October 13, 2024 • 20 mins
In today’s episode, we explore practical strategies to help your vegan kids break free from food ruts and overcome picky eating habits. If you’re dealing with fussy eaters at home, this episode is full of actionable tips to help you reduce stress around mealtimes and encourage your kids to enjoy a wider variety of plant-based foods.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why Vegan Kids Get Stuck in a Food Rut – We discuss the common reasons behind picky eating and how this can affect your child’s health on a vegan diet.
5 Simple Tips to Help Fussy Eaters – Easy-to-implement strategies to encourage your kids to try new foods and make mealtimes more enjoyable.
- Gradually introducing new foods in a non-overwhelming way.
- Creating fun and relaxed mealtimes that make trying new foods more appealing.
- Involving your children in meal planning and preparation to give them a sense of control and excitement.
- Reducing mealtime stress by eliminating pressure and focusing on positive experiences around food.
- Using patience and creativity to expand your child’s food preferences over time.
If you'd like help with your family's vegan diet, come and join my vegan families membership Nourish and Grow. Inside you'll get help with everything from your child's nutrition, great recipes, to meal planning and prepping so you can have those healthy meals on the table in no time!
Looking to make new like-minded vegan Mum Friends? Come and join my free Vegan Community just for vegan families here
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Exciting News! My book Super Boosted Snacks is now available! Packed with over 70 quick, kid-friendly vegan snack recipes, it’s designed to help busy parents ensure their kids get the nutrients they need—without the mealtime battles. Perfect for fussy eaters and plant-based families. Click here to grab your copy now!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Worried your vegan child isn’t getting the right nutrients? My free Ultimate Vegan Nutrition Guide for Growing Kids has you covered! 🌱
This simple guide gives you clear answers on essential nutrients like iron, calcium, and zinc, plus easy supplement advice for Omega-3s and Vitamin B12. Skip the stress and get the info you need to confidently nourish your child on a plant-based diet.
Download your free guide now and ensure your child is thriving on a vegan diet.
Let’s keep the conversation going! Find me at:
Website: withextraveg.net
IG: @withextraveg
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi there it's Jen, and welcome to this week's
podcast.
So this week we are talkingabout how to get your kids out
of a food rut.
This happens all the time.
It's something that I'm workingthrough as well, at the moment
where you find that your kidsare just eating less and less
foods and they're gettingfussier and fussier, and so this
(00:24):
week I'm going to give you myfive top tips on how to get your
kids out of a food rut.
Now, before we get started, ifyou need any help with this,
with what I'm talking abouttoday, and want some help going
through these steps, then thisis what we are working through
this month in my vegan familiesmembership Nourish and Grow.
(00:47):
So Nourish and Grow is a reallybig sort of platform where I've
got heaps of differentinformation in there Things
talking about how to get yourkids eating all the nutritious
food they need, which foods arethe best for it.
There's over 600, I think nowrecipes in there as well.
(01:09):
There's also courses on how todo meal planning and how to
actually make it all work,because I do know that the big
gap that I found, the problemthat I found with going vegan
was I kind of knew what my kidsneeded to be eating and what I
(01:31):
needed to be eating, and Iespecially wanted to be eating
the kinds of foods that peoplelike Dr Grieger and Dr Fuhrman
and the Campbells are alltalking about, but I didn't know
how to actually make it workfor me and my kids and for my
family and stuff.
So nourish and grow is reallyabout kind of that missing piece
(01:54):
, uh, in how to actually getyour family on board and how to
make it work and make it easytoo, because being vegan can be
hard, and so I've got lots ofmeal planning tips that I teach
you how to make it all reallyeasy.
So each month we focus on adifferent topic, and this month
(02:17):
we are looking at how to getyour kids out of a food rut.
So we will really be workingthrough what I'm teaching you
today in this podcast.
It's got kind of worksheets andstuff, and then there's a
Facebook group and you can askme for any help.
I'm really good at coming upwith ideas for new meals and
things, so I'm in there and Ican help you as you're moving
(02:40):
through.
