give this same motivation for the picky eater.

Related: Why I Don’t Pay my Kids to do Chores

Find something that they love to do and only provide it after a certain (small) amount of food is eaten.

For younger kids (this works for older distractible kids too) I like to sit at the table reading them a story book while they eat.

At the end of each page I say ‘take another bite’ before I turn the page. “Oh, no! The page won’t turn until you do the secret code (taking a bite).”

This one works wonders if they’re really interested in what happens next.

3. Give Yourself the Support You Need

I struggled for years with kids who had numerous allergies as well as this picky eater.

Years.

Then I gave up and said I just can’t do this anymore. That’s when I went online to seek help and help I found. Real Plans is a menu planning system that will allow you enter which ingredients you cannot use and it will spit out weekly menus for you - without those ingredients.

Meaning I could plunk in the foods that some of my kids have allergies to (gluten, dairy, eggs, tomatoes and wheat), as well as the foods that my ‘picky eater’ wouldn’t eat (mostly ground meat, potatoes and soups) and presto - I get a menu every week without any of these ingredients.

Full service with recipes and matching shopping lists and all.T

o say that this was a life saver is just an understatement. This service is just part of our lives now, can’t imagine being without it. I’ve learned so many new recipes and the most amazing thing is it’s so affordable. $6/month? Amazing, no?

With all-natural ingredients I’m feeding my kids REAL FOODS. So even if this daughter doesn’t eat huge amounts, at least I know that whatever she is getting into her system is real wholesome food that will nourish her body.

If you are struggling with your kids food aversions or allergies, why not try getting a little help? Who would have thought that some menu planning would have been such a life saver! Real Plans has literally my life that much easier!

4. Blend it up

I discovered this trick early on that if you just blend up the nutritious, vitamin heavy foods and mix it in with something they like, they’ll never know the difference.

Example: I always put zucchini, peppers and celery in my tomato sauce. I mean it’s loaded with vegies, but they get all blended up before I add the meatballs.

The cookies have ground almonds, flaxseed, dried fruit, seeds, wheatgerm, all mixed into their favorite cookies.

Those pureed butternut squash soups have got a lot more than butternut squash pureed in there.

Smoothies have got yogurt, frozen fruit, probiotics, liquid calcium and often times I’ll add in some greens (just a little).

You get the idea.

The soup will blend fine with any stick blender. Just cook up the soup with all the veggies and then stick blend away!

But for blending the cookie ingredients, the smoothies and many other things I’ve found that my Ninja works better than any other blender.

I used to be a Vitamix wannabee, but I just couldn’t imagine spending so much money on a blender.

But then one day I walked into Walmart and there it was – the Ninja!

In my opinion, it’s just as good as the Vitamix for a fraction the price.

All my smoothies, cookies, dips, sauces, come out so smooth and so good. You’d never know that all these extra yummy and healthy ingredients were hiding inside.

Best investment ever. I’ve had mine for almost 5 years now and it’s just as good and strong as ever.

Funny story:

Last week I didn’t have time to saute the veggies before making my tomato sauce - was running a little late. So I just sauteed the ground turkey and added the tomato sauce. My 5-year-old refused to eat the sauce! He didn’t it didn’t taste normal! Lol! There’s one little boy who’s trained to have his veggies with his spaghetti and meatballs! :)

5. Steer clear of the sugars and fake foods

I have seen so clearly with my own two eyes (yes with my own kids – I make mistakes too) that when a kid eats junk food, that’s all he’ll eat.

Somehow we feel into this terrible cycle with my youngest. We had gone through a very hectic move (see my video ‘Call the POLICE!”) and it took a long time to recover.

So since I am normal, not superwoman or anything, I put a lot of fast food in the over, fries, hot dogs etc. and the kids were snacking on whatever the older kids bought at the corner store.

Well my little guy got into the snacks and he’d fill up and not want to eat anything else.

Not only did he develop a taste for the fake food (MSG junk!) and sugary yums, the real foods didn’t interest him. It wasn’t until I put my foot down, and cut out the junk for a week or two that he came back to his senses and started eating normally.

The crazy part of this story is that this child was not by nature a picky eater. He became a picky eater only because of his ‘addiction’ to fake foods. Crazy, no?

6. Is it an Allergy?

Sometimes you’ll find that a kid who has an aversion to a certain food - in fact actually has an allergy to that food. (Sometimes it the exact opposite and she’ll crave the foods that she’s allergic to!)

I have a daughter who could never stand fish in any form. When we had her tested for allergies she came out sensitive to all forms of fish and seafood.

I have a neighbor who’s daughter never likes pasta or sandwiches. She likes cornflakes for cereal and rice cakes with her tuna or peanut butter. Turns out she’s celiac!

If you have a ‘picky eater’ you might want to check her out for allergies or food sensitivities.

You can visit your local alternative practitioner to get your child tested for food sensitivities, or your could book an appointment for a Body Code session. I can use kinesiology to test your child’s (or your) allergies remotely. Feel free to book a 15 min. free consult to discuss further.

Related: How the Body Code cured my Asthma and Insomnia

However you manage with your ‘picky eater’ let me tell you that it’s not easy and I totally relate and commiserate.

You feel like ‘I’ve just spent all this time and energy making this delicious food – why aren’t you eating it?!?!”

I hear you and I’ve been there myself. I’ve found that freezing foods that haven’t been eaten helps me feel a little better knowing that the food isn’t going in the garbage. But it’s tough.

If you’ve found any other great ideas to help to get your picky eater to eat real foods – please do share!