Placemat Download

To call Hudson a picky eater is a gross understatement. I can fit the entire list of Hudson-approved foods on one side of a business card...plus, he's a gagger. Just utter the phrase, "Please eat one more green bean," and sure enough, in goes the green bean followed promptly by a dramatic gag.

After a dreadful tear- and gag-filled meal, I hatched a plan--turn it into a game. Here's how it works: I printed out pictures of different foods and had him choose one from each food group and put it on the fridge as our "menu." Every time he takes a bite from a particular category, he puts an X in the box. He's eaten celery, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers and spinach this week with no complaining and no gagging. Plus, he's engaged with checking off the boxes, and run off before he's full.

I'm sure the novelty of the "game" will wear off. But it has given me renewed hope. Hope that if I put energy and creativity into it, I can encourage him to eat better without making it a traumatic experience. So I'm giving you my placemat downloads for all the little picky eaters in your life. I printed mine off as a 12x12, took it to Kinkos and had it laminated for three bucks. He uses a dry-erase marker so it's reusable after each meal.

So download your free place mats here:
Eat Your Veggies
Yum Yum
Your Plate Here

Oh, and I do realize that the dairy group is missing...that's the only guaranteed group that he will eat. So if you need me to whip up a different version for your picky eater, just shoot me an email. I'd be happy to customize it for you. It takes a village, you know. :)