All of our senses impact the experience of our meals. Researchers even find the surrounding sounds, textures and colors can change our perception of flavor.
Help kids engage more with their food by tuning into their powerful, sensory perceptiveness. They will discover how flavor can change and gain more engagement with food to support easier trial of new foods.
Do it
The game is to see how their senses (in addition to taste) help them experience their food.
- Eat one bite as normal. Next start to isolate the senses as they continue to eat. Have them share how the food seems different each time.
- Sight: Close their eyes. Dim the lights. Put on sun glasses. What’s different?
- Hearing: Cover their ears. Make the background noise loud with music or loud talking. Play slow or fast music.What’s different?
- Smell: Have them hold their nose. Try smelling one food while chewing another. What’s different?
- Touch: Eat with fingers instead of a fork (or opposite). Give them a soft textured cloth napkin or blanket to hold. Then have them touch something rough (perhaps burlap or tree bark). What’s changes?
- Utensils: Give a really big and heavy utensil and then a lightweight plastic utensil. What changes?
- Discuss which sense had the most power to change their experience of their food. They can use this superpower in future meals to see how it works with other types of food!
Kids love to savor! Help them do it intentionally with the Savor Reverse Race!