So, as I said, if you listen toall of this and you think, it
sounds like a great thing to dobut you're not through.
So, as I said, if you listen toall of this and you think it
sounds like a great thing to do,but you're not really sure how
to actually make it happen, thenmake sure you come and join
Nourish and Grow.
I've put the link for it downbelow and I would love to have
you in there.
Okay so, kids in a food rut.
(03:01):
So the big problem with kidsgetting into a food rut is it
tends to happen when your familyis going through a stressful
time.
When you're not so stressed,then you have the time and the
space to work with your kids andget them eating well, whereas
(03:23):
when things sort of go to pieces, that's when their eating tends
to go to pieces as well.
And unfortunately, during thattime, we tend to just stick with
the foods that are easy, thatwe know that they're going to
eat, because we don't want tofight and we don't want to have
to deal with things and we don'twant to be making you know a
(03:45):
whole meal and then having themnot eat it at all, and so we
tend to just buy the foods thatthey that we know that they're
going to eat, which then leadsto the problem where you know
they get bored.
Or maybe if you've got kidswith sensory issues, like my
kids, you know they sit thereand decide that one day the
(04:06):
sausage rolls that you gotweren't actually quite right and
so they refuse to eat themafter that.
And so suddenly that list ofsafe, easy foods that your kids
will eat gets smaller andsmaller and smaller, and I'm
sure you can tell by my tonethat I am definitely speaking
from experience here.
If you follow me, you probablyknow that I've had we lost my
(04:31):
step-mom to cancer just recently.
I also homeschooling andthere's lots going on at home
for me, and so things have beenreally stressful this year.
And so, yeah, my kids havereally got into a definite food
rut where they're eating reallylimited foods and so, like when
(04:53):
I go to try to figure out whatto give them each week, I sort
of I end up with OK, they'llonly eat sausage rolls,
spaghetti, pizza, burgers andstuff, and so we're ending up
with those foods on rotation.
And then that means that notonly are they not really getting
the nutrition that they needbecause these sort of
(05:16):
supermarket foods are not reallydesigned to be highly
nutritious they're also notgetting enough veggies and
things like that highlynutritious.
They're also not getting enoughveggies and things like that.
But it also makes mealtimesreally hard, because either my
husband and I have to eat whatthey're eating in order to sort
(05:37):
of make meals work, or it meansthat we're having to make two
lots of meals, which takes up alot more time and effort.
So when your kids are stuck in afood rut, it can really
contribute to a lot of stress.
It's generally caused by stressbecause we parents are wanting
(06:00):
kids to eat well and stuff.
So often we'll try to pressurethem to eat or things like that,
and then we're also generallymore stressed ourselves and
going through stuff.
And then it adds extra stressin trying to figure out what
kids will actually eat andworrying about the fact that
they're not getting enoughnutrition and stuff.
(06:21):
And then, of course, if you goand hop on something like social
media and stuff, there is somuch amazing information on
there that is all designed toshame us as parents and people
in general about how we're noteating perfectly and things like
that.
So, yeah, so that's kind of howfood ruts are a problem, but
(06:47):
today I'm going to give you fivetips on how to get your kids
out of a food rut.
Now the first thing is, I reallywant you to be kind to yourself
and your kids and take thisslow, to yourself and your kids
(07:09):
and take this slow.
So I definitely don't recommendgoing and trying to change
everything up immediately.
Try to work on just one or twomeals a week and you will find
that if you work on these mealsslowly and one or two, well,
then they will probably work andthen the next week you can add
another one or two, whereas ifyou try to change everything all
(07:32):
at once, well, you're justadding to everybody's stress
levels and it's not going towork, unfortunately.
I am definitely someone wholoves quick fixes, but
unfortunately they don't tend towork All right.
So the first thing to do is sitdown with your kids or on your
(07:53):
own, depending on sort of howthey're going with food and
stuff and write down what foodsthey will actually eat.
Try to write down everythingyou can think of.
Okay, so my kids, as I said,they do spaghetti.
They will actually eat curry.
