Fun Food Sensory Diet Presentations:

A Full Sensory Based Experience

Sensory diets are a common strategy used when addressing a child’s sensory needs in relation to their specific needs. Sensory diets are based on a child’s specific sensory needs – this article is discussing a specific part of a sensory diet: Fun Food Presentations

Many children have significant mealtime difficulties that often impact the whole family. Being called a “fussy eater” may not truly cover the real challenges that some children experience when it comes to eating. 

Many children with sensory issues just will not tolerate or eat a full family type meal, or only focus on a select few foods. Parents/ caregivers are often concerned their child is not getting the proper nutrition and calories they need with their limited intake and food choices – with the ideas presented here, these kids are offered more nutritious choices in fun friendly ways that are in limited sizes and portions so as to not overwhelm them.  

A child with sensory integration issues, mild to severe, may display difficulty with sitting at the table, touching the food, food texture or smells, adequately chewing, being able to try or accept new food items, use of utensils or cups, being able to handle the distractions of eating in a distracting environment such as at a school dining room or at a restaurant, and the list goes on. Each child is different, although most parents and caregivers express similar areas where they and the child needs support and guidance.

By providing a therapeutic sensory diet, you may, over time, restructure and retrain a child’s brain to process sensory information from their sensory receptors in such a way that will promote self-regulation of activity, focus, mood/behavior, and the ability to process the sensory information to participate more fully in regular home, social, and school routines.

While there are many components as well as individual needs and behaviors that impact self feeding and food acceptance, this article is focusing on presenting food in a fun way that provides a full sensory experience for your child who may have sensory processing concerns. Food presentation as part of a sensory diet is an important part of developing a total sensory diet.

Before beginning making any changes to the current situation with meals and eating, start making a record for a week or two.

Food and Behavior Diary

Include:

o   what your child will eat (specific foods, textures, spices, etc.)

o   record how much of each food they will eat

o   when (times of meal times, grazing foods, snacking

o   in what situation (i.e., will they only eat chicken nuggets in the car, or with ketchup, do they pick them up with their fingers or fork, do they lick their fingers, do they have to lick them or smell them first, only eat in a specific spot, and any other information you can think of related to the situation where they may eat)

o   what happens when something changes

o   any gagging, nose running, behavior changes around food

o   any behavior changes when food touches their hands

o   what they drink during the day and what they use to drink from 

o   if they only eat off a specific plate or bowl

o   was the child involved in playing with something during meal time

o   observe if they chew up the food or swallow chunks of food

o   what happens when new food is presented

o   if they are able to sit in a crowded dining hall or restaurant

o   if they eat with their mouth open or with lips closed

o   if they lick, smell, or taste their food before placing in their mouth

o   if they let their food touch on the plate, if they take a bite where more than one food item is on the fork or spoon, or if they smash everything together all at once

o   any other information that you would like to keep track of

Having data to start with will be helpful later on. A medical check out by their primary medical professional can rule out any medical issues, state of health, any dietary issues, mouth or tooth pain.

Sensory Processing System Components

When we start to talk about mealtime issues that a child may be having, we need to look at how a child is processing and interpreting sensory information. It is important to remember that none of the child’s sensory systems work alone. All the sensations work together, and a child with sensory integration deficits may display processing difficulties in one, or a combination of areas. 

o  Visual Sense / Vision: This includes how the food looks, how it is presented, the amount of food a child sees placed in front of them, new items that are different from what they are used to, position of food(s) on the plate, the color of the foods, the distance to reach to the food or drink 

o  Tactile Sense / Touch: This includes touching the food with hands, body or face in order to get the food from the table/plate/bowl to the child’s mouth, if using utensils or fingers the child will feel the weight of the food, the texture of the food (in mouth or in hand), the shape of the food (slices, chunks, strips, etc.), how the food “feels” when chewed, moved around in the mouth, or on the tongue 

o  Olfactory Sense / Smell: This includes how the food smells, how the smells from different foods intermingle, if certain foods make a child’s nose itch or eyes water, if certain smells cause gagging, if some smells cannot be tolerated by the child 

o  Gustatory Sense / Taste: This includes how the food or drink tastes once it goes into the mouth, how the food tastes when licked, if the child thinks it will taste a certain way and then discovers it is not what they were thinking it would be like, acceptance of different spices and flavors 

o  Auditory Sense / Hearing: This includes what we hear when we eat or chew our food, if the child is able to tolerate listening to themselves (or even others) eating hard crunchy foods, food that “snaps,” sounds crispy, or if they can handle hearing their teeth clinking together or dragging across each other as food is moved around in their mouth; they may choose soft “silent” foods over foods that “make noise” when eaten 

o  Proprioception and Oral Motor Awareness: This may be a “sense” that many do not think about but includes the ability to know how full the mouth is, how much force is needed to chew food properly, how to maneuver the food from one side of mouth to the other, how to move the tongue out of the way to prevent biting oneself, where to place the food into the mouth to prevent any gag reflex or to improve acceptance of food into the mouth, how to achieve good lip closure to help keep food and liquids in the mouth

