Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi there it's Jen, and welcome to this week's podcast. So this week we are talking about how to get your kids out of a food rut. This happens all the time. It's something that I'm working through as well, at the moment where you find that your kids are just eating less and less foods and they're getting fussier and fussier, and so this week I'm going to give you my five top tips on how to get your kids out of a food rut. Now, before we get started, if you need any help with this, with what I'm talking about today, and want some help going through these steps, then this is what we are working through this month in my vegan families membership Nourish and Grow.

Speaker 1: 0:47

So Nourish and Grow is a really big sort of platform where I've got heaps of different information in there Things talking about how to get your kids eating all the nutritious food they need, which foods are the best for it. There's over 600, I think now recipes in there as well. There's also courses on how to do meal planning and how to actually make it all work, because I do know that the big gap that I found, the problem that I found with going vegan was I kind of knew what my kids needed to be eating and what I needed to be eating, and I especially wanted to be eating the kinds of foods that people like Dr Grieger and Dr Fuhrman and the Campbells are all talking about, but I didn't know how to actually make it work for me and my kids and for my family and stuff. So nourish and grow is really about kind of that missing piece, uh, in how to actually get your family on board and how to make it work and make it easy too, because being vegan can be hard, and so I've got lots of meal planning tips that I teach you how to make it all really easy. So each month we focus on a different topic, and this month we are looking at how to get your kids out of a food rut. So we will really be working through what I'm teaching you today in this podcast. It's got kind of worksheets and stuff, and then there's a Facebook group and you can ask me for any help. I'm really good at coming up with ideas for new meals and things, so I'm in there and I can help you as you're moving through. So, as I said, if you listen to all of this and you think, it sounds like a great thing to do but you're not through. So, as I said, if you listen to all of this and you think it sounds like a great thing to do, but you're not really sure how to actually make it happen, then make sure you come and join Nourish and Grow. I've put the link for it down below and I would love to have you in there.

Speaker 1: 2:58

Okay so, kids in a food rut. So the big problem with kids getting into a food rut is it tends to happen when your family is going through a stressful time. When you're not so stressed, then you have the time and the space to work with your kids and get them eating well, whereas when things sort of go to pieces, that's when their eating tends to go to pieces as well. And unfortunately, during that time, we tend to just stick with the foods that are easy, that we know that they're going to eat, because we don't want to fight and we don't want to have to deal with things and we don't want to be making you know a whole meal and then having them not eat it at all, and so we tend to just buy the foods that they that we know that they're going to eat, which then leads to the problem where you know they get bored. Or maybe if you've got kids with sensory issues, like my kids, you know they sit there and decide that one day the sausage rolls that you got weren't actually quite right and so they refuse to eat them after that. And so suddenly that list of safe, easy foods that your kids will eat gets smaller and smaller and smaller, and I'm sure you can tell by my tone that I am definitely speaking from experience here. If you follow me, you probably know that I've had we lost my step-mom to cancer just recently. I also homeschooling and there's lots going on at home for me, and so things have been really stressful this year.

Speaker 1: 4:42

And so, yeah, my kids have really got into a definite food rut where they're eating really limited foods and so, like when I go to try to figure out what to give them each week, I sort of I end up with OK, they'll only eat sausage rolls, spaghetti, pizza, burgers and stuff, and so we're ending up with those foods on rotation. And then that means that not only are they not really getting the nutrition that they need because these sort of supermarket foods are not really designed to be highly nutritious they're also not getting enough veggies and things like that highly nutritious. They're also not getting enough veggies and things like that. But it also makes mealtimes really hard, because either my husband and I have to eat what they're eating in order to sort of make meals work, or it means that we're having to make two lots of meals, which takes up a lot more time and effort.

Speaker 1: 5:45

So when your kids are stuck in a food rut, it can really contribute to a lot of stress. It's generally caused by stress because we parents are wanting kids to eat well and stuff. So often we'll try to pressure them to eat or things like that, and then we're also generally more stressed ourselves and going through stuff. And then it adds extra stress in trying to figure out what kids will actually eat and worrying about the fact that they're not getting enough nutrition and stuff. And then, of course, if you go and hop on something like social media and stuff, there is so much amazing information on there that is all designed to shame us as parents and people in general about how we're not eating perfectly and things like that. So, yeah, so that's kind of how food ruts are a problem, but today I'm going to give you five tips on how to get your kids out of a food rut.

