How We Get Our Picky Eaters to Try New Things

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx on behalf of Oroweat Organic Bread.

Growing up—and even still now—I’ve always been known as a VERY picky eater. My mom would cook me a separate meal from the rest of the family when I didn’t like what she served initially. She would also give me foods on a divided plate because I didn’t want my food to touch. When I had Ames and Joules 3 years ago, I knew I needed to take a different approach to encourage them to try new foods. Yes, I would still consider my twins to be picky (they are only 3 years old, after all), but we’ve made some awesome progress. Today’s mission was to get the twins to try lettuce for the first time!

Here are my top 3 tips on how we get our picky eaters to try new things:

1.     When you’re offering little ones something new, also give them a staple that you know they love.

For us, one of their favorite staples is a peanut butter sandwich made with Oroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread. This bread features Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse—which of course would bring excitement to any kid, right? Interestingly, Oroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread is specially made for picky eaters. It’s soft and smooth in texture, plant-based, and provides a good source of vitamins A, D, and E. Fun fact: this USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified bread is also freshly baked using renewable wind energy! How cool is that? What’s cool is that it has the Disney Check—which is a quick and easy way for kids and families to identify nutritious choices whether in stores, at live-event venues, online, on-air and at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. All foods featuring the Disney Check meet the company’s Nutrition Guidelines. Whenever I serve this kind of sandwich, the twins are quicker to jump on board with trying something new and nutritious, like a different vegetable or fruit. It’s key to balance something familiar with something new.

2.     Get the kids involved in cooking or making the meal.

Toddlers learn from interacting with and observing their environment. Teaching them about all of the nutritious options with hands-on experience might lead to a better outcome. Plus, the parent-child bonding that can come from cooking in the kitchen together is undeniably wonderful. When we made our silly sandwiches, the twins were so helpful in placing all of the fruits and veggies on the bread!

3.     Make it FUN and COLORFUL.

Get creative and design something funny or cute with the food, use foods with a variety of color, sing and dance to some music while you cook/create, and let them dress up! For today’s lettuce mission, Ames wore a chef’s hat and apron when we made our sandwiches—which made him feel very important. :) We designed some silly faces that I told the twins were supposed to be them (they got a kick out of that). It was actually really quick and easy to make. We used 2 slices of Oroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread, 1 Tbsp peanut butter spread, ¼ sliced banana to make the eyes, 2 peas for pupils, ¼ sliced strawberry to create the mouth, ¼ baby carrot for the nose, and 2 small lettuce slices for the hair. We served it up with a glass of low-fat milk and we were ready to say, “bon appétit!”

As for the lettuce verdict? They actually TRIED it! Thanks to some key players, like Oroweat Organic White Made with Whole Wheat Bread, we made it happen!