Fun Food Presentations for Full Sensory Experience

The following photo’s give some new ways to approach how to present and serve food in a great fun way that brings a wide variety of sensory experience and exposure to your child.

This article is not giving you full recipes for all these ideas, but does provide the ideas to get you going. Find the food ideas that you like best and go for it!

Some of the food ideas would work for snacks, brunch, main meals, fun events, and all can include the whole family in setting up and making a fun meal-time experience!  

Always be alert for choking hazards! Keep the kids supervised where food is being consumed for their safety!

Tic Toc Food Clock:

For extra picky eaters try presenting a variety of foods in 1-bite size selections. Tic-Toc carrot hands can be tied to take a bite moving the “hands” to the first choice, 2nd, and so on. Start with bite sized foods you know they will eat and add other choices to the mix. Use chunks of cheese, crackers, fruit, meats, chicken nuggets, veggies, and so on.

Blue Bubble Fishy Snack:

Place a slice of an orange, piece of mozzarella cheese with dot from a blueberry for eye, small piece of peach or mandarin orange, with blueberry bubbles. Can use a small piece of tomato or red pepper for a mouth. Start with one, add another!

Crazy Bird Meatball Nests:

You can make some of these ahead and freeze as you may find that only one is enough for your child to eat at a time. Place a cooked meatball into a “nest” of plain or buttered fettuccini noodles. Add a sprig of parsley, or a little piece of broccoli for hair. Small slivers of mozzarella, onion, tomato / pepper, and dots of olive give some facial expressions. Serve on top of some lettuce for a fun nutritious meal.

Baby Bear in a Sleeping Bag:

Take some whole grain wraps- you can use a variety for color (tomato, spinach, whole grain); cut to make a little “sleeping bag” and pillow; Cut out a bear head and arms. You can fill the sleeping bag with cheeses, meats, veggies if you would like. Some cute cheese flower and butterfly shapes with an olive or two completes your meal.

Chick-a-Doodle Time:

A quick and easy meal that you can eat with a fork or with your fingers. Make a one egg (or 2) omelet - fold over; add little carrot slices for legs, nose, tail. A piece of orange pepper/ tomato/ or more carrot for a “hat.” Add a leaf of spinach for a wing, a 1/2 blueberry for an eye. Serve with some hearty fresh greens and olives or black grapes (cut in half). If you want to add some cheese, bacon crumbles, or small pieces of ham or chicken to the omelet feel free!

Butter Bear Bread:

Use whole grain bread, nutty bread, or small finger sandwich breads. Toast or serve non-toasted. Spread a nutty butter on (sugar free, all natural - there are all sorts of nut butters besides peanut butter), place some sliced banana and raisins on to make a bear face. Quick and simple!

BooBoo Bear Breakfast Bowl:

Serve up some favorite cereal (oatmeal, wheat puffs, rice puffs, grains, granola, any other more natural breakfast choices) either warm or cold. Place some sliced bananas with blueberries, raspberry, for eyes and nose; add a couple oval or round crackers for ears, or use some 1/2’s of some mini bagels.

Happy Snack:

Present some fruit on a plate that form a happy face. You can use already peeled fruit and place in smaller sized portions, or let your child help you peel open the fruit. Any berry would make a good nose! Small tangerines or even kiwi’s for eyes, a banana makes a natural smile or you can line up some raisins in smile form. Be as creative as you want! Share the happy snack!

Harry’s Wild Hair-Cut Sandwich:

This is a wild and fun creation with no rules! Take a slice of thin sliced or nutty grain bread - toasted or not. Lay on some cheese to cover bread. Use the veggies you have on hand to create a face - if you do not have any bean sprouts for hair you can use some shredded cheese or shredded lettuce. Cucumber slices with raisins for eyes, some pepper slices for ears, 1/2 small cherry tomato for a nose, a slice of red pepper for a mouth. Make your own crazy face’s!

