Conquering the Fussy Eater: this week, we have Taryn Gunn, a mother and pastry chef from Johannesburg, South Africa.

I have a beautiful 5-year-old daughter who is so full of life, spunk, and energy. She excels in (almost) everything she does, as does any 5-year-old, as she puts her all into every challenge. I can say this is true for almost everything, except when it comes to eating healthy food. When I dish up a plate of healthy food, she would rather go hungry than try it. Most of the time, I wouldn’t say she is sensory-sensitive, and her educational psychologist agrees with me. She is just good ol’ plain fuss. I am sure she ranks somewhere at the top of the list of the world’s top fussy eaters!

I have decided to try to hide that what I am giving her is healthy. I have conjured up recipes that look and taste delicious, and she doesn’t know that they are healthy. Muffins and ice lollies, cakes and milkshakes, all with super healthy ingredients that are well hidden and perfect for little fussy eaters, have come out of my kitchen. Perhaps this may seem like deception, and I guess it is. I will tell her one day, when she is old enough to hear it and to choose wisely for herself. Until then, if I left it up to her, she would have a diet of white bread, candy, and ice cream.

Some tips I have for getting your fussy eaters to eat their healthy plate of food:

  • Plate presentation – Some kids like their plates presented in a beautiful (and what can be complicated for mommy) picture. My daughter doesn’t fall for this trick. However, if I serve her food on a plate with sections and the different elements don’t touch, I have a better chance of feeding her successfully. There are loads of ideas on Pinterest for fancy plate presentation for children. Here are just a few that I liked:
  • For fussy eaters, mask the vegetable’s taste with other yummy yet healthy ingredients, like raw honey, nuts (if your child doesn’t have a nut allergy), xylitol, enatural sweetener, and even mashed banana. I have made many muffins, including chocolate ones, because cocoa powder itself is not unhealthy. I blitz together raw oats and nutty wheat flour. If your budget allows, you can replace the nutty wheat with almond or coconut flour. Then use this as your flour base for the muffin. The nutty wheat flour has a very neutral taste, whereas almond and coconut flours taste like, well, almonds and coconut. If your child doesn’t like these flavours, which can be a bit strong, stick with the nutty wheat flour. I then add in whatever fruit and veg I have in my kitchen at the time. I have added bananas, carrots, sweet potato, spinach (although this adds colour, which might seem fishy to your fussy eater), beetroot, strawberries, and blueberries. Sometimes, I even add tea – I like to add either rooibos tea, which is a favourite in South Africa and so full of antioxidants, or I add matcha tea, which has many health benefits that you can read about er. All these healthy flavours tour child might not like,can be easily hidden in a cake or muffin, with the added raw aingredientof(xylitol o(r xylitol ). Here are 2 muffin recipes I have made that my kids love. Click on the images for the recipes:

Slowly introduce new foods to the fussy eater’s diet. At the beginning of this year, my daughter was a vegetarian, not because of any other reason than that she didn’t like me. I figured out this year that she doesn’t like her food to have strong flavours, so when I make her meat, I only add salt and a small sprinkle of pepper. She now loves stea. And slowly, I have added a little bit more salt and pepper. The other night, I had a real win with him. She gulped down her food and said it was yummy. It was steak, with crushed potatoes and peas – all very separated on her plate. She loved it.

With my potatoes, I have come up with a recipe with a subtle flavour that Husby and I love, and she doesn’t seem to notice. When I boil my potatoes, I add lemongrass, star anise, and bay leaves to the water. I call them crushed potatoes because I don’t peel my potatoes, then mash them, which gives the result of mash. I take mash. grass, star anise, and bay leaves out so there is no e. Hence, add whole buttermilk, full-cream milk, and some salt to taste. She loves it! By understanding mychild’ss taste preferences and slowly introducing one food item at a time, I managed to get my daughter to eat a full plate, which is very unusual. Watch your fussy eater, what flavours are they drawn to? Even if it is a sacrifice for you, try to adapt the whole family’s meal to suit her tastes so she doesn’t feel left out. And then, over the months, she slowly starts adding ingredients and flavours to broaden her taste spectrum. Slowly start adding new foods to her plate to increase the variety and nutrients she eats. It is a slow process, and it is a sacrifice for you as parents and even for your siblings, but it is all worthwhile in the end.

Chin up, mom! She won’t be 5 forever! You can conquer the fussy eater, and you will miss these days! I hope that I have offered some useful tips and tricks to help you feed your fussy eaters.

Yours Truly

Taryn Gunn