What helped my kids with picky eating
Not making backup meals
I’m a former picky eater who got a backup meal most nights of the week (I love a big bowl of buttered noodles to this day). But I decided early on to try and avoid this with my own kids in the hopes I could stave off some pickiness.
So I made just one dinner every night–with the exception of “Scrounge Nite”, a clean-out-the-fridge, choose-your-own-adventure situation.
Did this mean we ate a lot of meals our kids liked already? Sure. Spaghetti, tacos, burgers, and grilled chicken have all been fixtures.
But I also kept serving meals my husband and I liked that the kids really didn’t at first, like enchiladas or tofu bowls. And most of the time, they came around. Those meals might not have been their favorites, but they made do. And that was important to me.
Deconstructing mixed meals can also help make this strategy smoother. That way, there’s likely something–rice, a tortilla, a favorite veggie–that your child likes and will eat.
