How to Model Healthy Eating as an Adult Picky Eater
How to Model Healthy Eating as an Adult Picky Eater
As a parent, we want (or should want) our children to be the healthiest possible versions of themselves. And part of that means eating a healthy diet. But how do you teach them what is healthy when your own diet is less than stellar?
As an adult picky eater, I’ve spent the vast majority of my life avoiding almost all vegetables and only eating a handful of fruit occasionally. I am not the model of health, and it’s a personal struggle to eat well when I know it’s good for me but I just cannot get over the texture, taste, or smell of a particular food.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or nutritionist. This is not health advice, just what worked for me and my family. Please speak to a health professional before modifying your diet.
Why Do Parents Eat Poorly?
Many adult picky eaters have been that way since they were children. Maybe they had a bad experience, like being forced to sit and finish a plate of food they didn’t like. Perhaps it’s a texture or smell issue. Maybe they were fed fruits or veggies in a way that did not taste good to them, and therefore have not been exposed to other ways to consume a certain food. It can happen many ways, but the bottom line is that as adults, we should still strive to model healthy behaviors for our children.
Where Do I Start?
When I was pregnant, I knew I didn’t want my son to inherit my terrible eating habits. I made a point while still pregnant to continuously try new foods to A:expose my unborn baby to them, and B:try to adjust to eating them.
Start With Something You Like
If you know you like roasted sweet potatoes, make the same dish, but toss in beets, butternut squash, or turnips. If you like pineapple, try a pineapple mango smoothie. Other easy combos could be broccoli and cauliflower, onions and mushrooms (sauté them and serve with steak!), tomatoes and peppers puréed into soup.
Start Small
I didn’t just cook up 15 new veggies and start shoveling them in. That would have been a recipe for failure. My husband eats most things, so if I was cooking something for him, I would just put a small piece on my plate to try. I even told myself that I didn’t have to like it, my goal was simply to try whatever it was. Over time, I’ve noticed that I am more willing to try foods I ‘know’ I don’t like. Being an adult picky eater means you have to work on your mindset more than anything else.
Try a Different Cooking Method
I grew up eating string beans, and peas from a can. I have never been able to enjoy green beans because of the mushy, slimy texture. It wasn’t until I was in my thirties that I realized that not all green beans are like that. Now, I repeatedly try fresh green beans. When I wash and prepare green beans for dinner, my toddler helps me by putting them in a bowl and seasoning them. He always manages to sneak a few green beans into his mouth. He thinks he’s getting away with something, but really, he’s getting an extra helping of nutrition!
I don’t buy canned green beans because I don’t enjoy them, but I can handle a fresh green bean. I’ve also sautéed them in my cast iron skillet, and I have learned to tolerate a food I used to despise.
I never liked peas as a child. They were from a can and over salted and generally mushy. As an adult, I am able to experiment to find ways I enjoy them. I add peas and carrots to my fried rice recipe, and I add peas to a tuna noodle bake as well. In both recipes, the taste and mush of the peas is masked by other flavors (soy sauce and a cream sauce) and textures (rice and noodles).
Experiment
Look on Pinterest for recipes that look tasty and try them. My cousin never liked Brussel sprouts until she tossed them in balsamic and oven roasted them. Even though broccoli is my sworn enemy, I can tolerate it if it is tossed in lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic, and cooked in my air fryer.
Remember: the goal here is not to LOVE everything you try, but to find ways to make difficult foods more palatable.
If the only way you’ll eat carrots is dipped in ranch, start there. Try different sauces, and then graduate up to putting them in a salad or trying them roasted.
How to Model Good Eating
Get them Involved With Meal Prep
Letting your children help with dinner allows them to see healthy foods more often than if you were to just put them on their plates at meal time. At the store, let them pick out fruits and veggies, even if it isn’t something you enjoy. They may take a liking to it. Kiddos can help wash produce and store food in the fridge when you get home. They can put apples in the fruit bowl and sweet potatoes in their storage bin.
My son loves to use his learning tower to help me prep for dinner. We usually wash green beans or broccoli, and he helps pat it dry. As I chop the veggies, he helps by putting them into whatever container they will be roasted in, and then we toss with olive oil and seasoning, which he loves to mix!
Let Them See You Snack
Let them see you snacking while you prepare. Ex: if you are cutting up carrots for a stew, pop a piece in your mouth without making a big deal about it. The more they see you eating healthy foods, the more commonplace it will be to eat them. If my son is having grapes for breakfast, I might playfully ‘steal’ one off his plate while he watches.
As an adult picky eater, it is important to show your child that food can be fun, healthy AND delicious. By doing something as mundane as snacking on healthy foods, your child will see (and hopefully emulate) the good behavior.
