Skip to content

Top Navigation

Parents Parents
  • GETTING PREGNANT
  • PREGNANCY
  • BABY NAMES
  • BABY
  • TODDLER
  • BIG KID
  • FUN
  • HEALTH
  • PARENTING
  • FOOD
  • HOLIDAY
  • News
  • THE STAY AT HOME GUIDE
  • SHOP
  • OUR MAGAZINES
  • MORE

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Your Profile
  • Your Profile
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Cozi Family Organizer this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Parents

Parents Parents
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 22 Chore Ideas for Every Type of Kid

      Find a chore your kid loves to do, and start a habit of wanting to help out that'll last a lifetime. Read More Next
    • Top 5 Mom Friend Problems—And How to Fix Them

      Parenting is so much easier with good pals. Learn to overcome friendship hurdles and bond with women who get you. Read More Next
    • How to Sleep Train Toddlers and Big Kids

      I’m a pediatric sleep specialist who has seen it all, and I’m here to tell you that it’s not too late to get your child to (happily) stay in his own bed all night long. Read More Next
  • GETTING PREGNANT

    GETTING PREGNANT

    See All GETTING PREGNANT

    Your Chances of Getting Pregnant Every Day of the Month

    When sex coincides withĀ your most fertile ovulation days, you'llĀ increase the chances of conceiving.Ā Get to know each phase of your cycle to get pregnant faster.
    • Ovulation
    • Reproductive Age
    • Maximizing Your Fertility
    • Pre-Pregnancy Health
    • Trying to Conceive
    • Dealing With Infertility
    • Genetics
  • PREGNANCY

    PREGNANCY

    See All PREGNANCY

    Signs of Approaching Labor: How to Tell Your Baby is Coming Soon

    Anxiously awaiting your baby’s arrival? Learn to recognize the first signs of labor approaching, which signal that your little one might make an appearance soon.
    • Signs of Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Week-by-Week
    • Giving Birth
    • Labor & Delivery
    • Pregnancy Symptoms
    • Due Date Calculator
    • Pregnancy Complications
    • Fetal Development
    • Gender Prediction
    • Baby Showers
  • BABY NAMES

    BABY NAMES

    See All BABY NAMES

    These Are the Most Popular Baby Names of 2020

    Curious which baby names stole the show this year? From new classics like Noah to tried-and-true faves like Ava, here are the top boy and girl names of the year so far, plus more naming trends to consider.
    • Baby Girl Names
    • Most Popular Names
    • Names by Origin
    • Twin Names
    • Baby Boy Names
    • Names by Religion
    • Celebrity Baby Names
    • Baby Name Quizzes
  • BABY

    BABY

    See All BABY

    How to Decode Your Baby's Cough

    Caring for a baby with a wet or dry cough? Listen for wheezing, hacking, or barking first, then read on to find out what's normal and when it's time to worry.
    • Newborn Care
    • Crying Baby
    • Health
    • Baby Development
    • Safety
    • Gear
    • Breastfeeding
    • Diapers
    • Sleep Issues
    • Feeding
    • Nursery
  • TODDLER

    TODDLER

    See All TODDLER
    • Preschool Activities
    • Behavior & Discipline
    • Toddler Development
    • Milestones
    • Potty Training
    • Starting School
    • Health
    • Safety
    • Childcare
  • BIG KID

    BIG KID

    See All BIG KID

    How to Deal With Bullies: A Guide for Parents

    Mean kids aren't just a middle-school problem. The trouble has trickled to the youngest grades. Learn how to spot it—and how to protect children of all ages from bullies at school.
    • Education
    • Health
    • Food & Nutrition
    • Bullying & School Problems
    • Child Development
    • Safety
    • Manners & Responsibility
  • FUN

    FUN

    See All FUN

    17 Budget-Friendly Kids’ Birthday Party Ideas

    A fun celebration doesn’t need to cost a pretty penny. Throw a memorable bash with these clever cost-cutting kids’ birthday party ideas.
    • Birthdays
    • Indoor Activities
    • Outdoor Activities
    • Arts & Crafts
    • Printable Coloring Pages
    • Kids' Entertainment
    • Best Toys
    • Holidays
    • Family Vacation Ideas
  • HEALTH

