All about food jags

Happy Friday!

Have you ever found a food that you loved SO much you ended up eating it day after day for an extended period of time? I know I have! In the world of feeding, this is referred to as food jagging! And it's not just you who experiences it. Our picky eaters and problem feeders experience food jags too, and usually, more intensely, at times limiting all other foods in favor for just one or a few.

Unfortunately, food jags commonly result in loss of that food entirely. When a child becomes tired or bored of that food, it is eliminated from their diet entirely...and once that happens, it can become very difficult to gain it back.

Does your child food jag? The good news is there are many ways to decrease the likelihood that a child will food jag! Keep reading for some of my favorite tips:

• Change the presentation. Just because the food is the same, does not mean it needs to look the same. Changing up presentation will allow the brain to be flexible towards the visual input the food provides. See my last Fun with food Friday post for many fun ways to change up presentation! Shape, color, size, etc.!
• Make small changes to flavor. There are many ways you can offer the same food to your child with one small change to help with rigidity. Some easy ideas include: adding or changing a spice (i.e. adding salt, using cinnamon instead of sugar), adding or changing a condiment (i.e. adding a marshmallow dipping sauce for fruit, swapping french onion dip for ranch), changing the brand (Chobani instead of Yoplait), changing the flavor (blackberry instead of blueberry jam), changing the way the food is cooked (baked instead of sautéed), using a similar but different food (i.e. almond butter instead peanut butter), adding a fun novelty item (i.e. sprinkles in yogurt, chocolate chips in protein waffles), etc.!
• Implement a schedule. Many parents I work with have had a great deal of success implementing a meal schedule. For example, implementing a routine that we can only eat a favorite food every other day. So, if Kraft macaroni and cheese is the preferred food being jagged upon and we eat it on Monday, we cannot eat it again until Wednesday. But, if we want to try Velveeta macaroni and cheese on Tuesday, that is okay because it is a different food. This is especially helpful to our kiddos who thrive with structure and/or rules.
• Always offer variety. Consistently offering variety, even if your child does not always accept it, will allow for more opportunities to add foods into the repertoire. Exposure, exposure, exposure! It may take as many as 10x its offered before a child chooses to trial a new food. Be consistent, pair new foods being offered with already preferred foods, have zero expectations, and praise all interactions!
• Don't be your child's personal chef. There are many ways to cook a meal that favors everyone's needs as a family. What not to do: cook chicken parmesan for the family and a separate pot of Kraft macaroni and cheese for Johnny. What to do: cook baked chicken breast - protein, Kraft macaroni and cheese - starch, green beans - veggie for the entire family. Offering a balanced meal like this will ensure everyone at the table has something to eat without teaching your child that you will cook two entirely separate meals to please everyone. It will also offer variety served with a preferred food, as described in the previous bullet.

Try some of these tips out and comment to let me know how it went! :)