Picky kids, picky eaters - Your kids can eat vegetables!

I understand many parents' concern over the health of their child whose dietary preferences are as narrowly focused as their interests. When it comes to vegetables, autistic spectrum children are hardly alone in their avoidance behaviors. And, like normal children, they probably recognize parents being fake when eating a spoonful of peas or broccoli and going "Mmmmn. Delicious!" Come on! Who do you think you're fooling? :-) Yet vegetables ARE important to their health.

Here is an approach that I feel may be more honest and empathetic toward how your child feels, using one particular meal. Whatever meal you choose to cook, it should have these in place:

• Make sure there is at least one desirable food item in the dinner your child will eat.
  
• Kids tend to like comfort food, such as macaroni and chicken, or sweets like candied yams. Whatever foods your child desires most can be used as an incentive.
• Time your cooking so that the vegetables are done 20 to 30 minutes ahead of the meal.
• Your seasoned, skinless chicken and macaroni casserole should be put in the oven to bake at the same time your vegetables have finished cooking.
• Set up your dinner table and serve the vegetables first, ahead of the meal.
• Rather than patronize your child, start eating the vegetables in front of him or her. Resist the temptation to act like they taste better than they really are.
• Tell your child vegetables are not your favorite food either, but eating them keeps you from getting sick (true, since they provide nutrients essential for your immune system). Tell your child that he or she should eat their vegetables if they don't want to get sick. Let them know that you want them to eat their vegetables because you love them and want them to be healthy, not because you are punishing them.
• Finally, let your child know that he or she can have as much macaroni, chicken, and dessert he or she likes just as soon as it is done baking - but they will have to eat their vegetables first. This incentive will hopefully create the desired result.
  
• If your child plays the waiting game and refuses to eat his or her vegetables in spite of this, try this: As the food your child likes to eat comes close to being done, remind him or her periodically of how much time is left before the desirable items are to be served, followed by "You might want to finish those up." This will remind him or her that the vegetables must be eaten before they can continue their meal and create a sense of time pressure. Don't overdo the pressure, though. Be sensitive to your child's emotional limits.
  
• Find ways to hide vegetables in other foods, camouflaging color and texture if possible.
• Chucking a bag of cooked peas into your child's macaroni and cheese isn't going to cut it. I HATE peas and carrots in my macaroni (I'll tolerate broccoli or mushrooms if they are coarsely chopped).
• Try whipping cauliflower in your blender (if an older model, you may have to steam them first) and cooking your macaroni until al dente. Then, mix your cheese sauce or powder with the creamed cauliflower (not simply chopped) and substitute olive oil (extra virgin) for the amount of butter called for (to reduce fat). Mix it into the macaroni, put the mix into a casserole dish with seasoned bread crumbs on top, and bake it at 325 degrees for a half an hour (along with the seasoned, skinless chicken you have prepared).
• Fresh rosemary, garlic, or dill on the seasoned, skinless chicken will add a little more vegetable nutrient to your child's meal hopefully without offending his or her taste.
• In most cases, when your child gets hungry enough, he or she will eat some vegetables to get it out of the way (these always disappear from my plate first), so they can finally eat the good stuff. If your child ate most of his or her vegetables, and the rest of dinner is already turning cold, you may have to settle for a partial victory the first few times around.
• Remember: ALWAYS praise your child when he or she eats their vegetables. That's not patronizing like "Mmmmn. Delicious!" That's showing your child that you really do mean it when you tell them "I love you." Make eating vegetables an honest, caring affair for them.
  

If your child has a meltdown during this process, use only some of it or scale down your demands until the child has learned to master this form of delayed gratification on a smaller scale. Please don't come back and tell me your child was traumatized by what I wrote here. This is an idea, not a clinical procedure. I have absolutely no training in psychology or nutrition whatsoever, apart from what I have learned to maintain my own health. Only you know the emotional limits of your child. Whether you find this helpful or unhelpful, please send me any feedback you may have. Thanks.