One problem many families face in promoting a healthy diet is picky eaters. Sometimes these are kids, and sometimes they are adults! Not surprisingly, picky kids often grow up to be picky adults, and picky adults often raise picky kids.
Being picky isn’t a terrible problem — some people do genuinely have a “more discerning” palate. Also, the taste buds of children are more sensitive than those of adults, which makes certain foods taste “stronger” to kids. Does this bring broccoli and Brussel sprouts to mind? On the other hand, restaurants that cater to largely adult markets frequently advertise all the added, new, and interesting flavors they produce to tantalize the potentially less-sensitive taste bud of the adult.
It’s worth noting here that restaurants and food processing companies use a lot of sugar and salt to specifically address both child and adult tastes. Additionally, packaging of the foods is designed to attract a target audience. As such, healthier choices that do not come in packaging that targets your audience may be less appealing to those who are used to that. After all, a bag of apples, though beautiful to some, may lack the excitement of cracking open a shiny new brightly colored cereal box. The contents of that cereal box may contain an entire day’s worth of sugar, or a box of crackers or bag of chips may contain an excess of salt and other ingredients designed to keep it from going stale on the shelf.
Have a think about it this week. Are you picky? Is your family picky? If so, maybe that’s OK. Are they picky in favor of less healthy options? If so, maybe try to include some items such as fresh fruit with cereal, or raw veggies alongside the chips. At the dinner table, go ahead with the comfort foods, while beginning to add a side of simply prepared veggies such as steamed broccoli or green beans. A little cheese sauce can go a long way to making this more fun! A side salad for the adults and older children, with just a few leaves of spinach on the plate of your 2-year-old can help introduce the idea that these are normal items to have at meal time.
Start small, work nonchalantly toward increasing the healthy options, and be persistent. Remember, nobody will allow themselves to starve.
Send me your ideas for enticing picky eaters to the email address below. Have a great week!
Mary Brown is a registered nurse with an interest in health promotion and fitness. She can be reached at unionjack524@gmail.com.