Understanding Picky Eating:

Before diving into strategies, it’s essential to understand why some children become picky eaters. Picky eating is often a normal phase of childhood development, with various factors contributing to a child’s reluctance to try new foods. Sensory sensitivities, fear of new textures, and a desire for autonomy are just a few reasons why children may resist certain foods.

1: Create a Positive Mealtime Environment:

The ambiance during meals plays a crucial role in shaping a child’s attitude towards food. Establish a positive and stress-free environment by:

1. Avoiding pressure: Forcing a child to eat can lead to negative associations with certain foods. Instead, encourage exploration at their own pace. Take them to your freezer and let them see first hand what sort of foods are there. Assure them that food is fuel for play and go over the lithy of opinions available to them.
2. Family meals: Studies say – eating together as a family promotes a sense of connection and makes mealtime a pleasant social activity. 
3. Positive reinforcement: Praise and positive encouragement can go a long way. Celebrate small victories and show appreciation for their efforts!

2: Involve Them in Meal Preparation:

Incorporate your child into the whole meal preparation process to spark interest and curiosity about different foods! Children are more likely to try something they had a hand in creating. Experience the joys of Meals-in-Minutes with your little picky eater! Here’s how you can involve them:

1. Meal selection: Show them exactly what it takes to prepare for dinner. Demonstrate Heartland’s thaw process and explain how “Frozen Food Magic” helps keep their food safe and fresh! You can allow them to help you retrieve ingredients for the meal too and show off the steps of cooking.
2. Cooking together: While you whip it up in the kitchen, allow them to participate in age-appropriate kitchen activities, like stirring ingredients. Or even grabbing the defrosting tray from the cupboards!
3. Meal planning: Let your picky eater have a say in the weekly meal plan. That way you can introduce variations on their favorites. And offering them choices within a predefined set of options can make them feel more in control. With Farm-to Freezer there’s less pressure and more variety, right in the comfort of your own home!

3: Introduce New Foods Gradually:

Instead of overwhelming picky eaters with an entirely new meal, introduce new foods gradually to increase acceptance. Try the following approach:

1. One new item at a time: Introduce new food items alongside familiar favorites. This minimizes the pressure and allows the child to focus on trying one thing. With Heartland’s individual portions it’s easy to pull out their favs at any time!
2. Small portions: And it is is good to start with smaller portions to avoid overwhelming your child. The beautiful part of being prepared with your Farm-to-Freezer spread is that they can always ask for more if they enjoy the new food! 
3. Mix and match: With access to a variety of foods it’s easy to combine new foods with familiar ones to them. For instance, mix a new vegetable into a favorite pasta dish.

4: Be a Food Role Model:

Children often mimic the behavior of their parents, so being a positive food role model can significantly impact their eating habits. Consider the following tips:

1. Show enthusiasm: Demonstrate genuine excitement about trying new foods. Your enthusiasm can be contagious.
2. Eat a variety of foods: Model a diverse and balanced diet by incorporating a variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, into your own meals. It’s easy to get stuck in a food rut ourselves, but luckily if you have a variety of food on hand, you never have to settle for monotony or worry about waste!
   
3. Avoid negative comments: Refrain from making negative comments about certain foods. Instead, focus on the positive aspects of each meal and be open minded about trying new things yourself.

5: Don’t Stress When Plans Change:

A lot of ideas sound good on paper but sometimes your favorite picky eater just won’t budge. That’s okay, no progress is purely an upward trend and these nights will happen. We got your back!

1. Quick Defrost: Frozen Food Magic! Don’t make another whole meal or trek to the grocery store to grab extra foods. You can simply add in that extra single serving of chicken breast to defrost in 10 minutes! It’s all right there in your freezer!
2. Package-to-Pan-Ready: If you must cook extra food, know it won’t add much extra time to your cook time! Farm-to-Freezer provides Pre-trimmed, pre-cut, even pre-marinated options so you can easily prepare whatever your picky eater demands in minutes!
3. No Waste: Dinner for 4 became dinner for 3 because of one unhappy guest? No problem. You won’t have to worry about wasting any of the unused protein or veggies you have. With Heartland, they stay safe in your freezer to “live another day” while your picky eater continues to adjust to more variety.

Conclusion:

Dealing with picky eaters can require patience, creativity, and a commitment to fostering a positive relationship with food. But we believe by creating a supportive mealtime environment, involving children in the preparation process, introducing new foods gradually, and being a positive food role model, parents can navigate picky eating challenges successfully. All that and with a selection of wholesome food in your back pocket, we hope to alleviate the stress associated with the dinner time dash.

Here’s to less separate meals this year for picky eaters, and more harmonious meals as a family! With Farm-to-Freezer we hope to encourage your picky eater to explore a more diverse and nutritious range of foods all possible within their family freezer! And with time persistence, and a little assistance from us, parents can turn mealtime into a delightful experience that promotes better eating habits for life.

Picky Eater’s at home? No problem Try Us For A Week to get started! Or Join our Facebook Foodie Group for more tips and tricks to survive nightly dinners!