It is common for children to be picky eaters, and this can be extremely frustrating to parents. Many people fall into the old trap of forcing or pressuring their kids to try out new foods, but this has been proven to be highly ineffective.
In fact, putting pressure on children to eat may end up making them even pickier about the food they eat. If your want to improve your child’s palette, you should follow the tips listed below.
Try Dishes from Different Parts of the World
Eating the same foods every day can get boring and tiring, and this can limit your child’s palette. To get them more excited about food, you can try new recipes from different parts of the world. This can help them adjust to different spices and tastes, and as they grow, they will also be more open to different cultures and traditions.
One food you can prepare to get started is poke bowls, an extremely nutritious meal that has roots in Hawaii. Before you make poke bowls at home, you should gather the four main components of these meals. These components are rice, a protein like a tuna, a dressing like soy sauce, and toppings like avocados.
Other dishes you can consider making include Korean beef tacos with spicy mayo, peanut chicken lettuce wraps, orange chicken, Mediterranean grilled chicken kabobs, and Chinese noodle soup. Following a family food plan can help you maintain variety in your meals.
Swap Meal Recipes with Friends
Another great way of expanding your child’s palette is to swap meal recipes with friends and family members. You can do this via email, where you would have to type or attach a message with your favorite meal recipe. You have to send this message to everyone in the email group, and they will reply with their best recipes as well. This system can also work with church groups or neighborhood groups on messaging services like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Platforms like Facebook can also be great for swapping family recipes, especially if you don’t have a large circle of friends. Larger groups will expose you to more meal types, and this will further improve your child’s palette.
Expose them to the Same Meals Frequently
Variety is essential in expanding your child’s palette, but it is equally important to expose them to the same meals consistently. This is especially important for younger children as they can grow to like the foods slowly. You should note that kids can get overwhelmed by too many new meals on their plates, so serving new foods should be limited to a few times a month.
Whenever you introduce new meals, you should serve familiar foods alongside. This will make them more curious about the meals and will elicit a positive reaction. It is also important to remember that sticking to particular meals does not mean you should force them to eat the foods. Pressuring them to eat certain foods can make them develop eating issues later on.
Get Your Kids Involves in Meal Preparation
Many parents have reported that getting kids involved in cooking can make them less picky about the food they eat. The first step here is to take them grocery shopping, where they can select new fruits, vegetables, or meats to try out.
You can also go through cookbooks together and see which foods they seem to be interested in. When it comes to the actual cooking, you have to assign age-appropriate tasks to the kids. You can teach them how to operate the timer or measure ingredients.
Throughout the cooking process, you should engage your kids in conversations about the colors of the foods and their tastes. If you have sufficient space in your home, it can be a good idea to set up a garden, where you can grow your own vegetables. Getting them engaged in caring for the plants can also help them develop an interest in different foods.
Conclusion
Children can be picky eaters, and this isn’t something that should worry you.
However, there are steps you can take to expand their palette. One thing you should do is prepare interesting dishes from different cultures and countries. This can make the meals more interesting. You can find new meal recipes by swapping recipes with friends and family members.
That being said, you should expose them to the same foods more frequently as this will help them grow to love the foods. It is also essential to get your kids involved in the preparation of meals.