By: Marge Robison, RD
How often have you said, or heard, the saying ‘Try it, you’ll like it’? There is even a song, gleefully sung by Yo Gabba Gabba, that reinforces this concept. As a parent, I have said it, as a school nutrition professional I have heard it stated in the cafeteria many times, and as a registered dietitian I often analyze how this concept plays out.
Sure, to like something you have to try it first, but just because you try it doesn’t mean you WILL actually like it. We can all recall things we have tried several times in hopes that we may like them, but despite repeated exposure, it’s just not something that appeals to us. Jogging and gravy come to mind for me! While others may enjoy and like these things, I would rather do almost any other form of exercise, or will likely refuse the mashed potatoes if gravy touches them!
As a registered dietitian who has worked in pediatric nutrition the majority of my career, I often hear frustration from those who serve food to children regarding the dislikes expressed (and sometimes not so politely☹️) towards the foods they present. All this has led me to have a greater appreciation for Try Days as an opportunity to foster exposure and opportunity for children to explore foods in a non-threatening manner. I get so much joy when the hesitant eater finds something new that they embrace eating. Offering students the chance to ‘try it’ before they ‘buy it’ often leads to increased participation. Take a page from the Costco Case Study where they have demonstrated that their popular food sampling program has increased sales of featured pizza varieties by 600% and the cheeses they sample doubled in sales.
Pisanick Partners has had the opportunity to do numerous multifaceted Try Days with our littlest eaters at Lorain County Head Start. When planning these Try Days we keep in mind the following strategies that support children’s willingness to try new foods.
Repeated Exposures - It often requires children to see foods multiple times, and in a variety of ways, for them to go from hesitant tasters to willingly consuming to eager eaters.
Offer in Fun and Nonthreatening Ways - When kids can explore foods without the pressure to eat they are more likely to progress towards consumption.
Foster Modeling - Children who see other adults or peers eating a food are more likely to explore eating the food themselves.
To foster repeated exposure, we offer the Try Day food items/recipes in a variety of ways. When students arrive in the morning, we allow both the students and their families to sample the food. Costco lesson learned!! Sometimes an added bonus is that the parents may also be introduced to a new food themselves and together they can explore the food with their child. I will never forget running into such a parent, who recognized me from one of these Try Day events, and they commented that they had never tried asparagus until they sampled it with their child and now it has become a staple in their diet.
In the classroom, students are then given the food in its unprocessed form to explore through touch, smell, and games. We’ve had sensory tables filled with beans, crafts done with barley, and played ‘hot potato’ with a squash, just to name a few!
Then, at a meal service students are again offered the opportunity to try the food/recipe as part of their meal or snack. Sitting at the table and eating family style with their peers and teachers supports modeling for trying new foods. This student provides a review of the couscous that was served for lunch.
While these measures don’t win over every child, we have seen many hesitant tasters become eager eaters. I’m not sure it would have worked for the gravy with me! You can likely think of a similar food for yourself. Thus, we always respect individual food preferences, but emphasize a MIGHT in ‘Try it…you MIGHT like it”. Conducting Try Days gives children the opportunity to explore the MIGHT in this phrase.
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