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Green Food Taste Testing for St. Patrick’s Day FUN!

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I’ve mentioned before that my kids are the pickiest eaters on the planet, right?

I’ve tried cute sticker charts, small toy rewards, seemingly everything! But the best tactic so far has been giving my kids the job of “Taste Testing!” And pairing our taste testing activity with the colors of a holiday makes it even more fun!

GREEN Food Taste Testing for St. Patrick’s Day!

I’ve seen kids taste testing activities on other blogs, too.  But I was pretty skeptical my little picky eaters would go for it. But when I put our own spin on our taste test activity by using all green foods for St. Patrick’s Day, the kids jumped right on board!

Green Food Taste Testing for Picky Eaters on St. Patrick's Day at B-Inspired Mama

And they tried new foods, too! 

Psst… Grab your FREE Taste Testing Chart HERE:

Here’s how we did our taste test…

Green Food Taste Testing Activity for St. Patrick’s Day

I went with a St. Patrick’s Day Theme and chose 9 green foods to offer in muffin tins. Muffin tins are perfect for separating the different foods, and the kids get a kick out of using them.

Fun Green Food Taste Testing for Picky Eaters on St. Patrick's Day at B-Inspired Mama

I included celery (with peanut butter), green grapes, broccoli, green apples, green peppers, and sugar snap peas.  And I threw in a couple green-colored treats, too, like lime Jello, green gummy candies, and mint chocolate chips.

I couldn’t believe how excited my kiddos were to try every one of the foods.  They ate vegetables that may have never even hit their lips before!

A Free Printable Taste Testing Chart for YOU!

Green Food Taste Testing for Picky Eaters on St. Patrick's Day + a Free Printable at B-Inspired Mama

I made a chart with smiley and frowny faces for the kids to circle their “findings.”  And I was surprised to see that Priscilla had more smiley faces circled than not.  She’s even been begging to taste test red foods next!

Want to try this taste testing activity with your picky eaters, too? 

Don’t forget your FREE Taste Testing Chart:

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About Krissy of B-Inspired Mama

Former M.Ed Art Teacher. Current Full-Time Blogger & Social Media Influencer. Always Crazy & Creative Mama of 3.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Whozat says

    This is a great idea.

    My daughter has gotten really excited about eating all sorts of fruits and veggies (altho often she's only excited in theory and doesn't actually eat much) after introducing her to http://www.todayiatearainbow.com – Lots of great info and ideas, videos of an adorable 8 year old cooking fruits and veggies, and they sell a “rainbow chart” to keep track of all the “colors” that you eat.

    Reply

  4. Elizabeth says

    Thank you so much for sharing this fun activity! My home daycare kids had a blast trying all of their green foods today. The just 3 and under needed some help with their forms, but that was ok! We did a total of 10 foods and I shrunk your sheets down to make little booklets. Sadly my “picky eater” was not willing to try out anything but the mint chips or the green goldfish 🙁 I thought saying he could not make a smile or frown circle would push him to take a small taste, but no. Here is the list of foods that we did: Green Goldfish, Green Grapes, Green Pepper, Kiwi, Lime Jello jigglers, cucumber, celery with PB, Lime Yogurt, Guacamole + chips and mint chips. We washed it down with some green milk! I used ice cube trays for the foods which worked really well too. Thanks again! Elizabeth

    Reply

  6. Ness says

    What an awsome idea! I pinned/linked all over the place – on my own board, a collaborative kids co-op board, and I've featured this as one of my faves from last week's Kids Co-op link up party. My son despises green food. I'm going to give this a try!

    Reply

  10. Jewellz says

    Awesome idea! I love avocados and some of my kids like all that you have picked. I tell my kids they MUST try everything or don't get anything. Starving kids in Africa don't get their choices so they better be happy. But if I know they truly hate the food I don't make them eat it.

