The Picky Eaters subreddit is a godsend for those of us who struggle to eat a wide variety of foods. The community, which has been around for over a decade and amassed 5.4k members, describes itself as for “support, recipes, discussions, memes, whatever for picky eaters.” There are plenty of posts asking for advice on experimenting with new foods, and the community always responds kindly and without any judgment. While you might consider picky eating to be a phase kids go through and eventually grow out of, for some people that’s just not the case. And it’s great to have a community where they can find guidance and others struggling with the same limited diets.

To learn more about picky eating, we reached out to Alex Turnbull, Registered Dietician Nutritionist and Licensed Dietician, aka the Family Nutritionist, to hear her thoughts on this topic. When it comes to who qualifies as a picky eater, Alex says, “The term ‘picky eater’ is used rather loosely and many children will go through a phase of being more particular about their food choices.”

“While it's not a great idea to flat-out call a child a ‘picky eater’ because they may start to internalize that label, therefore becoming pickier, certain things may place someone in a ‘picky eater’ category,” the expert explained. “This may include an unwillingness to try new foods, a limited list of tolerated foods, not liking different foods to touch each other, etc.”

We also got in touch with Kacie Barnes, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Master of Clinical Nutrition who’s a picky eating expert and the founder of Mama Knows Nutrition. According to Kacie, “There’s not a set criteria [for picky eaters], but I usually consider someone a picky eater if they have an aversion or unwillingness to try new foods, eat a limited variety, and have strong preferences about food. They may frequently eat a different meal than the rest of the family, and they are typically fussy about their foods being served a particular way.”

We also asked the experts if we should be concerned if our children or loved ones are picky eaters. “No one's diet is perfect, but if a child doesn't grow out of the picky eating phase, it can leave them falling short of important nutrients that can have an impact on their overall health,” Alex noted. “Not all children will grow out of the ‘picky eater’ phase, so if parents have concerns they should speak to their child's physician and discuss options such as an evaluation for food therapy to determine if further treatment is necessary. Feeding Matters has an Infant and Child Feeding Questionnaire that helps parents understand if their child has age-appropriate eating patterns.”

Kacie says picky eating can cause a few problems, but adults can decide whether they care to fix the problem or not. “First– nutritional variety is important to get all essential nutrients, so a very limited diet can prevent someone from getting the nutrients they need to thrive and stay healthy,” she explained. “Supplements can help bridge the gap, but you’ll want to get labs drawn to figure out what nutritional deficiencies are present to correctly treat them.”

“Second– it can cause problems socially,” Kacie continued. “It can cause someone to turn down invites to eat with friends if they’re worried about eating what’s served at someone’s home or what’s available at an event or restaurant. If picky eating gets in the way of doing the things you want to do, it is a cause for concern.”

“Picky eaters often need help to expand their diets, and I don’t necessarily expect them to ‘grow out of it,’” Kacie says. “I look at it the same way as I do a child who has a speech delay, meaning, they would benefit from professional help to improve their skills. Depending on the severity, a care team for a picky eater could include a dietitian, a feeding therapist (either an OT or SLP), and a mental health counselor.”

“That being said, most kids who are picky will never be the most adventurous eaters in the world. And that’s okay!” Kacie added. “Getting to a better place with picky eating means having more flexibility, but it doesn’t mean having to try and enjoy every food the person comes across.”

The experts also shared their best tips for how picky eaters can expand their palates. “No matter what age, someone who may identify as a ‘picky eater’ or has ‘picky eating’ tendencies, should focus on small, micro changes to the foods they already enjoy,” Alex recommends. “These small changes can take you from only liking potato chips, to enjoying roasted sweet potatoes - this is called food chaining.”

“It's also important not to be too hard on children or yourself if you're a picky eater,” she added. “If you or your child aren't ready to try something new, start small by interacting with it, touching it, smelling it, playing with it, chewing it and spitting it out, etc. You don't have to actually eat the food to make progress in learning to like it one day.”

Alex also recommends picky eaters pick one new food to try a month. “If you have a child that is a picky eater, get them involved with the menu planning, grocery shopping, preparing the food, and even serving meals up family style so they can scoop food onto their own plate, or even yours if it's something they're not ready to try yet (interaction!).”

Kacie told Bored Panda that she has different tips for picky eaters depending on their ages, but here’s some of her top, general advice: “Always start with small changes, not big ones. So for example, say the person only likes their spaghetti plain. A good step would be dipping one noodle into marinara, or stirring in just a drop of sauce so it’s barely noticeable. That’s going to go a lot better than serving the spaghetti covered in sauce.”

Kacie also recommends to “keep it low pressure. This is so important because it’s often scary, nerve wracking, and overwhelming for a picky eater to try something new,” she explained. “We use a Teeny Tiny Tasting Spoon at my house (it’s an espresso spoon) for trying teeeeny bites of new foods — think the size of a grain of rice or one drop of a liquid. We also allow spitting out your food if you don’t enjoy it. Swallowing something is a bigger commitment than just tasting, so having an ‘out’ can make it feel safer to try something new.”

“Implement a ‘skip a day’ rule,” Kacie continued. “This means if you’re always making the same meals day in and day out, you’ll start to skip a day. That instantly doubles your variety! So for example, if every morning is peanut butter toast, you can alternate that with a smoothie or whatever you want every other day.”

“You never know why someone may have challenges with eating food,” Alex added. “Sometimes it's because they once choked or had a bad experience with a particular food that has now stuck with them. Bringing attention to picky eating habits can only make picky eating worse.  Instead, try to make the mealtime experience positive and with as little pressure to try new foods as possible.”

“If parents are looking for a place to start, my Managing Mealtimes Course for Picky Eaters walks you through simple strategies to help picky eaters try foods without a fight and minimize the mealtime stress that so many parents experience every day!”

If you’d like to learn more about how to expand you or your loved ones' palates, be sure to visit Alex’s website The Family Nutritionist!

“Dealing with a picky eater is frustrating, but most people don’t realize they don’t want to be difficult, they don’t want to be grossed out by all kinds of foods, and they can’t control it,” Kacie shared. “Picky eating has a genetic component, and certain personality types can struggle more with it.”

“As a parent, it’s not your fault if your child is picky. Some kids are literally born destined to be picky and others aren’t,” the expert continued. “You can do everything ‘right’ when they’re a baby and still end up with a picky toddler. I’m not saying it can’t improve, because it can, but it’s a bigger hurdle for some than others, and you didn’t cause it to be that way.”

“That being said– people often use the term picky eating for typical toddler/little kid eating behavior, and that’s something they do usually grow out of!” Kacie added. “Liking a food one day and not the next, having the occasional meltdown because you cut the sandwich the wrong way, or choosing carbs over meat and veggies every single time — these all are part of toddler life! I’m not saying they’re not annoying things, but they are things that just come along with that developmental stage.”

If you’d like to learn more tips for picky eating from Kacie, be sure to visit Mama Knows Nutrition!

If you’re an adventurous eater, you might be shocked by some of the photos on this list. But if you’re a picky eater, you might be salivating while scrolling through! Keep upvoting the pics that you find most interesting or entertaining, and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever considered yourself to be a picky eater too. Then, if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article discussing picky eating, we recommend checking out this one next! Bon appétit!