Feeding fussy eaters
Posted by kathryn in Kid's nutrition
Good advice from Bill Granger this week on how to feed fussy eaters. In response to a question, he suggests:
Feeding young children can be trying at the best of times, but with these challenges please don’t let her fussy eating get the better of you.
All children go through periods of not eating different foods and wanting only starchy carbohydrates. It is natural for children, or all of us, especially when we’re tired, to go for carbs because they provide instant energy. But these alone are not a nutritionally sound meal.
Make sure you persevere in serving balanced meals to your daughter. Try not to make a huge deal at meal times and praise her for trying new things. No one is going to starve missing a meal here or there and you can always serve a good breakfast the following morning.
He also includes three recipes for polenta with tomato sauce and buffalo mozzarella, pork stir fry with broccolini and chicken wings with chick pea and feta salad.
21 March, 2007
Comments
We follow a very similar regime with our kids, and it seems to work well. Basically we just persevere with putting fresh, balanced & interesting food on the table. We don’t really push it, it is just always there and we start helping ourselves with gusto…sooner or later the kids wonder what they are missing and want to be part of it. We might explain how we have experimented with a new recipe and want their opinion, or how we have found a special new variety of produce to try etc. The kids sure like having their opinion valued and the best bit is that they often actually want to try it and is more likely to be a positive experience.
The few times when they don’t eat or are stubborn/fussy, we just remind ourselves that they are not fading away and calmly end the meal. It is unlikely to hurt them to go hungry a few times (maybe a good lesson??)...and Granger is right, the next morning they more than make up for it with a good breakfast.
[...] Isn’t it frustrating when your kids stubbornly refuse to eat the good food presented to them? It’s happened more than once to us, and early on, I do remember resorting to cheese on toast or yogurt a few times to complete a failed dinner. Katheryn (a nutritionist and writer of the Limes & Lycopene Blog) has a post about feeding fussy eaters that I think offers good advice from Australian Food Writer Bill Granger. [...]
Thanks Andrew. I particularly like the way you seek your kids opinion on different foods. Involving kids in meal-time is such an important part of getting them to eat well. Whether it be helping out making the dinner, doing the shopping or being part of the tasting panel for a a new dish, once they’re involved and have “buy-in” they’re much more likely to eat well and try out new foods.
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