Speaker 1: 6:54

Now the first thing is, I really want you to be kind to yourself and your kids and take this slow, to yourself and your kids and take this slow. So I definitely don't recommend going and trying to change everything up immediately. Try to work on just one or two meals a week and you will find that if you work on these meals slowly and one or two, well, then they will probably work and then the next week you can add another one or two, whereas if you try to change everything all at once, well, you're just adding to everybody's stress levels and it's not going to work, unfortunately. I am definitely someone who loves quick fixes, but unfortunately they don't tend to work All right.

Speaker 1: 7:47

So the first thing to do is sit down with your kids or on your own, depending on sort of how they're going with food and stuff and write down what foods they will actually eat. Try to write down everything you can think of. Okay, so my kids, as I said, they do spaghetti. They will actually eat curry. The curry recipe that I have on my site is quite a popular one in our house and then there's things like pizzas. They tend to eat a lot of fruit. They will eat some vegetables, so really make a list of everything that your kids will eat. If you sit down with your kids, you might actually be surprised at foods that they're willing to eat and so yeah, so just really make a list to give you a really good idea of what you're working with to start with.

Speaker 1: 8:50

Now the next step is to go through recipe books with your kids, and I've had a lot of clients who have really fussy kids. You'd be really surprised at how many recipes they will actually be happy to try. So a really good place to start if you don't have it already is my recipe book, super Boosted Snacks, because the recipes in it tend to be recipes that kids are willing to try. So they tend to be muffins, protein balls, muesli bars, things like that, but their recipes have been designed so that they're actually really nutritious, so that's a really good place to start. As I've said in Nourish and Grow, there are over 600 recipes in there, and I've had clients in the past where they've sat down with their kids and just gone through the recipe index and asked their kids which recipes appeal to them and I've done this with my kids myself and so make a list of the recipes that your kids are willing to try in there and are interested in.

Speaker 1: 10:05

So when you're doing this, I really, as I said before, take things slow. So I don't recommend doing all brand new recipes for every meal. Maybe do one or two for the week and just let your kids try those. And it's also really important that if your kids don't actually like them, then it's okay, so they're not feeling pressured to eat and so that they don't have the opportunity to decide what they do and don't like. So when I'm doing new recipes, I tend to try to do recipes that I like the sound of as well, so that if they do decide that they don't like them, well, I can eat them for the week instead. So that's number two. Like them? Well, I can eat them for the week instead. So that's number two. Now number three what I will do with kids is I will tell them. I will give them choice, but in categories.

Speaker 1: 11:04

So the other day with my son, we were coming up with dinner and he was telling me that he would like a tofu stir fry. So I said to him all right, so we need some vegetables with the stir fry. And he said that he wanted carrots, which is fine, and I said to him okay, but we need a green vegetable. We need a green vegetable and an orange vegetable. And so he sat and he thought and he said broccoli. So this has given him choice, and so he feels empowered and like he's able to make a choice about what food he eats. But I've kept it to a category so that I know that he's getting the nutrition that he needs and then he's got the freedom to choose within that category of whatever food he wants. I was really glad it was broccoli, because that works really well in stir fries. I wasn't sure how I was going to incorporate green peas into a stir fry, but hey, you be flexible when it comes to kids. So that's the first three tips.

Speaker 1: 12:15

Now my next tip is to use flavors that you know your kids like in new ways. So my kids, as I said before, my kids like curry, and so one thing that I've done is, in order to kind of stretch out the curry and have more meals and stuff with it is, I've started making curry parcels. So I will make a big batch of the curry and then I will put some of them into puff pastry parcels which they can then have for lunches or something as well. So that means that because the curry has got pumpkin, it's got peas in it, it's got tofu, it's got chickpeas, so it's really quite a healthy meal for them and then so they're getting that with their lunch as well as the dinner. Other things are you can use sort of sauces and things that you know that they like. So my son loves maple syrup and so I will often make sort of a sweeter, sort of stir-fry sauce that he can use using maple syrup in it, because I know that he already likes that flavour.