(08:14):
The curry recipe that I have onmy site is quite a popular one
in our house and then there'sthings like pizzas.
They tend to eat a lot of fruit.
They will eat some vegetables,so really make a list of
everything that your kids willeat.
If you sit down with your kids,you might actually be surprised
(08:37):
at foods that they're willingto eat and so yeah, so just
really make a list to give you areally good idea of what you're
working with to start with.
Now the next step is to gothrough recipe books with your
kids, and I've had a lot ofclients who have really fussy
(09:01):
kids.
You'd be really surprised athow many recipes they will
actually be happy to try.
So a really good place to startif you don't have it already is
my recipe book, super BoostedSnacks, because the recipes in
it tend to be recipes that kidsare willing to try.
So they tend to be muffins,protein balls, muesli bars,
(09:25):
things like that, but theirrecipes have been designed so
that they're actually reallynutritious, so that's a really
good place to start.
As I've said in Nourish andGrow, there are over 600 recipes
in there, and I've had clientsin the past where they've sat
down with their kids and justgone through the recipe index
(09:49):
and asked their kids whichrecipes appeal to them and I've
done this with my kids myselfand so make a list of the
recipes that your kids arewilling to try in there and are
interested in.
So when you're doing this, Ireally, as I said before, take
things slow.
(10:09):
So I don't recommend doing allbrand new recipes for every meal
.
Maybe do one or two for theweek and just let your kids try
those.
And it's also really importantthat if your kids don't actually
like them, then it's okay, sothey're not feeling pressured to
eat and so that they don't havethe opportunity to decide what
(10:34):
they do and don't like.
So when I'm doing new recipes,I tend to try to do recipes that
I like the sound of as well, sothat if they do decide that
they don't like them, well, Ican eat them for the week
instead.
So that's number two.
Like them?
Well, I can eat them for theweek instead.
(10:56):
So that's number two.
Now number three what I will dowith kids is I will tell them.
I will give them choice, but incategories.
So the other day with my son, wewere coming up with dinner and
he was telling me that he wouldlike a tofu stir fry.
So I said to him all right, sowe need some vegetables with the
(11:21):
stir fry.
And he said that he wantedcarrots, which is fine, and I
said to him okay, but we need agreen vegetable.
We need a green vegetable andan orange vegetable.
And so he sat and he thoughtand he said broccoli.
So this has given him choice,and so he feels empowered and
like he's able to make a choiceabout what food he eats.
But I've kept it to a categoryso that I know that he's getting
(11:46):
the nutrition that he needs andthen he's got the freedom to
choose within that category ofwhatever food he wants.
I was really glad it wasbroccoli, because that works
really well in stir fries.
I wasn't sure how I was goingto incorporate green peas into a
stir fry, but hey, you beflexible when it comes to kids.
(12:08):
So that's the first three tips.
Now my next tip is to useflavors that you know your kids
like in new ways.
So my kids, as I said before,my kids like curry, and so one
(12:29):
thing that I've done is, inorder to kind of stretch out the
curry and have more meals andstuff with it is, I've started
making curry parcels.
So I will make a big batch ofthe curry and then I will put
some of them into puff pastryparcels which they can then have
for lunches or something aswell.
(12:51):
So that means that because thecurry has got pumpkin, it's got
peas in it, it's got tofu, it'sgot chickpeas, so it's really
quite a healthy meal for themand then so they're getting that
with their lunch as well as thedinner.
Other things are you can usesort of sauces and things that
(13:15):
you know that they like.
So my son loves maple syrup andso I will often make sort of a
sweeter, sort of stir-fry saucethat he can use using maple
syrup in it, because I know thathe already likes that flavour.
So this is where you can go backto your list of foods that you
(13:38):
had written down that they likeand you can see if you can make
sort of different things withthose same flavors for them.
As I said before, if you needhelp doing this, I love coming
up with new ideas.
I'm really good at coming upwith new recipe ideas, so come
and join Nourish and Grow if youneed help with that, okay.
