Picky Eaters, Nutrition, and Mealtime Strategies for the Developing Brain with Dr. Amy Moore & Sandy Zamalis
About this Episode
On this episode of the Brainy Moms podcast, cognitive psychologist Dr. Amy Moore and cognitive specialist Sandy Zamalis share how dietary choices can significantly impact brain development and cognitive performance in your children. From the powerhouse omega-3 fatty acids to essential proteins and carbohydrates, we break down the crucial nutrients your kids need for their growing brains. Learn practical ways to incorporate these brain-boosting elements into everyday meals and what to avoid for brain health.
For parents wrestling with mealtime battles and picky eaters, we tackle these challenges, too! Sensitivities to textures or tastes and a child’s desire for independence doesn’t have to be a source of stress. We share personal anecdotes and expert advice on creating a positive mealtime environment. Avoid the pitfalls and learn effective tactics to encourage them to explore new foods without resorting to making separate meals for each family member.
Lastly, turn your kitchen into a hub of creativity and learning by involving your children in meal preparation to foster autonomy and enthusiasm for healthy eating.
About Dr. Amy Moore
Dr. Amy Moore is a cognitive psychologist at LearningRx in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the headquarters of the largest network of brain training centers in the world. She specializes in cognitive training and assessment for neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD, brain injury, learning disabilities and age-related cognitive decline. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed medical and psychological journals and presented at conferences around the country. She has been a child development specialist, education administrator, and teacher of teachers with a PhD in psychology and a master’s degree in early childhood education. Dr. Amy has been working with struggling learners for 30+ years in public, private, and government organizations, so she knows a little about thinking and learning. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Modern Brain Journal, a TEDx Speaker, host of the Brainy Moms podcast, and a board-certified Christian counselor. Dr. Amy is married to Jeff Moore, a retired Air Force fighter pilot now working as a surgical nurse. They have three incredible sons (ages 19, 23, and 25) and a very mischievous but soft Siberian cat. Originally from South Carolina, Dr. Amy has called Colorado home since 2006.
Website: www.AmyMoorePhD.com
Watch her TEDx talk, Lessons Learned from Training 101,000 Brains
Read her research: https://www.learningrx.com/brain-training-research/
About Sandy Zamalis
Sandy is a brainy mom of 2 who loves co-hosting our show! She’s a Board Certified Cognitive Specialist and the owner of LearningRx Staunton-Harrisonburg in VA where she spends her days improving the lives of struggling students through brain training. Her diverse background includes being a USA Swimming Coach, probation officer, homeschooling moms, and small business owner in 3-D printing and scanning. Sandy has been married for 26 years and is her passion is helping families understand learning challenges so that children can find success and confidence. Find Sandy on TikTok @TheBrainTrainerLady.
Mentioned in this Episode
Link to David Steinman’s episode Raising Healthy Kids: Avoiding Toxins in Foods, Skincare Products, Detergents, and More with guest David Steinman
Link to Dr. Amy’s episode Hacking ADHD: 5 Pillars of Influence on Your Child’s Behavior and Learning
Free Downloads from our Sponsor, LearningRx
Download the free ebook, Unlock the Einstein Inside: Wake Up the Smart in Your Child
Download the Brain Training Game Pack
Link to our sponsor’s website: www.LearningRx.com
Listen or Subscribe to our Podcast
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Pandora
Spotify
iHeartRadio
TuneIn
Stitcher
YouTubeWatch this episode on YouTube
Read the transcript for this episode:
DR. AMY: Hi, smart moms and dads. Welcome back to another episode of the Brainy Moms podcast brought to you today by LearningRx Brain Training Centers. I’m Dr. Amy Moore and I’m here with Sandy Zamalis. Sandy and I are going to talk about nutrition and the brain. Good morning, Sandy.
SANDY: Good morning. Not only are we going to talk about nutrition and the brain, but we’re going to talk about picky eaters. Do you have a picky eater at home? I think we’ve all had at least one, if not been the picky eater ourselves. So I think this is going to be a great discussion, but let’s first talk about key nutrients that the brain needs from birth and on.