    HEALTH

    See All HEALTH

    All About Coronavirus COVID-19: A Concerned Parent's Guide

    Here’s everything you need to know about the disease that originated in Wuhan, China.
    • ADD & ADHD
    • Allergies
    • Autism
    • Cold & Flu
    • Coronavirus and COVID-19
    • Cough
    • Down Syndrome
    • Emergency Aid
    • Fever
    • Medication & Vitamins
    • Obesity
    • Rashes
    • Stomach Aches
    • Vaccines
  • PARENTING

    PARENTING

    See All PARENTING

    The Stay at Home Guide for Parents

    Everything you need to thrive at home as a family.
    • Positive Parenting
    • Parenting Style
    • Celebrity Parents
    • Family Dynamics
    • Divorce
    • Home
    • Adoption
    • Just for Mom
    • Money
    • Toy Recalls
    • Stroller Recalls
  • FOOD

    FOOD

    See All FOOD
    • Family Recipes
    • Baby Food
    • Toddler Finger Food Recipes
    • Hints & Tips
    • Healthy Eating
    • Birthdays
    • Holiday Recipes
    • Quick & Easy Meals
    • Food For Pregnant Women
  • HOLIDAY

    HOLIDAY

    See All HOLIDAY

    44 Fun Valentine's Day Crafts for Kids

    Spend an afternoon making these Valentine's Day cards, decorations, and edible projects for kids. Bonus: These craft ideas are perfect for preschoolers and the ideal homemade gift for a few special someones!
    • Christmas
    • New Year's
    • Valentine's Day
    • Easter
    • Mother's Day
    • Memorial Day
    • Father's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Hanukkah
  • News
  • THE STAY AT HOME GUIDE
  • SHOP
  • OUR MAGAZINES

    OUR MAGAZINES

    See All OUR MAGAZINES
    • Parents
    • Parents Latina
    • Ser Padres
  • MORE

    MORE

    • Newsletters
    • Contests
    • ParentsIRL
    • Adulting
    • First Year Playbook
    • Celebrate Your Way

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Your Profile
  • Your Profile
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Cozi Family Organizer this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Big Kids
  3. Eating and Nutrition
  4. Picky Eaters
  5. Tricks for Feeding Holiday Picky Eaters

Tricks for Feeding Holiday Picky Eaters

By The Ryals' Wedding Party
July 14, 2015
Skip gallery slides
Save Pin
A no-stress holiday guide for MOPEs (Moms of Picky Eaters)! X-Ray Vision Carrots, anyone?
Start Slideshow

1 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

1. Do a dry run

Credit: Fancy Photography/ Veer

When it comes to holiday traditions, sitting down with your loved ones for a fabulous holiday dinner with all the trimmings is one of the very best.

But it's not always such a joyous affair when some of the smallest eaters in your family are also among the pickiest. Here's how to serve a variety of healthy holiday foods and keep your festive meal from morphing into a stressful ordeal.

For starters, "If you're serving a new food or dish to your child for the first time, it's best to do so at a time when there's minimal stress—and that usually isn't the case at a holiday meal," says Annette Bartz, R.D., a clinical dietitian at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. So a week or so before the big day, try serving that roasted butternut squash or green beans with almonds dish at a regular dinner, when there is less pressure and chaos.

"You want to make the child's first experience trying a new food as positive as possible, so you're not setting up negative associations right from the start," says Bartz.

1 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

2. Do a taste testing

Credit: Image Source/ Veer

When you want to introduce a new food, it can be helpful to prepare it in a variety of different ways and have your child rate each dish. Take cranberries, for instance, which are one of those foods that are mainly served at the holidays. "You can serve them as a juice, in Jell-O, in dried form, as well as in a sauce," says Bartz. Your child can take a small taste of each dish, rate it on a scale of one to five and then say why he did or didn't like it, such as "Too tart" or "I like how it feels in my mouth."

"The whole idea is to make it a low-pressure situation that's also fun for your child," says Bartz. If a child is especially afraid trying a new food, Bartz says she recommends allowing him to chew it and spit it out if he doesn't want to swallow. "Of course, I'm not suggesting you do this at a holiday meal," she adds.

2 of 12

3 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Strategies for Picky Eaters

3 of 12

Advertisement

4 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

3. Tell the story

Credit: Scott Little

Nothing grabs kids' attention better than a good story, so when you're preparing for Thanksgiving tell the story about how the meal came about, suggests Marilyn Tanner-Blasiar, R.D., a pediatric dietitian at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Play up the 'harvest' angle of the meal by talking about the foods that are served being available at the winter months such as potatoes and squash," she says.

