Colourful Cooking

Colourful Cooking

Monday, 15 February 2016

The Importance of Choice



(Kira Post)

So often, children are such picky eaters that it is frustrating to feed them. Sometimes we become beside ourselves with worry (or guilt) over them not getting the nutrients that they need. We have looked at other cookbooks on the market aimed at helping parents and caregivers to get these important nutrients into their children. Many of these books have all sorts of wonderful suggestions of putting fruits, vegetables, and sources of protein into other foods so that they are more palatable to the picky child.


Our book is different from the others because we are focusing on making these important foods a choice rather than a deception. Instead of disguising broccoli in a muffin, Olivia told her toddler that she had made broccoli muffins. Despite his refusal to eat a piece of broccoli, he chose to try the muffin. And he loved it! The most important part of the whole experiment was choice. He wasn’t tricked into eating a vegetable that he didn’t like and didn’t want to eat. He was offered the very same vegetable, but in a form that he found tasty.

As children, many of us we were either forced to eat food, or allowed to make our own choices about food regardless of what those choices were. Both situations can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food – which, as we know, is essential for our survival. By forcing children to eat, the control over their body has been taken away from them. I certainly don’t want to be forced to eat when I am not hungry or when someone has cooked with an ingredient that I don’t like (in my case, fish!). A person who feels a lack of control over their bodies can develop an unhealthy body image and the need to find other means of control.




Studies have shown that adults who were forced to eat foods they did not want, or to finish the food on their plates, have an inability to self-regulate when it comes to appetite. If they were never given to opportunity to make choices around their food as children, then how can they be expected to make these choices as adults? If I were forced to eat carrots and spinach every day, I would be much more inclined to reach for the cookies later to make up for it.




By creating recipes that present these nutritious foods in appealing ways, children are able to enjoy the foods that we as adults know are important for their health and for their growing bodies. A wise woman once said to me, “if you don’t like multigrain bread, and only like white bread which you know isn’t good for you, then let’s find a lunch option other than a sandwich.” Meaning, children can be guided to make healthy choices when given options that make sense to them, and that taste good.

It is important to remember that children learn so much from the hidden messages they are given every day. Forcing them to eat when they are not hungry, or to eat foods that they do not like, teaches them that they are not in touch with their own bodies, and that their own hunger cues and tastes are not to be trusted. This is why the lack of deception in Olivia’s recipes is so important to us.

We are aiming to balance the best of both worlds with our food philosophy: eat when you are hungry, and eat what you enjoy. This does not mean allowing your child to go for days without eating, nor does it mean allowing chocolate pudding and potato chips for every meal. What it means is that forcing your child to eat green beans doesn’t accomplish anything except an unhappy child who ingested some vitamins and minerals. We believe that there are ways to offer nutritious food that can be appealing to those picky eaters out there.

Stay tuned for the next exciting experiment!






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