Week 1: Goal setting & Assessment
Kick-off and welcome! Meet your fellow food school students. Parents and kids will create goals for our time together.
Parents will complete an assessment and food records, so I can get to know your child and family.
Week 2: Mealtime rules
We will set the stage for pre-meal and mealtime routines at your house. This includes timing of meals, “rules” at the table for both parents and children and a pre-meal routine that will help your child come to the table relaxed and ready to eat.
Week 3: Why is my child picky?
Learn about the red flags for sensory over or under responsivity, oral motor struggles, low iron, and other underlying issues causing picky eating.
You will be supported with activities to treat these problems or referred to an appropriate healthcare provider.
Week 4: Food Explorer Model
The Food Explorer Model is the Sequential Oral Sensory food therapy model for ages 6+, created by Dr. Kay Toomey.
We will create a food explorer plan for your child to desensitize them to new foods.
Week 5: Food Science at meals
Share how those food scientists are doing at home! We will learn how to work the Food Explorer model into day-to-day mealtimes.
And this week will provide extra “hot seat” Q&A time and troubleshooting.
Week 6: Kids in the Kitchen
Any exposure to food (even if not eaten) will help desensitize your child and work towards being comfortable with new foods.
How to get your kiddo involved in food planning, selection and cooking for your family.
Week 7: Food Chaining Model
Food Chaining is a method of feeding therapy that introduces new foods, building off of foods your child already likes. With my assistance, you will create one food chain to try out at home this week!
Week 8: Moving forward
Where to go from here?
You will leave with a plan to continue food school or food chaining in your home, depending on which method of these two methods we have tried has worked best for your child.
Diet analysis:
I will enter your child’s food intake over 24 hours (I know every day is pretty much the same at this point!).
You will see where your child may be falling short. And how we could fix that to make sure your child is getting the nutrients they need while we work on expanding their food intake.
Personalized assignment review:
Share your Food Chaining and Food Explorer plans and progress in the community, and I will review them and provide feedback.
Kid-friendly 1 week meal plan:
You’ll receive a whole week’s worth of family-friendly recipes, including three meals and three snacks + a grocery list. I won’t guarantee your child will eat everything on this plan, but let them choose and help cook a new recipe or two!
These videos contain content & fun activities to help you try new strategies that will encourage your child to try new foods.
At the end of the eight live training calls, you will have access to me live to help you troubleshoot and create a plan.
Need help between the Q&A calls? You have unlimited access to me via our private Facebook Community.
Learn from and support the other parents going through this with you! It can be lonely - but you’re not alone, and I guarantee will learn from other parents' questions and advice on both the live Q&A calls and in the online private community.
Most picky eating programs are for toddlers. This makes sense, as picky eating is a normal developmental phase. But you’ve moved passed the tricks that work for toddlers. Your 12-year-old doesn’t want to feed their stuffed animal purees…..
Another difference with Food School is that we work with the whole family. What you learn in Food School takes place within your own home. This can be more effective than working in-office with a therapist, which sometimes just doesn’t translate to progress at home. We will address why your child is a picky eater, which is often ignored and why other strategies don’t work.
You will receive in-depth learning and activities that will positively impact your entire family.
Each live training/ Q&A will take 45-90 minutes, depending on the questions we get.
The activities can be worked into your regular day-to-day schedules. If you’re tight for time, we can craft a plan where your child learns to try new foods at current snack or meal times, which won’t take additional time out of your already busy day.
I know you’re busy! But once you control this picky eating thing, think of all the time you will SAVE by ending short-order-cook syndrome and fighting with your kids.
Is 8 hours of time over eight weeks worth that?! Hell YES!
For most of my clients, the answer is yes. Many have $500 per person per year in dietitian services to use. I can split the receipts up to include multiple family members participating in the program, and you can submit them for reimbursement.
Call your benefits provider to check that they cover services provided by a dietitian in Alberta, Canada.
The cost of in-person group feeding therapies (if you can find one) is a significantly higher investment of time and money.
Even if you don’t have benefits – what is it worth to you to get rid of short-order cook syndrome, end dinner time battles, and raise your kids to have a healthy relationship with food? Priceless!
Yes, this isn’t a do-it-yourself online course.
You won’t be just a number. There will be a max of 10 families per round, so I can provide you all with lots of love and attention!
I will be in our private group community daily (minus most weekends) to check in on you. And see you live weekly on our calls to help troubleshoot.
You have my expert help and the support of a small group of other parents going through the same struggles as you are.
Food School is designed for children around ages 6-13 who are extremely picky eaters. You can check out my “End Picky Eating” program if you have a younger child.
It can even work for children with autism (who are verbal), pediatric feeding disorder, sensory processing disorder and oral motor challenges. If your child has any of these diagnoses, they may also be working with additional healthcare providers, and this program is a great add-on.
As for the parents: it’s not just your child that has to be a good fit. YOU have to be willing to have realistic expectations, put in the work to try new things and believe in your child.
Food School is NOT for you if you’re unwilling to make changes. I may ask you to do things differently! It may make you nervous, and it requires putting some trust in your child.
Or if your child has anxiety, OCD or ARFID that affects their eating, these are mental health struggles that require treatment by a psychologist. Just to note – many AFRID diagnoses are not correct and are actually Pediatric Feeding Disorder, which I CAN help with!
If you’re still unsure, feel free to email [email protected], and I can help you decide if Food School is a good fit.
Since your child has been a picky eater for years, it will not likely be a quick change. However, one benefit of older picky eaters is they often have some self-motivation (they want to be able to go to camp or eat at a friend’s house!)
I can’t guarantee that your child will eat 15 foods by the end of the program. But I can guarantee that you will:
Live Trainings are not scheduled for the next round yet.
You can always watch the replays if you can’t make the live calls. You’re welcome to send me your questions beforehand, and I can address them on the calls.
I’m a mom of three kids, a Registered Dietitian with a BSc and MSc in nutrition and have operated First Step Nutrition for 15 years.
I’ve authored two books, appeared in local & national media and have taken extra training in the Division of Responsibility and Food Chaining and Sequential Oral Sensory feeding methods. I’m also co-creator of the International Picky Eating Network, where I coach interdisciplinary health professionals worldwide on best practices in working with picky eaters.
I’ve helped hundreds of clients with feeding their families. And this is why I created the “Food School” program. To help parents like you achieve these results as well!
My ultimate goal is to help make mealtimes a positive place for everyone and set your child up to have a life-long positive relationship with food.
Just to note – many AFRID diagnoses are not correct and are actually Pediatric Feeding Disorder, which I CAN help with! If you’re not sure if this describes your child, ask me ([email protected])