    Reply

  14. Karren says

    You have come up with a great idea for taste testers, they need chef hats for this job, I went searching and found a bunch so if you sew or no-sew and from paper of cloth. http://www.ehow.com/how_7738460_chef-hat-tutorial.html
    http://whipup.net/2012/01/17/whipup-tutorial-chefs-hat/
    http://youcanmakethis.com/products/featured-products/FREE-Child-and-Adult-Size-Chef-Hat.htm

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    Karren

    Reply

  15. Janet K says

    I love this!! My husband is a former chef of 20 years and it drives him crazy when our 4 year old won't taste something. We recently convinced him to eat some green veggies and he's loving them. This is such a fun activity that I know my two chefs will LOVE!!

    Reply

  22. Judith says

    Fantasti idea! My boys are too old to be “tricked” like that, but it's a brilliant idea that would have worked at the time.

    Now, are you letting the kids choose one of the foods they gave a “smile” to, for their next meal? 🙂

    Reply

  25. Julee says

    How fun is this! Thankfully I don't have picky eatin' kiddos…it's the hubby that's Princess Pansie when it comes to trying new things. Maybe I'll try this trick with him! 😉 Thanks for sharing the fun!

    Reply

  26. Jessica, The Debt Princess says

    GREAT IDEA! I have a child with eating problems. He's 9, has general anxiety and a food phobia but I'm wondering if maybe I could do this with him. Maybe make a chart for him to share with his therapist.

    Thank you for such a great post!!

    Reply

  36. Jacqui Gonzales says

    That's very cool! My older daughter isn't a picky eater, but my younger one is. Fortunately, they both like most fruits and veggies we've put in front of them.

    My solution has been nothing more than persistence. My daughter generally decides she doesn't like something before she eats it. So if I try a new dish and it's a hit with everyone with her, it joins out list of regular meals and eventually she'll give it a shot (I don't make separate meals or give a substitute normally). It took over two years before she eventually tried spaghetti but now she loves it!

    Reply

  37. Brenda says

    I am lucky because my son has never been a picky eater, but I love this idea. It is really cute and turns trying new foods into a fun activity. What color foods are you going to try next?

    Reply

  38. Tabitha (a.k.a. Penny) says

    I like doing taste tests with my picky eaters too. We have done grapes and eggs, never anything like this and I love this idea! You chart is so simple too. Wonderful. I'm pinning this to my Picky Eaters board. 🙂

    Reply

    • Krissy Sherman Bonning says

      Well, I think it just depends on the child. My daughter is 3 and I had to help her write the names of each food on her chart, but she circles the smile or frown faces all by herself. Even if a younger child wouldn't understand the chart, you could still offer up choices in a muffin tin and have them give you a thumbs up or thumbs down maybe.

      Reply

  43. AMBER EDWARDS says

    This is brilliant! I need to do this with my kids as they are ALL picky eaters and I cant' even get them to eat foods which they have always professed to love! Let alone green veggies! Thanks for the wonderful idea!

    Reply

  50. bakergirl says

    I guess I have been pretty blessed. I havent expereinced picky eaters. My kids loved all kinds of things. I am not saying they didnt have their moments of dislike, but most of the time they ate what I put in front of them. I think they have developed dislikes as adults and I am not sure why. Best wishes on your journey of the difficult eaters. Have a blessed day.

    Reply

    • Krissy Sherman Bonning says

      I know, Corinne. That's what their grandma keeps saying. “Don't give them the choice!” But I'm just not that kind of mama. I can't let them go hungry and their so stubborn that they would! lol

      Reply

  55. Suzy Myers says

    What a great idea! My children are big veggie eaters, in fact they are not fans of meat. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were adopted! ha!

    Thanks so much for sharing!

    suzy

    Reply

  56. Shelly@ Frugal Family Home says

    I am fortunate that my kids are not picky eaters. They will eat almost any veggie or fruit I give them to try. My son is a little reluctant to try some but will try it and usually will like it. We grown veggies in the garden and I think kids are more apt to try something they grew themselves.

    Reply

  57. Marian says

    When i was still a kid my mom promised me to buy a bicycle when we eat veggies. Everyday they'll mark the calendar showing our progress.Unfortunately I didn't get my bike. 🙂

    Reply

  59. marye~ says

    What a fantastic idea! My are getting much better the older they get. They both eat sushi and boiled crawfish, but not much fruit. I wish they were young enough to be taste testers too.

