Tips for introducing new foods to children’s plates
Vary the cooking and preparation methods. Sometimes a child doesn’t like a vegetable because they don’t like its cooked texture, while they may very well like it raw. This is often the case with tomatoes or endive, for example. Eggs are also better accepted hard with a bechamel sauce than on the dish, fish gratin rather than court bouillon. Many vegetables are also well accepted in mash or soup. But each child has their preferences, and some are a bit repetitive …
Fa'aaofia lau tama. Simply to familiarize him with food. He can make the vinaigrette, pour flour into a dish or crush hard-boiled eggs on a tomato salad …
Stimulate the touch and the sight of his child. Children are very tactile. Let them touch certain foods or knead a pie crust, for example. Play with presentations and colors as well. A child tastes first through the eyes. A plate should look appetizing. So vary and play with the colors. For example: an orange salad with chocolate shavings, green beans with white beans and diced ham. Also try the potato pancakes decorated with parsley.
Discuss with the family during the meal. Between 3 and 7 years old, a child wants to eat like adults. Let’s take advantage of this mimicry so that he understands that the meal is a moment of conviviality and pleasure. Above all, share meals with the family and make comments. For example: “Is the fresh cream in carrots good?” It’s different from grated carrots ”.
Multiply presentations. The more a food is known and linked to a pleasant sensation, the more your child will want to taste it. Play a game. Help him to verbalize how he feels when he tastes the food: “Does it sting, is it bitter, is it sweet? “. And if you receive other children, improvise “discovery games”. Everyone presents, for example, the fruit they prefer and should make others want to taste it.
Mix vegetables and starches. Children have a clear preference for satiating and sweet foods, and therefore starchy foods. To help him eat vegetables, mix the two: for example, pasta with peas and cherry tomatoes, a potato and zucchini gratin …
Do not force your child to finish his plate. He tasted, it’s good. Do not insist, even if it is “good for him”, you might turn him off. Having taken a bite or two allows you to gradually accept a food. And then, forcing him to finish a plate risks disrupting his appetite, which is naturally regulated.