DR. AMY: Yeah, so scientists in nutrition science have determined that there are eight key nutrients that developing brains need in those first 1,000 days. And by 1,000 days, that means prenatal development through age three, right? So zero to three, eight key nutrients. And so those are carotenoids, choline, folate, iodine, iron, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D. So that’s in the first 1,000 days. And then in the next 1,000 days, right? So through age six, developing brains and growing brains also need proteins, fats and carbs, magnesium, vitamins A, B and C, trace minerals like zinc, and water, water, water. All right. Did everybody make that list? Did you hurry up and write all of those down? I hope not because you don’t need to write those down. The reason that Sandy and I wanted to highlight all of those different nutrients is because we wanted to say here’s how you get all of those nutrients, through variety of foods will get you those nutrients.
SANDY: Do you think it would be helpful for our listeners to talk about, from the brain perspective, what each of those different nutrients helps with in the brain, like omega 3s, for example? What does that do in the brain?
DR. AMY: Yeah, let’s talk about omega-3s. So omega 3s are essential fatty acids and they actually help the development and function of the myelin sheath, which is that fatty coating around the neuron. And so it actually will help neurons communicate with one another. So the ability to move freely throughout the brain, connect, talk. And so that’s why omega-ss are so important. You know, they did a really interesting couple of studies in the last few years on preschoolers and what they did is they increased preschoolers’ fish consumption. So fish is the primary source of omega-3 fatty acids. And they actually found that when they increase the fish consumption, okay, these preschoolers were given more fish to eat. It raised their IQ scores and their processing speed scores.
SANDY: Wow.
DR. AMY: Which doesn’t surprise us, right? I talk all the time about the importance of omega-3 fatty acids for the brain. And so, but to have a study on, specifically on preschoolers, right, while the brain is as plastic as it will ever be, right? It’s ability to change and grow. That is when it’s happening and then to add additional omega-3 fatty acids and it really plussed up their cognitive abilities. That was a fun couple of studies to read about.
SANDY: Yeah, fish, fish is really hard for kids to eat though. Right? Like in my head, I’m imagining like, how are we serving this fish? And is it particular kinds of fish? So I’m, you know, I’m assuming wild-caught salmon, you know, like really fatty fishes are where you’re going to get the best omega-3s.
DR. AMY: Yeah, fatty fishes are the best. And then you have to be really careful because the big fishes, the big fishes, is that a word? Big fish, um, you know, can have high mercury content. So we don’t want to be feeding them a lot of yellowfin tuna, or shark. Right? Oh, and those are fun occasionally to eat, but they do collect more mercury than an average- to small-size fish. So yes, fish is not easy to incorporate into a snack or a daily meal. But you could have fish Fridays. Right? Like to …
SANDY: Introduce it at least once a week as a family.
DR. AMY: Yeah, absolutely.
SANDY: As an option.
DR. AMY: Yeah. And you can do omega-3 fatty acid supplements as well. I don’t recommend the gummies because there’s not enough omega 3s in the gummies. Really it’s just, sugar. But they do make liquid omega-3 fatty acids. Barlean’s Jr. is one of those. In fact, my kids learned to just squeeze it out, right? You leave it in the fridge, they would squeeze it out in the morning and then go to school. So that is one way, right, to get a fish supplement.
SANDY: So, looking at all of these other nutrients, do we know what benefits, for example, protein and carbs have in the brain?
DR. AMY: Yeah. Those are great questions. So protein is super important for brain development, but also for concentration and focus. And then carbs are important because glucose is the primary energy source for the brain. And so where do we get glucose? Carbohydrates. So we just talked about fats, right? How important fats are for the brain, but protein and carbs also are essential for helping the brain function optimally.
SANDY: Let’s talk about water. Why is water so important to the brain?
