Do you have a picky eater at home? Here’s a jack!

 Interestingly, research shows that children may not try a vegetable until they’ve seen it 10 to 15 times! Needless to add, it’s a gamble if your child is a picky eater or not. However, being creative with your kid’s meals remains a consistent theme for nearly all parents. There is ample information on the web guiding you on which fruit and vegetable need to be introduced at which stage for your child’s sustainable growth. We decided to address the how.

Here’s a list of our tips to introduce jackfruit into your child’s diet and make him love it eventually if not in the first instance.

1. There are few meals no kid hates. Muffins, pancakes and something resembling a meatball has earned the repertoire of being loved by all. Jackfruit blends great in all three flavours and texture profiles.
2. When veggies seem fun, you can hide them in plain sight! Kids are extremely visual and imaginative, so parents should use this to their advantage during mealtime. To educate and engage, let your kids make art with their food, or give the food a cool name.
3. The one thing kids love is the sense of touch. In fact, texture plays a big role in whether or not a food is liked, for both kids and adults. Lucky for you, jackfruit offers texture with nearly every part of the fruit. The course, spiky shell, scaly seeds and soft, gooey fibre is enough to help them play around and experience food like it was meant to: with all our senses.
4. Repeat after us, MICRO PORTIONS. These are good because they don’t overwhelm anyone. It can also help cut down on food waste. Micro portions are also a great, no-pressure way to allow your child to decide if they want more. Removing pressure from mealtimes can also encourage a fussy eater to try new food like jackfruit.
5. Children pick up behaviour and language from parents. Thus, we don’t have an option but to be more mindful of our eating habits. Lead by example, be careful how you describe the food on the plate. Kids are like little shadows, and they are constantly learning from their caregivers. This includes mealtime! If they see you eating a variety of veggies, chances are they will eventually try them, too.
6. This blog post began with a fact on familiarity. In other words, food play allows picky kids to interact but also desensitise them. New foods can be scary to some kids and can trigger a flight, fight, or freeze response. When a kid is desensitized to a new food, they feel more familiar and less scared or nervous around it. Then they can start interacting with the food rather than feeling like the food is icky, squishy or gross.
7. Introducing jackfruit in modern food that kids today identify with more is the best way to sneak it in if you have an exceptionally picky eater in hand. Sliders, bread, jackfruit waffles, biryani are the safest bet for kids.

Kathalfy is launched with the vision to #IntroduceThemYoung. We are constantly designing and experimenting with products that are kids and toddler friendly. The idea is to raise a generation that embraces our culinary culture powered by information. We need to allow our future generation to question their plates, the source of food, its benefits and make better choices.