Taste the Rainbow

If you have ever had to feed McKenzie then you know what a picky eater she is.  It has become so bad that we have to bribe her to eat the simplest things that she used to like: yogurt, spaghetti, peanut butter sandwiches, and even applesauce.  Unfortunately she has chosen to not eat multiple meals in a row because she doesn't care enough for the reward after eating.  Not only that, but she chooses to eat a candy after every meal and for almost every snack.  It has gotten out of hand.  So Jeremy and I decided we needed to have a serious intervention that was fun for McKenzie.  We came up with her rainbow chart.  

On her chart is a giant rainbow and about 50 magnets with pictures of different foods on them.  When she eats a food, she gets to put the magnet on the color she ate.  Her goal is to fill up her rainbow every day.  If she fills up her rainbow then the whole family gets to have a family dessert after dinner-and after dinner only.  We've been at it for four days now and I am so happy with how it's going.  When she's hungry and wants a snack she goes over to her rainbow chart to look at her choices.  She chooses what snack she wants based on what color she hasn't eaten yet that day.  When we first started her chart we took the family to the store and let the girls choose whatever healthy snacks they wanted, so now McKenzie has choices she picked out.  Cambrie has been a fantastic support for her sister through all of this.  She gives McKenzie recommendations, and cheers when she eats something new.  As an added bonus, if Cambrie tries a food she's never eaten before she gets to put a star on the rainbow too.  I really hope this stays exciting for McKenzie for long enough to make a difference.  So far though, she has chosen to eat tomatoes and cucumbers!  Oh how I hope she becomes a better eater!