Browsing category: Picky Eaters/Problem Feeders/Failure to Thrive

1) Bananas are the BEST shape. Try making them into smiles, mustaches, phones, or a moon!

2) Smash & Mash! What is more fun than smashing a food? Start with a fork and then slowly work towards your little smashed the banana with their own hands!

3) Banana towers! Slice those bananas up and see who can stack the tallest tower! Pro-tip: nutella makes a great adhesive!

4) We have to go for the classic banana boat complete with teddy graham passengers or even carrot stick riders!

5) SING! We have a song that we like to sing while peeling our bananas: “peel banana, peel-peel banana -I said peel banana, peel-peel banana”

6) 5 Little Monkeys Slicing a Banana, One Said “Ooo” I think I’ll try this Latah. Make up your own rhymes and dance around with the bananas!

7) Try bananas in something else! Blend them into a smoothie, mix them up with yogurt, put them on top of a cupcake! So many possibilities!

8) Banana food science! Take a picture of freshly ripe, green bananas when you first buy them and then encourage your child to take another picture each day for the next week. Collage them together on your phone and talk about the ripening process!

9) Banana shapes! Sliced bananas make the perfect canvas for using small cookie cutters! Try out circles, squares, hearts, and stars! Bonus points if you can turn it into a shape sorting activity for learning more about basic concepts!

10) Get to baking! Have your little one assist you in making banana bread or muffins. Pro-tip: Try using a shorter spoon [or no spoon at all if they are ready] to do the mixing so that they slowly move closer to interacting with the batter!

11) I scream, you scream for banana ice-cream! (try blending frozen bananas, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice)!

12) Put it on a stick and dip! Try using a kebab or popsicle stick by placing half a banana on it to dip in melted chocolate! Let it cool and eat as is or pop in the freezer. Want to earn mega bonus points: Bring out the sprinkles for extra fun!

13) Write secret notes on the peel! They will brown up for a fun surprise!

14) Instead of gingerbread, try a banana house! Grab the toothpicks and banana pieces and work together to make a one of a kind house!

15) Bananas make great stepping stones! Place banana slices in different patterns and try “hopping” other foods from stone to stone! Bonus: Use a preferred food! Eating a teddy graham that’s touched a banana is a small, but wonderful #foodwin!

16) Ever thought of trying a banana ramp? Use grapes or other round foods to roll down a half-cut banana ramp. You can make it a fun game, too!

17) Banana relay for the win! Set up two cups at each end of the counter with five banana slices. Move the banana slices from one cup to the other! Start with hands and then get creative (move the slices on your elbows, chins, noses, etc. all the while getting closer to the mouth > without ANY pressure).

18) Banana nose-roll! You read the correctly, use a cylinder-shaped piece of banana and try rolling with your noses! [we promise, the more silly, the better!]

19) Banana slicing! Work on that kitchen prep-practice by allowing your little one to slice a banana (with a child-friendly knife and supervision of course).

20) Finally, serve the banana! Even if they don’t go ‘bananas’ over it, it’s great to expose them to a banana on their plate/tray!

👃I smell a good time coming your way! Let’s switch it up from a sensory bin to discovering a unique way to tickle those senses with ➡️ scent shakers! The olfactory system is a key component while eating and even when preparing to eat. It is also a sensory system that we feel lacks attention when it comes down to play-based activities and exploration.

@little_play_ideas had the amazing idea of using salt shakers for this activity and we are going to put our own spin on it. Put those little noses to the test with this fun odor-ful sensory activity!

✅ Gather up your supplies including:

-Empty salt and pepper shakers

-Smells of your choice

-We used: cinnamon sticks, mint, lavender, grapefruit, orange and lemon

-An explorative attitude!

👇 Now what? Here are a couple activities to try out:

-match the smell > try having your little one match the smell to a food (cinnamon sticks to cinnamon applesauce)

-if they’re feeling brave > ask your little one to cover their eyes while they smell and use their words to tell you what they’re sniffing

-get your little one involved in prep > have them explore the outdoors or even your pantry to create their own scent shaker

-try placing different foods into the shakers > explore a food your little one might not even be ready to touch yet by simply encouraging a smell…or two!

-try matching essential oils on cotton balls to the food on a table or salt shaker with the food

❓ What does all of this have to do with food? Eating and interacting with food is a highly sensory ridden experience, meaning that engaging with food across the senses can lead to your child being one step closer to exploring that food in other ways (touching, licking, tasting, etc.)

👃❤️ What is one of your favorite food smells? Let us know below!

Sensory bins are a go to prep tool for us before feeding therapy.

Want to garden indoors without the mess?

Sensory bins are our jam! The best part about these little adventure boxes is that you do not need to put in hours of effort. Fun can be had with just a few “ingredients.”

Our little garden bin includes:

🐰 Rabbit tongs

🍴 Black beans (uncooked)

🍅 $3 Felt veggies from Target (don’t tell your husbands that we sent you)  

Find a clear storage container ➡️ stir it up ➡️ BAM = hours of fun

Sensory bins are a great way to get “food” ready. Not all of our little one’s are ready to jump into play with foods. This can be a great opportunity to expose your child to a variety of textures, smells, visual experiences, tastes, and sounds in a fun and playful way for the entire family.

Do you have a favorite sensory bin? We want to know. Drop us a line 👇 in the comments.

1) Mango Tango! Grab a slice and dance away!

2) Literacy fun with mangoes! Slice away and count mango pieces into different number piles! 

3) Mangoes make a great sun! Arrange them into different sun patterns!

4) Mango popsicles to beat the heat! Encourage your child to dump all the ingredients in the blender and even help pour into the molds!

5) Try out the mango roll! Grab a raw, whole mango and roll it back and forth across the kitchen table! See how many times you can go!

