September 2009 Issue

I really love being a mother and I embrace the amazing things my child does and learns each day. While his development seems right on track, the one area in which he has completely digressed is nutrition.

At an Indian restaurant when he was two, a couple commented to us about how great it was to watch our toddler carefully dipping his samosa into the chutney like a pro. It's three years later and he wants nothing remotely to do with vegetables. If he were Calvin in one of those idiotic bumper stickers, he would be urinating on a crudité tray.

I just assumed that with two very experimental eaters for parents, he too would have an adventurous palate. Instead, however, we've spawned a foodie's worst nightmare: a picky eater! Where did we go wrong?

I don't want to exaggerate; my son is healthy and, overall, he has a good appetite. Luckily he loves fruit so he gets some vitamins that way. But his food preferences are frustratingly limited, and continually shrinking. His staples tend to involve some form of bread accompanied by cheese. Quesadillas are good, but as of a week ago, grilled cheese got the boot. While bacon never falls from #1 on his top ten foods, he doesn't get it very often since both his parents are vegetarian.

I don't consider myself a total health food nut. I try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, and go easy on the sugar most of the time. I limit processed foods and make his food from scratch when possible. I just want my little guy to eat a well-rounded diet and try new things so he doesn't become one of those adults who will only eat at Applebee's.

During a burst of motivation I read Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious. This book has some really great ideas for sneaking pureed vegetables into typically kid-friendly foods. I was able to get some veggies into my kid's system, but he definitely caught on and wondered why, for example, the sauce on his pizza had a greenish tint.

The Family Nutrition Book by William Sears, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N. is a nice resource for determining which foods contain important vitamins and minerals and how much of each children need. It also gives strategies for teaching your kids good nutrition, dealing with picky eaters, and it contains recipes that the whole family is likely to enjoy.

Here are some tips for dealing with picky eaters adapted from the Sears book that I found helpful:

1. Offer a "nibble tray" of healthy finger foods that lets your child pick and choose. Use a muffin tin, ice cube tray or other compartmentalized dish. Some good foods are: cheese cubes, hard-boiled egg wedges, healthy cereal and slices of banana, carrot, or apple.

2. Dipping foods can be fun. Kids can dip fruit into yogurt or peanut butter, veggies into dressing, and bread into tomato sauce, etc. [I sometimes give my son a toothpick to use for dipping and he pretends he's spear fishing.]

3. Let kids drink their food instead of eating it. You can sneak protein powder, peanut butter, yogurt or wheat germ into a smoothie with fruit and juice, or milk.

4. Plant a garden. Kids are more likely to eat veggies they have planted and cared for.

5. Make the food a work of art. I often make animals or faces out of my son's food. If you cut slits into a hot dog lengthwise before you boil it, it comes out of the water looking just like an octopus. Olives make great eyes and cheese is good for hair.

It's important to find a good balance between worrying about what your child eats and trusting that his body will crave what it needs. I guess all we can do is keep exposing our children to new food options, be creative, get a good multi-vitamin and trust that one day they'll see the light.

Questions or topics that you'd like to see covered? Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it