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Trade secrets: feeding picky eaters

Fresh tips for feeding fussy eaters from a nutritionist mom

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Originally published in Today's Parent January 2006

Think you’ve got it tough nourishing your picky eaters? Try feeding the fussy when nutrition is your livelihood. That’s what Kitchener, Ont., dietitian Caroline Valeriote faces when she goes home to her kids, Anita, 12, and Timothy, eight. How can she help but take her work home with her?

“I try to separate professional-me from the me-as-mom,” she says. “I try to let my guard down a little and not always think in terms of the four food groups.”

But delve a little deeper and Valeriote admits to wearing a “mini-uniform” at home. She’ll even concede that her kids have grown up with Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating “in their faces” — it has hung on the fridge for years and, if that’s not enough, they often use a portable food guide slider-gizmo to make quick calculations.

“People assume my kids are perfect eaters,” she says, wearily. “They think I serve only healthy foods at home.” Truth is, her kids do eat cookies, cake and chips. They prefer their veggies raw and (gasp) often balk at trying new foods. As far as Valeriote is concerned, they are normal, healthy eaters. How does she manage that? Here are some of Valeriote’s tricks from her trade.

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