Defining Picky Eating

What is “picky eating”? This term is not clinically defined but it is a common concern of parents that leads to frustration when determining what to feed their children.

Picky eating (also known as fussy, faddy, or choosy eating) is generally thought to be on the spectrum of feeding difficulties. It is characterised by an unwillingness to eat familiar foods or to try new foods, as well as having strong food preferences.

Strategies on How to Deal with a Picky Eater

Strategies for avoiding or correcting picky eating includes repeated exposures to unfamiliar foods, parental modelling, and the creation of positive social experiences around mealtimes (Taylor, & Emmett 2019).

Have you had a moment when you feel defeated as a parent when it comes to feeding your child? 

Picture this scenario; you spend hours reading about healthy food options, find recipes that get you excited, and prepare the food that you think the whole family will enjoy. But, at the dinner table, your child throws a fit and refuses to eat. Does this sound familiar? I went through this exact scenario with my children.

As a parent, you become desperate – you want to ensure that they eat enough. You don’t want to surrender to mac n cheese and chicken nuggets for the 4th night in a row. On top of this, you are worried that your child is malnourished and not getting the proper nutrients. So, what can you do as a parent?

My Perspective, As a Nutritionist

My focus is understanding the connection between healthy meals and the nutritional benefit to the consumer. Common patterns seen in picky eaters include:

• Continued rejection of food
• Limited variety of foods, flavours, and textures
• Low consumption of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains
• High intake of snacks, sugar sweetened juices and fast foods
• Eating the same food daily and fear of new foods

Studies show that eating enjoyment serves as an important and central factor in children's picky-eating behavior. Highly controlling practices might create a negative environment around food and healthy eating and thus decrease eating enjoyment and increase food avoidance (Steinsbekk et al., 2017).

The consequences of picky eating for the child include poor dietary variety and an imbalance in nutritional intake, with low levels of iron and zinc (associated with low consumption of meat, and fruit and vegetables) being of particular concern. Low intakes of dietary fibre, as a result of fruit and vegetable avoidance, are associated with constipation in picky eaters. There may be developmental difficulties in some children with persistent picky eating (Taylor, & Emmett 2019). 

Tips for Avoiding Picky Eating:

• Role model desired behaviour. Your children aspire to be “you” and you want to take advantage of that when it comes to eating. For instance, try eating a wide variety of foods in front of your children. Let them see you enjoying foods of different textures, shapes, styles, temperatures, and colours. Set a good example for them.
• Children love to help, get them involved in choosing, prepping, and setting the table. This gives the parents an opportunity to show them how to cook healthy ingredients. Kids understand the hard work that gets put into prepping a meal and that gets them eager to try the final dish. For example, ask your child to toss a salad, stir a sauce or arrange the vegetables on a homemade pizza.
• Give the power to kids by letting them choose what they would like. When they are choosing, have healthy options available for them. Kids like to be proud of their actions. For example, ask your little ones what different colours of fruits can be added to the morning bowl of porridge?
• Establish rules. For example, finish what is served and when taking seconds, let the child choose the amount with an expectation that he/she must finish it.
• Try new foods! Introduce your children to foods with different textures, colours, or temperatures. While eating, talk about the food and the nutritional value it provides. Kids are like sponges; they soak up the information that is provided to them – turn dinner time into a learning experience. 
• Hide and disguise vegetables and fruits. For example, puree vegetables and add them to your pasta sauce, hide a few strands of zucchini noodles in a plate of spaghetti. Mix in whole grain pasta with refined pasta and slowly reduce the quantity of refined pasta as days go by. Whole foods have their own character, when little palates get used to the wholeness of foods on their plates, they will probably love it too.
• Take their favorite dishes and modify them to be healthier. If they love mac n cheese, opt for making it from scratch rather than buying a package. Use spelt or chickpea pasta and organic cheese or nutritional yeast. 
• Pique their interest by planning a family game 2 or 3 times a week when everyone agrees on trying a new vegetable, fruit, or dish. When planning these games, talk about the food or the dish, the origin, the history if any, and some fun facts. 
• Is your child hungry? By feeding your kids cookies, candies and juices, they don’t recognize their hunger. It may sound harsh but try to take away some of these sugars filled snacks and drinks. They are robbing the hunger.
• Avoid bribing your kids at mealtime, as it increases anxiety, creates a negative relationship between the caregiver and the child, and conflicts with rewards
• Finally acknowledge your little ones for trying new things and making the right choices

Help your child try a new food so that they can learn to eat a more varied diet at their own pace and thrive. Contact me for a kid friendly 7-day meal plan or for ideas on healthy and delicious snacks – see one of my favorite’s below.

Guilt-Free Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce

Serves: 4



• 454 grams Chicken Breast (skinless, boneless, sliced into strips)
• 2 tbsps. Avocado Oil (divided)
• 1/2 cup Rolled Oats (coarsely ground)
• 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 6 Carrot (medium, peeled and sliced into fries)
• 1/4 cup Dijon Mustard
• 3 tbsps. Raw Honey

Preheat oven to 400ºF (204ºC) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Brush chicken strips with half of the avocado oil. Combine the oats, Italian seasoning, and sea salt and spread over a small plate. Press both sides of the chicken strips into the oat/spice mixture to coat, then lay on baking sheet. Toss the carrot sticks in remaining avocado oil. Spread across the other baking sheet. Place both pans in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, flipping the chicken and tossing the carrot fries halfway through. Meanwhile, combine the Dijon and raw honey in a small bowl to make the sauce. Mix well and set aside. To serve, divide the chicken tenders and carrot fries between plates and serve with honey dijon dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Sources

Steinsbekk S, Bonneville-Roussy A, Fildes A, Llewellyn CH, Wichstrøm L. Child and parent predictors of picky eating from preschool to school age. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2017 Jul 6;14(1):87. doi: 10.1186/s12966-017-0542-7. PMID: 28679411; PMCID: PMC5498871. 

Taylor CM, Emmett PM. Picky eating in children: causes and consequences. Proc Nutr Soc. 2019 May;78(2):161-169. doi: 10.1017/S0029665118002586. Epub 2018 Nov 5. PMID: 30392488; PMCID: PMC6398579.