Picky Eater? Try These Taste Testing Tips From FoodCorps to Get Your Kids to Try Nutritious Foods 

Our nonprofit partners at FoodCorps work diligently every day to help bring healthy food education to public schools in high-need areas across the country. Their service members create and sustain healthy school food environments by providing healthy school meals, hands-on learning activities, and educational programs in public schools. Some days, this looks like harvesting fresh produce from school gardens; other days, it looks like cooking and sharing a nutritious meal. 

One of the most effective ways that FoodCorps encourages children to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables is by hosting taste tests. During these activities, students are able to try one fruit or vegetable three different ways — a great way to encourage kids to like a variety of foods, even if they didn’t have a positive first impression. 

Using tips from FoodCorps’ skilled educators, we’re going to show you how to host an at-home taste test for your own kids. We’ve chosen three common vegetables — sweet potatoes, corn, and kale — and we’ll show you how to prepare each three different ways to encourage kids to learn to love them. 

Ready to start your taste test? Read on to get the recipes, helpful hints, and fun facts for expanding your kids’ palates!

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How To Host a Taste Test for Kids 

1. Get kids excited about trying new foods by explaining the taste test and how it will work. 
2. Gather the ingredients you’ll need for each recipe. If your kids are a bit older, they may like to do the grocery shopping with you. 
3. Prepare each recipe along with your kids. Involve them however you can based on kids’ ages (i.e. chopping veggies with kid-safe knives, tearing up herbs or greens, tossing salads, etc.) 
4. Plate each dish on a table or counter, arranging them from simplest to most complex. (For example, you’ll want to start with the purest version of the food so they can really learn what it tastes like.) 
5. To drum up excitement, share interesting facts about each food before tasting begins. 
6. Start tasting! Encourage kids to share their feedback on what each dish tastes like by asking lots of questions about things like taste, texture, and preparation. 
7. Once your kids have tasted each dish, you may have them vote on their favorite dish. Take a tip from FoodCorps by allowing kids to drop a dried bean (or something similar, like marbles or jelly beans) into a cup near their favorite dish to cast their vote. 

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Sweet Potatoes 

1. Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

Ingredients: 

2 medium sweet potatoes 
2 tablespoons olive oil, or more if needed 
¼ teaspoon salt, to taste 
¼ teaspoon pepper, to taste

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Scrub sweet potatoes well, but keep skin intact. 

If potatoes are long, cut in half widthwise. Cut lengthwise into eighths, or smaller depending on thickness. Make sure the wedges are uniform in size to ensure even cooking. 

Toss wedges on a lined rimmed baking sheet with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and arrange in a single layer. 

Roast until tender and golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating the pans and flipping the wedges halfway through cooking. 

Variations: Warming spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg go well with sweet potatoes.

2. Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients: 

⅓ cup olive oil 
1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped 
2 ½ teaspoons salt, or more to taste 
5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced 
1 bay leaf
6 cups water 
2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock 
1 teaspoon pepper 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Instructions: 

Heat olive oil in a stockpot over medium heat. 

Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 10 minutes. 

Add diced sweet potatoes and sauté, stirring for 5-7 minutes. 

Add the water, stock, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil, then reduce temperature to a steady simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until sweet potato is completely softened. 

Remove the bay leaf. Add the salt, pepper, and butter, if using. 

Purée the soup in a blender, food processor, or food mill, working in batches to avoid overfilling your machine. 

Taste the soup and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, or butter. Variations: For added richness, add a tablespoon or two of butter at the end. Consider swapping out some of the onion for leeks, if you have them available. 

3. Sweet Potato Hummus 

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet potatoes (about 2 medium sweet potatoes)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (reserving ¼ cup of the liquid)
¼ cup orange juice 
2 tablespoons tahini 
¼ tablespoon ground cumin 
¼ tablespoon ground ginger 
¼ tablespoon garlic powder 
⅛ tablespoon salt, or more to taste

Instructions:  

Preheat oven to 450° F. 

Cut sweet potatoes in half, placing cut side down. 

Bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool and peel, then place in a large mixing bowl. 

Purée chickpeas with cooking liquid in batches in a food processor until consistency is smooth.

Add chickpeas to sweet potatoes, then add the remaining ingredients. Use a handheld mixer or immersion blender (or stand mixer, if you have access to one) to combine ingredients. Mix until smooth and adjust seasoning to taste. 

Serving suggestions: Serve with raw carrots, celery, or crackers. Put hummus in a piping bag with a medium-sized tip and create fun designs on a plate. 

Fun Facts for Kids: 

• Many people in the U.S. mistakenly call sweet potatoes “yams,” but they are an entirely different vegetable. 
• Sweet potatoes are North Carolina’s official state vegetable. 
• Though we usually just eat the tuber, you can actually eat the whole plant — leaves, stems and all! 
• The above-ground part of the sweet potato has long, creeping stems. 
• The sweet potato plant is related to the morning glory flowering plant, and grows similar flowers. 
• George Washington, the first U.S. president, was a sweet potato farmer before he was a general. 

