Picky eating requires actionable steps to move forward

I have a confession to make…

The reason I started to dive into the research on picky eating was not because it was a huge passion of mine (although it has become that!), but because it was significantly impacting my patients - busy moms struggling with period problems, anxiety, burnout, and other hormonal concerns.

We wanted to make small changes to support Mom’s nutrition and digestion, but were stuck because Mom was already making 3 meals for her family and mealtimes were so stressful they didn’t have a chance to sit and enjoy their own food.  Challenges with their childrens’ nutrition were causing immense anxiety and really impacting Mom’s ability to implement her treatment plan and progress in her health goals.

I realized this was one of the biggest obstacles and we needed actionable strategies to move the needle forward.  One piece I began to discuss regularly with families was the need for meal planning and how to meet everyone’s food preferences at the dinner table without being a short-order cook.

• This decreases the mental load as there is a plan in place; no more staring hopelessly at the fridge at 5:30pm.

• It also ensures that Mom is still able to get the protein and fiber that she needs to meet her health goals.  

Out of many conversations with families in similar situations, in conjunction with Shannon - a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, has come this resource: Mealtime Guide for Families : Your guide to meal planning for families with picky eaters.

The guide contains tried and true meal ideas that we use with our own families and many of our clients.  It goes through a variety of meals and how to present and deconstruct them for your kids, it also contains a number of evidence-based strategies for picky eating.  You can sign up for the FREE mealtime guide here!