17 Healthy Recipes for Super Picky Eaters - TheDiabetesCouncil.com (2024)

FAQs

What should picky eaters eat to lose weight? ›

5 Consider what types of whole grains you enjoy eating. These may include barley, brown rice, oats, quinoa, and whole-wheat or whole-grain bread or pasta. Eat plenty of protein: You can get protein from beef, chicken, fish, and pork. Plant-based protein sources include beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, and tofu.

Dried or Freeze-Dried Fruits and Vegetables

Often picky eaters have found comfort in eating things that are crunchy or very chewy as this helps calm their nervous systems. Instead of trying to have your kid eat apple slices or green beans, try dried apple slices, or freeze-dried green beans.

Low intakes of dietary fibre as a result of low intakes of fruit and vegetables are associated with constipation in picky eaters. There may be developmental difficulties in some children with persistent picky eating.

Causes of picky eating include early feeding difficulties, late introduction of lumpy foods at weaning, pressure to eat and early choosiness, especially if the mother is worried by this; protective factors include the provision of fresh foods and eating the same meal as the child.

Kids are so picky with food for several different reasons. The causes of picky eating can include sensitivity to smells or textures, anxiety, or fear of trying something new.

Picky eating habits are more likely to develop when parents punish, bribe or reward their children's eating behaviors. The goal for feeding a picky eater should be to try new foods and to keep food from starting a battle.

Pureed Pairings

The combination of pureed carrots, onions and sweet peppers hides perfectly in spaghetti sauce, soups, stews and chili. An easy-to-adapt vegetable, summer squash can be pureed to veggie-boost macaroni and cheese and contribute fiber to a kid-friendly dish.

Add new flavors to dishes

Consider involving your child in cooking vegetables with spices and having a taste test at mealtime. Overcoming picky eating involves creating new experiences with foods. Children may do better when parents keep mealtimes positive and model eating plenty of nutritious foods.

Why are picky eaters overweight? ›

However, parents may also compensate for children's pickiness by pressuring their child to eat or by offering foods their children may find more acceptable, such as calorie-dense foods, which may inadvertently increase the risk for obesity.

Try eating exactly as you normally would, but cut down your portion sizes. Eating 500 less calories a day will allow you to eat the foods that you like and also lose about a pound a week.

High Calorie Foods for Picky Eaters

Some healthy high-calorie foods include nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, dried fruit, coconut oil, olive oil, whole grains like quinoa and brown rice, full-fat dairy products, fatty fish like salmon, and lean protein sources like chicken and turkey.