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Introducing new foods

A varied diet offers a better chance to get all the nutrients children need to grow and stay healthy. Introducing new foods will offer your child a wider choice and also help them develop their personal taste.

Kids develop their own taste since very young. It is you, however, who introduces new foods and can point them in the right direction and help them build up healthy eating habits.

The first step when introducing new foods is to consider any allergies your child might have and be prepared to handle those. Choose a time when all the parts involved are relaxed with no pressing needs.

Talk about the new food, what it's called, its nutrients, how it is important in our diet and why it tastes good. Talk about your experiences. Is this a food you've eaten?  Tell them about the first time you tried the same food. This step will make the food something known and familiar to the child, even before having tasted it for the first time; dispel any fears in children afraid to try new things.

Go on a group adventure and try new foods together. Is there a certain fruit or vegetable you've never had?  Try it together! Then discuss your experiences, what was good about it, what you did not like. How it could taste better.

If you are trying to introduce a new food you are not sure it will be an instant hit, find a way to combine the new food with an old favorite. For example if you want them to try broccoli and you know they like nachos, serve broccoli with cheese sauce.

Organize a themed dinner or make a "color" dinner where everything is green, everything is white, etc. Sounds simple but it makes trying something different a little more fun.

Get external help and take advantage of the peer pressure. Find friends or playmates that already like the food and invite them over for lunch and prepare the new food for the kids. When they see another child enjoying it, they will be more likely to taste and like it.

Wait for an ideal moment when your child is hungry but not starving, to offer the new food as a snack / lunch / dinner and they'll be less likely to pass on the item.

If you introduced the new food and they did not like it, stay positive and be patient. Try again. They may not have liked it on this first try but they may like it second. Maybe they did not like it cooked in a certain way, but they may like it prepared a different way.

Make new food fun. Add it to a veggie pizza or other fun presentation and ask your child’s help to prepare it. They will be more willing to try something they made.

Be sure to eat the new food with them. If the adults and older siblings are a good role model, any kid will see healthy eating as normal and healthy food as the natural choice.