DR. AMY: Yeah, so water actually helps the neurons move. It helps with the plasticity of neurons. It helps, again, with the mobility of neurons. It helps with the number of neurons. Um, and it helps neuronal connections, right? So water, even a little bit of hydration, just slightly, dehydration. I didn’t say that right. So even slight dehydration can result in impaired attention and memory.
SANDY: And that’s for your lifespan. So that’s something even we as adults and our seniors need to think about as well.
DR. AMY: Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, we need to just gradually increase the amount of water that kids have. You know, early on, they’re getting a majority of their water from breast milk or formula, right? So, but babies around six months can be introduced to a little bit of water, you know, four to eight ounces a day. And then children one to three need about four cups of fluid a day from either water or milk, combined. Not combined at the same time, but four cups combined, right? Either of water and/or milk. And then five cups of water for 4- to 8-year-olds. And then older children need seven to eight cups of water a day. And you know, there’s some new research that is saying we really should base water consumption on thirst and not on this static metric that everyone needs eight ounces of water a day. But if we aren’t intentional about introducing water early to our kids, then they won’t make it a habit of staying hydrated. And then that will result in mild dehydration, which impacts attention and focus. So we still want to be intentional about saying, “Hey, we have to drink water all day.”
SANDY: Yeah. And you also want to get them used to the neutral, bland flavor of water, right? So that they’re not only choosing sugary juices or drinks to satisfy that thirst. So balancing that out for them is really important.
DR. AMY: Yeah, absolutely. And we have this tendency to give our kids juice, and we think that, “Oh, well, this is a hundred percent juice. There’s no added sugar. There’s no, you know, it’s not Kool Aid. It’s a hundred percent juice.” You know. But that actually has this cascade effect. So, when we serve a hundred percent juice, they are getting more sugar without fiber, for the most part. And that’s, that can result in too much sugar during the day because it’s so concentrated. But what happens is you’re drinking your calories. And so then kids aren’t as hungry. And so then they won’t necessarily eat the healthful foods that we need them to eat to get their calories throughout the day. So it kind of has this effect, not of just replacing water, but of impacting calorie consumption.
SANDY: Yeah. So what it sounds like I’m hearing you say is that we’ve really got to make sure that we’re trying our best to make sure our kids have a variety of foods in their daily diet so that we can hit all of those key nutrients that we highlighted at the front. And that variety is going to help us get there.
DR. AMY: Right, and so that variety is going to include, you know, lean proteins and eggs, leafy greens, fish, nuts and seeds, really brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and Greek yogurt.
SANDY: Why Greek yogurt?
DR. AMY: So Greek yogurt has that healthy fat. Right? It’s essential for concentration and for brain function and communication between the brain cells. And because Greek yogurt typically has a lower sugar content than some of the other yogurts out there, and it typically does not have added artificial food colors as well. And so, that’s why we recommend Greek yogurt.
SANDY: And the probiotic effect of yogurt in general for the gut.
DR. AMY: Absolutely. And we know that that gut-brain connection is essential.
SANDY: If you have a variety of foods, you’re gonna help both the gut and the brain because you’re adding that fiber in, you’re avoiding constipation, and any kind of issues that can stem from leaky gut, if you’re having a really good influence of fiber in your diet and all of those bright fruits and vegetables to get the vitamins and nutrients for your brain. But you’ve been blessed with a picky eater. What do you do?
DR. AMY: Yeah. So I was a picky eater. Were you a picky eater?
SANDY: I don’t remember. I don’t remember. I really like food of all types and kinds. So I’m guessing no. Although I do have a texture thing on occasion. My father-in-law makes fun of me cause I’m always like, “Eh, texture’s off.”
DR. AMY: Yeah, I was a picky eater and I’m still a little bit of a picky eater. Although my, you know, my repertoire of foods has expanded over my lifetime. But I did have a picky eater as well. So my middle child was super picky. And so I wish that I had known some of the tips that I’m going to give everybody here in a second when I was raising him because it was hard, right? And he wasn’t growing quickly enough because he was so picky. And so now people have gotten super creative. Parents have gotten super creative. Some pediatricians out there have gotten creative and have shared their tips to success. And so we’ve been collecting them. And so let’s talk about, well, first of all, let’s talk about why some people are picky eaters.