4 of 12

5 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

4. Put her to work

Credit: Blend Images/ Veer

Experts say children are much more likely to try a food if they've helped to prepare it, and many moms have found this to be true. "Whenever I have my daughter and her friends help me test a new recipe, that's when they try new things," says Susan McQuillan, a New York City mom of a 12-year-old.

5 of 12

6 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

5. Don't forget a bottle of red

And no, we're not talking about Merlot. Lots of kids are crazy about ketchup and will be a lot more willing to try the dark meat turkey, butternut squash, or Aunt Kathy's stuffing if it's adorned with a few squirts of ketchup, says dietitian Bartz. "The idea is to pair a flavor that you know they like with something you'd like them to try," says Bartz. It may not look very appetizing to you, she says, but then again, you're not the one who's gonna eat it.

6 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

6. Put the kibosh on pre-meal snacks

Credit: Buff Strickland

"Many kids are labeled as picky if they are not hungry at mealtime, so you want to avoid loading them up with too many snacks at least one or two hours before the meal," says Sarah Krieger, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and founder of Dining Cents, a nutrition consulting firm based in St. Petersburg, Florida. "A child is more likely to try a new food if he's truly hungry," she adds.

7 of 12

8 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

7. Create a signature dish

Credit: Reed Davis

Another way to get your child more involved in meal preparation is to have her come up with a vegetable dish that she helps make, ideally with at least one new vegetable in the ingredients. The idea is that you're both creating a new tradition with a dish that she makes every year from then on.

8 of 12

9 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

8. Give something a catchy name

Credit: Gemma Comas

Sounds gimmicky, but a recent study shows it really can work. Cornell University researchers found that when 4-year-olds were served "X-Ray Vision Carrots," they ate nearly twice as much as when the food was simply labeled "Carrots." Anyone for some "Acorn Superpower Squash"?

9 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

9. Keep servings small and simple

Credit: Gemma Comas

Many children are turned off by big portion sizes, so serve just a few bites of something so it's easy for the child to feel like she has accomplished something. Plus, she will be more likely to ask for seconds!

Similarly, lots of kids have a problem when different foods touch each other on the plate, and Thanksgiving is quite possibly the touchiest meal ever. If your child is particularly picky about foods touching, you can serve his or her food in one of those divided "TV dinner" type plates.

10 of 12

11 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

10. Don't serve a completely different meal

Credit: Werner Straube

Charlie Brown and his friends may have had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal of toast and popcorn, but that's no reason to give in to your child's pleadings. "It's important to expose your child to your family's traditions, and food is a major part of that," says Krieger. "Many adults have memories of the foods they ate as children on holidays. This is the time to expose the little ones to foods they may have only a few times a year."

"Rather than preparing something especially for your child, you might try 'tasty-ing' something that's already on the menu," says Tanner-Blasiar. "An extra marshmallow on the sweet potatoes might make all the difference."

11 of 12

12 of 12

Save Pin
Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

11. Don't make it a battle

Credit: Image Source/ Veer

"Holidays are stressful for everybody, including kids, especially if you're going to a relative's house, where your child has to be on her best behavior," says Bartz, "so you don't want to add to that by making a big fuss over what your child will and won't eat."

12 of 12

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 12 1. Do a dry run
2 of 12 2. Do a taste testing
3 of 12 Strategies for Picky Eaters
4 of 12 3. Tell the story
5 of 12 4. Put her to work
6 of 12 5. Don't forget a bottle of red
7 of 12 6. Put the kibosh on pre-meal snacks
8 of 12 7. Create a signature dish
9 of 12 8. Give something a catchy name
10 of 12 9. Keep servings small and simple
11 of 12 10. Don't serve a completely different meal
12 of 12 11. Don't make it a battle

Share options

Facebook Tweet Mail Email iphone Send Text Message

Login

Parents

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
  • Cozi Family Organizer this link opens in a new tab
  • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
  • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
  • From Our Sponsors this link opens in a new tab
  • Affiliate Program this link opens in a new tab
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en EspaƱol this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Parents.com is part of the Parents Network. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.parents.com

View image

Tricks for Feeding Holiday Picky Eaters
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.