Picky, picky, picky

Food preparation for any family or group can be frustrating, especially when picky eaters are involved!

It's natural for kids to go through periodic stages... which, from an adult perspective, may include some "bizarre" looking behaviors. To understand why this happens & recommendations on how to react, check out the Kids Eat Right's Why is my Child a Picky Eater?

Cooking shows always point out that food incorporates multiple senses, including taste, smell, sight, texture/mouth feel, etc. Try some of these tips with your picky eater.
- Be creative & have fun with colors, shapes, sauces/dips, etc.
- Involve kids to allow them some input. Options may include shopping, gardening, cooking, etc.
- Be patient. Learning to like a new food may take many (think double-digit) tries. Or, using a different preparation method may make a huge difference. For example, consider how grapes & raisins differ OR how raw, steamed, & boiled broccoli differ.
- Cooking vegetables with meat or in broth tends to impart the meaty flavor. There are also recipes that cleverly disguise veggies (an online search for "recipes that sneak in veggies" shows lots of choices).

For even more tips, check out:
- We Can!'s Picky Eaters
- PBS Parents' Tips to Help Your Preschooler Overcome Picky Eating

However, sometimes kids don't grow out it. If extreme, picky eating can lead to nutritional deficiencies & concerns about eating in social settings. The Wall Street Journal's No Age Limit on Picky Eating interviews a Raleigh woman & discusses a Duke University effort to investigate this issue.