So, I'm not feeling that hot tonight and have been perusing Pinterest while I lay on the couch and seeing a lot of Olympic posts and one about "eating around the world" and it hit me...an Olympic theme for our picky eaters. 

One of the ways to get your picky eater to become a little more adventurous is to "teach" them about the food and where it comes from. 

What better time to do explore new foods than during the Olympics?

First, pick a country to explore (preferably after watching some of the trials or actual Olympic events). You can also find a list of the participating countries at Wikipedia: 2012 Summer Olympics. 

Say you choose The Bahamas.  Find an image of the flag, print them out perhaps and glue them to some bamboo skewers for a centerpiece.


Next, maybe read a book or two about the country. 
Picture
  Find a few of the "staple" foods and recipes for the country. This is Bahamian Johnny Cake. 

Have your picky eater (soon to be an "around the world adventurous eater) help you make a grocery list and head to the store. 

Be sure to have your Olympic eater help you make the recipe. Talk about how the foods look, feel, smell and behave while you are working together as this helps a picky eater become more familiar with the foods before it gets anywhere near their mouth.

When the food is ready...PROCEED WITH CAUTION. 


You should enjoy the food but do not force the food upon your cautious eater. Ask them, after you have enjoyed some, if they  might like to try it. If the answer is "no" DO NOT push at that time. Be patient. They may come around a little later. The idea with this lesson is to explore new foods without pressure.


Stay tuned, throughout the Olympics, for more picky eater ideas. 


Thank you for reading.


Jen






For the Johnny Cake recipe, you can visit www.wanderlustandlipstick.com.


All other pictures taken from Wikipedia. 







 
 
My daughter just asked if she could use my Ipad to play "More Pizza."  As she was looking through the other apps by the same designer she came across several more that got my mind racing with ideas; More Salad, More Tacos, More Pie, More Chinese Food and More Ice Cream.  She asked if she could download the More Salad app.....you already know what I said, right? She could have chosen More Cupcakes (probably what I would have chosen) but she chose More Salad!  I think the green smoothies are working!  Actually she has always been an eclectic eater (in kindergarten she would come home and ask for a cucumber and "a few chocolate chips" ) but the veggies and fruits have been her FIRST choices since we started the green smoothies two weeks ago.

As she was playing with this app, I of course starting thinking about uses for my therapy sessions.  Obviously, using this app would work with older and younger children who are working on language skills; I want romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers and Ranch Dressing (choice making, vocabulary building, colors, grouping like items etc or social/pragmatic skills "What kind of lettuce do you want?  Do you want olives on your salad?) but it REALLY would work well for our picky eaters. I thought I'd try it out on my daughter.  I told her to create a salad with two new things she's never tried before and "save" the recipe (really neat part of the app is that they can save, name and share their creations) and we would shop for the "fixins" this weekend and give it a try.  Excited doesn't even begin to describe her reaction. "Can we do more than one?"  I think I actually heard heavenly harps or maybe it was my beloved Harry Connick Jr......no matter, it was amazing whoever it was!

I just wanted to share this as I know the weekend is a time where you can "explore" some fun things and learn some new skills.  I know I will be purchasing ALL of the "More _____" apps because so far, they have been well worth the .99!  YES, you read it right....NINETY-NINE cents. 

I am over the moon for this line of apps and I still can't believe how much the Ipad has changed my therapy and the enjoyment for my kids.  We learn together and have so much fun.  Sorry to all of you parents who are now  being asked for "Miss. Jennifer's new toy (true story....got a text today from one of my moms)

So which apps are YOU going to get and how do YOU plan to use them?  I'd love to hear your ideas and stories.