With these 5 tips, you can encourage your child to try new foods and eat a variety of foods so they’re eating a balanced diet and you’re only making one dinner.
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As a Mama, feeding my son a variety of foods has always been a focus for me but to be honest, it also stressed me out. After talking with my friend, she was struggling with the same issues around food; are they getting enough protein? veggies? fruits? variety? etc.
Before I even got pregnant with my son, I knew one of my goals as a parent was to have my children eat healthy and eat a variety of foods. I also did not want to make a separate meal for my child every night for dinner. So here are my five tips for getting your kids to eat what you eat.
1. Start them early
Once my son was able to start eating pureed foods, I gave him a large variety and tried blending any and all the whole foods I was eating. Some of my favorites were avocado, banana, sweet potato, carrots, and really any fruit or veg and I would often mix a few together. I even blended cooked chicken breast at one point and it worked!
The point is, the sooner I introduced him to a variety of foods the better. The more he was exposed to, the more he liked. Now if your child is a bit older, don’t stress, I have some tips below for you.
2. Gradually introduce a new food often
I put the new, unfamiliar food on my son’s plate along with foods I know he loves and will eat. I tell him he doesn’t have to try it if he doesn’t want to but I wanted to include him in what the family is having for dinner.
For example, my son is not big on soup yet so if I’m making soup I will make him a quesadilla, but I will also include a small bowl of soup for him too. At first, he wouldn’t try it. Then he would try a bite and spit it out. Now he eats the noodles but not the veggies or broth.
Sometimes he will celebrate when he tries a new food, “Mama, I ate some noodles, I like the soup!” The point is, we’re making progress without pressure so he feels in control and not like he’s a bad kid for not liking or trying a food.
3. Get them in the kitchen
My three-year-old is my designated sous chef! Most toddlers want to help you out while also exercising their independence, at least that’s what I have found with my son. I set Isaiah up with a stool, and cutting board, and most recently these kid-safe knives. But a butter knife will work too and it’ what we started out with.
We chop our veggies for dinner next to each other. Zucchini and mushrooms are great veggies that are soft enough for him to chop. Banana is another easy food to chop up. He feels proud and independent. Plus it gives him something to do when I’m cooking dinner and he’s more inclined to try the food because he helped prepare it.
4. Don’t give up
My advice is, don’t throw in the towel after a few attempts but don’t put pressure on yourself either. I continue to offer the food I know Isaiah doesn’t like yet, but I encourage him without pressure, to touch the food, smell it, taste it, etc.
For example, I offered Isaiah salmon probably once a month for over a year, and guess what?! One day he ate it, liked it, and now he eats salmon! We celebrated lol! But really, he refused it on his plate the first few times but I never pressured him, instead I modeled for him. I ate the salmon because I liked it and eventually he wanted to try it too.
I have found, the less I make a big deal about things, the more likely he is to try them. My goal is for him to follow his intuition and do what is best for him when he’s ready. That’s why I also don’t make him finish the food on his plate, he knows when he has had enough and is full.
5. Give yourself a break
As my son has gotten older, I’ve gotten more comfortable with my role as his Mama and I’ve stopped stressing so much about nutrition. I still aim to feed him fruits or veggies with each meal but I don’t beat myself up anymore if I don’t accomplish that goal.
My son definitely eats more fruits than veggies and shoot, I need to up my veggie intake too. Here’s a fact I found helpful, most fruits have the same vitamins and nutrients as veggies so if your kid eats a lot of fruit like mine does, just know they are still getting a great healthy boost of vitamins and nutrients.
As mamas, we are trying our best and some days are easier than others. I’m a firm believer that the biggest and best strategy for all ages is to keep trying.