About the Taste Expedition



The Taste Expedition is a playful way to strengthen a child's curiosity about food, without pointers or must-haves. The assignments can be adapted to the child's abilities, interests and unique situation. You who use the Taste Expedition choose how you want to explore together with your children!

Book content

  • Short story with exciting tasks for the child
  • 6 illustrated game boards - Through taste exploration, the child collects stickers that are placed on game boards that lead further in the adventure.
  • Creative food crafts
  • What does the food contain? Simple descriptions of the superpowers of food and colors and their impact on the body.
  • Explorer's Leaflet - Educational aids that promote children's eating. Inspired by speech therapists and therapists who work with eating difficulties in children.

When you use the Taste Expedition for the first time, it's a good idea to start by just browsing through the book. This will give you a good overview together and you as a parent will get a good feel for what your child is most interested in. Talk to your child about what they think the houses represent? Read through our accompanying story to easily explain the connection between food as building blocks.

Important things to consider before you start: Explore on your child's own terms! Don't use stickers as a bribe and don't force your child to taste, but feel free to let the Taste Expedition serve as extra motivation and encouragement!

Usage tips

  • Is tasting, chewing and swallowing too much of a challenge for your child? Get a sticker by exploring the food with your fingers, smelling or licking it! Exploring with other senses than just the mouth is a good and important step towards eventually learning to eat and accept new foods.
  • The child receives stickers for all the food the child eats, even food the child has previously tried and liked.
  • The child only gets stickers when the child tries something new or that is a challenge for the child.
  • Adapt the use to your child, there is no requirement that the child eats all colors.
  • If the child has problems with the food at preschool, colors from the previous day can also be included.
  • The child can be given the goal of, for example, completing a game plan per week if the child finds it fun - it is important that it is not experienced as a compulsion or failure if the child cannot do it, understand the child and the situation.
  • When the child completes the Taste Expedition, there is a reward! You as the parent decide the reward yourself. Maybe it's something extra tasty that the child likes, maybe you do something fun together to celebrate?
  • You can choose one or two colors to fill the houses with. Is green a challenge for the child? Then this might be a fun and challenging task!
  • Run out of color? Good job! Fill in the rest with a pen!
  • Use the sticker that is closest in color to the food you are tasting or let the child choose the color completely freely. The most important thing is that the child finds it fun!
  • We recommend filling out the Taste Expedition after the meal, but of course you decide what works best for your family! Having the book visible at the dinner table is usually motivating. For example, ask the child "what colors do you want to explore today?".

Here are some extra tips to make the Taste Expedition even more fun:

  • Let your child help choose the food you will try.
  • Make cooking a fun activity. Let your child help wash, cut, and prepare the food.
  • Some colors are more unusual than others, maybe you go to the grocery store together to find some new exciting vegetable or fruit to explore?
  • Talk to your child about the different tastes and textures of food. What does it sound like when you chew it? Does it smell the same as it tastes?
  • Be patient and encouraging. It can take a long time and 20+ exposures to the same food before the child accepts the new taste.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is intended for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.

We share our own experience of helping children develop a positive relationship with food. The Taste Expedition activity book has been reviewed by the Eating Team at the Oral Motor Center, the Speech Therapy Clinic, Danderyd Hospital, but scientific studies have not been conducted. We encourage you to try our tips and advice to see how they work for your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Important things to remember when your child is a selective eater:

  • Every child is unique and what works for one child may not work for another.
  • It's important to be patient and encouraging when helping your child explore new foods.
  • If you are concerned about your child's eating habits, you should contact a doctor, dietitian or speech therapist. Long-term problems when the child does not eat can, in the worst case, lead to nutritional deficiencies.

    We who created the Taste Expedition

    We, the people behind Smakekpeditionen, are Linda and Sophia, two childhood friends and creators who, somewhat by chance, stumbled upon children and eating - something that has now become a shared passion project. Together, we are parents to a total of five amazing girls who have all had their own unique food journey.

    The idea for the Taste Expedition was born when our own children were young and went through periods of picky eating and neophobia. We also have experience with children with selective eating disorders, PFD (Pediatric Feeding Disorder).

    As a parent, it is easy to feel frustrated, stressed and worried when your child eats only a limited amount. If you have a child who eats very selectively, it can also affect family life in general, when a lot just revolves around getting the food situation together. Neophobia and selective eating is a topic where there is still a lot of ignorance, so it can take time and be difficult to get the right help - we want to change this!

    The Taste Expedition was created with the goal of supporting children who, for various reasons, eat selectively through playful and educational methods, while at the same time ensuring that the book can be enjoyed by all children. The Taste Expedition activity book is inspired by treatment methods used by speech therapists and experts on children with eating difficulties and is reviewed by the Eating Team at the Oral Motor Center, Speech Therapy Clinic, Danderyd Hospital. Our goal is to bridge the gap between guardians, BVC and speech therapists by making information, support and methods that promote eating available.

    We hope that the Taste Expedition will become a valuable tool for anyone who wants to help children develop their relationship with food!