10 ways to introduce your child to a variety of foods

Here are some fun ways to help your preschooler learn about nutritious foods.

1. Explore the produce aisle. Have your preschooler color a rainbow — then have her search for those same colors in the produce aisle at the grocery store. Make a game of finding red apples, purple plums, or yellow squash, and let her pick a fruit or veggie to take home. Encourage her to pick a fruit or vegetable she's never tried before.
2. Vary your protein choices. Show your child that meat and chicken don't always have to be the protein source at a meal. Try making beans the main dish. For instance your child can help mash cooked beans and spread them on tortillas to make bean tacos. Or have breakfast for dinner and serve scrambled eggs or omelets as your protein source.
3. Create plate pals. Cut fruits and vegetables into pieces and let your preschooler use them to create funny edible faces on a plate. Halved grapes or blueberries make excellent eyes. A strip of sweet pepper, squash, or apple makes a grinning mouth. Grate carrots or slice spinach leaves for hair. (Make sure you do all the cutting—your preschooler is too young to work with sharp utensils. Also, before serving make sure foods are prepared in a way that is developmentally appropriate for your child.)
4. Switch to whole grains. Replace refined grains such as white bread or white rice with whole-grain versions, such as whole wheat bread and brown rice. When grocery shopping, show your child some of the many whole grains available (barley, brown rice, whole wheat pasta) and let him choose one to try.
5. Plant a garden. Plant seeds for lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables in small pots. Mini varieties grow well in containers. Kids who grow their own vegetables might be more interested in tasting them.
6. Restock your play kitchen. If your child has a play kitchen, make sure it has plenty of fake fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods, and lean meats and poultry. Limit fake cakes, doughnuts, cookies, and french fries to a few items and explain how these are "sometimes" foods, while the others are everyday foods.
7. Talk veggies and fruits. Talk with your preschooler about all the different types of vegetables and fruits. When you're at the grocery store, ask your child to name different fruits and vegetables and talk about how they look. When you get home, talk about how these foods are grown.
8. Get creative with dairy. Introduce your preschooler to lots of calcium-rich foods—beyond milk. Let him help you make a dip with yogurt or build a bowl of cottage cheese and fruit.
9. Fix a fruit bowl. With your preschooler's help, buy a special bowl and fill it with fresh washed fruit. Let her pick the fruit and maybe even help you prepare it. When serving fruit, make sure your preschooler doesn't eat it whole. It should be peeled, diced, and sliced into pieces or mashed so that it's easy and safe for her to eat.
10. Eat with your fingers. Preschoolers love finger foods. Make nutritious foods extra fun by preparing them in a form that your child can eat with his fingers. Nutritious finger foods for preschoolers include a baked potato cut into strips and dipped in ranch dressing, strips of grilled chicken with honey mustard sauce, or graham crackers dipped in applesauce.

Looking for nutritious menus designed just for your preschooler?

Check out our Menu Planner—you can even print a convenient shopping list!