How To Introduce Spicy Food to Your Kids

Some kids are picky eaters. This isn’t their fault, though; children’s palettes are still evolving and are largely satisfied by basic dishes. When you’re ready to have your child try something a little spicier, there are a few things to know. Keep reading for some tips on how to introduce spicy foods to your kids.

Start Small

You don’t want to start your child off with something they can’t handle. Keep the big pieces of habaneros away, and you should never give them raw peppers—the seeds inside are the hottest part. If you overwhelm your kid’s tastebuds with spice, it could turn them off to it for a long time and make trying anything new more difficult. A great place to start is with Don Emilio’s Mexican garlic sauce, which packs a delicious flavor while maintaining mild spice.

Don’t Warn Them

If you want to sneak some spice into your child’s meals, then you should do just that: sneak it in. Even a dash of spice is enough to introduce some of those more complex notes to the dish. If they don’t notice the difference, you can add more next time. If they don’t like it, you can take a break from it or try the spice on another dish. The best-case scenario is that your child notices and enjoys the spice and comes to you with questions about how you made it.

Eat With Them

Most young kids are largely copying what they’ve seen their parents do. If you eat the food with your child and communicate that you like it, they’re more likely to try it. Therefore, you often see parents pretending to eat baby food for their picky eater. Kids want to act like their parents, and they recognize that eating the same foods is an easy way to do that. This is key to knowing how to introduce spicy food to your kids.

It is sometimes difficult to get your child to try new foods, but there are ways to make it easier. If you can start by slowly bringing in spices, sneaking them into dishes your kids are familiar with, and letting them know that you like the food, you’re on your way to introducing spicy foods into their diets.