50 Sensory Food Play Ideas for Picky Eaters

As a parent, I know how tough it can be to get a picky eater to try new foods. When my son was a preschooler, he refused to eat anything outside his short list of favorites (hello, Chicken Nuggets and Pizza!). Despite being a registered dietitian, I felt completely frustrated when none of the usual tips worked. That’s when I started exploring different approaches and discovered the SOS Approach to Feeding. This method uses sensory play to help kids feel more comfortable with new foods. By letting my son touch, smell, and play with food, I saw him become much more willing to try it. The transformation was incredible and inspired me to specialize in Pediatric Feeding Therapy. Now, as both a dietitian and a mom, I’m passionate about helping families make mealtimes less stressful and more enjoyable.

In this blog, I have compiled 50 sensory food play activities that can help picky eaters – and also typical eaters – become more adventurous with their food choices. We know through several decades of research that it can take kids repeated exposures (15-20 times or more!) to feel safe and comfortable to try a new food. These activities are a fun way to expose children to a wide variety of foods in a safe and non-threatening way.

Why Sensory Food Play?

Sensory food play is a great way to introduce new foods to children because it involves all of their senses. By engaging in sensory activities, kids can become more comfortable with the look, smell, touch, and even sound of new foods. This helps to reduce anxiety and fear around trying new foods, making mealtimes more enjoyable for everyone involved. It also allows children to engage with food in a playful and non-threatening manner, which can help them feel less pressure and more open to trying new things.

Why Sensory Food Play Works

The key is in the name – sensory. When a child engages their senses in an activity, it helps them become more familiar and comfortable with new things. This is especially important when it comes to food because children can be very hesitant to try foods that are unfamiliar or different from what they’re used to.

Sensory food play also allows children to explore and interact with food in a non-threatening way. Rather than being pressured to try something new or eat a certain amount, they can simply play and engage with the food at their own pace. This takes away the pressure and stress that often comes with mealtime for picky eaters.

Additionally, sensory food play can help children develop important skills such as hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and even language development as they describe the textures, colors, and tastes of different foods. It also encourages independence and self-feeding as children are given the opportunity to explore and handle their own food.

Overall, incorporating sensory food play into your child’s routine can not only make mealtime more enjoyable but also promote healthy eating habits and provide valuable developmental benefits.

Tips for Successful Sensory Food Play

Before diving into the list of activities, here are some tips for successful sensory food play:

• Start small: Begin with small portions of new foods and gradually increase the amount as your child becomes more comfortable.
• Be patient: It may take several attempts for a child to try a new food, so be patient and keep offering it in different forms and textures.
• Make it fun: Incorporate games, songs, or silly stories into food play to make it engaging and enjoyable for children.
• Involve them in the process: Let your child help with preparing the food or choosing what activity to do. This can give them a sense of control and ownership over their meals.
• Avoid pressure or bribes: Instead, offer plenty of praise and encouragement when your child engages in sensory food play, even if they don’t try the food.
• Respect their preferences: It’s important to respect your child’s food preferences, even if they may be different from yours. Allow them to explore and interact with foods at their own pace.

50 Sensory Food Play Activities for Picky Eaters

Now that you have some tips for success, here are 50 fun and simple sensory food play ideas to try with your child – many of which use supplies you likely already have at home. These activities are organized by the five senses (touch, sight, sound, smell, and taste), allowing you to mix, match, or spark your own creativity. Remember, the goal isn’t to encourage your child to eat a particular food but to explore and interact with it in a playful, pressure-free way. Let the sensory adventures begin! Let us know which ones are your favorites.

Touch:

Touch is one of the key ways kids explore and make sense of the world. Through hands-on experiences, they build fine motor skills, strengthen neural connections, and grow more confident using their hands to interact with objects. Feeling different textures, temperatures, and consistencies sparks curiosity and supports sensory development, making it an important part of early growth. These activities can help encourage your child to touch, squish, and play with their food in new ways.

1. Finger Painting with Food: Use yogurt, pudding, purees, or sauces as paint and let your child create a masterpiece on a plate using their fingers.
2. Make edible paint using Greek yogurt and food coloring. Let your child use different fruits or vegetables as “paintbrushes” to create colorful masterpieces.
3. Playdough Pizza Making: Make homemade pizza dough and let your child roll it out, top it with various toppings (both familiar and unfamiliar), and shape it into different designs before baking.
4. Sensory Bins: Fill a shallow bin with dry foods like rice or beans and add small toys or utensils for sensory exploration. Alternatively, use wet ingredients like whipped cream or Jell-O for tactile fun.
5. Washing fruits and veggies in the sink or a bin. Add soap for some bubbly fun!
6. Making edible playdough using flour, water, and food coloring.
7. Exploring textures by having children peel fruits like bananas or oranges.
8. Squishing cooked spaghetti with their hands to feel the slippery texture.
9. Building towers or shapes using cubes of cheese, fruit, or vegetables.
10. Using cookie cutters to create fun shapes out of slices of bread, cheese, or watermelon.

Sight

Sight is a big part of the eating experience—it lets us check out our food before we even take a bite. For kids who are sensitive to how things look, these activities can help them get more comfortable with different sights and colors of foods.