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Corn

1. Steamed Corn 

Ingredients: 

1 16-ounce bag frozen corn kernels 
¼ cup water 

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350° F. 

In a pan or rimmed baking dish, add water to frozen corn, and cover pan with foil. 

Heat for approximately 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through. 

Variations: Add salt to taste. Slice a stick of butter and mix with corn while still hot for richer flavor. Add in finely chopped basil, cilantro, or rosemary for more flavor. Add in other vegetables for color, such as red bell pepper or cherry tomatoes.

2. No-Cream Creamed Corn 

Ingredients: 

4 large ears of fresh sweet corn, husked 
2 tablespoons butter 
2 tablespoons minced shallot or red onion (optional) 
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Instructions: 

Grate corn using large holes on a box grater set over a large bowl. 

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 

Add red onion or shallots to pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 5-8 minutes, until soft and translucent. 

Add grated corn and juices and salt. Cook, stirring, until mixture is creamy, about 5-10 minutes. 

Variations: Immediately after removing from heat, add finely chopped fresh herbs such as sage, tarragon, chives, thyme, or basil. 

3. Esquites (Mexican Corn Salad) 

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon canola or avocado oil 
1 16-ounce bag frozen corn kernels
¼ cup crumbled Cotija or feta cheese 
¹⁄₃ cup crema (or half sour cream and half mayonnaise) 
½ cup cilantro, chopped 
¼ cup lime juice 
½ teaspoon smoked paprika 
½ teaspoon cumin 
½ teaspoon chili powder 
¼ teaspoon pepper 
¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Instructions:

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large skillet on medium high. 

Once oil is hot, place about a quarter of corn in a skillet, working in batches to avoid overcrowding the skillet. Stir occasionally until corn starts to char, about 5 minutes, and then remove from heat and place in a large bowl. Repeat until all corn is charred. 

Add remaining ingredients to the bowl, folding them in until they’re well incorporated. 

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 

Note: If you’re using frozen corn kernels, you don’t need to defrost before charring in the skillet. 

Variations: Add a large red onion diced for more color and flavor if desired.

Fun Facts for Kids:

• A corn stalk can grow to over ten feet tall! 
• The U.S. produces the largest amount of corn. 
• Corn isn’t just in our food; it can be turned into many things, from a plastic cup to fuel for a car. 
• Archaeologists have found evidence of humans eating popcorn as far back as 5,000 years ago!

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Kale

1. Kale Chips 

Ingredients

1 bunch kale 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions  

Preheat oven to 325° F. 

Strip the kale leaves from the stems. Wash and dry well, using a salad spinner or rolling in dish towels. Tear large leaves into 2- to 3-inch bites. 

Toss kale by hand with olive oil, salt, and any spices you’re using in a large bowl, making sure each leaf is evenly coated. 

Spread kale leaves evenly in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets, making sure not to crowd leaves.

Bake for 10 minutes, then check. If the chips aren’t dark green and crisp, continue baking in 2 minute increments. They’ll turn brown very quickly. Look at the underside when checking for doneness. Once done, let cool for two minutes and then transfer to a serving dish (or cool pan). If making ahead of time, re-crisp chips in the oven for one minute before serving. 

Variations: Add nutritional yeast for a cheesy taste or spice such as cayenne.

2. Kale Pesto 

Ingredients: 

1 bunch kale 
⅔ cup olive oil, more as needed 
⅛ cup grated parmesan cheese 
2 tablespoons lemon juice 
½ clove garlic, chopped 
¼ tablespoons salt, or more to taste

Instructions: 

Remove thick stems from kale and tear into 2-inch pieces. 

Working in small batches, fill a food processor half full with kale, and with the motor running, slowly drizzle in oil until smooth. Use more oil, as needed. 

During the last batch of kale, add cheese, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. 

Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more oil for a saucier pesto. 

Store in a jar and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Serving suggestions: Serve on a cracker, piece of bread, or penne pasta. 

Variations: Make pesto dairy free by substituting sunflower or pumpkin seeds for the cheese. 

3. Kale Salad 

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale 
1 apple, diced 
2 tablespoons cranberries 
3 tablespoons olive oil 
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 
1 teaspoon honey, to taste 
1 pinch of salt, or more to taste 
1 pinch of pepper, or more to taste

Instructions: 

Wash, destem, and chop kale into fine strips. 

Assemble the dressing by combining lemon juice, vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, and then slowly whisking in olive oil. 

Wearing gloves, massage the dressing into the kale, then add sliced apples and cranberries, if using. To avoid overdressing, add half the dressing to start and add more as needed. 

Variations: Add toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds or cheese for a savory addition. 

Fun Facts for Kids: 

• A serving of kale has more calcium than a carton of milk. 
• Kale gets sweet once it’s been through cold winter temperatures. 
• Some kale varieties have been cultivated just for ornamental purposes (i.e., to make the garden look nice!) 
• In Germany, there are annual Grünkohlfahrt tours just to celebrate and eat lots of kale. 
• In parts of Scotland the term “come to kale” means come to dinner, and to be “off one’s kale” means someone is ill.