How-To Make Sure Your Picky Eater is Getting What They Need

Having a picky eater can be a difficult thing for many parents to deal with. You are constantly worrying about whether or not your picky eater is getting all of their recommended nutrition. Some children are so picky that it can drive a parent batty just trying to get your child eat something other than their favorite hotdogs, chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese. Here are a few tips on making sure that your picky eater is getting what they need from their diet.

When you have a child who is a picky eater it can be difficult to know what to buy in order to assure that they get all of the nutrition that their bodies require. If you get creative then you can come up with many ways in order to sneak good foods into your picky eater's diet. We all know that everyone needs fruits & veggies, diary, protein and whole grains but how exactly can you get all of these goodies into your picky eater?

Multivitamins- The easiest option is to give your picky eater a daily multivitamin. There are many forms of multivitamins available on the market from liquids to chewables to vitamins that look like gumballs and gummy bears. A multivitamin should not be considered a miracle cure for a picky eater's diet though. A multivitamin should be used as an add-on, something to help enhance the diet.

Healthy Snacks- Most picky eaters would prefer to graze and snack around all day long rather than sit down and have an actual meal three times per day. If you have a grazer then it may be best to supply healthier snack options in order to be sure that your child is getting the nutrition that their body requires. When we think of snacks the first things that come to mind are unhealthy, sugar-filled, high calorie snacks but there are many healthy options out there. Snacks like granola, yogurt, dried fruits and even fruit juice popsicles are readily available at your local grocery store. You can even make many healthy snack mixes yourself right in your own home. For fruit juice popsicles you can make as many as you want just by using your child's favorite 100% fruit juice and some popsicle molds from your local dollar store. My freezer is stocked full of these in the summertime. For dried fruits you can make your own mixture by using fresh fruits and a food dehydrator.

Smoothies- Smoothies are an excellent way to get your picky eater to have dairy, fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. There are so many ways to hide a variety of fruits and veggies in a smoothie that you are only limited by your own imagination. Here's a simple smoothie recipe that is a huge hit with everyone in my household.

1 cup frozen fruit (any fruit)

1/2 cup milk or orange juice

8oz cup of yogurt

Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Makes on serving.

This is just a simple smoothie recipe. You can add things like carrot juice for a veggie serving. If you use milk then you have a dairy serving. Any fruit is a fruit serving. I know that some moms tell their picky eater that it's a milkshake and that gets their children to drink it even faster. I even enjoy a smoothie for a quick on the go breakfast.

Veggies Baked Right In- If your child refuses to eat their vegetables how about trying something a little different. Bake their veggies into something that they love. For example, muffins are a great hiding place for many veggies as well as fruits. You could added some finely grated carrots into an apple muffin and your picky eater would never know the difference. You can even add things like zuchinni without any taste change. One of my favorite foods is the zuchinni bread that my own mother bakes on occassion. It just tastes like apple bread. You can bake many different types of fruits and veggies into tons of recipes in order to help your picky eater get their daily recommended allowances. These recipes will also help with their fiber intake.

Meal Sizes- If you notice that your picky eater is only eating half of their meals then how about shrinking their serving sizes. By offering smaller servings your picky eater is more likely to eat all of their meals. Smaller serving sizes will be less daunting to a picky child. You may also want to limit the drinks served with your picky eater's meals. I know my girls have a tendency to focus solely on drinking every drop of their beverage before they dig into their

Be a Good Role Model- Being a good role model when it comes to nutrition can go a long way in helping your picky eater become a little more experimental with their foods. Seeing mom and dad eating and enjoying a variety of healthy foods will show your child that there really are good foods out there beyond their favorite hotdogs or mac & cheese. So instead of grabbing that sugary donut for a snack why not chomp on a crunchy, fresh apple. You might just get your picky eater interested enough to try an apple of there own.

Food Preparation- Allowing your picky eater to contribute in the meal planning and preparation is another way to get them to eat and enjoy their meals. Children, no matter how picky they are, enjoy helping out and having a part in deciding what should be cooked for dinner. Allowing them to help you out in the kitchen will encourage your picky eater to actually try the foods that they are preparing. So get those aprons on and let your little ones jump in with you.

The best thing to do when you have a picky eater is to try not to worry to much. If you sit down and think about the things that your child eats during an entire week I bet you will see that in the long run your picky eater is getting most, if not all, of their recommended nutrition. Instead of it being on a daily basis, it may be on a weekly basis. No child has ever starved to death from skipping one meal. I know from experience that a picky eater can grow and thrive, even if they do refuse to eat dinner once a week. All we parents can do is keep trying. Eventually your picky eater will start trying new foods and the hotdog phase will pass like all other phases.