Picky eater

akavisa

My 5 yr old was just diagnosed with an emotional disorder. In researching it I found some of it can be triggered by processed foods. He is an extremely picky eater so many meals are a battle. I'm trying to find healthier alternatives to his favorite foods. Cutting back on some of the gluten and food coloring. Any chance a recipe could have hidden vegetables would be awesome.

suruda

one of the easiest ways to hide veggies is to grate them so they visibly disappear when cooked. I used to grate carrots and onions and mushrooms into spaghetti sauce when my kids were little. Grated zucchini or summer squash works well too.

Does he like things like banana bread? That's easy to make healthier...substitute applesauce or extra bananas for some of the fat, lower the sugar, add nuts for protein (if he likes them).

If he will eat spaghetti and/or pizza those are probably the best ways to hide veggies...in the marinara or pizza sauce. And if you make them yourself you will find that there isn't a need to add sugar and the other stuff that gets thrown in there!

jennusf

What are his favorite foods? My son is extremely picky as well, so I feel your pain.

itsmebirdie

Pureeing also helps to hide and disguise you can hide things in cooked dry beans and peas and soups ........ g'luck

epiphany29

As a picky eater, you have to experiment with that. Some aversion is texture based. You couldn't grate things into spaghetti sauce for me. I can't even deal with cauliflower mashed in with potatoes (another common mix). There are very few soups I enjoy, probably because of the texture. Pureeing will work as long as it is something that doesn't have a flavor that changes things much. The base has to be strong enough to truly hide it.
Please, don't force the kids to eat healthy foods because they need to. I was forced to eat things I detested as a kid(eggs, cheese, vegetables). Not one of those items do I enjoy as an adult. I have tried them fixed in different ways than I had as a kid, with great cooks trying to make them palatable to me. It doesn't work.

sassafrassa1284

If they're into meatloaf, I sauté a mix of veggies in a pan to soften them up and then I puree them before I add them to my ground meat. It adds a TON of flavor and it keeps the meatloaf moist. I would say you can do celery, carrots, zucchini, garlic, red onions, etc. I agree that if you puree something and add it into the food it might change the flavor. Mushrooms are a very strong flavor, as are peppers, peppers, cabbage and broccoli.

beccahun1

My son used to be horribly picky. He is 9 now and he's gotten a lot better, so there is hope!
Our best healthy swap has been popsicles. I stopped buying store bought ones and blend my own fruit, veggies & yogurt together. Then I add chia seeds to thicken. Carrots mask well in darker berries.
He also loves smoothies. I make pineapple strawberry smoothies and pack a tonne of spinach into it. It stays super sweet and tasty but does turn green. My son calls it "Yoda Juice". (He also quite enjoys that it has turned his poop green more than once)

samuelgina91

Maybe try different cuisines like mexican, indian, western foods, italian, or greek a lot of these can be eaten with your hands. I grew up in a house which primarily served incredibly spicy indian food so I know both my sister and I weren't the best eaters when we were younger and went for all the processed stuff (cause it was edible instead of a color coded mess of heat), which is really kicking us now, but getting in the kitchen and helping with parts of meal preparation and having the option of knowing what goes into the food might make it more appealing for him. Even something simple like yogurt. Instead of the processed stuff just get some plain yogurt (or make your own) and add even a spoon of jam and some sweetener might make it a healthier viable option, which long run is loads cheaper too. Plus it is can be customized to something he wants. This way he has some control over what he eats, and you can build healthy long term habits. And for main meals- I know I loved chicken nuggets when I was younger, and I still do. But one of the really fun things we used to do when we were little were make 'Shake and Bake' but you can do that really simple by just getting boneless chicken and cutting them into 1 inch bites toss them in an egg wash ( which can be spiced but he is five, so something simple like onion powder, salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste), then put them in a plastic baggy with some bread crumbs ( you can make them easily at home or buy them) and let him go to town shaking it. When they are all coated just pop them in the oven and bake them. He will enjoy it cause of all the activity, it makes a great memory, and he will probably eat it if he was involved in the process. Give him the choice of a veggie side like carrots vs celery and that will give him more control over what he eats, while getting him some veggies. Also chocolate zucchini bread, muffins are really great too.