6) Play the mango balance game! Grab a small, cubed piece of mango and balance it on your…NOSE! See how long we can keep it up there! If your little isn’t ready for the nose, try the back of their hand first!

7) Mango Tic-Tac-Toe! Get out your small cookie cutters and slice up two different shapes of mangoes for a good old fashioned game!

8) Mango markers make for great fun! Slice a long strip of mango and dip it up while you make your own masterpiece!

9) Mango ice cubes anyone? Freeze cubes of mango and try tossing them into water to make for a fun twist on water, but also a fun prep time for your little!

10) Mango -head! Use different pieces of food and toothpicks to turn a mango into your very own potato head!

11) Mango sensory bins! Dice up those mangos and toss ice cubes in as well! Have your kiddo go diving for the cubes for an engaging sensory experience!

12) Mango caterpillars are always a hit! Grab a kebab (or a Starbucks stopper) and stack pieces of mango on then slowly inch them around the table!

13) Beep-beep goes the mango school bus! Slice up a large piece of mango and make your own buses! Have races, stop for pick-ups (little blueberry kids), and sing wheels on the bus!

14) Mango mustache fun! Slice up a curved piece of mango and be as SILLY as possible with your new yellow mustache!

15) Mango squeeze! See who can squeeze a strip of mango into a measuring cup to get out the most juice!

16) Mango towers! See who can stack the highest tower! Bonus points if you can incorporate sticky dip in-between pieces to reinforce!

17) Give it a go with a mango map! Grab a piece of paper and create rivers, cities, and more with little pieces of mangoes!

18) Mix it up! Try out your very own mango smoothie recipe!

19) Mango shape activity! Draw out shapes on a piece of paper and then place wax-paper over it to allow your little to work on building shapes!

20) Last, but not least, serve the mango!

Broccoli –

We are quite positive you have heard the “let them play with their food” advice by now. Sure, it’s a great place to start for our learning eaters, but do you ever find yourself running a little low on imagination [and chronically low on sleep]? Here at Our Table, we are going to be talking about a new food each week and providing 20 ways to play that’ll keep your little ones engaged! Remember, our goal is for your little ones to interact with these new foods while becoming more comfortable and adventurous, which means we recommend avoiding any pressure for them to eat these items! Keep it playful and enjoy! 

Broccoli

1) Broccoli makes great trees of all sizes! Bonus points if you can include some fine motor work by “picking leaves” off the tree!

2) Stamping anyone? Grab your condiments, ditch the nice clothing, and get to stamping! We recommend using a dip your child already prefers for this stamp party as that will encourage them to interact more with broccoli as we all crave familiarity!

3) Use your senses! One of our favorite things to do is to talk about food properties (texture, smell, color, feeling, etc.). What better way to mix it up than to compare the feeling of raw, steamed, and frozen broccoli!

4) Broccoli floral arrangements. Have your kids help chop some larger pieces with kid-friendly knives and arrange in a non-breakable item [reusable cup]. Try adding dots of mustard for the center of the flowers! If you’re feeling really crafty, try sticking shaved carrot sticks in as petals!

5) Broccoli and bowling! Line your little broccoli florets up [you may need to use a puree/dip to assist them in standing] and use a small ball to knock them over. Pro-tip: incorporate another veggie by using a radish as the bowling ball.!

6) Broccoli in the ocean. Fill up a bowl or plastic container with water and some underwater sea creatures. Have your little ones swim their sharks around the broccoli seaweed!

7) While we are talking water….try the float or sink test! You can use a variety of fruits/vegetables for this one [try this while you’re already cleaning your produce!] Make it more fun by taking predictions and using a dramatic countdown, or drumroll!

8) Want to incorporate literacy? Have your child break apart smaller pieces of broccoli to work on creating their letters! Try taping a piece of wax paper over a large letter from a tracing book to assist them.

9) Broccoli as a bath? Your little ones can get small pieces of broccoli wet and use them as a pretend loofa with dolls. Or, try making a broccoli car wash!

10) Broccoli fronds are fun! Cut off the fronds [small pieces on the head of the broccoli] and get to creating! They can be grass, carpet, sprinkles, stars, and so much more!

11) Broccoli and the beat! Longer pieces of broccoli can be drumsticks! Try making music on toy drums or the bottoms of cups/pots and pans!

12) While we are talking music, is it a stretch to make a broccoli microphone? Keep in mind that this means getting broccoli fairly close to the mouth which may be a challenge for little ones with extreme picky eating – keep it fun and if they are having a hard time try wrapping a food-safe cling wrap around it to see if they warm up to it more.

13) Bet you can’t wait to try out broccoli smiley faces! Line your broccoli up in different arrangements and on different backgrounds for your own fun creations. Bonus if you can make a broc-moji!

14) 5 Little Broccoli Jumping on the Pan! You heard that right! Let’s mix up an old song with something new! Have them “jump” off the pan into water for cooking or washing to incorporate during mealtime!

15) Why not try a broccoli garden? Pro-tip: find some “dirt” that your child already loves (chocolate pudding, crumbled oreos, etc.) to plant your broccoli plants in as this will make interaction easier!

16) Broccoli blending time! Stick with me here: If you have a high-power blender try tossing some cooked broccoli in there for some “green paint!”

17) Broccoli tots make a great introduction. Try rolling the tots, stacking the tots, or even smashing them!

18) “Find the broccoli!” Play hide and seek with the broccoli (within the boundaries of the kitchen) for a few minutes before dinner!

19) Toss the broccoli! Try tossing the broccoli back and forth before it heads into its “bath.” See if you can gradually encourage your child to hold it for longer and longer each turn!

20) Finally, serve the broccoli! Remember, they may not eat it, but it is great exposure for them to have it on their plates!