Secrets to raising non-picky eaters

top: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, wholegrain toasted cheese, celery, olives
bottom: grapes, cucumber, carrots, cheese, ham, kiwi fruit, red pepper

As the main food provider in our household, I decided early on that I would never cook meals specifically for the children. I expected that they would eat the same thing we ate. Call it foresight or pure laziness, it has served us well. When the children were young, I would serve them a meal reserved from a dish I had prepared the previous night (before I added extra spices and seasoning). This ensured an earlier and less-stress mealtime for them. It also meant I didn't need to cook during 'arsenic-hour' and could wait until the children were in bed.

goldfish, cantaloupe, olives, cherry tomatoes, raisins, prosciutto, cheese, strawberry, rice cake

Developing a non-fussy eater is not an easy undertaking. This is something we realized when one of our children developed strong aversions to some foods. Sometimes an aversion can be an indication of an allergy or intolerance (similarly, so can a food obsession). We countered aversions with an insistence that the children take at least one bite/taste of each 'offending' food—we didn't insist that they finish the portion provided, they just needed to try the food.

cheese, carrots, celery, grapes, pear, mini toasts with liverwurst and olives, salami, cherry tomatoes, cantaloupe

The key to encouraging adventurous eaters? Variety—color, flavor, texture—and intrigue. All. The. Time. Small tastes of lots of different things. Unusual things. Different things. It is not so hard to try something new when it is a mere bite. Sometimes we would end up with incongruous mixes of foods when I raided the fridge searching for foods I could serve quickly. A bit of whimsy or fun always took the emphasis away from the ingredients... and the kids would eat different things without noticing. This post is peppered with some of the snack or lunch plates I served to the children. 

cantaloupe, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, grapes, salami, goldfish, cheese, orange slices

rainbow plate: strawberries, orange, cheese, veggie sticks, avocado, blueberries, ham, red pepper, carrots, lettuce, grapes

hummus, carrots, celery, grapes, ham, cheese, avocado, orange slices

pesto pasta, meatloaf, avocado, red pepper, celery, carrots, olive, cantaloupe

Stephanie Alexander, observes that fast food can't always be avoided (when on the road, ravenous children, after events, feeding several children) but she contends that fast food should never be a staple and that one should always serve a better, tastier, healthier version of fast food at home. This makes it abundantly clear that there is no substitute for fantastic home-prepared meals, and one can know exactly what the ingredients are. At home, we always made sure to make better burgers, better hotdogs, better pasta, better pizza, better anything... than we could get elsewhere.

hard-boiled eggs, cheese, ham, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, nori wrapped rice crackers, olives

Another really important aspect is to involve kids in the food-making process. I was astounded at how 2-year old Luc would turn his nose up at a salad sandwich I had prepared for him—but placing the ingredients on the counter and letting him assemble exactly the same sandwich himself, he would eat it with gusto!

Perseverance paid off, as we now have three very adventurous eaters (and cooks)—albeit with somewhat expensive and exotic tastes! 😮