SANDY: Yeah. Let’s start there.
DR. AMY: Cause sometimes it looks like they’re picky, but that might not be what’s going on. Okay. But the primary reason why we might have a picky eater is because they are sensitive to textures, tastes, and smells. But typically it’s a texture issue.
SANDY: I used to be that way with tomatoes. I don’t know. This is a random story, but like, especially like the, the baby ones, the small tomatoes, like the pop. When you bite into it. Oh, I would gag every time.
DR. AMY: Well, blueberries do that to me.
SANDY: But yeah, texture I definitely identify with.
DR. AMY: I used to hate raw carrots because of the texture. So I totally identified with that.
So that’s a primary reason why kids are picky is because of texture. But a lot of picky eaters, have a temperament that says, “I approach the world with caution.” And so a picky eater who’s picky because of their cautious temperament will probably be cautious about the world in other areas, right? That’s the child who doesn’t want to try new things. They just want to stand back and watch other people do it before they make a decision, right? It’s the child who will say no automatically, right? They might eventually say yes to something new, right? But their automatic reaction to, “Hey, you want to try this is?” is no, right? They just have this temperament that says, “The world out there is scary and I have to make sure before I try that.” Yeah. So that’s another reason why we might see picky eaters. But there are some things that look like being picky that really aren’t pickiness. It’s just behavioral. Like a child has become autonomous and is exerting their autonomy and wants to feed themselves. They do not want you to feed them anymore. They’re ready to feed themselves. So it might look like they’re being picky because they’re pushing the spoon away, but it’s because maybe they want to hold the spoon, right? So they want to feed themselves. And then one other reason is they might look picky, but it’s, they just don’t want to sit long enough. One of my kids, off the charts ADHD, didn’t like to sit fully on a chair, just wanted to rest one leg on the edge of the chair to eat. And so we, we just have to adapt, right? And sort of put on our curiosity goggles and say, “What do I think is really going on here?”
SANDY: Well, and in that case, I imagine as a parent, you had to think, you know, what’s the most important thing? The important thing is he’s eating, even though he may be zooming back and forth from the table or moving or not sitting properly with the rest of us at this dinner hour. But really getting fed is the most important thing. So we’re going to move there.
DR. AMY: And we have to manage our expectations, right? Like, like what do we expect our dinnertime to look like? And if we’re hung up on whether both butt cheeks are on the chair, then we might want to reimagine what dinner should look like. Because is it important in the scheme of things that both butt cheeks are on the chair? Not really. Is your child engaging with you? That’s what’s important.
SANDY: That’s right. So what is truly a picky eater? How would you define that?
DR. AMY: Yeah, picky eater is a child who only chooses to eat a limited number of foods. You know, because of sensitivity to texture, taste. smell, or temperament.
SANDY: Okay. All right. So what do we do if we’ve got one of those kiddos that we’re trying to make sure we are giving as much variety to as possible?
