45 cookbooks, a 25 year career, 3 children, and a revolutionary baby and children’s food expertise business make Annabel Karmel THE perfect person to answer to the struggles us mamas all face on a regular basis: picky eating.

A week or so ago I announced that I would have the pleasure of meeting Annabel Karmel, and Annabel would very kindly answer your questions for the ever-popular blog series ‘Ask an Expert’.

There was very obviously quite a bit of excitement, and several great questions about picky eating were posted for Annabel to answer.

Annabel’s suggestions are SO GOOD. Seriously. I have already taken up one of her advices, and it worked like a charm!

Read on, and enjoy!

1. Can you ‘prevent’ ending up with a picky eater on your hands?

I think the best thing to do is to try and introduce as much variety as you can between 6 months and 12 months.  Babies are quite open to new flavours when they’re younger.
When you start weaning, as well as giving sweet vegetables like carrots and sweet potato, you should also introduce things like broccoli and spinach quite early on.  You can mix it with say, sweet potato; but you need to give them these tastes. I also add things like curry powder and herbs. Make things tasty; it’s important for a baby to start to get used to all these flavours.
It’s also important not to avoid giving foods like peanut butter.  It should be introduced early, as it helps in preventing having an actual allergy to peanuts.  Now in England everybody’s giving peanut butter at 6 months. This is based on an actual medical study called ‘The Leap Study’ .

2. What is your top piece of advice on dealing with picky eating?

When it comes to picky eating, you should ignore bad eating habits and don’t give them attention. When you don’t react, they stop making a fuss. Do give your kids attention if they eat or try something new, even if it’s a tiny amount.
Always keep in mind that sometimes it’s fine for them to not eat a meal, because then they’re hungry.  Otherwise they’ll end up eating only chicken nuggets, burgers and pizza, and you’ll get into this rut with your kids never eating anything else.
You can prepare food into nice small portions to make it more appealing.  I make these chicken and apple balls, in which I mince the chicken, add grated apples and breadcrumbs, some herbs, and then I bake them in the oven. You can freeze them.  I also make salmon and quinoa balls, or mini meatballs.  Kids love these.  You put everything into the food processor, chop it all up, and roll it into balls.  It’s the perfect size for babies. They feed themselves, which is helpful.

3. How do you get kids to eat fruit and vegetables?

There’s so many ways that you can prepare vegetables in a way that children will enjoy.
For example, if you roast sweet potato wedges, they become sweet in the oven.  You brush them with a little bit of oil, and you just roast them for about 20 minutes.  That makes really good finger food for young ones.
My children didn’t like cauliflower until I cut it up and I roasted it in the oven with a little bit of oil on it.  Then I put a little bit of vinaigrette on it. It’s delicious.
If your child is really difficult, you can blend the vegetables into a tomato sauce. Then you mix it with pasta and they can’t see the vegetables.
You can make a stir fry.  I also use a spiraliser, which is really good.  If you spiralise sweet potato it comes out looking like spaghetti.  It’s put onto a baking sheet, with a little bit of oil on it, and you bake it in the oven.  It’s incredible. Kids love it. The same technique can be used for courgettes, which you can make into ‘spaghetti with tomato sauce’.
Sometimes kids like things like corn on the cob, because they hold it in their hands.  Others like raw vegetables like cucumber and carrots.
I think if you present vegetables in the right way, kids actually do like vegetables.  If you overcook them though, they’re bound to hate them.
With fruit, the best ways to entice them to eat fruit is either to cut them up into small pieces and thread them onto a straw – it looks really appealing; or you blend it and you put it into an ice lolly mould.  Something like watermelon and strawberries. In the case of babies, it’s really good for their gums.

4. How should a mum react to the infamous ‘food being thrown on the floor’ phase in the toddler stages?

Put a splashmat on the floor.  Once you have something clean on the floor you can put the food back onto their table and they can eat it.  
Children need to learn how to hold things and not drop them. Of course they’re going to drop them to begin with, and their aim isn’t going to be very good.  The more you let them feed themselves, the more successful they will be at self-feeding. You have to go through that stage, it’s really important.
I also don’t think you should be wiping their mouth all the time, little children hate that.  Just let them get messy, let them feel the food, drop the food, play with it; it’s part of growing up, and eventually they’ll learn to feed themselves.
If the kids do it intentionally, well, first of all, you don’t need a plate.  So if they’re enjoying throwing the plate on the floor, put everything straight back onto the table or the highchair.  
Then they can throw the food on the floor and you can put it back on the table. Don’t react. It’s a process. It’s going to be messy, but kids grow out of it pretty quickly to be honest.  They need to experiment with their food. They’ll eat spaghetti with their hands, they’ll make a mess and massage food into their hair. You also need a bib with sleeves.
If you let them experiment, they will develop.  If you don’t and you’re always wiping them, and you’re not letting them try things, it will take them longer to learn to feed themselves, so you have to let them do it.

