My Favorite Books about Nutrition for Picky Eaters with Autism and ARFID
If you’re trying to encourage your child to sample new foods, a good place to start introducing new foods is in books.
Picture books introduce picky eaters to new foods
Your picky eater with autism or ARFID might be a little someone who is very sensory sensitive. The smell of new foods may be a big turn-off. The look of some foods may be a big turn-off. If that’s the case, reading your child picture books with food photos is a nice way to ease them into a meet and greet with a new food outside of the mealtime context where they tend to feel overtaken by powerful scents and visuals.
Books support healthy eating
I also really like books about food for autistic kids, because they can provide so much information about what food does for our body. Some of the kids I’ve worked with are SO CURIOUS about the world, and they would really like to know why I’m interested in helping them learn to like new foods. Enter, books! Hearing how the digestive system works, learning what carbohydrates do for energy, or knowing how protein helps muscles are all good reasons for curious kids to consider giving new foods a chance.
My very favorite books for selective eaters with autism & ARFID:
Good Enough to Eat: A Kid's Guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell // This book provides an in-depth look at what happens when we are hungry, what foods our bodies need, how digestion works, and what role nutrients play. If you have a curious eater, or you want to teach your child about a wide variety of new foods through pictures, this book is for you.
What's So Yummy?: All About Eating Well and Feeling Good by Robbie Harris // In this book, Nellie and Gus share all about their day packed with eating, cooking, grocery shopping, and physical activity. As you follow these kids and their family through the day, you learn what role food plays in keeping us happy and healthy. If your kiddo would benefit from an easy-to-understand overview on the importance of eating well and moving your body, check this book out!
In addition to loving these 2 books for my therapy kids, I also adore sharing these books at home! My two daughters are both enchanted by these books. We have read each of them many, many, many times. I hope your picky eater with autism or ARFID loves them just as much.
Did you like this post? If you did, you’ll LOVE my best tips to improve picky eating in this free resource.