    Reply

  62. Kecia says

    This is a cute idea! My son can be picky at times. We may have to let him be a taste tester if he continues to be picky as he gets older.

    Reply

  63. Katie says

    I am definitely going to download the taste testing chart. The taste testings a great idea maybe I'll be able to get my youngest one to eat a vegetable now.

    Reply

  65. mammamilk says

    Love this! I follow a blog that does muffin tin mondays and it always looks so creative and interesting! I really need to try it! Nice post presentation!

    Reply

  66. Becca@CreatingFamilyConnections says

    Those muffin tin foods look yummy! I'm not a mom, so I can't speak from experience, except my childhood. As a kid, if Mom and Dad wanted to get us to eat veggies (I remember this about carrots), they'd tell us we need to eat, “one carrot for each eye.” I grew up to love my veggies, so it must've worked!

    Reply

  68. Starlene says

    Awesome, this is a GREAT idea. I love the healthy foods and all of them green. And the bonus is your kids liked! Have you ever heard of the GAPS diet? A lot of parents that come to GAPS have children that are picky eaters and this tendency can be caused by gut dysbiosis. I have become much less picky since working on my gut flora. Just wanted to mention in case you hadn't heard of GAPS. 🙂

    Reply

  70. Anjanette says

    This is awesome! My kids aren't super picky, but they would LOVE this activity! Fun way to celebrate St. Patty's Day!

    Other foods I thought of: green pumpkin seeds, sliced cucumbers, pickles, kiwi!

    I'm pinning this on Pinterest if you don't mind! 🙂

    Reply

  71. Erin @ My Mommy World says

    This is a great idea! I can't believe I never thought of it before! My kids are so funny when they insist that a certain food is horrible and then I make them taste it and they say, “Oh, I like it!” I'm sure this would be easier than threatening them with no tv like I usually do 🙂

    Reply

    • Krissy Sherman Bonning says

      I know what you mean! That's what is so frustrating. When I KNOW my little ones will like a food but they just refuse to try it. I know it's probably more about them asserting their independence than the food itself. But it drives me nuts!

      Reply

  72. Lou Lou says

    This is something I'll have to remember… my 18 month old enjoys most things but we is getting pickier by the day… my days without the muffin tin are numbered I feel…

    Reply

  77. Kerry Fountain says

    What a cool idea! I do think that many kids would like the whole idea of rating food like that.

    My kids went through a picky stage (heck they still occasionally have picky stages but now that they are older I tell them tough) and I always told them that certain food was only for the big people. Then they wanted to try them…..

    Thankfully my oldest loves all food- and still loves to try new things. The other two are old enough now to make their own food if they don't like what I am serving..

    Reply

  80. Nikki says

    I love this idea! My son is very picky, but he does like a challenge. He's almost 7, so I could even take him to the store to pick out the green foods he wants to try. Thank you!!

    Reply

  86. Emily says

    Great idea! Somehow I ended up with good eaters. Ask me how to get them to sleep and I have no idea! 🙂 When trying something new I let them see me eat it and how much I like it and they usually want to try it.

    Reply

  90. Erin O'Riordan says

    I don't have kids, but this is a wonderful idea! When I worked in a school, we did once make a green dessert “pizza” with kiwis and other sweet green things. The kids loved that.

    Reply

  91. Glenda says

    This is a wonderful ideal and I think I will try it on both hubby and son but I may nee to try it on my too as I do not like Fruit and if I expect him to try it then I should be willing to. Correct?

    Reply

  93. Warrior MAMA says

    This is SO cute! I “pinned” it!

    My daughter is GFCF {Gluten free Casien free} and she could eat this whole tin {minus the chocolate chips}

    Thanks for a great March idea!

    🙂
    Lisa

    Reply

  94. Stephanie @ One Sleepy Mom says

    Fantastic idea! I have always been lucky to have kids that will eat ANYTHING, but I know a lot of parents who struggle with getting their kids to try veggies. Or in my case, my hubby who struggles to get ME to eat veggies! Pinning this as well!

    Reply

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