Many of you who know me know that I am a huge advocate for introducing new foods to kids, not just by offering them the actual food, but through books, games, movies, play, etc.

My daughter received a great game for Christmas that definitely qualifies as a unique way to expose kids to different foods. The game is made by eeBoo and is called The Picnic Game. The Picnic Game is played by spinning a wheel and collecting categories of food (main course, drink, vegetable, fruit, dessert). The first person to collect one food from each of the categories on their “plate” is the winner.

It’s a really fun and simple game and has been enjoyed by both my 6-year-old daughter and my 3-year-old son. We were playing the game the other day in fact and I was very surprised to see that my son chose the snap peas when the spinner landed on the vegetable category. My son, whose favorite thing to say is, “Carrots? Ewww, no my like carrots” (replace the word ‘carrots’ with almost any other type of food in the entire world and you wouldn’t be wrong!), was choosing snap peas? Well, maybe it was just a game, but I can’t help but think that those sorts of experiences carry over into real life. Maybe if we play the game enough and I make those same kinds of peas and I associate them with the game, he’ll actually give them a try. I like to think that this is the case anyway and I’m not giving up on that theory.

So, if you’re interested in helping your child on the path to becoming a great, adventurous eater, try out The Picnic Game. eeBoo also makes a similar game called Tea Party Game if tea parties are more your style.

And while you’re at it, here are some of my other favorite products to help get your picky eater more comfortable with the idea of new foods:

Board Books:

• Let’s Nosh
• Yum Yum Dim Sum
• Mangia Mangia!
• First Book of Sushi
• Hola Jalapeño
• A Little Bit of Soul Food
• Chaat and Sweets
• Jamberry
• Eating the Alphabet

Books for Toddlers:

• Lunch
• Green Eggs and Ham

Books for Older Kids:

• The Ugly Vegetables (a favorite in my house)
• Dim Sum for Everyone!
• Bread, Bread, Bread
• Pancakes, Pancakes!
• Growing Vegetable Soup
• Everybody Eats Lunch

Other:

• Ratatouille
• Family Fun Time Beginner Dinner Games

I tell all my clients that a great way to get kids interested in food is to read books that celebrate food.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite food books to share with your child:

Board books:

• Yum Tummy Tickly!
• Let’s Nosh!
• Yum Yum Dim Sum
• Mangia! Mangia!
• First Book of Sushi
• Hola! Jalapeno
• A Little Bit of Soul Food
• Chaat and Sweets
• Jamberry (this book, in particular, is one of my absolute favorites!)

For toddlers:

• Lunch
• Eating the Alphabet (I credit this book with teaching my then-toddler daughter about such things as artichokes, radicchio and ugly fruit!)
• Green Eggs and Ham

For older children:

• The Ugly Vegetables
• Dim Sum for Everyone!
• Bread, Bread, Bread
• Pancakes, Pancakes!
• Growing Vegetable Soup

Leave your added suggestions in the comments!

Eat deliberately, with other people whenever possible, and always with pleasure.

This is the twelfth of Michael Pollan’s Twelve Commandments for Serious Eaters from his new book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.