DR. AMY: Yeah, so I want to say three things that we shouldn’t do first before I make recommendations on, make recommendations on what we should. So the first thing we should not do is force a child to eat. So forcing a child to eat or clean their plate will actually result in them eating less. And what it does is it teaches the child to rely on others to tell them how much and when to eat rather than relying on hunger and fullness cues. And that’s not good. We want our kids to stop eating because they’re full and not because we forced them to clean their plates. And then we want them to say, “I’m hungry. I want to eat,” and not rely on you to tell them it’s time to eat. So we don’t want to force our child to eat. That’s number one. Number two, we don’t want to make deals with them, right? We don’t want to bribe them to eat. Because what that will do is that will transfer to other things that your child does not want to do. So for every behavior that your child does not want to do, like brush their teeth, or clean their room, or get ready for school, or get in the car, they will expect a deal. They will try to make a deal with you because you’ve been making deals over food. Why wouldn’t you make deals over teeth brushing? And so we want our kids to learn these healthy habits because that’s what you do as a human and not because Mom or Dad will be rewarding you for it or because they made a deal. All right, so we’re not going to force our kids to eat. We’re not going to make deals regarding food and we’re not going to hide a food that they don’t like in a sauce. So I used to think that was genius. “Oh, let’s hide the broccoli in the spaghetti sauce. We just throw it in the blender, we mix it up, we hide it in there, and then we’ll never know.” Well, what that does is it villainizes food, right? It says broccoli is so gross, so we’re going to hide it so that you don’t have to choke it down, right? So we don’t want to villainize food. And so I have a suggestion on a different way to include broccoli.
SANDY: Can I add one more to your list? I would add don’t punish your child for not eating.
DR. AMY: Yes.
SANDY: Whatever is, you know, not finishing their plate, not eating Grandma’s house. Probably if I were to think back as you had asked me, I can’t remember during or before the podcast if I was a picky eater, but my most visceral memories about food were being punished for not eating something. It’s a funny story to me now, although I’m sure it wasn’t then, but my parents had made this dinner and I think it was like Chinese, but it was like, I don’t know, it was like Chinese in a can, like a chow mein, you know. It wasn’t like a restaurant Chinese food. And again, I’m a texture person. So it had this sauce in it that I didn’t like. And it was probably the one time I can remember where I would have sat in that chair for days and would not eat it. I wasn’t good. I was, I was standing firm. I was not going to touch it. No amount of punishment was going to work for me. And then after that I never got punished again about food cause I started so hard. I wasn’t going to eat it. But that, you know, cause sometimes a parent is like, “Well, if you don’t eat at this meal, it’ll be your, be what you eat at the next meal,” that kind of mentality. And so it ended up on my plate like four meal times and I refused every single time and my parents were like, “Well that didn’t work so I guess we won’t be doing that again.” And then the other time was at a parent’s house, our grandparents house, where I had made a comment about, you know, something on the plate because as kids do. they have no filter. And, I got in very big trouble for that. So you know, yes, you just I, I feel like when you add that punishment to it again, defeats the argument and the purpose of what you’re trying to accomplish in terms of getting your child to be more open to trying new things.
DR. AMY: Yeah, absolutely. And if you think about a child who has sensory issues, right, who is sensitive to a texture in food. If you think about it as a sensory issue where they’re sensitive to the itchiness of a sweater, do we force them to wear the itchy sweater or do we punish them for not wearing the itchy sweater? I don’t think so, right? That’s a very visible response to a texture problem, right? “Oh, this itches so badly!” Right? You can see your child is miserable and they’re suffering and they’re pulling at it. And so you take it off and you don’t make them wear that sweater anymore. So if you can think about food in the same way, right, “My child is sensitive to this texture or this taste or this smell.” It’s a sensory issue, right? It’s a sensory, a negative sensory response to this food. So how can I support my child then? Right. We know that my child needs all of these key nutrients for brain development and for other health issues as well. But you know, our focus is obviously on the brain. Then I think, again, we put on our curiosity goggles and say, all right, what can we do differently?
SANDY: Yeah. All right. So now what do we do?
DR. AMY: Yeah, so let me just say that I am sensitive to those families who make four different meals. And I think that we should not get in the habit of making four different meals because that is hard to sustain. And that creates resentment because whoever is making the four different meals is exhausted. Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, a homeschooling mom, or you work outside the house, that is a lot of work to make four different meals to accommodate everyone’s tastes. So I would, I would say, try to not do that. What I would say is as you are keeping track of the foods that your picky eater likes, go ahead and make your family meal, but include at least one food in the meal that your picky eater does like. So you’re going to serve that alongside the new foods so that, you know A) they’re at least going to eat one thing, right? But they also know, “Okay, Mom knows what I like, or Dad knows what I like, and has put that on my plate too.” So you’re going to offer several choices on the plate, but one of those choices will be something that you know your picky eater likes.
