5 Tips to Handle Your Picky-Eater

A plate full of food left to be stared at. It’s probably a usual scenario at your home when you have a picky eater. According to a study, at any given age from 3 to 11 years, between 13% and 22% of the children were reported to be picky eaters. 

At some point in our lives, we may have been picky with certain types of food. But as adults, we understand that even though we may not be big fans of regular greens, we know how important they are to achieve a balanced diet. Kids don’t have this kind of grasp. And while it’s true that they may just outgrow this phase, being in the moment, you can’t help but feel frustrated and worried.

So what can you do? We’ve put together some helpful tips to make eating time less stressful for you and your children.

1. Make it colorful and fun

Yes, we’re diving right into the aesthetics! After all, children often judge something to be worth their time if they like how it looks. Try mix and matching fruits of different colors, like preparing banana slices with a side of strawberries or serving broccoli alongside carrot strips.

You can also put in an extra effort in creating different shapes and coming up with varied sizes to make it look more fun! Serving pancakes? Make smiley faces out of the syrup or let your children add colorful toppings to their liking (as long as it’s not too sweet)!

2. Get creative with the smoothies, shakes, and yogurts.

There’s something about cold treats that the little ones can’t seem to resist. Skip the ice cream and go for smoothies, shakes, and yogurts instead. Take advantage of their interest by making use of fruits, oats, nuts, and even vegetables in preparing this refreshing snack.

If you’re worried about not having enough nutrients in the smoothie, you can always add the pHresh greens® Raw Alkalizing Superfood which provides 3-4 servings of raw greens in just 1 teaspoon, you’re child won’t even notice it! This green super food powder is made with 16 raw ingredients that were carefully selected for their highly alkalizing properties. It’s a sure way to provide your children with their daily greens powder rich with natural source of vitamins, trace minerals, chlorophyll, and other phytonutrients beneficial to health.

3. Introduce more soups.

The great thing about soups is that they can easily be power-packed. Some picky eaters simply don’t like to see big chunks of vegetables, or maybe they don’t like the texture of big chunks so blending the veggies into a soup can be a good strategy.

You can ask your kids what they would like to be in a soup and then you can add the pHresh Superblends™. This way, no matter what weird fusion they choose as their favorite, you’re assured that they are getting the right amount of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fiber, and more through the superblends.

4. Don’t dismiss the chocolate.

What kids hate chocolate, right? But the thing is, we would never want our children to indulge in too much sugar for obvious reasons. The good news is, there is actually a healthy way to treat them with their favorite chocolate snack.

Ditch the usual chocolate in your recipe and replace it with the pHresh Superfoods Organic Cacao Powder. Organic, raw, non-GMO, and non-alkalized, this organic cacao powder offers a rich, bold taste that children will love. It uses cacao beans that are ethically sourced, making it nutritionally abundant.

From brownies to chocolate cakes to choco-chip cookies, the options are limitless with this nutritious alternative.

Get some cacao powder recipes ideas here.

5. Set regular times.

Lastly, one of the best ways to help your picky eater is to set a regular schedule for each of the family meals. Make it a point to offer three meals and up to three snacks at regular times each day. Offer only water between meals and snacks to keep them hydrated and to make sure that they don’t fill up before mealtime.

If your child refuses to eat at snack or mealtime, do not offer any more food until the next schedule. Stick to this rule even if it means he will have to wait for breakfast the next day if he refuses to eat dinner. Children who eat less at one meal will most likely make up for it and eat more at the next meal.