(13:59):
Now an extension onto this ideathat can work for some kids and
doesn't work for others,depending on sort of their
sensory needs and things, is tosee if you can recreate their
restaurant or takeaway favoritesat home restaurant or takeaway
favorites at home.
So, because restaurants andtakeaways tend to and even sort
(14:28):
of the packaged foods at thesupermarket, they tend to have a
lot more sort of fat and sugarand salt in them, which makes
them a lot more palatable.
Our kids do tend to like thosefoods more than they like
home-cooked meals, unfortunately.
So what you can do, though, isyou can use the flavors from the
foods that they like whenthey're eating out and actually
(14:51):
recreate them at home.
So I did this recently with myson, with my eight-year-old,
where he really liked.
There's a Japanese place Ithink it's Japanese here in
Brisbane called Moto Moto, whichhas got a curry sauce in it,
and so, as I said, he lovescurry, my eight-year-old and so
(15:13):
he also loves tofu, so he reallyliked the fried tofu with curry
sauce that I had from that,from that shop, and so what we
did was we actually recreatedthat meal at home.
So I went to the supermarket,and I found a katsu curry sauce
at the supermarket that I coulduse.
(15:34):
That I could use, and then wemade our own tofu at home.
I just fried it up with some,dipped in some flour and stuff.
We also steamed some veggies.
So again I sort of said to himall right, what vegetables are
(15:55):
we going to have in this?
I also introduced a newvegetable to him in that meal as
well, which was sweet potato,and so we just served that.
So we had rice, tofu, thebroccoli, carrot and some sweet
potato and we had it with thesauce that I put on the side and
he was able to dip it in and heabsolutely loved it.
So recreating meals when you'reeating out can work really well
(16:18):
for some kids.
If you have a child who needsfoods to really be a particular
way, then I'd say approach thiswith caution, because they
sometimes have an idea in theirhead about how a food is
supposed to taste and how it'ssupposed to be and if you get it
(16:40):
wrong it can be quitedetrimental.
So yeah, as I said, recreatingeating out stuff can work for
some kids really well not somuch for other kids and my final
tip is to let your kids createa meal themselves once a week.
So putting them in chargeempowers them and makes them
(17:03):
feel in control and it canreally help them to actually
want to eat more foods, which isalways good.
So I did this with my son aswell, so his meal of choice was
nachos.
That he chose.
So he basically he had nachos.
(17:24):
He wanted tofu crumble with itwith a barbecue sauce, so we had
barbecue sauce nachos Not quitemy choice, but that's okay.
As I said, he was in charge, hepicked everything.
Hey, as I said he was in charge, he picked everything.
He also wanted baked beans withit and he wanted avocado, and I
think I'm trying to remember Ithink he had some lettuce with
(17:45):
it as well.
So that again puts him incontrol, and so, again, it was
another meal that he was able toeat.
I then I mean, the great thingabout nachos is I was able to
make myself up like a salsa thatwent with it and stuff too, so
(18:05):
I quite enjoyed it as well.
So, yes, those are my tips onhow to get your kids out of a
food rut.
So make a list of foods thatthey eat and put everything down
, because that gives you areally good starting point.
Look through recipes with yourkids and see what they want to
(18:25):
eat.
Let them see and just make alist, but only make one or two.
Don't overwhelm yourself andtry to make heaps of different
things and then let them picksome aspects of their meals, but
within categories.
So, as I said, you know greenveggies, we need an orange
(18:47):
vegetable, we need a redvegetable, we need a type of
bean or something, yeah, so givethem that Now in Nourish and
Grow.
I've actually got some sheetsin there that have different
things that they can choose from.
I've actually got some sheetsin there that have different
things that they can choose from.
So that really helps that youdon't have to kind of come up
with the groups yourself andthen see if you can come up with
(19:11):
sort of new ways to use theflavors that they really like.
So maybe a sauce on differentvegetables or something like
that.
If they like you know a creamysauce on their pasta, well,
maybe you can try it on theirvegetables, things like that.
As I also said, I can help youwith all of that in Nourish and
Grow.
So if you need more help withthis, then come and join.