SANDY: And then is the goal then to maybe give them some encouragement to try at least one or another item that you put on the table as well?
DR. AMY: Absolutely. So, we’re going to gently offer it, right? We’re going to create an invitation to try it. So it’s on the plate, right? Because that’s what the family is eating. It’s on the plate. And so we’re gonna show how much we like it, right? We’re gonna take a bite and go, “Mmm, this is really good. Yes, dear. You did a great job making this spaghetti tonight.” And then encourage your child, “Hey, have you tried it yet?” And so what we know with picky eaters, it might take 10 to 15 invitations—invitations—before a picky eater will try something new. And that’s okay. You’ve made that dinner anyway, right? You’ve made it for everybody else. So you’re not being put out. Right? Just create the invitation. 10 to 15 tries before they might actually try it.
SANDY: And it isn’t personal. Nope. If they don’t like your meal.
DR. AMY: It is not personal. Yeah.
SANDY: It’s preference.
DR. AMY: But I would, I would put the new foods right next to the old foods, right? I would not put it on a separate plate, right? It is part, that is the dinner. Right. And one part of that dinner, you know, the child likes. So it doesn’t have to touch, but I would put it on the plate.
All right. I would be also, uh, sensitive to the texture issues. And so if there’s a way to combine a disliked texture with a light texture, so … Okay. For example.
SANDY: I was going to say, I need an example for that. Yeah.
DR. AMY: So, let’s say they don’t like the texture of peanut butter, but they do like crunchy foods. You can spread peanut butter on celery. Right? So you’re combining the mushiness of the peanut butter with the crunchiness of the celery, which changes the texture of all of it when it’s combined, right? And then sometimes simply adding a healthy dip, right, something that your child can dip that food into might make all the difference in the world.
So they might not like the homemade chicken fingers that you’ve made, but you know that they like ketchup. because they put it on their french fries. So offer that ketchup for those chicken fingers or offer, you know, the honey mustard that they like on their salad. Offer that for the chicken fingers. So sometimes just a dip alone will make all the difference, you know, or some honey and Greek yogurt to dip an apple in if they don’t like the apple plain.
SANDY: Kind of like a chip, but fruit-oriented?
DR. AMY: Exactly. Yeah. So anytime that you can come change the way that the texture feels in the mouth by combining textures. And again, you’re just creating invitations. “Hey, I, you know, I know that you like this sauce or this dip. So what if you tried, you know, this new food dipped in it? See if you like it.” “No, I don’t want to.” “Okay.”
SANDY: So, I have to share this ingenious story that my son shared, my son and daughter shared. So, last year they went on a cruise with my mom and their extended, our extended family. And I didn’t go. I didn’t, I had other things planned and they got to go without me. But on that trip, we had a family member who is a very picky eater. And older, but, you know, but as they were working through the food on the cruise they noticed that one family member was only kind of staying in their comfort zone and somehow, I don’t know how they did it, but I think it was brilliant and how they explained it to me was they told said family member, “You know what? We’re on the cruise. All of the food is included. So you don’t have to worry that if you don’t like your meal that you’re wasting money. So you can try anything that you want. And if you don’t like it, you can get something else.” Cause we usually, when you go out to eat, that’s not the case, right?
DR. AMY: You order six different entrees until you find something you like.
SANDY: Exactly. But for whatever reason that unlocked it for them, like, and they were like, oh, it took that stressor off of like trying something and hating it and then that would have been your dinner and you’re sunk. And it just got me thinking that, you know, with younger kids, maybe even a buffet. Like a buffet restaurant might be a fun experience where you can kind of, they can see all the different things and they can pick and choose that way without that worry of, you know, “I ordered that for you. You need to finish it.” You know?
