How to Introduce Kids to New Foods
Just like us, our kids can be a little suspicious of the unfamiliar — and food choices are no exception. Many kids are picky eaters, making it challenging for parents to encourage a varied diet.
Sometimes, the way you introduce a new meal to your child can influence their reaction to it as much as the taste or texture of the food itself. This is good news for parents tired of offering the same handful of options at dinnertime because it means you can help your child enjoy new foods. All you need are a few tips and plenty of patience.
12 Tips for Introducing New Foods to Kids
If you’re looking to introduce some new ingredients and recipes, follow these 12 tips to set up your kid’s meals for success.
1. Start Small
To set you and your child up for an easier win, start with bite-sized portions of new foods alongside their familiar favorites. This helps keep the amount of novelty manageable so your child doesn’t feel overwhelmed. For example, add just a few peas to that plate of chicken nuggets or a tiny dollop of hummus onto a cracker.
2. Talk About It
Describing the food’s taste and texture before your child takes a bite can spark curiosity and prepare them for a positive experience. Like hearing about someone before you meet them, a description can start the familiarization process and make the first bite feel like a smaller step. It’s also a great educational method for children to learn more vocabulary and build confidence in discussing food. Words you can use include:
- Crunchy
- Creamy
- Sweet
- Salty
- Juicy
3. Encourage Exploration
After describing the food, give your child a chance to explore it for themselves. This could involve looking at, smelling, and touching the food. Allowing children to experience food with all their senses can help build confidence, understanding, and enjoyment.
4. Prepare Together
Kids can participate in shopping and meal preparation to better appreciate what new meals are and where they come from. Mashing and stirring are exciting ways for kids to bond with their parents while getting to know new foods. Plus, research shows that kids are more likely to eat foods they help shop for and prepare.
5. Eat Together
We’re all social creatures. When kids have other people around them eating and enjoying the same food they’re about to try, it signals that this food is a normal and positive part of life.
If possible, eating meals together as a family or with friends who already eat the new food is an effective way to introduce a child to unfamiliar dishes. This is also an opportunity to be a good food role model. If you take a bite of a vegetable yourself and show that you like it before giving it to your child to try, they’ll more likely want to try it themselves.
6. Celebrate Traditions
Food is part of every culture’s history and traditions. Try introducing new food to kids by connecting them with holidays, recipes passed down the family tree, and other family traditions. For example, you could introduce pumpkin around Thanksgiving if your family celebrates it. Bringing in special songs, clothes, and games around the meal can help make the meal meaningful and fun. You could also use educational books and shows to teach kids about foods from other cultures.
7. Make It Fun
You can make mealtime a relaxed, enjoyable experience through fun and games. Ways to make trying new foods fun include:
- Cutting foods into creative shapes with cookie cutters.
- Bringing together all the colors of the rainbow on a plate.
- Trying a new meal with new cutlery like chopsticks.
- Using themed plates and decorations.
8. Keep the Mood Light
Mealtime can sometimes be stressful for parents and children alike. While it’s natural to feel frustration if children refuse to eat something you’ve prepared, your mood will influence theirs. Keeping the experience as lighthearted and low-pressure as possible can minimize negative feelings around new food, even if this means the first bite has to wait for next time. Consider it part of the process for some introductions to take more than one attempt.
9. Let the Experience Be Its Own Reward
It’s tempting to offer rewards like candy for trying new food. However, healthy eating habits are more likely to form when you encourage kids to enjoy a nutritious meal for its own sake. Otherwise, they may see the meal as something difficult they have to get through to earn a treat, reinforcing negative attitudes.
Whether dessert is on the menu doesn’t have to hinge on trying or finishing a new vegetable. Instead, the tips in this guide can help you encourage a healthy appreciation of the vegetable even when there’s no candy around.
10. Be Transparent
In the short term, tactics like adding chopped kale to a cake mix can help a picky eater get the nutrients they need. But the most effective long-term strategy is familiarizing kids with complete, nutritious meals on their plates and helping them enjoy healthy ingredients without disguising them.
11. Keep It Up
Many children need 10-15 exposures to a new food before it feels familiar. While some foods may be a hit the first time, patience will often be the key virtue. Being at peace with needing to offer a food item multiple times before a child takes a bite — let alone finishes and enjoys a full portion — can help promote positive and relaxed feelings around it. This low-pressure persistence will give you the best chance of success.
12. Track Progress
Consider keeping a journal to record:
- Foods your child eats.
- Methods you use to introduce new foods.
- How they respond.
Tracking this information and looking for patterns can help ensure your kids’ nutritional needs are covered. It’s also a great way to gain perspective about a child’s relationship with different foods and the best approaches to help them enjoy new things.
Explore Nurture Life for Easier Mealtimes
Preparing nutritious meals while balancing what your child likes with the new foods you want them to try can feel like quite the juggling act. That’s where Nurture Life can free you up to enjoy mealtimes together.
Our registered dieticians have created balanced menus full of meals, snacks, finger foods, and smoothies for children of all ages to enjoy. When you sign up for a weekly subscription to Nurture Life, you get these nutritious meals delivered to your door — ready to enjoy in a minute or less. Along with balanced nutrition, Nurture Life meals offer irresistible flavors that can cater to even the pickiest eaters.
View our meals today for easy, healthy options to delight your child’s taste buds.