Comments on: Real Food Tips: 12 Ways to Deal with a Picky Eater

By: Vikrant Khese

Vikrant Khese — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 07:09:35 +0000

Excellent Blog..!

By: Naomi

Naomi — Thu, 07 May 2020 13:37:48 +0000

I was a very picky eater and hated many food textures and tastes. I didn’t eat any vegetables at all until I was 15! I decided for myself that I needed to get better at eating and trained myself by trying new things more often. My favourite trick though, was to take a bite of something I did not like on the same forkful as something I really liked. This both disguised the flavour and texture a bit and also got me used to the new flavour and texture gradually. I wholeheartedly agree with not forcing people to eat foods until they are ready to do so as anxiety and fear make chewing and swallowing much harder and do not help at all when trying to eat an unfamiliar food

By: Lee Stout

Lee Stout — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 05:14:03 +0000

Growing up I considered myself a good eater- my parents required us to eat a small portion of everything served to us and there were only a few foods I felt were ‘disgusting’- mostly because of the texture- canned tomatoes and canned peaches (I liked both of them fresh!) But when I attended college in Hawaii, I was introduced to several dishes that were new to me- lomi salmon, ahi poke, opihi, poi, papaya, breadfruit, and many more. I remember it took courage to eat them- raw fish was not something I’d previously been introduced to. Many of them I did not care for at first, but with time some of them became favorites of mine! I have seven children, now young adults. We raised them with the ‘two bite’ rule. From the time they
turned 3 years old, each child was assigned a night as the dinner helper and each one planted and took care of their own vegetable in our garden. None of them were (or are) picky eaters and my three sons as well as their sisters are great cooks today!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 22:43:13 +0000

In reply to Kathy. I want to be you what an awesome comment!

By: Helen

Helen — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 15:14:32 +0000

hahahah. For us, any attempt to enforce rule 7 brings us into direct contravention of rule 8. “Picky eater” is only the start of it for us (in fact I’ve read that kids with food issues like our daughter’s are better described by the phrase “problem eaters”).

Having said that, after 11 years of patient effort she now eats a balanced, if limited diet, including fruit, veggies, and whole grains. But well-meaning people suggesting that helping with cooking or growing your own veggies are paths to success make me laugh in despair.

By: Judy

Judy — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 14:55:13 +0000

In reply to christi.

I was a single working mom for about 4 years, so I get where you’re coming from! (I was also extremely broke.) So I made meatballs & pasta sauce on my days off, freezing them in “dinner” sized portions. I made batches of muffins & pancakes and froze those as well. I also cooked chicken breast, and sliced it up, then froze it. (To have with salad, or on sandwiches.) I bought tons of bags of frozen veggies, cause you really can just rip them open, steam, sauté, or roast them. Lisa has some great crockpot recipes that freeze well, like her BBQ beans. Then you don’t have to stand over the stove.
Cooking on your day off- not that much fun sometimes. But- when you get home, exhausted, and only have to heat sauce, boil water for pasta, and throw a veggie in a pot, it’s totally worth it! And depending on how frugal you need to be, making “mini” meatballs turns a pound of ground meat into 2 meals… Everyone feels as though they got a lot, but you can stretch it out! :)
Good luck!

By: Brittany

Brittany — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:57:35 +0000

My dad wouldn’t let us leave he table until we ate our food or tries the one bite. And if it got too late, then we’d have save it until the next meal. We wouldn’t eat until we complied. And I have to say it was so effective that he only had to really enforce it a couple of times! And there were four of us…

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 18:31:11 +0000

I love this article. I’ve read it before, but it’s always worth a re-read, and I had to do that today. For my son’s entire life (he’s 4) he’s only known me to eat relatively healthy food, but my husband is a completely different story. I have always used the one bite rule, and it used to be a success but lately it is WWIII in the house at dinner time. And it doesn’t help that my husband hates all food that might be considered remotely healthy. I had to read number 8 again and keep it in mind. Additionally I’m going to try to implement number 9. Instead of putting a portion of the food on his plate – I’ll try one bite. Hopefully instead of sitting at the table for 45 minutes while he keeps the food in his mouth, leading to frustration and anger on all sides (and it STILL doesn’t get swallowed) he will just see it as one small bite and move on. I wish I had more “real food” friends or family around here, but I am absolutely alone in my thinking, and junk food is constantly given to my son despite my requests otherwise. That is one negative in an otherwise positive experience of having both sets of parents within five minutes of the house!

By: Kathy

Kathy — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 15:40:17 +0000

Some tips for working moms: I spend Sunday afternoon cooking. It is family time and I get lots of helpers. I could be cooking 3-4 dishes at once; soup, a caserole, veggie dish. It usually gets us through a few evening meals. As I start dinner each evening, kids are at the table doing homework. I’m right there to stop and help and we can get it out of the way. I put out a veggie tray before even starting dinner. Hungry snackers can fill as much as they like on the healthy treat. You would be suprised how much they eat! There isn’t any bargaining; it is just the only chioce. As I’m clean up from dinner, I plan the next nights meal. (The week’s menu was created before the week’s grocery trip so no going back for needed ingredients) I prep as much as possible so the next night’s meal is on the table quickly.

By: Amy Taylor (comment moderator)

Amy Taylor (comment moderator) — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 13:49:51 +0000

In reply to Ashlee.

Hi Ashlee. It doesn’t work for all kids. Temper it with #8 and this perspective will help you know when to push it: http://www.raisehealthyeaters.com/2011/07/parents-of-picky-eaters-unite-is-the-one-bite-rule-the-answer/. ~Amy