“17 Food Chaining Examples for Selective Eaters: A Simple Guide” was written by Kaitlyn Wilson, BScFN, BA, and edited/reviewed by Jackie Silver, MHSc, RD, and Gabi Abreu, BSc.
Medical Disclaimer: The information in this article is meant for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be personalized medical or nutrition advice. For a plan tailored to your needs, please consult with a Registered Dietitian or qualified healthcare professional.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links with which I may earn a small commission but at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links help bloggers like me to provide you with free content. All opinions expressed here are genuine.
Last updated: December 31, 2025
Food Chaining Examples for Selective Eaters: A Quick Recap
In a previous blog post, we introduced an incredible tool for people who experience food selectivity. This tool is called “Food Chaining:” a key that can unlock food freedom for anyone with a limited food repertoire.
In quick recap, food chaining uses “safe foods” to gradually build towards tasting (and even accepting!) “fear foods” with similar characteristics. Our previous blog post: Food Chaining for Picky Eaters goes over how you can make and implement your own food chains.
As awesome as food chains are, we still understand that they can be challenging to design. Food chains take a lot of creativity, patience, and flexibility. Luckily, this blog post will give some more helpful food chaining examples that you can adopt into your tool belt!
Food Chaining Examples for Selective Eaters: The Importance of Building on Your Unique Preferences
One of the most important things to keep in mind when food chaining is that you need to work with your unique food preferences. Everyone with food selectivity will have different safe foods and goal foods.
As a reminder, here’s a description of safe foods and fear foods:
- Safe foods refer to specific foods that have passed the sensory sensitivity test and are deemed tolerable and comforting by individuals with sensory sensitivities (such as autistic folks or ADHDers).
For more information, check out this blog post on Safe Foods: Foods for Sensory Sensitivity. This particular article focuses on autism, but can be helpful for anyone experiencing sensory sensitivities.
- Fear foods are those foods you avoid due to a sensory aspect or because of a negative memory involved with the food.
- Goal Foods are the foods you are interested in trying, or would love to accept into your food repertoire. These are the foods we build towards in Food Chaining!
By utilizing favorable characteristics of safe foods, it is easier to try something new. Small steps with small changes are easier for someone with a sensory sensitivity, rather than a massive jump into a brand new food. That’s why it’s important to keep your food preferences in mind when choosing or designing your own food chain!
When viewing the list of our food chaining examples below, you can choose to follow one that fits your food preferences. Alternatively, you can use these examples as a guide/template to create your own food chains that fit your needs.
We’ve designed 17 different food chaining examples for you to use. They each start with common safe foods (such as hotdogs, chocolate milk, etc.) and are grouped into different food categories: protein, fruits and veggies, grains, and sauces/condiments.
17 Food Chaining Examples for Selective Eaters
Protein: Meats, Dairy, and Plant-Based Proteins
1) Plain Hot Dog to Turkey Sandwich: Plain hot dog → Plain hot dog on bread instead of a bun → Turkey hot dog on bread → Turkey lunch meat on bread → Regular turkey on bread
2) Chips to Tacos: Favorite chips → Tortilla chips → Taco shell → Dip the taco shell into taco meat → Use the taco shell as a spoon for the taco meat → Taco
3) Pancake to Eggs: Pancake → Pancake with more water in batter → Crepes → Crepes with more egg → Thin plain omelette
4) Ice Cream to Yogurt: Ice Cream → Ice Cream with blended Frozen Yogurt → Frozen Yogurt → Milkshake made with frozen yogurt → Add more yogurt → Yogurt
5) Yogurt to Milk: Favorite Yogurt → Drinkable Yogurt or Kefir → Add Milk → Milk
6) Chocolate Milk to Regular Milk: Favorite chocolate milk → Chocolate milk made with chocolate sauce → Add less chocolate sauce → Milk
7) Chocolate to Nuts: Chocolate → Hazelnut Chocolate Bar → Chocolate Covered Almonds → Nuts and Chocolate Chips → Nuts
Fruits and Veggies
1) Mashed Potatoes to Carrots: Mashed potatoes → Mashed potatoes with mashed sweet potato mixed in → Add more mashed sweet potato → Mashed sweet potato → Mashed carrots → Cooked Carrots
2) Plain Rice to Cauliflower: Plain rice → Plain rice with cauliflower mixed in → Cauliflower rice → Cooked cauliflower → Cauliflower
3) Mashed Potatoes to Broccoli: Mashed potatoes → Mashed potatoes with broccoli puree mixed in → Broccoli puree → Minced broccoli → Cooked broccoli → Broccoli
4) Juice to Smoothie: Favorite juice → Add ice → Use blended ice → Gradually add blended frozen fruit → Smoothie
5) Smoothie to Fruit: Smoothie → Add more frozen fruit → Blended frozen fruit → Frozen fruit → Fruit
Grains
1) Cracker to Bread: Favorite cracker → Different shape of cracker → Croutons → Melba toast → Whole wheat toast → Less toasted whole wheat toast → Bread
2) Rice Krispies to Cereal: Rice Krispie Treats → Make with less marshmallow → Cereal with marshmallow → Cereal
Sauces/Condiments
1) Plain Pasta to Pasta With Sauce: Plain pasta → Pasta sauce nearby → Dip pasta in sauce and wipe off → Add a little bit of pasta sauce → Add more
Other Ways to Introduce Variety
Another way you can introduce variety is by introducing a safe food in different shapes or brands. This can build confidence for trying new foods.
