This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Enfagrow A+® for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
My daughter judges new food with her eyes. After inspecting it, she will then decide if she will taste it with the tip of her tongue or flat out refuse to try it. I think a lot of moms can agree when I say that having a picky eater can be pretty stressful. So what’s a mom to do? Today, I’m going to share some tips on how I deal with my picky eaters.
How to Deal with Picky Eaters Without Losing Your Mind
I’m a reformed picky eater and let me tell you something when I made up my mind that I didn’t like something, there wasn’t anything my dad could say or do to make me eat it. The first four years with my son he only wanted 4-5 dishes. So I thought I would be prepared for my daughter’s pickiness. What threw me is the fact that she used to LOVE food as a baby but soon as she turned 10-11 months old, she started to get fussy and wouldn’t try new food. What’s a mom to do?
Veggies? What veggies?
Sneak veggies In EVERYTHING you can! I’m a master at sneaking veggies into dishes! You kind of have to when you’re dealing with picky eaters. I’ve been making a lot of soups and stews that are packed with vegetables and meats. I’m always pleasantly surprised when my daughter eats a big bowl of my potato soup without making her “yuck” face. I loaded my meatloaf recipe with carrots, onions, bell peppers and no one even knew there were veggies in it.
My trick? I chopped the veggies thinly using a food processor.
Learn what their favorite food is and make it often!
My daughter loves saucy foods like pasta with tomato sauce or rice & beans with Haitian stewed chicken. So we make these recipes often in our home. It helps that these recipes are delicious. I rotate them during the week, so it’s hard to get bored lol
Promote healthy eating habits
Depending on your child level of “pickiness,” you might be able to play the monkey see monkey do “trick” when it comes to trying new food. Kids love imitating what adults do so if they see you eating healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables, they are more likely to do the same. Sadly, my daughter has reached the highest level, and that trick has set sail.
Other things you can do to promote healthy eating habits is to eat meals as a family. I always look forward to super time with my little family. One thing I did learn from the years I dealt with my son’s picky eating is to avoid doing separate meals. For example, he would only eat white rice, and I would make rice with beans for the grownups. Not only was it a lot of extra work but it didn’t encourage him to try the food we were eating. With my daughter, I made sure to cook one meal for everyone.
Get creative with snack time
Jazzy won’t eat a lot of the fruits that she used to love. I’m talking about strawberries, grapes, and even banana. She does love watermelon, but they are not always in season. We use our fruit dehydrator to make dried apples and mangoes for her. It’s less expensive and healthier than the most of the store-bought kind.
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Do you have some tips and tricks for parents with picky eaters? Share them on Twitter and Instagram using #EnfagrowMomsKnow hashtag and Enfagrow will donate $1 per submission up to $5000 to United Way until November 30, 2017 !
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Hiding veggies was one of my secret weapons when my kids were little. I used to make spaghetti with ground up carrots and other veggies to hide them.
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle recently posted…FAMILY VOLUNTEER DAY | November 18th | #FamilyVolunteerDay
Using a food dehydrator is genius! The fruits get sweeter, which makes it more like candy and less like “eww, healthy stuff!” LOL
Danielle recently posted…FAMILY VOLUNTEER DAY | November 18th | #FamilyVolunteerDay
I think I may need to try this out in my other half he is still a really picky eater.
My niece is a picky eater and I think trying the same food often helps. She doesn’t like grapes but we kept on trying (not pushing) to make her taste it until one day she decided she wants to eat it.
I have picky eaters in my house all 3 of my kids are picky so as you can imagine I lose my mind 3x lol
These are great ideas. My 9 month old will eat pretty much anything but I feel like he may turn picky later!
Luckily neither of my kids are picky eaters. But my policy is eat what I make or go hungry until the next meal. Nobody starves but I am so not a short order cook lol.
I have one daughter who is very picky. She would actually rather have fruits and vegetables though. She doesn’t really like meat.
I love any picky eater tips. It’s a battle every day with my son!
Emily Erson recently posted…14 Ways to Dry and Hang Your Hockey Gear
Such a great idea,u r really a smart mom ??
Jazzy is cutie pie ??
This post comes at a wonderful time for me! Our 15-month-olds love foods one day and hate them the next. I’m finding it hard to keep up with them, for sure! Thanks for your advice!
My son is a very picky eater, but I don’t give in easily. I sometimes have to serve him something several times before he’ll try it willingly, but my persistence usually pays off.
The tip about finding what they like and making it often is so handy. No need to force your kid to eat something they don’t like!
I am super thankful that my kids weren’t too picky. Smoothies are a great way to hide veggies along with fruit. Also, mixing vegetables in muffins is a wonderful way to hide them too. I found Garden Lites earlier this year and they are delicious. You would never know that they have veggies hidden in them.
up run for life recently posted…4 Tips to Choosing a Martial Arts Studio in Baltimore
Yes!!! Hide those vegetables in anything possible. It makes life so much easier and they’ll never know and you’re still an awesome parent for feeding them veggies XD
Oh man, choose those battles. Find as many things as they like as possible (healthy focus is best) and buy the crap out of it. It’s worth not having to go through a crying match every meal.
Now these are some good ideas. I wish we would have had a food processor to work with when my kids were super picky. You really do have to make sure they’re getting all of their nutrients.
Liz Mays recently posted…What’s New For Swiffer Fanatics? (3.0 Immersion LA-Style)
What great ideas, and I haven’t tried them all yet 😉 I have a picky eater, the youngest child has always been pretty stubborn. He once went four or five nights without dinner because he was that adamant on not even “TRYING” dinner. I have always encouraged trying something, usually, if you can get the kiddo to try it, I have not had one dislike it 100% yet, but that little guy of mine is picky and at age 9 – not sure he’s changing his ways! lol
Her artwork looks great! A very nice spot you’ve created for her to color, paint and draw at. I like how your daughter’s plush dog has his own rug to lay on while keeping her company at the table.
I have a picky eater too and I agree, learning what their favorite food is and making it often is the best way to do it – less stress on my part.
I am so lucky that my kids fight over veggies. Not kidding! They fought over broccoli once.
These are awesome tips, it can be super hard with picky eaters!! Great tips to get around it!
Great tips for getting that picky eater to eat! I love dehydrated fruit too. Hiding veggies is a must!