Try a Baby Food Taste Test

On Monday I shared some of my favorite items to add to your doll-themed dramatic play center. If you really want to start a great conversation, why not try a baby food taste test?! This is a great way to get your preschoolers talking about the textures of different foods, and to compare and contrast the purees with the solid foods.

While it hasn’t been all that long since most of your preschoolers were eating baby food regularly, they’ll never believe you when you tell them this. It’s a good idea to start with foods that they are going to be willing to try – fruits are generally a safe bet because they taste pretty similar to how the children expect them to taste, and they are a little sweet.  You can also remind them that they like applesauce and these fruit purees will be a lot like applesauce.

I love to have the children try the baby foods and then try the solid versions of the same foods, so if you have pureed pears, then have some pear slices available too.  This gives them something to compare and contrast, and you can record which students like the puree the best, and which students like the solids the best.

It’s also a good idea to have a conversation before you begin, ask them which foods they think they will like and which foods they think they won’t like.  After the taste test you can talk about their expectations and see if they were surprised.

The squeeze pouch baby foods are perfect for this particular experience because you can squirt just a little onto each child’s plate and they can test it with a spoon or their finger. You won’t need a lot to taste, so you can pick up a few more varieties than you would if you were planning on giving each child a spoonful of the food.

This is definitely one of those learning experiences that the children will be talking about for the rest of the year, so use those conversations to encourage questions and continued exploration!