Why do we even need to change kids’ diets?
Why do kids like bland/beige foods?
• Predictable & mild flavour: They often lack strong bitter tastes, making them appealing to children and sensory-sensitive individuals.
• Comfort & safety: For picky eaters, dry, crunchy, or plain textures are considered “safe”.
• Convenience: Many are highly processed and readily available on children’s menus.
Why do we even need to change their diets?
It’s in the news all the time, kids are eating junk food unaware of the adverse effects and consequences. They are being influenced to pick bright coloured packaging and beige coloured food, not necessarily out of choice. It’s up to us to change this;
Nutrition, Digestion & wellness
Allergy and intolerance levels are on the rise. And sugar, salt and fat levels are all too high = Obesity continue to rise worldwide. We need to wake up to the issues, especially within the Scottish market where (in particular) salt levels are too high. Nutrition is vital for growth and human functionality both physically and mentally.
Time to cook
Cooking healthily can often be time consuming. People want convenience and speed. Recipes are often considered old-hat or too complicated, and speed is of the essence. We need to slow things down and go back to basics to ensure our kids grow up healthy.
REAL food / plants
Using vegetables and plant-based products as often as possible is vital for human health. They are also our most sustainable food source in order to protect our planet.
Think local
Eat local. Reduce air miles and aim to become carbon neutral. Ideally in everything we do - Starting with the food we produce and feed ourselves.
Provenance & authenticity
Kids don’t know or care where their food comes from. Education is key!
Knowledge & education
Targeted kids’ food products are very much on the rise as parents, desperate to keep kids away from mass-produced / mass-marketed foods, bring new ideas into the fold. However, there’s a long way to go. Education and understanding where the issues lie and what alternatives are available is key:
Over a third (37%) of supermarket promotions on food and non alcoholic drinks are for unhealthy food.
Over a third (36%) of food and soft drink advertising spend is on confectionery, snacks, desserts and soft drinks, compared to just 2% on fruit and veg.
Three-quarters (74%) of the baby and toddler snacks that have front-of-pack promotional claims actually contain high or medium levels of sugar.
On average, children consume less than half the recommended amount of fruit and veg but twice the recommended amount of sugar.
(Source; The Broken Plate 2025)