(19:35):
And finally, let your kidsdecide on one meal per week so
that they sort of feel a bitmore in control of what they're
eating.
So those are my five tips and Ihave worked through them with
my son myself and he's now he'sreally choosing new foods
(19:58):
because it was really great.
So we went through.
We ended up with three mealsthat we did.
There was a stir fry, the currythat I was talking about and
the nachos that he really feltgood about eating.
But then, since then, he starteddoing things like we were out
at a bakery and there weren'tmany things to eat, and so he
(20:20):
ended up getting a finger bun.
But when he was sitting thereeating it, he was looking at my
pie, my vegetable pie, and hewas like, oh, can I have that?
And so he ended up actuallyhaving a vegetable pie instead
of a finger bun, which isdefinitely something he would
not have done a few weeks ago.
So once you kind of start thisand start them feeling more
(20:42):
confident around food andfeeling okay with trying new
things, then it will actuallynaturally kind of expand to
other foods as well.
So, yeah, that's what I've gotfor this week and I will see you
again next week.
Hi there it's Jen, and welcome to this week's
podcast.
So this week we are talkingabout how to get your kids out
of a food rut.
This happens all the time.
It's something that I'm workingthrough as well, at the moment
where you find that your kidsare just eating less and less
foods and they're gettingfussier and fussier, and so this
(00:24):
week I'm going to give you myfive top tips on how to get your
kids out of a food rut.
Now, before we get started, ifyou need any help with this,
with what I'm talking abouttoday, and want some help going
through these steps, then thisis what we are working through
this month in my vegan familiesmembership Nourish and Grow.
(00:47):
So Nourish and Grow is a reallybig sort of platform where I've
got heaps of differentinformation in there Things
talking about how to get yourkids eating all the nutritious
food they need, which foods arethe best for it.
There's over 600, I think nowrecipes in there as well.
(01:09):
There's also courses on how todo meal planning and how to
actually make it all work,because I do know that the big
gap that I found, the problemthat I found with going vegan
was I kind of knew what my kidsneeded to be eating and what I
(01:31):
needed to be eating, and Iespecially wanted to be eating
the kinds of foods that peoplelike Dr Grieger and Dr Fuhrman
and the Campbells are alltalking about, but I didn't know
how to actually make it workfor me and my kids and for my
family and stuff.
So nourish and grow is reallyabout kind of that missing piece
(01:54):
, uh, in how to actually getyour family on board and how to
make it work and make it easytoo, because being vegan can be
hard, and so I've got lots ofmeal planning tips that I teach
you how to make it all reallyeasy.
So each month we focus on adifferent topic, and this month
(02:17):
we are looking at how to getyour kids out of a food rut.
So we will really be workingthrough what I'm teaching you
today in this podcast.
It's got kind of worksheets andstuff, and then there's a
Facebook group and you can askme for any help.
I'm really good at coming upwith ideas for new meals and
things, so I'm in there and Ican help you as you're moving
(02:40):
through.
So, as I said, if you listen toall of this and you think, it
sounds like a great thing to dobut you're not through.
So, as I said, if you listen toall of this and you think it
sounds like a great thing to do,but you're not really sure how
to actually make it happen, thenmake sure you come and join
Nourish and Grow.
I've put the link for it downbelow and I would love to have
you in there.
Okay so, kids in a food rut.
(03:01):
So the big problem with kidsgetting into a food rut is it
tends to happen when your familyis going through a stressful
time.
When you're not so stressed,then you have the time and the
space to work with your kids andget them eating well, whereas
(03:23):
when things sort of go to pieces, that's when their eating tends
to go to pieces as well.
And unfortunately, during thattime, we tend to just stick with
the foods that are easy, thatwe know that they're going to
eat, because we don't want tofight and we don't want to have
to deal with things and we don'twant to be making you know a
(03:45):
whole meal and then having themnot eat it at all, and so we
tend to just buy the foods thatthey that we know that they're
going to eat, which then leadsto the problem where you know
they get bored.