Be Enthusiastic
Be enthusiastic (or at least not negative) if you eat something in front of them even if you don’t like it. Even if it is my husband eating something I don’t like, I try to make a small fuss about how great it is that he and daddy can eat the same things.
Now, that sounds good in theory but what about texture-challenges picky eaters? I have a confession: I am one. There are very few vegetables I actually like, which makes it difficult to model good behavior for my young son when swallowing the majority of veggies makes me want to gag.
So what do I do? I emphasize the veggies I do like, and my husband (who will eat pretty much everything) covers the ones I don’t. For instance, I like beans (I know, not technically a vegetable, but good for you), corn, carrots, sweet potatoes, so I make sure my son sees me eating them. I can’t stand broccoli, but I make an effort to be enthusiastic about it while my son watches. Plus, I figure that if I keep trying things, I might like them eventually.
Don’t Overwhelm Yourself
You don’t have to eat everything, even if it’s just two healthy foods you like, lean into it. Have them available on a regular basis. If you can tolerate beans, try to make sure there are beans on the dinner table at least one night each week. Substitute blueberries for snack instead of a bag of chips. Make sure your kid is drinking a ton of water by leading by example.
If you try to enforce an entirely new menu, you are bound to backslide or even fail completely, and that is not going to model good eating habits. As an adult picky eater, your progress might be slower than you think it should be, because we are trying to make lasting habits over here.
Side note: had anyone else’s dentist scolded them for giving their kid the occasional juice??
Encourage Your Kids to Try Foods
Even if your child doesn’t like a certain food, exposing them to it can change their mind (or palate!) Just keep putting a small portion on their plates and over time, they are likely to end up trying it. It took my son more than 12 attempts before he enjoyed peppers but now he’s excited to eat them.
Don’t try to get your kiddo to eat a food they do not like every single day. That is setting you both up for failure. If you are having peppers with dinner, put some on their plate. They may try it, they may not. The next time peppers are on the menu, try again. Instead of trying to force a love of peppers, be casual about it. This teaches your child that he’s going to have peppers on his plate (I love this toddler friendly set!) sometimes, and that is okay.
Make it Normal
We have dinner around six each night. Sometimes it’s pushed a bit later because #toddlerlife but I aim for six and hope for the best. Because I want to show my kid healthy habits, I work hard to make them as normal as possible.
That means the majority of our dinners have healthy elements. This means a mix of carbs, fats, and proteins with some fiber and vitamins mixed in. I am not a nutritionist and this is not health advice, just what we do. Do what you think is best for your family.
How to Change Your Mentality With Food You Don’t Like
Let me tell you, this is HARD. I’ve spent 30 years shunning foods. When I worked in a daycare a few years back, I was cutting plums for snack, and decided to try a sliver. My mind was blown when I realized how good plums are! It was a random occurrence, which on any other day probably wouldn’t have happened, but I’m so glad it did.
As adults, we tend to buy the same sort of items each time we grocery shop. These patterns are safe and predictable. I would have NEVER bought a plum to try, but now that I know I like them, I love getting them at the store! I even hope to have plum trees in my yard some day!
My point is, try something. Having dinner with friends? Put a small bit of salad on your plate if you would normally avoid it. Try a new dressing that you don’t normally buy. Ask for a side at a restaurant you’d usually avoid.
How to Sneak in Veggies Without Tasting Them
Usually this question is aimed at getting children to consume vegetables, but what about picky adults?
Greens
I LOVE using greens. I mic then into a glass of this juice and you can’t even taste it. Although, I’ve had greens just mixed into water and it’s delicious ‘plain’ as well.
Soups
I love making chicken noodle soup with onion, carrots, and celery seeds. The carrots cook down so soft, it’s a breeze to eat them, and I know the broth is good for me too.
I make a whole chicken chili with green chiles, corn, and cannelloni beans. Again, the chiles are so soft, the texture isn’t noticeable. It’s my favorite way to eat cannellini beans. This is a great way for an adult picky eater to get in more nutrients without struggling to get it down.
Sauces
I shred carrots into my spaghetti sauce. There’s no texture change AND it cuts down on the acidity (Hello Heartburn as soon as I turned 30!)
You can roast tomatoes and peppers (and a million other things) and then pop them in a blender until smooth.
With Dressing
Dip raw cauliflower in your favorite dressing, or toss several different veggies in a dressing like balsamic and roast them.
Zucchini Bread
You literally can’t even tell there is zucchini in zucchini bread, especially if it’s chocolate or peanut butter flavored!
Carrot Cake
My mom make this to die for carrot cake. It’s moist, spice-filled, and probably not the healthiest example but it’s delicious and there are carrots and raisins in it so I’m counting it as a win for my texture-challenged palate.
Are you an adult picky eater or do you live with one? Share this post with anyone you think it might help! Try these tips for instilling good eating habits in your child today.
Is there anything I should add to this list? Let me know in the comments which methods work for you!
