Memorable Mealtimes–Picky Eaters

Do you have a picky eater?  Trying to get children to eat something they don’t like is difficult.  As a parent I have always refused to stoop to the strategy that would probably be most effective – bribery.  I never wanted to make dessert a reward for eating dinner, so I tried other, more subtle, (and therefore ineffective) methods of appeasing picky eaters.

Unfortunately, it turns out my children have a sixth sense which warns them when I am trying to get something by them.  Books have been written on how to disguise food to make it more appealing to children, but those tactics never worked for me.  I tried adding minced kale to my spaghetti sauce, but no one believed it was parsley.  And every time I added protein powder to smoothies they rejected the resulting drink.

All the experts say if kids help shop for and prepare a meal they will eat it.  Well not my kids.  They are perfectly happy to dirty every pan in the kitchen making something they have no intention of eating.  Making a mess is fun, eating healthy food is not.

Finally we settled on requiring a “No Thank You” helping from each child. This is a small token serving of the offending part of the meal, which has to be eaten no matter what.  Once we instituted this rule most of our arguments with picky eaters stopped.  Not because the kids were eating better, but because they were much, much sneakier than me. This rule allowed my children perfect the art of hiding vegetables and making me think they ate them. Here are some of their most successful strategies.

1. Food art – Mush up the food, mix it all together and spread it out on the plate so it looks like some has been eaten.
2. Separate bowls – Pretend that you can’t stand having your food touch other food.  Get a separate bowl to keep food isolated, place the bowl on the plate , and hide vegetables underneath.  Then after dinner volunteer to clear the table, thus hiding the evidence and getting appreciation for being helpful all at the same time.
3. Drop food to the dog – always a favorite of children everywhere.  According to my daughter the key to this technique is to wait until conversations are going on, so that the sound of food hitting the floor will be hidden. My son confessed he used to cleverly kick food over toward his sister, so she would get the blame if caught.

1. But after years of these futile techniques I have finally discovered the secret that works – puberty. Once my kids hit about 12 years old they get

hungry.  All the time.

  And when there is a limited amount of junk food they are forced to eat what is available.  So at thirteen my oldest discovered that Caesar Salad tastes delicious. Now I buy bananas, apples and tangerines and they disappear.  When we go out the eat the problem isn’t finding something they like, it is keeping them from ordering the most expensive and exotic food on the menu.  OK, broccoli is still not a favorite, but baked potatoes are eaten, and every time I send my son out to harvest tomatoes he eats more than he brings in to the kitchen.  So if you are struggling with picky eaters there is hope!