THE SENSORY MADE SIMPLE PODCAST

Transcript

Welcome back Food Explorers.

You probably just think of your child as a food explorer, but we need you as the parent to be one too, and to set the example for all of this to work.

In the Food Explorers world this month, we're talking all about fruit.

This includes the Food Explorers membership as well.

All the resources, the quick tips guide, the grocery lists, the recipe, and the food exploration activity are all geared towards encouraging the exploration of fruits.

If you are like most of the parents I work with, you are very concerned about your child eating fruit.

Yep, pun intended, very concerned.

Something really interesting is that in my personal experience, some children with feeding challenges do pretty well with fruit because of its sweet flavor.

I'll have parents come to me and say, you know, they really struggle with proteins and veggies, but they'll eat almost any fruit.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have parents who are struggling to help their child eat more than just one to two fruits.

And they worry that because this is the only fruit they'll eat, they'll burn out of it eventually, which I consider a pretty valid concern.

We all get bored of eating the same food over and over.

Other parents wish their child would eat just one to two fruits, because they refuse to eat any at all.

Some of you may have heard me talk about this in the past, but that's my husband.

He does not eat any fruits, although we have made some progress here.

He's an adult, so I respect his autonomy to not want to work on this, even though it's hard for me.

But many of the characteristics we'll talk about in this episode overwhelm him and his body.

J.R. has so graciously agreed to come on to the podcast next week and talk to you about this and what it feels like in his body so you can really understand it from the viewpoint of someone going through it, of what your child might be experiencing in their own body.

For today's episode, I want to delve deep into the core of fruits, talk about all the different kinds of fruits, the components that make them up, the different sensory characteristics you need to consider, and what my favorite ways are for making introducing fruit easier.

So let's get fruity.

The first thing I want you to start thinking about is how many different types of fruit there really are.

We all know about our apples, our pears, and bananas, but there are so many other fruits you and your child may never have even tried, like star fruit, dragon fruit, or lychee.

One of my favorite things to do at the grocery store or farmer's market is see if I can find one I've never heard of before.

I know, that sounds really weird, but I love finding new foods and new produce, especially one from different countries.

Because variety is refreshing and it keeps it interesting, which by the way, this can help prevent that food burnout and dropping of safe foods.

But let's not forget, there's also variety within each fruit.

There's different types of apples, different types of pears, and even different types of bananas.

So even if your child is only eating one type of fruit right now, you can still start creating variety there.

One day you have a green apple, the next a yellow, the next a Fiji, and then a red.

It keeps it interesting because these all taste and even feel just a tiny bit different.

I know you really want a variety of all the types of fruits, but depending on your child, you might need to start with just one type of fruit first and increase that acceptance of flexibility within food.

The reason I want you to consider all these different types of fruits is because there really are so many options for you and your child to choose from.

You may have chosen a fruit that you really want your child to eat, but it might not be the best fit for them, yet.

For example, you might really want to work on bananas, but your child is really sensitive to smells, especially of the banana, and it might not be the right food for them to work on right now.

As we go through this episode, I want you to listen to the different points and consider components or characteristics that might be hard for your child and which ones aren't.

This can guide you to choosing the best fruit to work on with them next.

Now, let's break down those different components of fruits.

First, we have the flesh.

This is the softer inside part of the fruit.

The texture of this differs for each fruit.

So for example, the soft and mushy flesh of a banana is totally different from the flesh of an apple, which is totally different from the slippery texture of a grape.

Depending on your child, they may do better with one texture versus another.

Second, we have the peel.

The majority of fruits have a peel, if not all.

I actually tried to look up if all fruits technically have an outer layer or peel, but I couldn't find a distinct answer.

But for all the fruits I can personally think of, they have some kind of outer skin that differs from the flesh of the fruit.

Some of these skins and peels you eat, while others you don't.

For example, we don't eat that outer layer of a pineapple.

For the peel or the skin you do eat, that can be challenging.

The peel and the inside flesh are usually two different tastes, two different textures, and two different looks, which means your brain needs to work hard to decipher and pay attention to them.

The third component is the seeds.

Most fruits also have seeds.

And I don't know about you, but I was not the biggest fan of seeds growing up.

This caused me to avoid strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Honestly, I'm still not so sure about them.

Seeds add a third different texture.

Many children with feeding difficulties struggle here especially.

It's a random crunch or surprise they weren't expecting.

Or even if they were expecting it, it might just feel funny in their mouth because they're not easily chewable.

And fourth, we have the juice.

Most fruits let out a juice when you chew them.

Again, this may surprise children with feeding challenges.

And combined with the flesh, the peel, and the seeds, that's a lot to handle and decipher in their mouth.

Aside from the sensory characteristics, which we'll talk about next, each one of these requires different oral motor skills and movements to chew and swallow.

So as you can see, just from the components of a fruit, there is a lot going on that can make it challenging to eat.

