Foodie Friday: Taste Testing
A taste test can be a scary thing for a 4 year old, but it can also open a door to new foods for her. I'm hoping to get away with a blindfold taste test so she can't judge the food by look alone, but I am also realistic, and she could refuse to eat anything. I'm hoping that Tot 2 will play along without hesitation!
I looked up a few blogs for some tips on doing taste tests with kids. 100 Days of Real Food offers some good advice about how to handle the flat out refusal:
When a couple of the kids told me they were really apprehensive about trying these new foods (okay, in their words, “I hate all of these foods and do NOT want to eat them at all!), I told them the only way to play the game was to try the foods. I also said that trying a food they didn’t like wouldn’t hurt them (rest assured), and that they could spit it out if they wanted to. One kid in particular was still giving me push back, so I also suggested just touching the food to her tongue instead of eating it, and that worked (which is major progress for those that are super picky/limited).
i love this post on My Kids Adventures! The author provides a good reminder for us parents checking our own expectations,
It’s also important to set expectations for yourself: • Your children will not turn into gourmets in one hour. • Don’t be disappointed if they don’t like what they taste or if they find it difficult to try things. • They will not magically develop cooking skills or an affinity for all of the foods in your test. • Have patience. You learned once too. • This will make a mess. Don’t start cleaning up until after the taste test is over. Children must not feel that experimenting with food is a messy problem to you. • Keep it fun.
Let's see how this goes! Follow us on social media to see how adventurous my tots are with their taste buds! Don't forget to scroll down for Think About It Thursday and to check on the update for Word Wednesday!