Eat your fruits & veggies!!!

Having trouble getting your little "picky eater" to eat their fruits and veggies??? Well..you are not alone!! Think about fruits and veggies...think about the taste, texture and the smell...now think about the foods that your little one LOVES. Eating a potato chip is very different than eating a pea or peaches. For one..a potato chip is dry and crunchy...if you close your eyes while eating a potato chip you can hear the crunching. All of these properties of the potato chip cause certain sensory receptors to be activated...When we eat a pea..it is soft, mushy and doesn't provide that auditory feedback that a potato chip gives as we "chew, chew, chew"..and in fact..as we chew the pea it releases water or liquid into our mouth...hmmm...pretty opposite from a chip.

Don't lose hope! For those little ones that are not eating their veggies because they prefer those starchy, crunchy, carbohydrate foods well...here is a little feeding therapist secret....

Below is a website with tons of veggies and fruits:

http://www.justtomatoes.com/OJPEAS-P.html

(most natural &/or organic food stores carry this brand..but the website has the most variety-its kind of expensive but lasts forever..and most foodstores have coupons..shop the sales!!)

I;m new at this internet stuff..but I think you can just click on the link above and it will take you to the site. This site is full of veggies and fruits that will give your child some of the same sensory properties as those crunchy, starchy, carbohydrate foods....thats right...this site has veggies and fruits of all different kinds that are crunchy!!!

The only difference between these fruits and veggies and the ones that we normally eat...is that these fruits & veggies do not contain ANY water...thats right...this company simply took real, organic fruits & veggies and dehydrated them...not to the consistency of raisins or those dried cranberries...but actually one step further...they took ALL the water out...these veggies and fruits are completely liquid free...which makes them crunchy and flavorful!! My personal favorite are the peas and the pineapples...but I encourage you to try them all out..they are all worth it!!

Soooo...now you have the crunchy veggies and fruits...now what??? Well...I would start by simply placing the new foods on your child's plate with his preferred foods...and seeing if he tries it. Remember success happens even if your child only lifted up a piece of the food and smelled it...keep trying it..putting it there...just make sure to not add pressure..Eat with your child...show him how to lick the food with his tongue to get just a little bit of a taste without the "Scariness" of putting a completely new food in his mouth..Show him the crunchy sound it makes by eating one yourself and talking about the sound it makes,etc.........

If your child is a little more aversive to new foods I would recommend seeing a feeding therapist...look in the phone book under "Speech-Language Pathologist" or ask your pediatrician for a referral. FYI though...you could start by placing the new foods on a seperate plate but in your child's reach..that way they can interact with the new foods on their "own terms". Anyway...hope that helps...let me know if you have noticed any other websites with some great foods on it too.