Parents already know that kids can be expensive. One unexpected cost, though, is when you are faced with a picky eater. Parents are often left scrambling to cook separate meals to appease a picky eater and sometimes turn to sneaky chef cookbooks to “trick” kids into eating healthy food. So how should a savvy consumer approach this issue? I turned to two experts for their insight.
Aviva Goldfarb, founder and CEO of the online family meal planning service, TheScramble.com, shares that the “picky eater problem” is a common quibble she hears from parents. It’s so prevalent that she addressed it with her meal planning service by offering suggested variations and tweaks of meals.
One simple tip she recommends for parents of picky eaters is to omit a sauce or topping on what you’ve prepared, keeping part of the main dish plain, so after the child has a bite of the “real thing,” she can fall back on the plain option if preferred.
Goldfarb is a passionate advocate of meal planning and the benefits of being armed with a weekly grocery shopping list. This prevents overbuying and possible food waste, plus avoids a scramble in your kitchen at 6pm — the inspiration behind her meal planning service and cookbook name — perplexed on what to prepare that very night. Meal planning can help you avoid ordering pizza or pricey take-out. Plan out your meals based on ingredients that are on sale or marked down at your grocery store, as well as items already in your pantry or freezer.
An additional benefit of meal planning for families with picky eaters is that it allows parents time to think in advance about what their kids are willing to eat. “When trying to pull dinner together at the last minute, it’s much harder to think clearly, much less have all the ingredients in your pantry that will make a complete meal. Planning ahead is your best friend when it comes to dealing with picky eaters, both for expanding their palates and for your family food budget,” Goldfarb says.
Goldfarb also believes that you can save money on groceries, even with picky eaters in your household, by simply cutting back on snacks and juice in between meals. Not only are processed snacks more costly than whole foods, but when children fill up on snacks in between meals, they are less hungry and less willing to try out new foods, particularly true in the case of picky eaters without much of an appetite.
Meal planning can be both fun and cost-effective for families, and Goldfarb’s approach to picky eaters is to inject a good helping of “fun” into your food. Ideas include arranging meals in fun, colorful ways or shaped into favorite cartoon characters, providing delicious dipping sauces and making healthier homemade versions of their favorite foods. These can make mealtime more amusing to children and help broaden their tastes.
Incorporating leftovers and uneaten items into meals at the end of the week as a “smorgasbord” leftover dinner or “Friday Free-For-All” can be another great way to make sure the food doesn’t go to waste. For picky eaters who reject a new food, you can still attempt to incorporate these ingredients and leftovers into dishes like omelets, soups, quesadillas, pasta sauces and stir-fries.
Sarah Hamaker, founder of Parent Coach NoVa and author of the newly published book, “Ending Sibling Rivalry: Moving Your Kids from War to Peace,” also knows a thing or two about coaching children to eat their meals. During her own teen and college years, her parents took in over 40 foster children, so she experienced first-hand how her mother and father parented a myriad of children from different backgrounds. She is now a mother to four children and has a variety of tips for parents with stubborn, picky eaters.
The “One Bite” rule is simple, but effective. Before completely rejecting something on her plate, the child needs to take at least one bite to sample it. The picky eater balks most often at dinnertime, but by getting your child to try new things, you are expanding her palate and instilling healthy eating habits, a valuable skill for a child to learn.
Another tip Hamaker recommends is having kids collaborate in meal planning and preparation. Getting your children involved in picking fresh ingredients from a garden or farm, as well as helping cook or assemble a well-balanced meal can instill a greater appreciation for the food and the steps that go into creating a dish. Picking fresh produce can foster more interest in food and vegetables. Having children help prepare at least one meal per week, including planning, shopping and cooking, can also give children a taste of responsibility and sense of contribution to the family.
If a picky child is adamant about not eating a vegetable side dish, Hamaker recommends fixing a vegetable in a variety of ways. Your child may not favor steamed zucchini, but perhaps sautéed zucchini dolloped with a mild yogurt sauce might be more appealing to her. Hamaker notes that children should have more than one singular exposure to a new food, before formulating a true inclination or aversion.
Hamaker also recommends initiating a “veggie veto” in your house. Once a year, let the child pick a vegetable that she is not required to eat for the entire year. In her own household, Sarah lets her children each choose a veggie to veto on New Year’s Day. This year, choices included potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes. When that vegetable is served during the year, the child who picked it is not required to eat or even sample it. The catch is the child must eat at least one bite of any other veggie or dish served — or the veggie veto is overturned and no replacement is allowed for the year.
When dealing with finicky eaters, implement these strategies to expand young palates and make sure food doesn’t go to waste. Saving on food costs is an ongoing battle, but it is possible, even with picky eaters at home.
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Ways to Save When Feeding Picky Eaters originally appeared on usnews.com