5. Any advice to mums for the kids who go from eating everything that is presented to them at the weaning stages to early eating age, to picky eating non-stop?

That’s very normal.  A child’s growth rate slows down after one year of age, and consequently, the appetite decreases.  In addition, they can crawl or walk, and they don’t want to be sitting in a highchair eating.  It’s quite normal that they’re not so interested in eating anymore.
You have to make eating attractive by making things look very interesting by letting them feed themselves.  
It’s also very important to sit down as a family. Kids mimic their parents. If you’re eating, they’ll eat as well. Don’t feed them on their own. You should try and eat with them. This is crucial.
Another great tip is to prepare small portions.  I make small fish pies in small ramekins, and I make little bowls of food.  It’s easier for children to pick up, and less daunting.

6. Any tips on how to feed healthy and tasty food to our kids on a regular basis whilst avoiding complaining about what’s being served for dinner?

First off, healthy food doesn’t have to be boring.  
My children absolutely love salad, because I make the most amazing salad dressings, and that’s what they love.  They don’t necessarily want to have chocolates and biscuits, because the healthy food I make is so tasty, and healthy doesn’t have to be boring.  
So why would they have to complain, for example, about having fish?
You can make amazing fish goujons with crushed Rice Krispees and crushed Cornflakes, and a little bit of parmesan; they’re delicious.  You can make them with sweet potato wedges.
Why make healthy food that doesn’t taste good?  Babies and kids need food that tastes good. Even if you don’t add salt, you can flavour with curry or herbs and make it really appealing and look good.
I believe that when you take that little bit of extra effort to make your food interesting and tasty, your child will not complain. If they do, don’t react.

7. While you do encourage training our kids to eat right from the start, quite a few kids have started off on the wrong foot. How do you train them to start eating healthily?

First of all, you can make your own healthy versions of these infamous foods.  
For example, chicken nuggets. You dip the chicken in a little bit of flour, then you dip it into a beaten egg, and then into cornflakes which have been crushed and have had a little bit of parmesan added in.  Bake them in the oven, and you get your own homemade chicken nuggets.
With burgers you can make your own amazing ones.  I have some great recipes such as those with grated apple in them.  You can make your own hidden vegetables spaghetti bolognese with lots of vegetables.  These options can all look like the junk food versions that your child likes to eat. This way they don’t have all that salt, or all that fat.  The whole family can eat the same thing, so you’re not just cooking for your child.
That’s the way I would go about it.
Then gradually I would add more different things like stir fries, satay chicken, salmon teriyaki; I would try different things.  I think ethnic foods go really well. Children do like mild curries.

8. Can you suggest a few other picky eater approved alternatives to the following?

Healthy pizza bases – cauliflower base, torillas or split English muffins
Fish nuggets which include some veg – something similar is salmon, quinoa and broccoli balls
Sausages – chicken sausages with potato, broccoli and chicken

9. What should we do when our kids don’t want to eat what’s for dinner?

You need to train them that this is what there is on offer and there isn’t anything else.  Obviously, if they don’t want it they’re not hungry, so they can go off and play.
Then the next time they come for dinner, they’re going to be hungry.  They will realise that there is nothing else, and they’re going to have to eat what there is. It soon becomes quite clear to them that what’s on offer is on the table.
If you decide you’re going to bring out everything from your kitchen, and ask if they want anything else, your mealtime is going to be so long, and so drawn out, and they will end up eating the same thing they always eat.  You’re not helping yourself. You have to train them. Goes without saying that you need to make something that tastes good.
You need to be firm.  “This is what you’re going to have.  It’s tasty. Try it.”
Very often they don’t even try it, and they say they don’t like it.  But you have to get over that. By making them hungry, they become less fussy, and they’ll become better eaters.  In the long run, it will work in your favour. You have to be cruel to be kind. If they miss one or two meals it’s not a big deal.  It helps them to get a more varied diet. You will break the pattern of bad eating.

10. Advice for the desperate mum who gets a ‘YUCK’ with each food that’s offered?

I think a reward chart is a great idea.  They get a sticker if they try something new.  Even if it’ a tiny bit, they get a star.
Then you can put it up on the kitchen wall, and when they get 5 stars they can get a treat.  Maybe they can stay up late, watch their favourite TV show, or have a friend over, or go on a sleepover.  If you give them nice treats, it will work. Bribery works quite well with children. Don’t make the mistake of giving them unhealthy food however.

Sidenote: I’d tried this experiment and it had worked a treat! Watch my YouTube video explaining the process, and the results. I was astounded!

Children will eventually eat healthy food.  They’re born with no pre-conception of food, but if you add lots of salty food and give them lots of pizzas and burgers and chicken nuggets, that’s all they will want to eat.  So don’t give it to them. Give them healthy food from the start, and that’s what they’ll like.

Annabel Karmel

The information provided in this blog post is not meant to take the place of professional advice. Please seek the advice of a doctor or nutritionist before making any changes in your child’s diet.