Our First Love campaign returns, and we want you to join in!
Why? Because studies show that serving veggies first means that kids will eat more of their veggies, and enjoy them more too! Stay tuned to The Table all month where we’ll be sharing tips & tricks on how to get kids to love their vegetables first.
Tip #2. Touch it, Smell it, Taste it
Think about the first time you tried a new recipe. You looked at it, smelled it, touched it, tasted it: eating engages all the senses and this can help your little one to try new foods!
If your toddler is resistant to a new vegetable, or is more sensitive from a sensory standpoint, try starting small and introducing a new “step” at each subsequent meal, or every subsequent day. Here are the steps to helping a child become more familiar with a new food:
- Touch the food with a fork or spoon
- Pick up the food with your hands and put it down
- Pick up the food with your hands and smell it
- Pick up the food, smell it, and then “kiss it” (touch it to your lips)
- Pick up the food, smell it, kiss it, lick it, then put it in your mouth (with the option to take it right out again).
And what you’re ultimately working towards is fully eating the bite after the food goes into your child’s mouth! Once they do eat a bite, continue to serve that food regularly so they keep feeling more and more comfortable with eating it.
And if you’re looking for even more ways to inspire the kiddos to try more veggies, check out the great tools and resources available from Paint Your Plate and Rainbow Plate.
And don’t forget to share your successes! We’d love to see you and your kids enjoying your vegetables, share your stories with us @realfoodforrealkids