A Picky Eater Meets her Match: Farmers Market

I’ve been spending a lot of time reading up on what to do about a picky eater. See, it’s not that she doesn’t like a variety of foods, its that she doesn’t like anything consistently. One of my favorite tips that I’ve come across is to let your toddler help pick out produce. So far this has resulted in eggplants, a mango (that is unfortunately still in my fridge), and several squash. This last Sunday as Vera was flipping through a book she came across a picture and said, “I want to go there! It’s a market!” It was in that moment that I realized what better place than a farmers market to flex her produce-picking skills. I think its most likely the harmonious blend of sunshine, fresh air, and free samples that make the Farmers Market so appealing to her and this last Sunday was no exception.

The honey dealer (as I like to think of her) is always good for a free honey stick but Vera insisted on buying a couple (with her own hard-found money). Next she picked out olives, chips, and hummus. I half expected her to ask to open the garbanzo bean chips for a snack, but she was only interested in the olives- and she ate several. The healthy snack stand was our next stop and though she originally pointed out the wasabi peanuts what she really wanted to try were the dried figs. A couple stalls down left us with a bag of dried apples.

This beautiful pile of delicata squash called to us along with some colorful Swiss chard.

We always stop for at least a half loaf of wonderfully fresh bread and this time a stall advertising fresh sausage caught our attention. It wasn’t our most vegetable heavy Farmers Market haul but it was definitely eclectic. I know that when we go to cook our squash she’ll remember that she was the one who chose it and be excited to try it. When it comes to snack time, I’ll offer her a dried fig and she’ll remember how badly she wanted the bag that day. I think its so important to let her make decisions in her life (since its rare that she gets to choose!) and this is such a fun way to bring food home.

How do you get your kids to try new things? Tell us in the comments!