Where did Picky Eating Come From? with Helen Zoe Veit

Mar 5, 2026

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#98: Picky eating can feel like it comes out of nowhere…one day your baby eats everything and then the next day - boom - you have a picky eater on your hands. But did we maybe make picky eating up?

In this episode, I’m talking with food historian Helen Zoe Veit, author of Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History. Helen helps us zoom out and understand how picky eating became such a big part of modern childhood…and what changed in our food culture to get us here.

Listen to this episode to learn:

1. Which foods kids used to eat willingly and how whack-o the picky eating landscape is today

2. How to avoid early kid food traps to help your child experience “pleasant hunger” at mealtimes

3. Where Helen’s mealtime confidence superpower comes from and how it keeps picky eating at bay

Shownotes for this episode can be found here:

https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/98

Links from This Episode:

• Buy Helen’s book Picky on Amazon here (this is an affiliate link):https://amzn.to/3ZYM261

• Visit Helen’s Michigan State University Faculty Page here: https://history.msu.edu/people/faculty/helen-veit/

• Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program

and save $50 when you sign up using the code BLWPOD50

• Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners