Tips for Picky Eaters (Get Messy in the Kitchen!)

Got a picky eater in your house? Check out these tried and true tips for picky eaters – we’ve tested them in our home with our resident picky eater!

Struggling with a Picky Eater

At 15 months we learned that Logan had a severe peanut allergy, and we learned it the hard way: allergic reaction. Almost immediately we saw his predispositions toward being a picky eater turn into something much more.

Imagine your child being on guard all the time. And over time that fear of unknown foods turning into a habit.

Suddenly, your child doesn’t like eating at all and emotionally loses it when around new foods – but he doesn’t even know WHY he is feeling that way. As parents, suddenly we found that despite our best efforts, Logan began to eliminate more and more foods from his diet.

Food became a power-struggle. I was in a constant state of worry about Logan’s nutritional intake. And already on the smaller side, food strikes were not an option.

Feeding Therapy for Picky Eaters

One of the most helpful parts of our picky eater experience was the time we spent in feeding therapy with Logan. Essentially that meant that we had bi-weekly appointments with an occupational therapist who specialized in feeding. We learned that Logan wasn’t really a picky eater, but a “Problem Feeder.”

The OT helped us learn techniques to encourage Logan to try new foods and expand his diet and to understand why this was happening. She also helped us break down the wall Logan had built against new foods.

In the beginning of therapy (and at home) Logan couldn’t even handle having a new food on his plate without a debilitating meltdown. We also worked closely with a registered dietitian so we could closely monitor his nutrient intake.

Tips for Picky Eaters

Through therapy, our therapist worked with Logan to get him comfortable around new foods without the pressure of having to try something. Basically: we played with our food. A lot.

We made jokes about it. Cut everything out with cookie cutters. Made our meals more appealing. Logan had to re-learn that he could be safe around food. And he’s still learning.

What I first saw as something rather silly is now something that I am very passionate about. Yes, sometimes elbows are on the table, napkins on the floor rather than laps, and even I have been guilty of eating with my fingers.

I won’t even tell you the things my husband has done. But I will tell you: He is very much in touch with his inner child.

Play with Your Food

I know we’re trying to teach our kids table manners, but playing with food means you’re touching it and that’s one of the first steps to trying something new.

• Make fun shapes our of sandwiches. You can go all artistic and fancy like these at Funky Lunch. Or just cut sandwiches out with a simple cookie cutter.
• Make sail boats with cheese triangles and crackers.
• Paint with chocolate pudding and pieces of fruit.
• Roll out some dough. Kids love rolling pins for pizza, pie crust, or cinnamon rolls.
• Remember to keep it pressure-free.

Related: Dealing with Messy Moments in the Kitchen

Involve Kids in Grocery Shopping

If you’re a mom with small children, you’re probably sighing at the thought of this. Trust me. I’m right there with you. BUT, the grocery store is a great place to teach your children about food without the pressure of eating anything.

• Talk about the different colored produce.
• Allow them to choose 1-2 new things per shopping trip as something new they’d like to try.

Let Kids help with Meal Prep and Menu Planning

Encourage kids to help out with meal selection. Just because they are kids doesn’t mean they won’t have great ideas.

Plus, children who are involved in the meal preparation are more likely to eat what they’ve helped create. When appropriate, let them help as much as possible!

• Logan isn’t to the point where he can realistically help plan the dinner menus, but he is great at helping choose ideas for breakfast.
• Give a choice between a few options and let them select.
• Set aside small tasks from a recipe that are age appropriate: tearing lettuce leaves, peeling an orange, stirring muffin batter, etc.

2011 Picky Eating Update

We’re not in feeding therapy anymore and Logan is no longer considered “at risk.” I’m happy to report he is doing quite well compared to the day we started therapy.

He eats a wide variety of fruits, a couple vegetables, loves cheese and yogurt, and enjoys almost anything I make for breakfast.

He’s learned to put up with our monthly challenges where we focus on one new food for the entire month, but that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped getting messy in the kitchen.

Logan’s in school every day now, but I let him help me as often as possible. The great thing is that I’ve been able to use the skills we learned in therapy continually in home and apply them to Madeline as well.

My kids are both very much a part of what I do as a food blogger. From taste testers, to grocery store companions to helping hands, we’re in the kitchen together (making a mess) all the time. They like taste testing best.

Kitchen messes are definitely not all bad. In fact, yesterday’s mess was so very worth it.

Get the recipe for these Caramel Pecan Rolls that are pictured above!

2022 Picky Eating Update

The good news is that Logan has come a long way! I want all parents of picky eaters out there to know that there is hope! One day, you’ll look back and this picky eating will seem like just a phase – even though it definitely didn’t feel that way at the time!

As of 2022, Logan is a Senior in high school (he was 6 when I originally wrote this post). He has healthy eating habits and eats more than just a variety of foods; he eats anything I cook for dinner. Not only does he have a positive attitude about eating now, he loves to try new foods!

Sure, he has food preferences like most people do. He’d be thrilled if he never had to eat soup again and he doesn’t love beans, but he’ll eat either one anyway if it is what we’re serving.

Looking back, I remember being so deep in the trenches of parenting through picky eating that I never thought this day would come!

Try these Picky Eating Tips at Home

Next time you’re about ready to pull your hair out over your child’s picky eating habits, give a few of these picky eating tips a try! Did any of them work for you? Leave a comment below and share your experience for other parents to see.

More Ideas for Picky Eaters

Want to check out some more ideas for picky eaters? Here are a few other articles I’ve written on the topic:

• Planning a Dinner Party When You Have Picky Eaters
• 5 Ways to Make Food Fun for Kids
• Book Review: French Kids Eat Everything
• Breaking Picky Eaters: Guest Post on Food for My Family
• Healthy Eating Tips for Picky Eaters: Guest Post on Simple Bites

Don’t see what you’re looking for here? You can always head over to check out the recipe index to look for more recipes.

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Disclosure: The Motherhood asked me to participate in the Clorox Cook up a Mess Campaign and I was compensated for my time. However, everything in this post is real and sharing Logan’s story with you was long overdue.