DR. AMY: So I love that idea because that’s one of my tips is to do like a taco bar where your child can choose which toppings they want to include or which type of shell they want. Or a build-your-own potato, baked potato bar, right? Where you have the baked potato, but then the child can choose all the different things or just the one thing that they want to put on top of the potato. Or you have a make-your-own-pizza night.
SANDY: Yeah, that’s what I was going to say.
DR. AMY: Where you lay out 20 different possible toppings and let your child pick which toppings they want to put.
SANDY: And I think the key for that is to let them explore and don’t cringe or give any feedback as to their combinations.
DR. AMY: Yes. So I, one of my kids ate ham and grape jelly sandwiches. And I, but that’s what he liked and he was getting the protein.
SANDY: So that’s all that matters.
DR. AMY: Right. That’s all that matters. And so part of that idea of throwing out the smorgasbord or this buffet or the make your own is that you’re involving the child in the food prep, right? You’re involving. And that gives them autonomy and agency and choice. And anytime that we can give our child choices, that gives them power and control. And then you get relational equity there too, right? Because you’re not forcing choices on your child. You’re saying, “Hey, I trust you to make your own choices here.” Right? But you’ve provided the choices.
SANDY: Right. That’s what I was going to say. It’s not necessarily a free-for-all of whatever you want is what you’re eating, but it’s “here are your five choices for the meal.”
DR. AMY: Yes. What would you like from these guys on top of your taco? Right. Cause that’s not one of the options that you provide.
SANDY: But that’s how as a parent, you can maintain some control over those choices. Cause of course, if you give them full reign, they’re going to choose the things that are maybe not as nutritious or helpful to them and their brain.
DR. AMY: Right. And then another way, instead of hiding broccoli in the spaghetti sauce is incorporating a variety of foods into sauces or smoothies, but having your child be involved in the process, right? Where you’ve got the food processor out or you have the blender out and you’re saying, “Okay, we’re going to add these leafy greens with this banana, with this protein powder, you know, with this oat milk, we’re going to put all this together and make a healthy smoothie together.” You know? “Oh, let’s add the blueberries.” And so even though your child might like the dark leafy greens on their plate, once it’s blended up into a really colorful smoothie, that might be a way that they’ll eat or drink the leafy greens, right? Or, if you, if they do struggle with broccoli, saying, “Hey, let’s make homemade tomato sauce tonight for our pizzas, or let’s make homemade pasta sauce for our spaghetti. Hey, let’s put this in it and this in it and this in it.” And broccoli might be one of those things, but you’re not hiding it. You’re incorporating it. “Hey, this is how we make our sauce.”
SANDY: I like the idea of just incorporating kids as early as you can and just food prep. Just being involved in the kitchen, cutting, tasting, putting things together, because I think just that exploratory nature of it will also ignite curiosity.
DR. AMY: Absolutely. I love that idea. And, you know, they make those child-safe little stools, like three-step stools with the arms. The safety rails that slide right up to the counter so that your toddlers and preschoolers can be involved in that process too.
SANDY: I mean, there’s lots of benefits of that fine motor skills and just lots of brain goodness happening when you do that. So if you have the time, by all means, I would encourage parents to do that. It does take patience though. And it might get messy. So I, yeah, I realize it won’t happen all the time because you might be not wanting to make a huge mess, but don’t deprive them of that opportunity just because there might be some inconvenience in the cleanup.
DR. AMY: Yeah. So all three of my boys love to cook because my mom would include them in everything that she made when they were little.
SANDY: Grandma’s are great for that.
DR. AMY: And so, yeah, I mean, so she would get them so excited about helping her make anything like whatever she was in the kitchen making, they got to help. And so then they always wanted to help us, you know, when we were making food. And so now all three of them love to cook and love to experiment. So it’s been fun to watch. Even my picky one, who’s hardly picky at all anymore, you know, because he really did get to experiment.
SANDY: Yeah. What other tips do you have for our listeners?