Speaker 1: 13:33

So this is where you can go back to your list of foods that you had written down that they like and you can see if you can make sort of different things with those same flavors for them. As I said before, if you need help doing this, I love coming up with new ideas. I'm really good at coming up with new recipe ideas, so come and join Nourish and Grow if you need help with that, okay. Now an extension onto this idea that can work for some kids and doesn't work for others, depending on sort of their sensory needs and things, is to see if you can recreate their restaurant or takeaway favorites at home restaurant or takeaway favorites at home. So, because restaurants and takeaways tend to and even sort of the packaged foods at the supermarket, they tend to have a lot more sort of fat and sugar and salt in them, which makes them a lot more palatable. Our kids do tend to like those foods more than they like home-cooked meals, unfortunately. So what you can do, though, is you can use the flavors from the foods that they like when they're eating out and actually recreate them at home.

Speaker 1: 14:53

So I did this recently with my son, with my eight-year-old, where he really liked. There's a Japanese place I think it's Japanese here in Brisbane called Moto Moto, which has got a curry sauce in it, and so, as I said, he loves curry, my eight-year-old and so he also loves tofu, so he really liked the fried tofu with curry sauce that I had from that, from that shop, and so what we did was we actually recreated that meal at home. So I went to the supermarket, and I found a katsu curry sauce at the supermarket that I could use. That I could use, and then we made our own tofu at home. I just fried it up with some, dipped in some flour and stuff. We also steamed some veggies. So again I sort of said to him all right, what vegetables are we going to have in this? I also introduced a new vegetable to him in that meal as well, which was sweet potato, and so we just served that. So we had rice, tofu, the broccoli, carrot and some sweet potato and we had it with the sauce that I put on the side and he was able to dip it in and he absolutely loved it.

Speaker 1: 16:14

So recreating meals when you're eating out can work really well for some kids. If you have a child who needs foods to really be a particular way, then I'd say approach this with caution, because they sometimes have an idea in their head about how a food is supposed to taste and how it's supposed to be and if you get it wrong it can be quite detrimental. So yeah, as I said, recreating eating out stuff can work for some kids really well not so much for other kids and my final tip is to let your kids create a meal themselves once a week. So putting them in charge empowers them and makes them feel in control and it can really help them to actually want to eat more foods, which is always good. So I did this with my son as well, so his meal of choice was nachos. That he chose. So he basically he had nachos. He wanted tofu crumble with it with a barbecue sauce, so we had barbecue sauce nachos Not quite my choice, but that's okay. As I said, he was in charge, he picked everything. Hey, as I said he was in charge, he picked everything. He also wanted baked beans with it and he wanted avocado, and I think I'm trying to remember I think he had some lettuce with it as well. So that again puts him in control, and so, again, it was another meal that he was able to eat. I then I mean, the great thing about nachos is I was able to make myself up like a salsa that went with it and stuff too, so I quite enjoyed it as well.

Speaker 1: 18:07

So, yes, those are my tips on how to get your kids out of a food rut. So make a list of foods that they eat and put everything down, because that gives you a really good starting point. Look through recipes with your kids and see what they want to eat. Let them see and just make a list, but only make one or two. Don't overwhelm yourself and try to make heaps of different things and then let them pick some aspects of their meals, but within categories. So, as I said, you know green veggies, we need an orange vegetable, we need a red vegetable, we need a type of bean or something, yeah, so give them that Now in Nourish and Grow. I've actually got some sheets in there that have different things that they can choose from. I've actually got some sheets in there that have different things that they can choose from. So that really helps that you don't have to kind of come up with the groups yourself and then see if you can come up with sort of new ways to use the flavors that they really like. So maybe a sauce on different vegetables or something like that. If they like you know a creamy sauce on their pasta, well, maybe you can try it on their vegetables, things like that. As I also said, I can help you with all of that in Nourish and Grow. So if you need more help with this, then come and join.

Speaker 1: 19:35

And finally, let your kids decide on one meal per week so that they sort of feel a bit more in control of what they're eating. So those are my five tips and I have worked through them with my son myself and he's now he's really choosing new foods because it was really great. So we went through. We ended up with three meals that we did. There was a stir fry, the curry that I was talking about and the nachos that he really felt good about eating.

Speaker 1: 20:11

But then, since then, he started doing things like we were out at a bakery and there weren't many things to eat, and so he ended up getting a finger bun. But when he was sitting there eating it, he was looking at my pie, my vegetable pie, and he was like, oh, can I have that? And so he ended up actually having a vegetable pie instead of a finger bun, which is definitely something he would not have done a few weeks ago. So once you kind of start this and start them feeling more confident around food and feeling okay with trying new things, then it will actually naturally kind of expand to other foods as well. So, yeah, that's what I've got for this week and I will see you again next week.