Ask Alli - Nutrition Column

Q: Dear Alli, I am out of suggestions- My daughter is 5 years old - she used to eat all veggies and fruit and since she turned 3 food is flying off her list of things she will eat. The only veggie I am left with is peas and lentils- and all pasta has to be butter or olive oil only as she calls it "BLONDE PASTA". Let me not get started on packing her lunch for school- I am down to putting a granola bar and ritz crakers and an apple and hope she eats that.
I try to be as nutriutious as possible - but lately what to do- does it get better? Do you have any other suggestions that I have not thought of.

Thanks,
Anna

A: Hello Anna,
Thank you for your question! I am sure many parents and caregivers relate! Believe it or not we need to try some foods up to ten times before we know we like it! (Unfortunately Oreos are not one of those foods!) Your daughter may need a little more encouragement to try something new. Please just keep offering foods that she has refused in the past and modeling good behavior by eating them yourself. If she likes to dance, do gymnastics or any other activity then remind her that a variety of foods- and especially our proteins- are our "big and strong" foods to make us better at the things we love to do.
Here are a few other suggestions....
-Start a taste chart...all she has to do is take a taste- not finish- a food that she is refusing and she will earn a sticker. You can decide how many stickers earn her a prize and what that prize should be (just not sweets or any other food!)

-Color Menu...sit with her and make a list of some starches, vegetables, and proteins and then color code each group (ie. Starches= blue, veggies= green, protein= red) and tell her that her meal has to have a food from each color.

-Hannaford Store Tour...sometimes kids just don't want to listen to mom (don't worry, it happens to me too and my daughter is only Bring her in to see me at Carmel Hannaford (Putnam Plaza, Route Six) and I can introduce her to different foods, tour her around the store and try to make eating new foods exciting...and it is free!

I hope these ideas help! Please stay in touch and let us know!


Do you have a question for Alli? Email her at AskAlli@whatandwhen4kids.com




Allison J Stowell MS, RD, CDN
www.Beyond-Health.com