DR. AMY: Just that we want to come at this as we’re going to offer this, we’re going to create invitations. That, you know, parenting is about coaching and guiding and mentoring and discipling and teaching. And when we come at this from an attitude of curiosity, “Hey, my kid is really struggling with these textures,” or “My kid is really struggling with these tastes or smells, so I wonder what I can do to make this a better experience for my child.” When we come at it that way, rather than getting frustrated or angry, it makes all the difference. Right? And our child deserves that. Our child deserves our patience. Because like you said, it’s not personal. It’s not about us. It’s not that our cooking is bad. I mean, it might be bad, but typically it’s not because our cooking is bad, right? It’s because they’re struggling with something related to that kind of food. And so we just have to figure a workaround. We have to get creative and not give up and just say, “Fine, you can have cheese and mayonnaise sandwiches every night.” Because they need the full variety for brain health.
SANDY: Right. Well, let me read a word from our sponsor, and then let’s sort of wrap up our conversation. Our ideas for our listeners to kind of help them get through this time of working with their picky eaters.
It is estimated that there are over 6 million children in the U.S. diagnosed with ADHD. Most children diagnosed with ADHD have a cluster of weak cognitive skills that we all rely on for focusing and staying on task. Skills like working memory. Long-term memory and processing speed. At LearningRx, we create a one-on-one brain training program that’s tailored to help address the root cause of your child’s biggest challenges. Visit LearningRx.com to learn how we’re helping kids and adults with ADHD significantly improve their cognitive skills. Get started at LearningRx. com or head to our show notes for links to more helpful resources, including some free brain training exercises you can try at home.
DR. AMY: Okay. So, we talked about the importance of serving a wide variety of foods for brain health as our kids are having these developing brains and how to, you know, optimize their cognitive function by making sure that they’re getting this variety of foods.We talked about some tips and do’s and don’ts for picky eaters. I just want to quickly say that if you are noticing a pattern of inattention, lack of focus, brain fog, slow processing speed, one of the first things I like to encourage parents to look at is what’s, what is going in your child’s mouth. And are there any food allergies or food sensitivities that you might not have identified yet because food sensitivities and food allergies can show up as inattention and brain fog and slow processing speed. So just be on the lookout for that. I do want to mention there is a difference between processed sugar and fruit sugars. And so we know that the sugar from fruit is okay. But processed sugars from baked goods and sweets and treats, um, that type of sugar does cause inflammation in the body. And if the body is inflamed, so is the brain. And that can impact thinking and learning as well. And then, you know, we’ve talked about it in prior episodes, specifically the one with David Steinman, the importance of not exposing our kids to pesticides in foods and so to eat organic whenever possible. And to avoid foods that have artificial food dyes because we know that that has unhealthy outcomes and can mimic ADHD symptoms. A lot of research has shown that as well. So I wanted to make sure that we touched on those. If you want more information, if you really want to dive deeply into some of that, be sure to listen to that episode that we did with David Steinman. What else you got for us, Sandy?
SANDY: I think that’s all. I think we covered it. We hit all the big points that we wanted to make sure we covered today.Again, to get back to, you know, variety is the key and your brain thrives on healthy nutrients.
DR. AMY: Yes. Absolutely. So we’re not just feeding our body, we are feeding our brains too. And so a lot of times we don’t think about that, right?
SANDY: No, I don’t think we do. I think we only really ever talk about, you know, the body and how it affects the body.But it really, I think more importantly is how it affects the brain.
DR. AMY: Absolutely. All right, friends. Thanks for listening to us today. If you love us, in any way, we would love it if you would follow us on Instagram and TikTok at thebrainymoms. You can find Sandy on TikTok at thebraintrainerlady, and you can find me on Instagram at dramysaysgrace. You can visit our website at thebrainymoms.com. You can find us on every single podcasting platform. Hey, why don’t you share our show with other moms and dads like you who could benefit from all the cool stuff that we talk about. That is all the smart stuff that we have for you today though. So we’re going to catch you next time.
SANDY: Have a great week.