Yummy, Yucky by Leslie Patricelli:

Any book by Leslie Patricelli is a great read with toddlers, but her book titled Yummy Yucky is an especially fun one. It is a simple but goofy read about objects and foods that many toddlers will recognize as foods they can eat and objects that would be ridiculous to eat. The illustrations are simple and easy to recognize. It is a great book to help your child practice saying and nodding or shaking their head yes and no to answer what is OK to eat and what is not. You can even play a simple game at home of yummy and yucky by finding objects and foods around the house to practice the with.  It can also be a great way to introduce new foods or less preferred foods alongside objects that we don’t eat for them to develop some curiosity about new or challenging foods.
 
Llama Llama Yum Yum Yum! by Anna Dewdney:

The llama llama series of books are additional favorites of many toddlers. This book is fun and unique because it is actually a scratch and sniff book. It introduces some new and different foods that some toddlers may not have tried yet and may be wary of. The scratch and sniff feature of the book can help pique their curiosity about these new and different foods. After reading the book, you can even offer real life examples of some of these foods for them to smell, touch, and try to taste. Expand this activity by adding new foods to the list! First start encouraging your toddler to smell and then touch the foods, and then you can move on to possibly tasting. This book can be a great way to introduce food exploration. Happy reading!
 
 

1. Let your baby or toddler help you prepare the food and serve themselves if they are able. 
2. Try to pair new or challenging foods with tried and true favorites to increase baby's confidence level.
3. Any interaction with food is a good step! Some children look at, touch, smell and lick food before they taste it.
4. Need more practice using utensils? Try to incorporate them into play throughout the day! Scooping dirt outside with a spoon or playing with a cup in the bath can help baby develop the fine motor skills to use utensils during meal times.