So You Have a Picky Eater...

Often other mothers stare at my children in amazement as they try a kalamata olive, anchovies or leavy green vegetable and make yummy noises then ask for more. People ask my husband and I how we got so lucky with our toddler's eating habits, I always reply that luck has nothing to do with it!

The beginnings of my stir fry

I was determined to have healthy eaters from the day my babies began solid foods. We quickly came up with house rules for eating habits, we knew that if we modeled good eating then the children would be more open to trying items that we eat. From day one we never gave the girls sugar, homemade all their baby foods out of foods we eat, offered fruits and veggies first before other foods and ate the same thing that we were feeding the babies. I let them eat off my plate, made yummy noises for foods I thought they might not want to eat and tried to be patient with foods they clearly did not like. 

One of my girls, E, is very tactile sensitive. She does not like anything that is grainy, sandy or pokes your finger. This was important to remember when giving her foods, some foods she refuses based on texture, and that's fine. My other girl, G, will try anything and eat pretty much what ever you are offering. When it comes to food she is always game! 

You may be asking yourself what specifically I fed my children, here is a list of house rules that we made up and follow to this day,
1. We all eat the same things, if we want to eat something they cannot have we try not to do it in front of them and wait until later. Remember that if it tastes good to you then it will taste good to them so you try it first and have them watch! If the apple sauce you made is boring add some cinnamon or if the oatmeal tastes like paste then add a little coconut sugar and milk.
2. No processed food for the following reasons,
- it changes the taste: have you ever tried those canned peas or carrots? You tell me if it tastes as good as the real deal, and yet we expect our children to eat it?
- the canning process takes away good properties of the food because it needs to be heated to a certain temperature in order to extend shelf life.
- the preservatives or thickening agents are sometimes harmful. Twin E is allergic to lotus bean (also known as carob root) which is found in fat free dairy items and canned baby food. It is used to artificially thicken the food.
- often sugar, corn syrup or salt is added to help with flavor which creates a cycle of children expecting all food to be sweet. Sadly if you formula fed your child this cycle started on day one of the formula feeding since all formulas have some type of sugar.
3. Limit sugar to natural. This does not mean that those sugar posers like Truvia or Stevia, what I am referring to is coconut sugar, honey (after the age of one) and fruit. I make the girls "cookies" using oatmeal, cinnamon, eggs, buckwheat with mashed bananas for sweetness. They gobble them up! We also limit natural sugars like juice by giving the girls 1/3 juice and 2/3 water, I personally do this to my own juice as well.
4. Do not offer foods we do not want them to like. It sounds simple, if you do not want your kid to be obsessed with mac and cheese then do not offer it! Side note, I LOVE mac and cheese but make a healthier version of it at home with amazing ingredients.
5. Make sure that caregivers respect our rules. Our children have only been watched by us, my mother and two different nannies that we have had since day one. Everyone is on board with our food rules and it shows!
6. Make healthier choices. We choose to eat sprouted bread over white or whole wheat, we almost always choose organic, we limit meat to about two meals a week, we add veggies or "hide" them in food whenever possible, we use alternative flours for baking (oat, buckwheat, almond, quinoa, brown rice and coconut flours) we never give our kids anything with corn syrup, we avoid anything fried like french fries, whole milk dairy, and we use alternative oils for cooking (olive or coconut instead of canola or veggie oil).

G enjoying an egg casserole

If you already have a picky toddler then this will be an uphill battle. You may have already given in to processed foods or sugar and it will be hard to take them away. Just keep in mind that it is never to late to create change but the more time you wait to change the process will take longer. I would suggest a complete overhaul instead of a phasing out. Make sure you offer foods that taste good and start with things that almost every kid enjoys such as homemade apple sauce, smoothies, pasta and sauce (but hide some veggies in that sauce and make sure to blend it in so they don't pick them out!) or alternative "cookies" like I mentioned above. It IS possible to transform a picky toddler into a healthy eater, I was able to do it with a child I nannied for full time from age one to three. But you have to get everyone on board, including the child. If you have any questions about how to specifically hide veggies, change to healthier options or anything else feel free to comment here and I will share what I know!

(To make your own baby food you can use a standard blender but we invested in a Beaba Babycook. I do not recommend this product but there are similar versions on the market that are better. It was the only baby food maker you could buy when the girls were born. To save time I would make baby food in large batches and freeze the left overs in ice cube trays then pop out the blocks and put them in labeled freezer bags. Other foods I would mash up or cut into small pieces for the girls.)