Parents, take it off your worry list.
But if you’re able to’t help yourself, follow these tips and tricks.
Putting out an APB to parents worldwide: we can now breathe a collective sigh of relief!
(And move on to worrying about something else we’re doing that’s messing up our kids.)
It’s true that picky eaters typically fall short on key nutrients.
Think: protein, fiber, iron, zinc and carotene.
So what exactly did this new study find?
And intakes of some sweet foods-particularly chocolate-were higher in picky eaters of all ages compared to their nonpicky counterparts.
And often what kids want are hyperprocessed, super-palatable foods with more added sugars (because they’re tasty!
)," says Jenna Helwig, food director atParentsand the author ofBaby-Led Feeding.
That said, don’t overthink it too much.
One serving of regular white pasta has 7 grams of protein and is an excellent source of B vitamins.
Plus, it has 10% of the Daily Value of iron."
Then there are bean-based pastas like Banza, which contain even more protein and iron.
From there, your child gets to decide what they eat at the meal and how much.
Skip the cajoling and bribing.
Be strategic about snacks.
make a run at shut down snacking 90 minutes to two hours before a meal.
Don’t talk about healthy food.
Instead, wax poetic about how delicious the food you’re serving is.
And to be fair, similar research has also been published about adults.
Let them play with their food.
This might irk you to no end.