11. Creating a food collage using various ingredients like fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts.
12. Creating shapes or animals with food on a plate (e.g. a smiley face made out of blueberries and sliced banana).
13. Playing “I Spy” in your refrigerator and pantry.
14. Building a food tower with crackers, cheese, and vegetables.
15. Cutting fruits and vegetables into different shapes using cookie cutters.
16. Arranging fruits and vegetables by color to create a gradient or rainbow effect.
17. Using edible food coloring to paint on toast or other food items, allowing your child to express their creativity.
18. Making fruit kabobs with a colorful mix of ingredients like strawberries, pineapples, grapes, and melons (and kid-safe kabob sticks like these!).
19. Creating simple faces or designs on pizza using toppings like peppers, olives, and mushrooms.
20. Making animal or object shapes out of different types of food (ex: carrot sticks as legs for a celery stick caterpillar).

Sound

21. Shaking containers filled with different types of beans to make music while singing songs about food.
22. Asking, “What sound does this make when I chew [or chomp, eat, etc.] this?”
23. Crunching s types of snacks, like crackers or chips, to compare the sounds they make.
24. Popping popcorn kernels in an air popper (or microwave) and listening to the sound it makes.
25. Dropping berries and grapes (or various produce) into glasses of water to hear the different pitches they make (use a tray to prevent mess).
26. Making a musical instrument using an empty toilet paper roll with and beans and/or dry pasta inside.
27. Fill bags with different types of food (e.g. cooked pasta, cereal, rice) as sensory shakers.
28. Using a straw to blow bubbles in a glass of water or milk and listening to the bubbling sounds.
29. Create a homemade xylophone by filling jars with different levels of water, adding food coloring for a splash of fun, and tapping them to produce unique pitches (a great STEM activity!)
30. Use carrot, celery, or rhubarb as “drum sticks,” and explore the sounds they make.

Smell

31. Make scented playdough by adding essential oils to your dough mixture.
32. Bake homemade bread or cookies together and let your child smell the delicious aromas.
33. Cook a meal together to expose your child to the various smells (and sight and touch!).
34. Put different fruits and vegetables in a mystery box and have your child guess what they are based on their scent alone.
35. Go on a nature walk and smell different flowers, plants, and herbs along the way.
36. Ask your child to describe the smell of an orange and of a lemon. Which one do they like better?
37. Make homemade potpourri using dried flowers, herbs, and spices for a fun DIY activity that will also make your home smell good.
38. Encourage your child to use their sense of smell while tasting different types of food, such as fruits or cheeses.
39. Incorporate food ingredients such as ground coffee, turmeric, or cinnamon to craft textured art pieces that also offer unique, aromatic experiences.
40. Have your child smell a familiar food item and challenge them to jot down as many descriptive words as they can to capture its scent.

Taste

41. Offer a variety of colorful fruits for your child to lick, such as a slice of orange, apple, or watermelon, encouraging them to explore the taste without pressure to eat.
42. Present spoons with different flavors like yogurt, honey (over age 1), or smooth sunflower butter for your child to kiss or lick to gently introduce new flavors.
43. Use edible paints made from food coloring and water or yogurt for your child to ‘paint’ on crackers or rice cakes and taste as they play.
44. Create a simple dipping activity with mild flavors like hummus, ranch dressing, or applesauce, and encourage your child to dip their finger to taste.
45. Make flavored ice cubes using diluted fruit juice or herb-infused water and have your child lick them as a fun sensory experience.
46. Bake small breadsticks or soft pretzels and sprinkle them with various seasoning options, allowing your child to choose and explore tastes through licking or nibbling.
47. Introduce tiny sprinkles of flavored powders like cocoa or cinnamon on a favorite food and have them try it.
48. Encourage your child to “kiss” food items like a slice of cucumber, a piece of cheese, or a soft piece of bread to get familiar with their taste and texture.
49. Play a tasting game where your child is blindfolded and guesses simple flavors (like sweet, salty, or sour) from tiny licks off a spoon.
50. Design a “flavor rainbow” tray with foods of different colors and ask your child to taste each one with a lick, engaging their curiosity about how colors might influence flavor.

Summary

By incorporating these sensory activities into mealtime or snack time, you can engage your child’s senses in fun and interactive ways while also promoting healthy eating habits. These activities can also be adapted to fit different dietary restrictions or preferences. Get creative and have fun exploring the world of food with your child! Keep in mind that sensory play does not always have to involve food – you can also use materials such as sand, water, or slime for a mess-free experience. Just remember to supervise your child at all times and never leave them unattended during sensory play. Enjoy making music and memories with your little one through these sensory food experiences! So next time you hear “I’m bored,” try out some of these activities and see how they spark joy in your child’s senses and imagination. Happy playing!

Beth Conlon( Pediatric and Family Nutrition )

Welcome to From the Start Nutrition! I’m Beth Conlon, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with over 14 years of experience in pediatric and family nutrition. I’m here on a mission to support you in confidently nourishing your family, tackling feeding challenges, and making mealtimes stress-free! As a mom of four, I get the ups and downs of feeding little ones. Let me be your guide in addressing your concerns and helping you foster positive habits right from the start. No fad diets or gimmicks here, just a caring, evidence-backed approach to health and nutrition. Dive into my blog for tips, fun activities, tasty recipes, and reliable information to support and empower you. Sign up for my email list to stay in the loop and swing by my website to explore my services and schedule an appointment or free consultation. Together, let’s achieve your nutrition goals! https://www.fromthestartnutrition.com.

Hi! I’m Beth Conlon, PhD, MS, RDN

I'm so glad you're here!

As a Pediatric and Family Nutrition Expert and mom of 4, I truly understand the ups and downs of feeding children. This is a space where you can get tips and tricks that will help you with any feeding challenges, from picky eaters to eating disorders, and more. Additionally, I'm excited to share recipes that are perfect for families.

I can't wait to share this journey with you. If you need extra assistance, please contact me today and we can explore ways to work together.

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