Or maybe if you've got kidswith sensory issues, like my
kids, you know they sit thereand decide that one day the
(04:06):
sausage rolls that you gotweren't actually quite right and
so they refuse to eat themafter that.
And so suddenly that list ofsafe, easy foods that your kids
will eat gets smaller andsmaller and smaller, and I'm
sure you can tell by my tonethat I am definitely speaking
from experience here.
If you follow me, you probablyknow that I've had we lost my
(04:31):
step-mom to cancer just recently.
I also homeschooling andthere's lots going on at home
for me, and so things have beenreally stressful this year.
And so, yeah, my kids havereally got into a definite food
rut where they're eating reallylimited foods and so, like when
(04:53):
I go to try to figure out whatto give them each week, I sort
of I end up with OK, they'llonly eat sausage rolls,
spaghetti, pizza, burgers andstuff, and so we're ending up
with those foods on rotation.
And then that means that notonly are they not really getting
the nutrition that they needbecause these sort of
(05:16):
supermarket foods are not reallydesigned to be highly
nutritious they're also notgetting enough veggies and
things like that highlynutritious.
They're also not getting enoughveggies and things like that.
But it also makes mealtimesreally hard, because either my
husband and I have to eat whatthey're eating in order to sort
(05:37):
of make meals work, or it meansthat we're having to make two
lots of meals, which takes up alot more time and effort.
So when your kids are stuck in afood rut, it can really
contribute to a lot of stress.
It's generally caused by stressbecause we parents are wanting
(06:00):
kids to eat well and stuff.
So often we'll try to pressurethem to eat or things like that,
and then we're also generallymore stressed ourselves and
going through stuff.
And then it adds extra stressin trying to figure out what
kids will actually eat andworrying about the fact that
they're not getting enoughnutrition and stuff.
(06:21):
And then, of course, if you goand hop on something like social
media and stuff, there is somuch amazing information on
there that is all designed toshame us as parents and people
in general about how we're noteating perfectly and things like
that.
So, yeah, so that's kind of howfood ruts are a problem, but
(06:47):
today I'm going to give you fivetips on how to get your kids
out of a food rut.
Now the first thing is, I reallywant you to be kind to yourself
and your kids and take thisslow, to yourself and your kids
(07:09):
and take this slow.
So I definitely don't recommendgoing and trying to change
everything up immediately.
Try to work on just one or twomeals a week and you will find
that if you work on these mealsslowly and one or two, well,
then they will probably work andthen the next week you can add
another one or two, whereas ifyou try to change everything all
(07:32):
at once, well, you're justadding to everybody's stress
levels and it's not going towork, unfortunately.
I am definitely someone wholoves quick fixes, but
unfortunately they don't tend towork All right.
So the first thing to do is sitdown with your kids or on your
(07:53):
own, depending on sort of howthey're going with food and
stuff and write down what foodsthey will actually eat.
Try to write down everythingyou can think of.
Okay, so my kids, as I said,they do spaghetti.
They will actually eat curry.
(08:14):
The curry recipe that I have onmy site is quite a popular one
in our house and then there'sthings like pizzas.
They tend to eat a lot of fruit.
They will eat some vegetables,so really make a list of
everything that your kids willeat.
If you sit down with your kids,you might actually be surprised
(08:37):
at foods that they're willingto eat and so yeah, so just
really make a list to give you areally good idea of what you're
working with to start with.
Now the next step is to gothrough recipe books with your
kids, and I've had a lot ofclients who have really fussy
(09:01):
kids.
You'd be really surprised athow many recipes they will
actually be happy to try.
So a really good place to startif you don't have it already is
my recipe book, super BoostedSnacks, because the recipes in
it tend to be recipes that kidsare willing to try.
So they tend to be muffins,protein balls, muesli bars,
(09:25):
things like that, but theirrecipes have been designed so
that they're actually reallynutritious, so that's a really
good place to start.
