Fussy feeder may be a genuine supertaster

IF YOUR KID HATES VEGGIES, THEY MIGHT JUST BE A SUPERTASTER, ACCORDING TO DR FUSSY EATING DOCTOR THE

THE one food group that parents worry about their kids not eating enough of are definitely vegetables.

The cry of “my child won’t eat vegetables” is very common, so you are not alone.

For some kids this fussiness over vegetables is likely to be behavioural ... why have vegetables when you can have plain carbs? For some children, the reason for their dislike of vegetables is real, and may be because they are a supertaster. Unfortunately if you think you have a child who is a supertaster, just exposing your kids to vegetables will not be enough to get them to enjoy them.

There are some things you can do to help your supertaster but be aware that it could be a long time before your supertaster will start liking bitter foods.

• Never force your supertaster to eat a food. This is likely to lead to them being scared of the foods and less likely to ever eat it.

• Encourage the less bitter vegetables such as carrot, pumpkin, eggplant and capsicum.

• Disguise the bitter taste of food with a small amount of salt, herbs, spices.

• Use sauces with vegetables like cheese sauce or gravy to mask the bitter flavour.

• Try cooking the more bitter vegetables with a bit of honey as this can also hide the bitter flavour.

• Be patient, it may not be until they are older that they want to start eating vegetables.

With being a supertaster and more likely behavioural. OH let me tell you the ways of fussy eating. I am well versed in it, after years upon years of trying (in subtle, sneaky ways) to force broccoli down my child’s throat. I’ve whizzed up pureed apple and INSTINCT: Fussy kids may actually have a gene that makes them sensitive to the bitter taste in food.