Food Chaining for Autism: Examples to Expand Safe Foods
For kids that struggle with eating a variety of foods, it can help to have some strategies to expand your child’s diet. If your child is resistant to trying new foods, food chaining can help. Food chaining can be a great tool to increase the variety of safe foods a child will eat because it builds on foods they already enjoy.
What is food chaining?
Food chaining is taking preferred food a child likes and gradually introducing similar foods until they have accepted a completely new food. A simple food chaining example would be:
Vanilla ice cream → Vanilla soft serve → Vanilla frozen yogurt → Vanilla Yogurt
What is the food chaining method?
The food chaining method was developed by two speech language pathologists as a
way to use a child’s preferred foods to help them try new foods. It links together similar foods in order to help a child accept new foods.
How long does food chaining take?
The amount of time food chaining takes really depends on the child. For some children, you could offer a new food every 2-3 days, and move through the food chaining steps pretty quickly. For other kids, especially those with severe sensory sensitivities, it might take much longer. You may need to spend a couple of weeks on each step to give your child more time to try and accept each new food.
8 Food chaining examples
Keep in mind, these are just examples - there’s no one-size-fits-all in food chaining. These examples may not work perfectly for each child, but they are meant to give you an idea of how food chaining works. You can definitely substitute in foods your child prefers, and build your own chain based around your child’s favorite foods.
1. Strawberry yogurt to Sliced strawberries
Strawberry yogurt → Strawberry yogurt with 2 small pieces of chopped strawberry added in → Strawberry yogurt with sliced strawberries → Sliced strawberries lightly coated in strawberry yogurt → Sliced Strawberries
2. Frozen cheese pizza to Frozen veggie pizza
Frozen cheese pizza → Frozen cheese pizza with a few tiny pieces of red, orange, or yellow bell pepper sprinkled on top → Frozen cheese pizza with bigger pieces of bell pepper on top → Frozen pizza with other similarly-colored veggies on top
3. Favorite chicken nugget to Homemade veggie nuggets
Favorite chicken nugget → Different brand or shape chicken nugget → Homemade
chicken nugget → Homemade nugget with tiny amount of shredded carrots mixed into the nugget → Homemade with more shredded carrots → Homemade veggie nuggets
4. Buttered noodles to Buttered diced butternut squash
Buttered noodles → Buttered noodles with tiny amount of butternut squash puree mixed
in → Buttered noodles with tiny amount of diced butternut squash → Buttered noodles with more diced butternut squash → Buttered diced butternut squash
5. Waffle to Waffle with peanut butter
Waffle → Waffle with thin layer of peanut butter → Waffle with peanut butter
6. Boxed mac and cheese to Broccoli with cheese sauce
Boxed mac and cheese → Boxed mac and cheese with a few tiny bits of broccoli → Boxed mac and cheese with bigger pieces of broccoli → Broccoli with cheese sauce from boxed mac and cheese → Broccoli with homemade cheese sauce
7. Hot dog to Turkey sandwich
Hot dog on bun → Turkey dog on bun → Sliced turkey on bun → Sliced turkey on bread
8. Potato chips to Freeze dried veggies
Potato chips → Veggie chips → Baked pea crisps (Like Harvest Snaps) → Freeze dried green veggies
Tips for success with food chaining
Continue offering preferred foods - It may sound counterintuitive, but you’ll want to offer their preferred food along with the new food. This actually helps them to better accept the new food. Having a safe food on their plate helps them to feel more comfortable and willing to try a new food.
Small steps - You may notice that food chaining is broken into small steps, and that is the key! You may even find that your child needs the steps to be even smaller, and that is okay too. Other kids may be able to take bigger steps with new foods. Just do whatever works best for your child.
Keep trying - Most kids need to see a new food quite a few times before they accept it, so don’t give up after 1 or 2 times. Keep offering it, with a goal of offering the new food at least 10 times.
No pressure - Try not to make a big deal out of offering new foods. Offer it in a nonchalant, low pressure manner. The more we pressure our kids to try new things, the more likely they are to resist. This can be so hard as a parent, when we want our child to expand their diet so badly - so if you need to, take a few deep breaths before the meal and remind yourself to stay calm and indifferent when offering your child the new food.
Just one change at a time - As tempting as it may be just to plow through the steps as quickly as possibly, moving through the steps slowly is the key to success. Only offer one new food at a time, and continue offering it until that new food is accepted, then you can try another new food.
Any interaction with food is a success - Maybe your child isn’t ready to eat the new food, but they are willing to have it on their plate, or smell it, touch it, or play with it. Any interaction with the new food is a step in the right direction, so don’t be discouraged if they’re not eating it on the first try.
As with any change, it helps to start with something attainable and then build on that success. Try starting with the easiest food chain, and go from there. That will help both you and your child build confidence in the process, and hopefully help the entire process go more smoothly. If you need more help with food chaining, consider working with a Registered Dietitian who specializes in pediatric feeding challenges - it can make a huge difference if you feel stuck and need a little extra support.
Need More Autism Selective Eating Support?
If you’re looking for online support in expanding your child’s diet with food chaining and other sensory-friendly approaches, join the Nourishing Autism Collective!
MEET BRITTYN, THE AUTISM DIETITIAN
Brittyn Coleman is a Registered Dietitian and autism specialist. She helps parents of kids on the spectrum expand their number of accepted foods and maximize their nutrition to help them feel their best & thrive!
You can find her on Instagram at @autismdietitian or on Facebook!
Blog Written by Kalee Lundmark, MS, RDN, IFNCP
Kalee Lundmark is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who enjoys sharing her passion for nutrition with other moms. She has spent the last 20 years working with children to optimize their nutrition and help them overcome feeding challenges.
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