Get Even the Pickiest Eaters to Eat

By Allison Berman
December 16, 2008

Several readers have asked how to expand "picky" eaters' diets beyond pizza, grilled cheese, and hotdogs. Others want to transition from jarred to "regular" food. You can work and still find time to feed the smallest members of your family healthy foods -and you can do it with out disguising vegetables. Teach your children to enjoy healthy foods now and they will eat well the rest of their lives.

First let's talk babies. My litmus test was if I wouldn't eat it, I wouldn't feed it, which eliminated most jarred foods, so I made my own. It seems ambitious (read: daunting) but not how I did it. I cooked mass quantities and froze meal size portions. Most fruits and vegetables were pretty much the same process- steam then blend. I made peaches, peas, pears and plums. (Forgive me I was just watching Sesame Street with my older daughter and P was the letter of the day).

Anyway, that's as complicated as I got. Remember - I said I MADE baby food. I didn't say I COOKED it. I served lots of easy foods like avocado and bananas that don't require cooking just mushing. How hard is it to microwave a sweet potato? Plus it's lighter to carry, no preservatives, and a fraction the cost of jarred. When each daughter got the hang of solids, I started serving a mild version of what I eat to transition to "table food."

This is where parents of picky eaters can join the discussion. The method of introducing new foods is pretty much the same regardless of the age of the child. For that matter my technique even worked with my husband. He grew up eating red meat several nights a week and was confident dinner wasn't complete without it. He will now happily eat vegetarian dinners without noticing anything's missing.

Give your child something she loves for the main part of her meal (for my daughter that was sweet potato). Then introduce something new (a little roasted chicken). Note: It can take several tries to acquire a taste for something. Mushrooms were tough, but when I tried wild mushroom risotto - similar in texture to oatmeal - an old favorite, I found one of my 16 month olds' new favorites.

Simplify your busy life and keep resistance to a minimum by serving family meals with components your kids enjoy. If we eat a salad with vegetables, chicken, peanuts, and dried cranberries -each child has her version of our dinner. My younger daughter will eat chicken and cranberries. The older started there, and now eats the cucumbers and peanuts too.

Random ideas: cooking with my kids "invests" them in the meal. And, I have noticed if I eat something, my kids will too (for better or for worse).

So, if you want your children to develop good eating habits loose the cheetos and grab snap peas for a snack. It's just as quick if you are short on time. Your kids model your behavior. And your kids' eating habits begin with you.

Allison Berman, an artist and mother of two, handpaints custom home accessories for interior designers and private customers. She works out of her home studio in Warwick, NY. See her collection at www.withlovealib.com. She can be reached at ali@withlovealib.com. Her column appears Tuesdays.