Food exploration isn't about forcing them to taste test, it's about building autonomy. -Dani Lebovitz

We’re going to get super practical today on the Healthy Parenting Connector so get a pen and notebook and take some notes!

I’m talking with food explorer Dani Lebovitz about helping your picky eater by exploring foods (mostly away from the table and mealtime!) 

We’ll share specific activities and ideas for exploring cranberries, citrus fruits, and fennel which you can translate to many other fruits and veggies. Get exploring with your kids today!

Can’t see the video? Watch Food Exploration here on YouTube!

No time for the video? Here are the notes!

Practical Examples for Exploring Food

  • 1:28: Dani is a registered dietician and her passion is helping families explore new foods together. 

I love to help kids build confidence and competence when it comes to new foods. -Dani Lebovitz

  • 2:44: You may be familiar with STEM, the newest iteration is STEAM which adds in the A for art. Adding this art element in helps connect with younger kiddos and Dani uses STEAM activities to explore food together. 

Exploring Food: Activities for Cranberries

  • 3:45: We jump right in with some practical tips for exposing kids to new foods by using cranberries as an example. 
    • 4:15: Before you even get to the kitchen or the table, introduce some information about the new food. Cranberries bounce when they’re ripe, but if they’re overripe they won’t. You can let them bounce down the stairs to see which ones are ripe and which have gone bad. What a fun experiment to try with your kids!
    • 5:43: A sensory activity with cranberries is washing them in a bowl of water. If they’re good and fresh, they will float. 
    • 6:25: You can string cranberries with a needle and thread to make a fun decoration and practice fine motor skills.
    • 6:50: If you’re putting flowers in a clear glass vase, throw some cranberries in the vase, fill it with water, and add your flowers.

  • 7:15: You can do many food exploration activities without ever inviting your kids to eat, although sometimes they may try something out of curiosity!
  • 8:12: One activity that does have a taste element is using all 5 senses to explore a food. This is a great tool to compare things. You can compare two varieties of apples, two preparations of broccoli, two different vegetables, etc. Use all your senses to observe and share similarities and differences. Here are Dani’s placemats.
  • 10:12: Many parents give up on a food when their child doesn’t like it. Maybe they don’t like broccoli raw or steamed, but they will like it roasted. Using the 5 senses comparison helps them discover specifically what they do or don’t like about a food and that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Here’s Dani’s book 101 Descriptive Words for Food Explorers.

When we build up or vocabulary around foods, we can help our kids describe their flavor and texture preferences. No more generic “I don’t like this food.” -Dani Lebovitz

cranberries and orange

Food Exploration: Ideas for Citrus Fruits

  • 12:26: Let’s share some examples of exploring citrus fruits. 
    • 12:38: There are so many citrus varieties. Head to the grocery store and look at all the fruits in the citrus family. Look at the different colors and sizes. Peel a few varieties and compare the insides.
    • 13:50: Make it fun when you’re exploring new foods. Use magnifying glasses, pull the fruit apart with your hands, and let your kids make a bit of a mess. 
    • 14:30: Get into a food explorer mindset. You’re here to investigate, not force feed. Put on your food explorer hats.

Kids don’t need plastic knives. They need real skills.

Teach safe technique, focus, and confidence in the all-time fav lesson from our kids cooking class! (ages 2-12)






Or find out more about the free knife class here.

Strategies to Explore Fennel

  • 16:00: Vegetables tend to be a harder sell with kids. Let’s get into some ideas with vegetables.
    • 16:09: Last fall Dani explored fennel with her kids. It’s not one of her favorites, but this is a great opportunity to show your kids that you can explore something even if you don’t love it and sometimes our tastes change over time. 
    • 16:48: First, they bought a giant fennel complete with leaves, put googly eyes on it, and put it in a doll stroller. It was an invitation to play with a new vegetable and become acquainted. Dani’s kids would snuggle with the fennel baby on the couch. Check out their fennel baby here. 
    • 18:56: Dani roasted fennel with olive oil and parmesan to give it some crispy edges. 
    • 19:23: They used the fronds to paint as an art activity. 

How can you bring a food into play in a way that interests your child? - Dani Lebovitz

Principles of Food Exploration

  • 20:57: Find what your child is interested in outside the kitchen that can help get them interested once you get to the kitchen. A fennel baby wouldn’t interest a child who doesn’t care about playing with baby dolls, but it was ideal for Dani’s kids. 
  • 21:56: If you see this as a waste of food, consider that using a small portion of food to get your child curious and exploring is an investment in their future eating habits. Just like you would invest in crayons or paper, invest in food for exploration. 

Pressure to eat is an easy way to get kids to pull away. -Dani Lebovitz

  • 22:48: Have food available and say something like “It’s here if you want to try it.” and leave it at that. Model trying new foods and nonchalantly talk about what you like about certain foods, but not in a pushy way. 

Resources We Mention for Food Exploration

Dani LebovitzDani is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, children’s book author, and founder of Kid Food Explorers, a resource hub and online community dedicated to empowering families on their journey to raise confident, adventurous eaters.

Through Kid Food Explorers, Dani provides fun food education content, children’s books, and interactive STEAM activities designed to get kids excited about food. Her food-positive, body-confident approach is rooted in the belief that all foods can fit in a balanced diet. She invites kids to explore their taste buds and food preferences through food-based play and exploration. This approach helps kids create memorable food experiences that build the foundation for a lifetime of happy and healthy eating.

Dani holds a Master’s Degree in Health Communications from Boston University and an undergraduate degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Colorado State University. She completed her dietetic internship at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and holds two specialty certifications in diabetes education and sports nutrition.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling and exploring new foods in search of delicious with her husband and three daughters.