My Favorite Way To Nourish Picky Eaters

I never thought I would enjoy watching my boys fight over something. I was wrong!

On a recent trip to Whole Foods, I asked my boys which vegetable to buy as a way to get them ‘involved’ in healthy eating. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard their adamant response. Ian said; “I want kale” and Alex said; “no, I want broccoli” and then they started fighting over which vegetable I should buy.

“You always get to choose first and this time I want to choose and I want broccoli” Alex said with a little angry voice. Another shopper who was also amused by this interaction smiled and said to me, “just wait, they will be arguing over something different in a few years”. While I hope she’s wrong, I couldn’t help but relish in this rare scene while picking up a large volume of organic kale AND broccoli.

You may be thinking my kids are these incredible healthy eaters, but the reality is that I have had my share of dealing with picky eating. I was a very picky eater and remember using tweezers to pull the onions out of my dad’s special pasta sauce. Obviously, I have come a long way, so I know there is still hope for all the little (and grown) picky eaters out there.

In addition, Alex my 5 year old, has never really liked any fresh fruit and turns his nose up to most vegetables (except for broccoli and sometimes white broccoli (cauliflower). In spite of the challenges he has presented me, I have to thank him for the professional development opportunity. I now can better relate to all my clients who have picky eaters.

Tools to Nourish Picky Eaters

I have two favorite tools I want to share with you from my picky eater tool box. The first one is to simply expose your picky eaters to a variety of fresh produce. Let them look at it, play with it and smell it. When they are ready to try it, at least they won’t have to also overcome their fear of something foreign.

Next, find common ground through the endless possibilities in the world of smoothies. My blender has become my best friend since having kids, and when you get your kids involved in making the smoothies, they are more apt to drink them too. Smoothies quench the thirst and provide balanced nutrition to ‘on the go’ eating.

And next time you take the kids to the store, see if you can get them to at least fight over which type of fruit to put in the smoothie!