madelyntidwell95

I'm sorry for the really long reply, but I'm an extremely picky eater myself so I've had a lot of experience here.
My picky eating is based around a really extreme aversion to textures. I'm 21, and just now beginning to overcome this. What I've found has really made a difference for myself is just making the foods I don't like available, but not forcing myself to eat it, and avoiding being around people who encourage me to eat it. Basically, I make it available, and then if I decided to try it, it was because I wanted to.
So to translate that to a child, just make sure the good stuff is available. Put it on his plate. Tell him what it is, and then don't say anything else about it. For myself if someone is right there staring at me while I try it, I can't do it. So don't pay any attention to it. Don't comment if he tries it. (You can say something later, like "I'm so proud of you for trying ___, that is very brave of you." or "I noticed you didn't try ___, that's ok, maybe next time.")
Even if he didn't like a certain food the first time, keep introducing it. It can take a while to develop a taste for something, especially if the picky eating is texture based.
Another thing that has helped me is to create new connections to foods. For example, I can't eat broccoli because the florets make me think of the moss that grows sprouts, so I feel like I'm eating moss. If instead I force myself to think of something else (like that the broccoli is little trees) it's much easier to get it down. So try to help create new associations with foods.
I'm sure there are other things I could think of, but since this is an older post I'll just stop here. Hopefully these suggestions help someone!

isyvanek

Seinfeld's wife Jessica Seinfeld wrote a cook book called "Deceptively Delicious" because her kids are picky eaters. It has recipes, etc. If I remember correctly her biggest thing was pureeing them. Madelyntidw also makes a very good suggestion about creating new connections or associations such as broccoli as trees. I'm told that having them help you cook also makes them want to eat the finished products much more than just having it served to them. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

SkyFerret

Food aversions are a pretty sensitive subject and very difficult to get over, especially since we humans are programmed to be suspicious of new foods in case they turn out to be poisonous. Start slow, puree sweeter vegetables like carrots with fruit to make smoothies or juices, or add them into other things that he already likes. That should start getting him used to the flavor, even if he doesn't know the veggies are in there. Then try slow exposure. Put the food on his plate, let him decide whether or not to try it, don't pressure him. If he tries it, great! If not, try again later. It can take many attempts at trying a new thing to form a taste for it and determine whether or not it is 'safe', but it can be done. I now eat lima beans, onions, and green peppers when I never did as a child. And I'm also slowly overcoming a strong distaste for coffee. Just be patient.

akkat2005

same here !! My son now 12 is also a very picky eater with lots of food allergies- all lentils, some nuts not all. At the last visit for the allergy testing I found out that he can have chick peas. I have him some to eat in his hands with straight out of the can after rinsing with water. He didn't like it. next I pureed in homemade chicken soup and he didn't even noticed.....
Also I make homemade multigrain dough, so instead of needing with water I pureed - chick peas, carrots, green peas, flax seed, spinach. sometimes I will add mashed potatoes and make pitas. Also u can bake bread with some added ingredients, baking powder and soda. He loves it...

paigele

Here is a yummy sweet treat https://www.fearlessdining.com/gluten-free-butternut-squash-caramel-cake-bars/

dadsafrantic

get the kid into the kitchen. we had all the kids in the kitchen preparing dinner quite often as they were growing up. food fears and finickiness came and went. if he gets to cook and help he may find things he wouldn't consider otherwise. that being said...yellow beets and cauliflower are awesome in mashed potatoes. butternut squash disappears nicely into mac and cheese. you can put a truckload of veggies in a marinara sauce too. i'm not sure i'd hide it either. i work at a school as a chef and we do all kinds of veg added versions of food for the kids. i feed about 1100 people a day. they mostly love it. i also have lots of allergy kids. a couple who's problems are compounded by stress. crazy. we're a nut free campus. we cook everything from scratch except ls diced tomatoes and mayo (vegan). every bean, beet, turkey, beef, you name it is cooked there. all meat and fish are fresh. all veg is fresh except edamame. it will pay off in the end.

kms234

Definitely involve him in the cooking and/or shopping process. Encourage him to pick out a new food when you're at the store and find a recipe to incorporate it.

Another option is to make smoothies or popsicles. The primary ingredients should be fruit/veggies he loves and then slowly add in new foods. My 5 year old would scoff at anything green (except broccoli oddly). I started adding spinach to his smoothies a little bit at a time. One day I told him that I was doing it. He said "What?! I didn't even know and it's so yummy!" Of course he followed up with "but i never want to eat spinach plain" but i'll take what I can get

Another technique that has worked about 50/50 with my kids is putting fruit and veggies on a plate family style and letting them choose. I just tell them they have to eat what they take. My 7 year old tried cucumbers and raw peppers for the first time this way. My 5 year old has yet to try anything new but he does like picking out his food.