As I've said in Nourish andGrow, there are over 600 recipes
in there, and I've had clientsin the past where they've sat
down with their kids and justgone through the recipe index
(09:49):
and asked their kids whichrecipes appeal to them and I've
done this with my kids myselfand so make a list of the
recipes that your kids arewilling to try in there and are
interested in.
So when you're doing this, Ireally, as I said before, take
things slow.
(10:09):
So I don't recommend doing allbrand new recipes for every meal
.
Maybe do one or two for theweek and just let your kids try
those.
And it's also really importantthat if your kids don't actually
like them, then it's okay, sothey're not feeling pressured to
eat and so that they don't havethe opportunity to decide what
(10:34):
they do and don't like.
So when I'm doing new recipes,I tend to try to do recipes that
I like the sound of as well, sothat if they do decide that
they don't like them, well, Ican eat them for the week
instead.
So that's number two.
Like them?
Well, I can eat them for theweek instead.
(10:56):
So that's number two.
Now number three what I will dowith kids is I will tell them.
I will give them choice, but incategories.
So the other day with my son, wewere coming up with dinner and
he was telling me that he wouldlike a tofu stir fry.
So I said to him all right, sowe need some vegetables with the
(11:21):
stir fry.
And he said that he wantedcarrots, which is fine, and I
said to him okay, but we need agreen vegetable.
We need a green vegetable andan orange vegetable.
And so he sat and he thoughtand he said broccoli.
So this has given him choice,and so he feels empowered and
like he's able to make a choiceabout what food he eats.
But I've kept it to a categoryso that I know that he's getting
(11:46):
the nutrition that he needs andthen he's got the freedom to
choose within that category ofwhatever food he wants.
I was really glad it wasbroccoli, because that works
really well in stir fries.
I wasn't sure how I was goingto incorporate green peas into a
stir fry, but hey, you beflexible when it comes to kids.
(12:08):
So that's the first three tips.
Now my next tip is to useflavors that you know your kids
like in new ways.
So my kids, as I said before,my kids like curry, and so one
(12:29):
thing that I've done is, inorder to kind of stretch out the
curry and have more meals andstuff with it is, I've started
making curry parcels.
So I will make a big batch ofthe curry and then I will put
some of them into puff pastryparcels which they can then have
for lunches or something aswell.
(12:51):
So that means that because thecurry has got pumpkin, it's got
peas in it, it's got tofu, it'sgot chickpeas, so it's really
quite a healthy meal for themand then so they're getting that
with their lunch as well as thedinner.
Other things are you can usesort of sauces and things that
(13:15):
you know that they like.
So my son loves maple syrup andso I will often make sort of a
sweeter, sort of stir-fry saucethat he can use using maple
syrup in it, because I know thathe already likes that flavour.
So this is where you can go backto your list of foods that you
(13:38):
had written down that they likeand you can see if you can make
sort of different things withthose same flavors for them.
As I said before, if you needhelp doing this, I love coming
up with new ideas.
I'm really good at coming upwith new recipe ideas, so come
and join Nourish and Grow if youneed help with that, okay.
(13:59):
Now an extension onto this ideathat can work for some kids and
doesn't work for others,depending on sort of their
sensory needs and things, is tosee if you can recreate their
restaurant or takeaway favoritesat home restaurant or takeaway
favorites at home.
So, because restaurants andtakeaways tend to and even sort
(14:28):
of the packaged foods at thesupermarket, they tend to have a
lot more sort of fat and sugarand salt in them, which makes
them a lot more palatable.
Our kids do tend to like thosefoods more than they like
home-cooked meals, unfortunately.
So what you can do, though, isyou can use the flavors from the
foods that they like whenthey're eating out and actually
(14:51):
recreate them at home.
So I did this recently with myson, with my eight-year-old,
where he really liked.
There's a Japanese place Ithink it's Japanese here in
Brisbane called Moto Moto, whichhas got a curry sauce in it,
and so, as I said, he lovescurry, my eight-year-old and so
(15:13):
he also loves tofu, so he reallyliked the fried tofu with curry
sauce that I had from that,from that shop, and so what we
did was we actually recreatedthat meal at home.
