As the kids were tucking into Smoked Mackerel Pate last night, I gave myself a little pat on the back. Actually, I gave myself a huge smug pat on the back. Aged 6 and 4, they now eat a fairly wide and varied diet and regularly try new things. But it hasn’t been an easy journey to get here. Far from it!

When Big Boy was 2, he became a really fussy eater. By fussy, I don’t mean that he was a bit picky. I’d have bitten your hand off for picky at one stage. He actually refused almost everything.  He’d even dry retch when he got to the dinner table. In fact, he even dry retched when he walked past the dinner table. Yep, he’d become one of those Fussy Eater Kids.

The only saving grace was that he went to a daycare nursery at the time for 4 days a week. And apparently ate really well there. Even regularly had seconds.

I’d pick a chubby little boy up on Thursday evenings and return a half-starved little infant on Monday mornings. He ate almost nothing all weekend. No wonder he had seconds at nursery!

So, daycare nursery was my saviour.

…and then I gave up work.

Worried that, without nursery, my little chap would waste away, I tried all sorts of tactics to get him to eat.

And they worked.

….and then his little sister morphed into Fussy Eater #2.

But at least I knew what to do this time!

Involve your Fussy Eater in shopping

Get them to find, select, touch and sniff the produce. Let them compare different produce. Let them take ownership of the food.

They now love going to the supermarket, or farmers markets. So much so that, when we go to Rome in a few weeks, going to a food market is on our itinerary.

Grow your own

There’s something so lovely about growing your own veg. And that’s just for grown-ups. Kids also get a real buzz from nurturing a plant and watching it grow. And then eating it. Our redcurrants and garlic chives are so popular that they rarely make it into the house. They’re just scoffed outside by my little guzzlers.

But, at first, Fussy Eater #1 wouldn’t eat tomatoes. But now he loves, loves, loves them. In all shapes, colours and sizes. And Panzanella Salad (Italian Tomato & Bread Salad) is one of his favourite dishes. And I’m sure that’s thanks to our growing tomatoes.

If you don’t have a garden, take the kids to a ‘Pick your Own’ farm. Have a good look around at how the different veggies grow. Spot the little courgettes hiding under the leaves. Pull up some tiny, tasty, tender little carrots.

Repetition & Patience

Getting a Fussy Eater to try new things doesn’t happen straight away. But don’t give up. It really is a case of ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again’.

It wasn’t until about the 10th appearance of a side salad that Big Boy finally ate some. Now, he rates it as in his Top Five of Vegetables. And his little sister is now finally eating a mouthful or two of the green stuff now.

So pop a little portion of the new veg on the side of their plate. And scrape it in the bin, untouched. And repeat. And repeat again. They will try it one day. Just wait.

Make sure they’re hungry

When I’m getting the kids to try something new, I make sure that dinner is 15 minutes later than normal. I want them to be so hungry that they will need to eat.

…… although I do have to make sure that I don’t get it too late, especially at dinner time, or tiredness overcomes hunger. Then it all goes wrong!

Add something new to an old favourite

When peas were the number 1 veg that Littlest Angel would eat, and she was going through a big Fussy Eater stage, I added peas to every new dish.

The first time she had Quorn & Chickpea Curry, it had lots of peas in it. She started off by picking out the peas. No, correction. She started off by moaning that she didn’t like curry. Then started picking out the peas, which had curry sauce on them. As she got used to the taste of it, she started to take more and more of the curry with her peas.

Now she asks if we can make Quorn & Chickpea Curry. It’s one of her favourites!

And the same thing with Courgette Risotto. Again, another one of her favourites.

Presentation

Spend a little time on the look. Make the dish bright and colourful.

Or make a smiley face on the top with peas. Or sweetcorn. Or whatever veg you know that your Fussy Eater Kid likes.

…. make it look so colourful and pretty that they smile when it’s put on the table.

Taste Trials

My kids love to be able to rate things out of 10, and order things in order of preference.

So I sometimes get the same new, or slightly unpopular, veg and present it in 3 different ways. Then they are invited to try all 3 and see what order they would put them in.

Raw carrot batons, cooked carrot slices and grated carrot with a vinagerette dressing: which one do you prefer? What’s your second choice?

Cook with Fussy Eater Kids

The kids love helping in the kitchen. Now, cooking with kids really stretches the old adage ‘many hands make light work’. But, in the interest of getting your kids to try new foods, sometimes you’ve just got to grin and bear it.

And thank them for all their help. And tell them it makes your life so much easier when they help prepare tea.

And then encourage them to try the delicious food that you couldn’t possibly have made without all their help.

Lies, Lies & More Lies

I’ve hidden this one quite far into the article in the hope that the kids never find it. So, do read on, but do not tell my kids!

I happily tell them that their favourite football team eat Quinoa & Kale Salad.

Or I found this recipe posted online by the LFC chef.

It works every time!

Praise Be!

I like to tell them how proud I am of them when they try new things, rather than be negative when they don’t eat.

If you have more than one child, play one off against the other. When one is eating well, and the other one is being fussy, I am all over the first one saying how well they have done.

And guess what? The Fussy Eater starts to eat better then too!

It works a treat!

One Step At A Time

When you’re trying to introduce a new food to a really Fussy Eater, make the changes small. Change things one step at a time.

If they like pasta and tomato sauce, make it next time with peas in. Then make it with peas and carrots in.

Once they are used to that, make it again but as a mild tomato and veg curry. One of our family favourites, Quorn Chicken & Chickpea Curry was born out of tomato pasta sauce.

Show a Good Example

Now that you’ve read all of the above, have a think about what you eat.

Do you regularly say you don’t like something? Or always cook things in the same way? Why don’t you try to become more adventurous as a family? Try out some new recipes together.

Don’t forget that your child learns from you. So show them a good example at dinner time.

My Food Goal

We live in Tooting in South London, recently voted as one of the best places to live by The Lonely Planet.

Now, if you know Tooting, you’ll know that it’s home to lots of great Indian restaurants. In fact, Lonely Planet says that it’s home to “one of the best ‘curry corridors’ in the country”.

My goal for the Empty Nest Family is to be able to go out for a curry in Tooting together, knowing that they will eat well and enjoy it. I want to take the kids out and NOT have to fill them up on mango lassi and popadoms!

And after that?

We’ve been to India a few times pre-kids and fell in love with it. I’m vegetarian so particularly loved South India with all its pure veg restaurants. I really want us to be able to take a family holiday to India and know that the kids will try the beautifully tasty coconutty South Indian food. And perhaps even have a cookery lesson with the kids in South India.

I have, mostly, managed to win over the Fussy Eater Kids. Now I want them to become Food Gourmet Kids!

Do you have a Fussy Eater Kid? What tricks work for you? Do let us know in the Comments.