Let's move on to the sensory characteristics of a fruit.

When I say sensory characteristics, I'm not just talking about the texture.

I'm also thinking about the look, the smell, the taste, et cetera.

Because all fruits are so different, so are their sensory characteristics.

Depending on your child's sensory system, they may do better with some characteristics versus another.

First, the look.

We wanna take into account the colors, the shapes, the ripeness, and their overall look of the food.

Does it look appetizing to your child?

Does it look like something they've had before?

Do they recognize it at all?

The smell.

Does it have a big or a small smell?

How does your child process smells?

The taste.

Is it sweet?

Is it bitter?

Is it a taste they've had before?

The touch.

What texture is it?

Is it sticky?

Is it wet?

Does it leave a residue in their mouth or hands?

I could talk about sensory characteristics all day.

That's actually what we do in my Making Sense of Eating course.

But for time's sake, we'll keep going.

For all the reasons we discussed, fruit can be challenging.

It may not be that your child is just refusing to eat them.

My goal in this episode was to shed light on that and open your mind to what may be going on inside their mind when they're facing a new fruit.

The part you are probably all here for, the tips.

How can we make this easier?

The thing I find that makes the biggest impact for me is when I write down all the foods a child eats and avoids, and I really study them.

Determine whether there are common textures, common flavors, or common looks.

From this, I can better determine what to try next.

Number two, consider freeze-dried fruit.

This is one of my favorites.

Freeze-dried fruits are fruits that essentially have been dehydrated to a certain temperature.

Instead of being chewy like dried fruit, they are more crunchy or meltable, depending on which brand you get.

So this kind of takes away the juice, and the difference in texture as we talked about before.

It is usually a much more consistent texture overall, and generally, many kids seem to like this crunchier texture.

Third, try frozen fruits.

Depending on your child's oral motor skills, they may be able to eat some frozen fruits or thawed frozen fruits.

What's awesome about frozen fruits is that they are frozen pretty quickly after picking, so you don't usually have as big of a variety between them.

For example, with blueberries, they are more similar than when you buy a carton and have one mushy, one tough, one sweet, one tart.

They also usually have less juice when frozen, which is easier for some children.

Again, this depends on your child, their oral motor skills, and their age, as frozen fruit can be a choking hazard.

Third, try introducing it in a recipe or a fun food.

Sometimes introducing a food in a different way can be helpful for kids.

So for example, introducing blueberries in toast or waffles may be easier for them than a fresh berry, or try making popsicles, smoothies, or juices with fruit.

This changes the texture of a fruit to a more pureed or even liquid version, which may be easier for them to handle initially.

Remember, this doesn't mean we're giving up on whole fruit.

It's just helping them get used to it while they learn.

And last but not least, because to be honest, if I could only pick one, this is the one I would recommend you start today, is helping your child learn about fruits away from the table.

Children aren't born knowing all about fruits.

They can't pick them all out in a store, tell you what flavors a ripe versus unripe one will be, or even know what it will feel and taste like until they try it.

And this can be overwhelming for them.

We just put a food on the plate and expect them to eat it.

How would you feel if someone gave you a totally new food and didn't explain to you what it is, how to eat it, or what it tastes like?

If you are like me, you'd be pretty hesitant.

So helping your child learn about it can drastically help them feel more confident when it arrives on their plate.

So I really recommend going to the bookstore or library and checking out some fun food books, looking up some age-appropriate YouTube videos created by licensed dieticians.

That's an RD, by the way, different from a nutritionist, or finding good TV shows that educate about the different foods.

For older kids, I also love talking about why certain foods or fruits are good for your body.

For example, which ones help your eyes and which ones help keep you from getting sick Think about it.

We just tell kids that fruits are healthy, but that doesn't really mean much to them.

That's part of the reason I dislike using the terms healthy and unhealthy.

It's a really confusing concept.

What they hear is, oh, I can't have a cookie a lot, only on special days, because it's unhealthy.

But special things are fun, so I want another cookie, which is kind of the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish.

Instead, it can be helpful to teach kids the very basics of how different foods support our body in an age-appropriate way that will actually mean something to them.

I'm going to share some of my favorites on Instagram this week.

And that rounds out this episode on fruits.

And don't forget, if you like this episode, please leave me a little review and let me know.

If you're ready to squeeze the day and start exploring fruits with your child, come join us in the Food Explorers membership.

This month is entirely focused on fruits, and I will actually walk you step by step on how to explore honeydew melon with your child.

Go to my Instagram at DrSamGoldman and click the link in my bio to get started.

I'll see you back here next week when we bring JR in to share all about his challenges with fruits.

I can promise that's going to be a good one.

Bye for now.

Thank you for listening to the Food Explorers Podcast, a podcast about helping your child learn to become a confident and happy eater.

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This helps parents just like you find this podcast and start bringing the magic back into meal time.

Thanks again for joining me today, and I'll see you next time.