Toddler taking a bite of food at the table, with a plate of berries, dried mango, and a sandwich in front of them. Text overlay reads “Just One Bite.”

Hi, I’m Lindsay — occupational therapist by training, mother of three by grace.
I stepped away from traditional OT in 2020, just as the world was shifting and I was expecting my first baby. Since then, motherhood has become my greatest teacher.
I created Forged by Grace as a way to keep offering support — not from a clinic, but from the messy, beautiful frontlines of life with littles. Through this space, I get to blend professional insight with real-life motherhood, helping other moms find calm, connection, and confidence at home.

Welcome!

The Secret to Getting Picky Eaters to Try Just One Bite

Helping a picky eater try just one bite isn’t about sneaky tricks or bribery, it’s about trust, timing, and the right tools. Once you’ve built a solid foundation with sensory strategies and predictable routines, you can begin moving forward without overwhelming your child. The goal isn’t a perfect plate overnight—it’s momentum. By using occupational therapy-informed methods like food chaining, food ladders, and playful exposure, you can gently expand their comfort zone while respecting their pace.

Here’s how:

🔗 Food Chaining

Food chaining connects your child’s preferred foods to new ones using similarities in flavor, texture, or brand. This gradual approach eases anxiety and builds trust at mealtimes.

Example:

Eats plain crackers → Add cheese → Mini grilled cheese
Likes strawberry yogurt smoothie → Frozen yogurt pop → Real strawberries

Tips:

Only change one thing at a time.
Offer new foods next to their plate, not on it—call it a “learning food.”

🪜 Build a Food Ladder

A visual food ladder maps the baby steps between what your child eats now and what you’d like to introduce later.

How-to:

Start with their safe food.
Adjust one property: shape, texture, or temperature.
Use pictures or icons to show the steps and progress together.

Feature	Food Chaining	Food Ladder
Primary Goal	Expand variety of foods a child eats	Increase tolerance for a specific target food
Approach	Change one property at a time (taste, texture, shape, temperature, brand, color, preparation)	Structured steps with progressively less alteration
Starting Point	Any food the child already accepts	Highly processed or disguised form of the target food
Progression	Sideways steps to similar foods	Upward steps toward the pure/whole form
Example	Chicken nuggets → homemade nuggets → breaded chicken strips → grilled chicken	Egg ladder: baked egg muffin → pancake with egg → scrambled egg → boiled egg
Best For	Picky eaters with sensory sensitivities or food jags	Children in allergy desensitization or feeding therapy for one specific food

Food Play

Purpose:
To increase comfort, familiarity, and sensory acceptance of a wide variety of foods through hands on, pressure-free play

Tactile Play
Oral Motor Exploration
Creative Play with Food
Science + Sensory

Click HERE For a pdf guide on creating an Activity Bank of food play ideas.

📊 Track Progress

Progress isn’t just swallowing the bite, it’s touching, smelling, or licking a new food. Celebrate the small wins.

Ideas:

Weekly “win” chart
Calendar with stickers or stars
Log for parents to track reactions and strategies used

⏱ Know When to Push and When to Pause

Some weeks you’ll move forward. Other weeks, you’ll return to the familiar. That’s okay. Pushing too hard can backfire; pausing can actually help.

🗣 Try These Encouraging Mealtime Phrases:

“You don’t have to eat it, just smell it today.”
“Your job is to be the food explorer.”
“You can touch it with a spoon or your finger, your choice.”
“Every time we play with food, your brain learns something new.”

Want more tools like this? Download my printable FoodChaining , FoodLadder, or check out the OT-informed feeding food play activity guide Here .

For more information on how OT can assist with feeding difficulties, click here.

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