So I went to the supermarket,and I found a katsu curry sauce
at the supermarket that I coulduse.
(15:34):
That I could use, and then wemade our own tofu at home.
I just fried it up with some,dipped in some flour and stuff.
We also steamed some veggies.
So again I sort of said to himall right, what vegetables are
(15:55):
we going to have in this?
I also introduced a newvegetable to him in that meal as
well, which was sweet potato,and so we just served that.
So we had rice, tofu, thebroccoli, carrot and some sweet
potato and we had it with thesauce that I put on the side and
he was able to dip it in and heabsolutely loved it.
So recreating meals when you'reeating out can work really well
(16:18):
for some kids.
If you have a child who needsfoods to really be a particular
way, then I'd say approach thiswith caution, because they
sometimes have an idea in theirhead about how a food is
supposed to taste and how it'ssupposed to be and if you get it
(16:40):
wrong it can be quitedetrimental.
So yeah, as I said, recreatingeating out stuff can work for
some kids really well not somuch for other kids and my final
tip is to let your kids createa meal themselves once a week.
So putting them in chargeempowers them and makes them
(17:03):
feel in control and it canreally help them to actually
want to eat more foods, which isalways good.
So I did this with my son aswell, so his meal of choice was
nachos.
That he chose.
So he basically he had nachos.
(17:24):
He wanted tofu crumble with itwith a barbecue sauce, so we had
barbecue sauce nachos Not quitemy choice, but that's okay.
As I said, he was in charge, hepicked everything.
Hey, as I said he was in charge, he picked everything.
He also wanted baked beans withit and he wanted avocado, and I
think I'm trying to remember Ithink he had some lettuce with
(17:45):
it as well.
So that again puts him incontrol, and so, again, it was
another meal that he was able toeat.
I then I mean, the great thingabout nachos is I was able to
make myself up like a salsa thatwent with it and stuff too, so
(18:05):
I quite enjoyed it as well.
So, yes, those are my tips onhow to get your kids out of a
food rut.
So make a list of foods thatthey eat and put everything down
, because that gives you areally good starting point.
Look through recipes with yourkids and see what they want to
(18:25):
eat.
Let them see and just make alist, but only make one or two.
Don't overwhelm yourself andtry to make heaps of different
things and then let them picksome aspects of their meals, but
within categories.
So, as I said, you know greenveggies, we need an orange
(18:47):
vegetable, we need a redvegetable, we need a type of
bean or something, yeah, so givethem that Now in Nourish and
Grow.
I've actually got some sheetsin there that have different
things that they can choose from.
I've actually got some sheetsin there that have different
things that they can choose from.
So that really helps that youdon't have to kind of come up
with the groups yourself andthen see if you can come up with
(19:11):
sort of new ways to use theflavors that they really like.
So maybe a sauce on differentvegetables or something like
that.
If they like you know a creamysauce on their pasta, well,
maybe you can try it on theirvegetables, things like that.
As I also said, I can help youwith all of that in Nourish and
Grow.
So if you need more help withthis, then come and join.
(19:35):
And finally, let your kidsdecide on one meal per week so
that they sort of feel a bitmore in control of what they're
eating.
So those are my five tips and Ihave worked through them with
my son myself and he's now he'sreally choosing new foods
(19:58):
because it was really great.
So we went through.
We ended up with three mealsthat we did.
There was a stir fry, the currythat I was talking about and
the nachos that he really feltgood about eating.
But then, since then, he starteddoing things like we were out
at a bakery and there weren'tmany things to eat, and so he
(20:20):
ended up getting a finger bun.
But when he was sitting thereeating it, he was looking at my
pie, my vegetable pie, and hewas like, oh, can I have that?
And so he ended up actuallyhaving a vegetable pie instead
of a finger bun, which isdefinitely something he would
not have done a few weeks ago.
So once you kind of start thisand start them feeling more
(20:42):
confident around food andfeeling okay with trying new
things, then it will actuallynaturally kind of expand to
other foods as well.
So, yeah, that's what I've gotfor this week and I will see you
again next week.
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