Teaching taste activities

Transcription

1 Teaching taste activities 5 Teaching taste principles Expose the child to a variety of fresh foods full of flavor, color, aroma, and texture that are developmentally appropriate. Teaching taste requires patience, love, observation, trust, respect, creativity, and communication. Teach children to recognize and appropriately respond to their natural feelings of hunger and fullness. Plan for and pair nourishing foods that maximize nutrient absorption to build powerful brains, tough immune systems, dense bones, and strong muscles. Be emotionally supportive to a child s response to the feeding environment and food. 10 Food exploration activities to halt picky eating! It s pouring time Simple food preparation tasks for adults can be intriguing and exciting for young children. What seems mindless to an adult can be hours of fun for children. Pouring requires eye-hand coordination and other motor skills. Start with rice or small beans. As the child gains confidence with pouring from cup to cup, graduate to water. This is a great activity for a child s first learning task in the kitchen and can be done in the high chair too! 2 plastic measuring cups with handles and a spout A large spoon plastic tray with lips rice small beans water Fill a cup half way full with rice, small beans, or water. Start with beans and progress to water as the child masters pouring skills. If the child cannot pour, use the spoon to scoop from cup to cup. Set both cups on the tray. Demonstrate the pouring technique. Observe the child enjoy the fun of pouring.

2 Bag of surprises The way people feel about food relates to all of their senses including smell, sight, and feel. Children can explore fresh fruits and vegetables through their sense of touch and sight. This activity encourages children to explore produce without the expectation that they will actually eat or taste it. Reusable shopping bag that a child cannot see through. the inside. Place all of the items in the bag. Ask the child to close his or her eyes and pick an item. Let the child name the item. Ask the child to describe the texture, color, smell, and size. Cut it open and compare the outside and Produce that varies in color, texture, and size. Favorite choices include: carrots with tops, pineapple, kiwi, dragon fruit, red pepper, potato, and broccoli. Ask the child what it smells like after it is cut. Is the odor different? Is the inside dry or juicy? What does it look like? Set it aside and allow another child to pick an item out of the bag. Repeat the steps above. Spread the snack Food preparation is fun for children. It gives them a sense of power and control over their food while building selfconfidence. Age-appropriate activities are critical to the success of the activity. Spreading butter, cream cheese, nut butters, hummus, and jelly are great activities for motor skill development. Mixing a spread with raisins, nuts, seeds, or chunkier spreads helps the child become more familiar with texture combinations and varieties. Peanut butter {substitute sunflower butter for allergies} Slice of whole wheat bread Sprinkles - Chia seeds, flax seeds, or wheat germ Set the ingredients on the table in serving dishes. Allow children to spread their own peanut butter on the bread and then decorate it with sprinkles.

3 Mix it UP! Combining smooth textures with slightly chunky textures is a great way to introduce food combinations. Don t be afraid to try more aggressive texture combinations such as applesauce or yogurt with raisins, seeds, or nuts. Get creative with your mixtures but always encourage the children to mix as much or little as they want and never pressure children to eat anything. Applesauce, jelly, berry puree, or mango puree Plain or vanilla yogurt Set the ingredients on the table in serving dishes. Encourage the child to taste test each ingredient before mixing without pressuring. In a small bowl, allow the child to mix applesauce and yogurt together. The combination creates a new sensory experience. Ask the child about the taste, color change, smell, and feel. Place one color of paint per paper plate. Veggie stamping This activity helps children enhance their sense of touch and improves their ability to recognize textures, ultimately increasing the familiarity of the food. Believe it or not, children s curiosity gets the best of them. Please make sure you supervise this activity because they will taste a painted carrot top! Unused ends of kitchen scraps such as celery ends, onion ends, carrot tops, etc. Paper plates Construction paper Assorted paint colors Encourage children to dip the end of the veggie into paint and stamp it on the construction paper.

4 Knife skills Age-appropriate activities are critical to the success of the activity. Use soft pre-peeled fruits such as banana, watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, and avocado. These are great for the child to cut with child-safe knives under supervision. Cutting board Kid friendly knife Soft fruit such as banana, pineapple, or melons Remove any outer skins and precut into 1-inch thickness. If it is the child s first time using a knife, demonstrate how to cut using the claw method (finger tips holding the produce should be tucked in away from knife). After the demonstration, use the hand-over-hand method to guide the child in the cutting motion. Time for 5 senses This activity introduces the child to the 5 flavors: salty, sour, bitter, savory, and sweet. These flavors make up the taste people experience when they eat. However, people combine flavors to reduce bitterness and sweetness. ½ tsp. sugar (sweet) ½ tsp. salt (salty) 1 grapefruit slice (sour) ½ tsp. shaved dark chocolate (bitter) ½ tsp. shredded parmesan cheese (savory) Small paper plates Place each ingredient on a paper plate. Let the child taste test each one in any random order at his or her preference. Discuss each taste and name each taste. What do the children like or dislike? Don t forget to talk about the taste of the flavors when taste testing other foods at mealtime or in other food exploration fun.

5 It s all about texture Children like certain foods for many reasons. The purpose of this activity is to introduce a favorite food to the child in a variety of textures as a new learning experience about food. In this example, apples are chosen because apples tend to be a favorite for many children. However, this can be done with almost any fruit. ¼ cup applesauce ¼ cup apple juice 1 apple slice without skin 1 apple slice with skin ¼ cup diced apples ¼ cup dried apples Paper plates/cups Chalk board Colored chalk Place applesauce and apple juice in small tasting cups. Place remaining apple choices on a small paper plate. Let children observe and taste each one separately. Discuss each taste and texture. Which is their favorite? Talk about how there are many ways to serve fruits. Use the chalkboard to make a chart of the taste tests. Children can draw a face that represents whether they like the taste or not.

6 Ice ornaments This is a great winter activity on a snow day! Not only is it cheap and crafty but it introduces leafy greens to the child. Aromatic herbs can arouse the senses and are great to eat. Most children shy away from green specks in their food but this activity increases familiarity, and that may help increase the chances of tasting basil with their pasta! Shallow small plastic bowls Water String Sheet pan Various fresh herbs Activity Let the child explore the fresh herbs. Put the bowls on a sheet pan. Herby the Salad Herby the Salad introduces the child to leafy greens. Dice the greens up finely to prevent choking. If the child prefers to mix and not taste, don t worry. Mixing is a form of exposure and increasing the familiarity of the greens. After a couple times, the child will probably give it a try. 1 cup mixed fresh aromatic herbs, chopped & separated 2 cups, cooked pasta ¼ cup olive oil Salt to taste Relish serving tray Fork or spoon Place the herbs (basil, cilantro, mint, parsley) in individual serving compartments. Coat the pasta with oil and salt to taste, and put the pasta in the center serving area of platter. Encourage the child to use utensils or fingers to mix the herbs with the pasta. Place some herbs in each bowl. Make loops with the string. Allow each loop to hang over the edge of the bowl but with the ends inside the bowl. Fill the bowls with water and freeze for at least 2 hours or until frozen solid. Remove ice from bowl and hang ornament on nearby trees. Content courtesy of Clancy Cash Harrison, MS, RD, LDN Supported by funds from the Office of Child Development and Early Learning, jointly overseen by the Departments of Human Services and Education. This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. Claudia C. Mincemoyer, Ph.D., Better Kid Care Program Director 2182 Sandy Drive Suite 204 State College, PA The Pennsylvania State University HO_PE_TeachingTaste.indd