Silly Noodle Dancer Meal:

This one can be served warm for more mingling of flavors. Some curly noodles, a stalk of broccoli, a round meat patty or meat substitute for a head - add on hollowed out squash or cucumber with a kidney bean for eyes, a few kernels of corn, cut pieces of a small cherry tomato complete the look! Meat may be turkey, ham, tofu, chicken, bologna, or whatever you choose! Noodles can be plain or buttered with light seasoning. You can make up small packets of noodles and freeze so you can pull them out to use in small portions and heat up quickly in the microwave or steamer.

Make Your Own Pizza Time:

Make your own pizza at home using the pre-made pizza bases or roll out some pizza dough and start from scratch. Put out small bowls of toppings and let your kids create their own special pizza. Try to make a variety of toppings to choose from and to encourage trying different textures and flavors.

Sammy Mates:

A fun and nutritious lunch or dinner idea - slice of thin sliced or nutty grain bread. You can also use the small 2” x 2” party breads for smaller portions. Put on some cheese and/or deli meat (ham, turkey, chicken, etc) or some tuna, chicken, or egg salad. Add toppings like shredded cheese (use one color or multi colored cheese), cucumber eyes, little slice of tomato mouth, raisins, strawberries, strip of cantaloupe, and so on to make your Sammy (sandwich) Mates!

Small Bites Sandwich Options:

Serve in small portions, small bites for increased acceptance and to expose to a variety of texture, flavor, color. You can use small party breads (2” x 2”) or cut a piece of bread, wrap, or mini bagel into smaller sizes. Add cheeses, fruits, omelet/fried egg, blueberries, strips of carrots, pickles, olives, pepper strips, nuts, small bites of meat, and so on. Can pick off the toppings or take a bite of the stacked items.

Jumping Gym Snack:

Combine some kiwi, small orange or lemon slice, strawberry 1/2’s, a strip of celery or even a strip of cheese to create a little figure lifting weights. Let your child make their own little person too to work on body awareness, building and construction skills.

Rocket Orbit:

Use a wrap (plain, veggie, spinach, tomato, etc) and cut into a “rocket” shape. you can fill wrap with cheese, meats, veggies, egg/ tuna / chicken salads, nut butter spreads. Add some carrot slices and strips to the rocket. Cookie cutters can make some stars out of nutty breads. A few berries become planets. A quick and easy fun lunch or dinner!

Noodle Pals:

Toasted or grilled small thin sliced bread makes a good “canvas” to create some noodle pals. Use a variety of noodles either plain, buttered, with cheese sauce, or with seasonings to make “hair.” If you have save frozen little packets of noodles then it is a quick and easy fix to heat up and use at any time. A little extra effort to prepare and freeze in small quantities saves you tons of time later on. Make the faces with cucumbers, tomato, pepper strips, cheese chunks, blueberries, carrots, green beans, and what you have on hand.

Pancake Creations:

Serve up a big pancake or several silver-dollar sized ones. Provide a variety of toppings and syrup choices and let your child make their own special pancake. Nuts, berries, cheese chunks, syrup and flavored spreads can make for a great breakfast, lunch, or even dinner!

Cheesy Cut Outs:

Take some cookie cutters to make some cute shapes with a variety of cheese (white, yellow, combo, etc); add to some crackers/ nutty breads/ nutty crackers / party bread; Toss in a variety of berries, veggie strips, grapes, mini tomatoes, and you have a great combination of flavors, colors, and textures, as well as a totally healthy snack!

Nutty Owl:

Take a slice of bread and cut off the crust from 3 sides. Use a piece of crust to make the trunk of the orange slice tree. Spread some tasty nutty butter, chocolate spread, cream cheese, etc onto the bread. Add sliced banana and kiwi for eyes and wings. A couple raisins and piece of orange for the beak and feet. If you are handy cut out some small start shaped pieces of cheese to spread around on the plate - don’t think you can’t until you give it a try!!

Finger Sandwich Options:

Use party bread (2” x 2” sizes) to make a variety of finger sandwiches. No rules, Be creative and go wild! Use a variety of spreads for texture, flavor and color. There are no-sugar all natural peanut butters, sesame butters, nut butters, chocolate flavored spreads, plain butter, cream cheese (plain and flavored). Decorate with sliced banana, blueberries, sliced strawberries, small berries, strips of cheese, granola, and well, the list goes on and on! Let your child help to make their own creation to eat.

