Picky Eating 101: Food Chaining

If you’ve ever had a child (or adult!) in your life who only eats five foods, and three of them are beige, you’re not alone. Picky eating is a common challenge, especially among children, and it can cause frustration, concern, and countless uneaten dinners.

But what if there were a gentle, research-based method to help expand even the most limited diet?

What is Food Chaining?

Food chaining is a therapeutic approach that gradually introduces new foods based on a person’s current food preferences. It was developed by a team of pediatric feeding specialists, including Cheri Fraker, Mark Fishbein, Sibyl Cox, and Laura Walbert. Their approach is outlined in the book Food Chaining: The Proven 6-Step Plan to Stop Picky Eating, Solve Feeding Problems, and Expand Your Child’s Diet (2007).

Rather than using force or bribes, food chaining respects a child’s existing sensory preferences such as texture, taste, smell, and appearance. It introduces small, incremental changes that gently bridge the gap from familiar foods to new ones.

Example of a Food Chain

Let’s say a child only eats chicken nuggets. A food chain for that child might look like this:

1. Favorite food: Fast food chicken nuggets (crispy, salty, uniform texture)
2. Step 1: A different brand of nugget at home (similar texture, slight flavor change)
3. Step 2: Homemade breaded chicken strips (less processed, but still familiar)
4. Step 3: Lightly seasoned grilled chicken
5. Step 4: Grilled fish with similar seasoning
6. Step 5: A wider range of proteins and textures

Each step acts as a gradual bridge, helping the child build comfort with small changes rather than making a sudden leap to a new food.

Why Food Chaining Works

Food chaining is based on principles from sensory integration and behavioral science. For children with sensory processing challenges, anxiety, or oral-motor delays, sudden changes in food can trigger stress or outright refusal.

By making subtle, strategic adjustments, food chaining helps to:

• Respect sensory sensitivities
• Build trust and confidence during meals
• Avoid power struggles
• Target nutritional gaps at a manageable pace

This method is often used in feeding therapy alongside occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, or dietitians who specialize in pediatric feeding challenges.

What Makes a Good Food Chain?

The key to successful food chaining is understanding the sensory profile of the foods a child already accepts. These factors include:

• Texture: Crunchy, mushy, chewy
• Flavor: Salty, bland, sweet, tangy
• Temperature: Warm or cold
• Appearance: Color, shape, packaging

New foods should differ from familiar ones in only one sensory category at a time. This reduces the chance of rejection and increases the likelihood of success.

Real-Life Success Stories

In a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, children with severe selective eating showed marked improvement in food acceptance after 12 weeks of structured food chaining combined with feeding therapy (Williams et al., 2009). Many families have reported that children who once relied solely on crackers and yogurt eventually began eating fruits, vegetables, and proteins through this gradual method.

Tips for Parents Starting Food Chaining at Home

• Keep a food diary to track what your child eats, including brands and preparation methods
• Stay calm and consistent, and try to avoid turning meals into battles
• Offer new foods without pressure. Even small exposures help
• Use positive reinforcement and celebrate every small step forward
• Seek help from a trained feeding therapist at Expansion Speech Therapy

Final Thoughts

Food chaining is not a quick fix. However, it offers a structured, compassionate path toward expanding a picky eater’s diet. Whether you’re helping a toddler who only eats goldfish crackers or a teen reluctant to try anything new, this method can make meals more nutritious and less stressful.

References

Fraker, C., Fishbein, M., Cox, S., & Walbert, L. (2007). Food Chaining: The Proven 6-Step Plan to Stop Picky Eating, Solve Feeding Problems, and Expand Your Child’s Diet. Da Capo Lifelong Books.
Williams, K. E., Field, D. G., & Seiverling, L. (2009). Food refusal in children: A review of the literature. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30(4), 752–760.
Sharp, W. G., Berry, R. C., McCracken, C., Nuhu, N. N., Marvel, E., Saulnier, C. A., & Jaquess, D. L. (2017). Feeding problems and nutrient intake in children with autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis and comprehensive review of the literature. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(3), 582–592.