Fostering a Diverse Palette for Your Child
We all hope that our children will have a diverse palette. That they will try everything and eat anything. Not only does it open them up to varied nutritional sources, it also makes our lives way easier cooking one meal for the family instead of many small meals catered to everyone’s taste preferences. Like most aspects of raising kids, many habits are learned. I’m grateful that I had many encouraging influences to form my mindset around fostering a diverse palette in my children. Two kids later and they will try anything. They eat almost everything, but as with anyone, they too have flavors and foods they just don’t care for. Read on for my top tips to help your kids learn to love a variety of foods. And remember, what works for us is what works for us. If what you’re doing is already working, don’t change it. But if you are looking for some fresh ideas, I hope you’ll find them here :)
Start during pregnancy. Research shows that the flavors of what we eat during pregnancy end up in amniotic fluid, thus giving our little babes mild tastes of adult food before they’re even in the world. (1)
When breastfeeding, eat as diversely as you can (my own personal tip is to eat as many veggies as possible). Just as with the amniotic fluid during pregnancy, our breast milk changes flavor depending on what we eat. If we are eating a range of vegetables and other healthy foods, our child is getting a leg up on taste testing multiple flavors before they start eating solids. (2)
When starting purées and solids, offer a wide variety of flavors. Try vegetables alone and mixed with other vegetables or fruits.
Don’t underestimate the power of seasoning, aka don’t assume children like bland food. I’ve found that my children may turn their mouths away from plain mashed avocado, but when I mix in some bagel seasoning or make guacamole they can’t get enough.
Vary the textures they try (age-appropriate of course). Offer the same food in fun, new ways. For example maybe you start your baby on watered down sweet potato purée, but as they progress in eating you make it chunkier and add cinnamon. Next try baking them into fries with sesame oil, garlic powder, and a bit of salt.
When putting together dishes with multiple foods, or trying a new food, focus on the flavors you know they love. For example, as an infant I found out my daughter loved the flavors of lemon, olives, Parmesan, and herbs. My go-to quick meal for her was a mixture of lentils, chopped Kalamata olives, and shredded chicken seasoned with oregano, salt, garlic, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Conversely, my son dislikes those flavors, but loves Mexican spices and chili soup. When making new dishes for him to try, I incorporate garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, and tomatoes.
Keep offering the same food now and again, even if they continue to refuse it. As long as they’re tasting it every time it is offered, they may eventually acquire the liking for it. Some flavors need to be tasted up to nine times before we begin to like them (3). And if they don’t ever like a certain food, that’s okay too!
Encourage tasting new foods. When our children don’t want to try a new food, we make it fun and tell them to just lick it. Usually that is enough to get them to try it, but if not then we don’t push it or punish them. After all, there’s always another chance for them to taste it, and I know they have plenty of other nutrition in front of them.
Respect their true dislikes. Just like you and me, they simply won’t enjoy certain flavors.
Limit sugary and sweet foods, especially during the first couple of years. I believe that the first couple of years is crucially important in setting the stage for their taste buds through childhood and adolescence. We are biologically wired to crave sweet food (4). It was a survival mechanism of our ancient ancestors. But, today, we are eating way more sweets than our bodies can handle. Thus, try to limit sweets to fruits and the occasional treat, and check labels for added sugars.
Hold off on “kid food”. Every year over a billion dollars are spent on marketing to children (5). While some of it is super cute (like Dino-shaped veggie patties), most of it is full of sugar, sodium, saturated fat, added preservatives, and unhealthy refined grains, and offer little nutritional benefits. The occasional hotdog is part of teaching our kids about a balanced lifestyle, but during those first couple of years when they are discovering literally all new tastes, try to stick to real, whole food for most meals.
Don’t lie to your child about what they are eating. If they say the “chicken” is yummy, but they’re actually eating fish, let them know that! If they love the smoothie you’re sharing with them, let them know it has spinach and apples in it. This limits the odds of them refusing a food just because of its color or name, AND it teaches them that “healthy” foods are yummy.
Get creative! Put veggies in soups and pasta bakes. Make grain bowls layered with a hearty grain, protein, vegetable, sauce, and tons of flavor. Use cookie cutters to make animal-shaped pancakes.
Let them help you in the kitchen. Age and skill-appropriately, many kids are more likely to try a dish they helped create. Not to mention, cooking is an indispensable lifelong skill they will appreciate later!
References
What to Expect Editors. (2017, October 13). Fetal Sense of Taste: What Your Baby Can Taste in Utero. Retrieved from www.whattoexpect.com
Dewar, Ph.D, Gwen. (2018). Flavors in Breast Milk: Can babies taste what their lactating mothers ate for lunch? Retrieved from www.parentingscience.com
Zimmern, Andrew. (2018, February 12). Andrew Zimmern Explains How to Acquire a Taste. Retrieved from www.timeinc.net
Chuck, E. & Snow, K. (2015, August 12). Candy Crush: Study Shows Kids Crave Sugar for Biological Reasons. Retrieved from www.nbcnews.com
Author Unknown. Limits on Marketing to Kids. Retrieved from www.healthyfoodamerica.org