Fruity Owl:

Great cool snack - use a variety of sliced fruits to turn into a fruity owl. Sliced peaches or apples, sliced kiwi, raspberry or blueberry nose, sliced melon or large apple slice for the body; stick a pretzel stick under for the owl to sit on!

Cool Cat:

A fun sandwich! Use thin sliced bread for a sandwich filled with nutty butters, cheese, jam, thin sliced meats, or tuna / egg / chicken salads. Put the greens underneath or inside the sandwich if they will tolerate that. Make the face with sliced cucumbers, sliced olive, carrot slice for tongue, peppers for ears; You can use blueberries or raisins or olives for eyes.

Deep Sea Submarine Dive:

Create a little submarine out in the ocean! A piece of white type meat or tofu with a small 1/4 piece of ham or salami or bologna as a “window.” Add a couple circles of thin carrot slices with red colored peppers cut for circles, fish tails, rear propeller. Add a carrot stick on top. 1/2 grape fish swim around with little dots of blueberry or olive eyes. Small dots of mozzarella for bubbles and a “window sill,” and leafy green “kelp” complete the scene. If you have a blue plate it really looks cool!

Bunny Love:

Use a cut-out circle from bread or use a mini bagel or muffin for the bunny - if you cut off some of the crust you can use for ears. 1/2 raisins for eyes, a little piece of licorice or chocolate syrup for a mouth. Add a hard boiled egg that’s sliced in half, using 1/2 to make a little face and the other 1/2 to slice and place around under the bunny. Add some 1/2 sliced grapes, some greens, a little piece of carrot or pepper for egg ears. Think small portions, small bites!

Peek-A-Boo Meal:

A warm meal almost too cute to eat! A handful of curly noodles, some stalks of broccoli and green beans or snow peas with florets of carrots or tomatoes surrounding either a small dollar sized pancake or round piece of grilled meat (chicken, fish, turkey, tofu, salmon patty, etc). Add some round pieces of cheese, blueberry or sliced olives for complete the face and ears. Noodles can be plain, cheesy, or buttered. Keep some frozen in small packets for quick heat up and use!

Sunny Day Pancake:

Super cute and easy! Can have for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Pancakes for dinner are always a fun treat to have. Take a pancake and decorate with cut bananas, blueberries, sliced strawberry that ring around the circle. A couple of apple slices complete the look. Use what fruit you have available - it’s fun to get creative!

Fish Friends:

The body of the fish can be a small round piece of chicken, fish, burger, salmon patty, fried mashed potato; add little round slices of cheese for scales; make an eye out of cheese and a piece of olive or black grape. Small dots of cheese make bubbles. Little pieces of carrot or orange pepper for a tail and mouth. Add in a few plain or buttered elbow and shape noodles; tri-color noodles work too! A little fishy pal can be made out of the small wax coated cheese circles - just cut back the waxy coated to make it a two-tone fish. Serve on some leafy green or spinach.

Goof Ball Friends:

You can use small thin sliced bread or the small 2” x 2” party breads - topping can include anything from mozzarella circles, butter spread, nut butter spread, carrot slices, cucumber ears, tomato mouth, carrot strips or lettuce hair, cucumbers with the middle cut out to use in making eyes - there are no real rules - its fun food that good for you! You can grill one slice with some cheese on it for an open grilled cheese with the add-ons on top. Can let them pick off the pieces or eat just like it is!

Little Portions, Little Bites, Big Smiles!

Don’t overstress yourself (and everybody else) by feeling the need to fill up your child’s plate - think small portions - a bite or two to start, give variety, give foods you know they will eat and add in other bite sized pieces of food - exposure over time will get them used to seeing new foods and with one say, one pea, or one slice of carrot, one bite sized piece of ham, and so on, they may finally take a taste test!

The more you try to be in control, the less control you will have!

Let’s work together so that we have no more of this:

You can achieve the best, most optimal success, when you discuss and plan this out with your child’s services providers. The best choice is in-person evaluation and assessment in order to meet all of your child’s needs.

I cannot stress enough that in order to fully address your child’s needs, evaluate for the outcomes you are looking for, and for direct guidance and direction through the entire process, it is extremely important to discuss and plan with your OT/PT/ST and service providers before starting out with any sensory dietary approach and plan for your child.

Giving your child variety, exposure, change, and experience are ALL growth and learning opportunities.

 A Sensory Approach to Experiencing Taste, Textures, & Develop Oral-Motor Control CLICK & GO!

Developing a Fun Sensory Snack Diet CLICK & GO!

Stay Calm, Have Fun, and Keep Supporting Your Child!

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