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Food

18th Aug 2015

Back-to-school: Dietician Sarah Keogh’s top 5 tips for feeding fussy eaters

Sophie White

Now that September is nearly upon us, we’re becoming all too aware that time will soon be in short supply what with school runs, traffic, school lunches and after-school activities. Wasting precious time wrangling a bit of food into the ‘fussy one’, is not only annoying, it’ll hardly be possible with uniforms to wash and Christmas to plan *draw breath*. Luckily we’ve got some no-nonsense, easy tips from dietician, Sarah Keogh. Sarah is a busy mum-of-two so she really knows what she’s talking about.

“The second guy eats anything; the older was trickier. We’ve been so positive about all foods. We didn’t make anything special about certain foods even treat foods, and now mine would take or leave treats. Though my oldest did tell me, ‘Mummy I wish you didn’t got to be (sic) a dietician!'”

“My clinic is pretty varied but over the last 7 or 8 years, more people are coming in to us about fussy eating – usually from ages 1-3 and on up to teenage years, even some adults. I find that in the vast majority of cases the same things work.”

Dietician Sarah Keogh’s top 5 tips for feeding fussy eaters:

1. The biggest problem we find in younger kids is too much milk, it’s filling them up but it’s not as high in calories.

2. 80 per cent of the fussy eaters are just not hungry for the meal. They may be snacking too much and so cutting down on snacking between meals is a good strategy.

3. Depending on the child’s age, aim for one snack a day, max two. Their tummy isn’t much bigger than their fist. We often have bizarre ideas about the amount of food they need. As long as they’re growing and healthy, they are getting plenty with breakfast, lunch and dinner with an optional snack.

4. There’s a point around one and a half years old when they may suddenly not want to eat new foods. Persevere with new tastes, it can take 10-15 goes to get them to like a new food.

5. Bring them to another person’s house to try them on a new food. The social aspect is very important, babies learn to eat with their eyes and watching us eating is very good for their development. They also learn through touch, they need to learn the texture of foods as well as the taste.

Visit www.centra.ie for all the latest back-to-school offers and great inspiration from dietician, Sarah Keogh for creating the perfect meal or snack.