Do you have a teen, tween or young adult in the house? Do you see what they eat and silently cringe at what they are doing to their body and their mental well-being? You also know that good food will improve their mood.

We certainly don’t want to instil any shaming or diet culture in our young adults, but we do want them to get into habits that will set them up for a healthy, happy future!

If you have been reading my blog posts recently, you will know that I am a mum of three adult children. Although they have passed the tweens and teens phase, I still have young adults around. I can tell you, that despite them growing up eating healthy-ish food, they still can make me cringe internally with their food choices. So I am going to be upfront with you. As your young person gets older, you can not control all the food that they eat. They will be either starting to or are in the throws of making food choices which you will not have any control over. Having said that, there are things you can do to influence their food choices, but you might not want to let them know that’s what you are up to 😅.

Tip 1: 

One of the first things I would recommend doing is work out what foods they really love you to make. One of mine used to do a happy dance whenever I made some of their favourite meals. These favourites will encourage them to plan to eat at home for their favourite meal times. 

Tip 2:

Once you are sure that they will be joining you for dinner, spend some time making it a bit special. Have some fun things planned. You want it to be something they treasure and look forward to attending. It could be a theme like taco night where you bring out the coloured tableware and make it fun and bright, or maybe a picnic style meal where you lay out a tablecloth inside or outside and eat finger food. Have a look online for inspiration. The Family dinner Project has lots of great ideas and other parents share what they do to encourage family meals. You could even do a cooking challenge like Masterchef for any of your competitive types. Also, don’t forget the music! This can really help those that are more anxious to relax and enjoy the experience (maybe avoid the hard rock during the meal though).

Picnic

Tip 3:

If there is food that is not very popular and you think it is important for them to eat it, I find that combining the food with other acceptable foods makes it a lot more palatable and desirable. I have seen non-fish eaters eat fish when it is cooked in a way that is appealing. I’m not talking about hidden veggies either. Although that can be helpful sometimes, but always tell the truth if asked. You don’t want them to not trust you.

Fruity soft serve ice-cream

Tip 4:

Reduce the snack foods that are low in nutrients like chips and lollies. By this, I mean accidentally, on purpose run out of these foods. Replace them with crackers and cheese, yoghurt and fruit, veggie sticks and dips and of course fruit. All of these can be made more acceptable to the fussy eaters. For example, frozen fruit can very easily be made into a soft-serve ice cream. Eggplant can be made into a very delicious dip to spread on crackers or to have with veggie sticks (my recipe is here). I used to find that my teens would steal the veggies to snack on as I was preparing a meal. Even keeping a bowl of pre-cut veggies to snack on for those that are passing by the kitchen can help increase veggie intake for some people. 

Tip 5:

For the more fussy eaters, encourage curiosity. Are they interested in science? They could research the nutrients in various foods and find out why they are good to eat. Do they enjoy cooking? Let them get involved in the preparation of the meals. Ask questions like how could we make this delicious and more appealing? Encourage experimenting with recipes. Are they artistic? Get them to help with plating up to make it look appetising and beautiful. One of the main goals here is to desensitise them to the foods. Touching, smelling, looking at it are all part of this process. Even listening to the sounds it makes when cooking or cutting or even biting. Take it slowly, and take all the pressure to eat off. This is much harder to do than it sounds. But if you have a fussy or selective eater you would already have experienced the difficulties in feeding them.

Summary:

To encourage your teens to trade fast food for your cooking the main point is to make the time together so appealing that it is something they look forward to. It may turn into a time where you really connect with them. Competing with fast food is a tough gig. The fast food companies have made their food hyper palatable for a good reason. They want your money and they get your money by getting you to keep coming back. They have made it super appealing. Our job as parents is to make what we offer even better. That doesn’t mean being the best cook. It means that they find something worth coming home for like connection, conversation, fun and mutual respect. Having their favourite food can help you on this journey. 

What are you going to try? Or what has worked for you?

Do you have any more tips? 

Sometimes having someone removed from the situation can help. This year has been my first year of working with some selective eaters and it has been a real highlight for me. The changes that they have made have been a pleasure to watch and be a part of. If you would like some assistance with your young adult, or you need help establishing better routines for health, feel free to contact me for a consultation.

Next January 2025, I will also be hosting a “Meal Planning for Busy Mums” workshop.

If you are interested in participating in this, click the link below to go on the waiting list. Meal planning is one of my specialties, and I will be sharing some tips to make this job a bit easier. In addition, we will work through creating a meal plan together. 

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