Why is it Important to See a Healthcare Professional If You Experience Food Selectivity?
Food selectivity can alter someone’s mental and physical health. Seeing a healthcare professional, like a Registered Dietitian (RD), can help you mitigate potential complications and symptoms associated with food selectivity.
In some children, untreated food selectivity can result in something known as “Failure to Thrive,” where growth and development is impaired due to caloric insufficiencies. In addition, reduced levels of one or more nutrients make the body unable to function optimally.
Importantly, a Registered Dietitian (RD) can monitor your nutrition status and help correct nutritional deficiencies. They can also help you implement strategies to introduce new foods, including food chaining. Working with a Registered Dietitian (RD) can help individuals and families feel more supported when it comes to health and wellness.
The Registered Dietitians (RDs) at Jackie Silver Nutrition are well-versed in the complexities of food selectivity. If you’d like to meet one of us to see if we’d be a good fit, please book a free, no obligation 15-minute discovery call here.
Conclusion
We hope you gained inspiration from these food chaining examples! This method is fantastic for increasing food repertoire in people with food aversions. For extra support, we recommend seeing a registered healthcare provider.
Did any of these food chaining examples resonate with you? Let us know which ones you’re going to try in the comments below.
Looking for similar blog posts? Check out:
- Food Chaining for Picky Eaters
- Meal Prep for Picky Eaters
- ADHD and Picky Eating
- Vitamins for Picky Eaters
- Smoothies for Picky Eaters
TLDR: Food Chaining Examples for Selective Eaters
Food chaining is a gentle, step-by-step strategy that helps selective eaters expand their food variety by building on safe foods they already tolerate. Instead of forcing new foods, food chaining gradually introduces small changes in texture, flavor, temperature, or appearance to move toward goal foods. This guide provides 17 real-life food chaining examples across proteins, fruits and vegetables, grains, and sauces to help make food exploration feel safer, more predictable, and less overwhelming.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Food chaining is a nutrition strategy that helps selective eaters try new foods by starting with a safe food and making very small, gradual changes toward a new or “fear” food with similar sensory characteristics.
Food chaining is especially helpful for:
– Autistic individuals
– People with ADHD
– Children and adults with sensory sensitivities
– Anyone experiencing food selectivity or a limited food repertoire
It can be used at any age and adapted to individual preferences.
Safe foods are foods that feel predictable, comforting, and tolerable from a sensory perspective. These foods have textures, flavors, and smells that do not trigger distress or discomfort.
Fear foods are foods someone avoids due to sensory discomfort or past negative experiences.
Goal foods are foods the person is interested in trying or hopes to tolerate one day.
Food chaining builds a bridge from safe foods to goal foods.
Food chaining works because it:
– Respects sensory needs
– Avoids pressure and force
– Builds confidence through familiarity
– Uses small, manageable changes instead of big leaps
This makes new foods feel safer and more approachable.
There is no set timeline. Some people may move through a chain quickly, while others may need weeks or months at one step. Progress is not linear, and staying flexible is key.
No. The examples are meant to be templates, not rules. You can adapt them based on:
– Personal food preferences
– Sensory sensitivities
– Cultural foods
– Brand or texture preferences
The best food chains are individualized.
That’s okay. Food chaining is not about forcing intake. If a step feels too challenging:
– Pause and return to the previous safe step
– Try a smaller change
– Adjust the chain to better match sensory preferences
Listening to the body and nervous system is essential.
Yes. Over time, food chaining can help expand food variety, which may improve intake of key nutrients like protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, especially when supported by a Registered Dietitian.
Not exactly. Food chaining is relationship-based and sensory-informed, focusing on comfort and safety rather than repeated exposure or pressure to eat certain foods.
Working with a Registered Dietitian can be very helpful, especially if food selectivity affects:
– Growth or weight
– Energy levels
– Nutrient intake
– Stress around eating
A dietitian can help personalize food chains, monitor nutrition status, and provide support for both individuals and families.
About Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn is a recent graduate of an Honors Specialization in Nutrition & Dietetics (BScFN) and Kinesiology (BA) at Brescia University College, affiliated with Western University. In the fall she will be continuing her education to obtain a Master’s in Nutritional Sciences (MScFN) at Western University. Kaitlyn has a strong dedication to staying up-to-date with evidence-based nutrition practices. She loves cooking, reading, crocheting, and going for walks outdoors!
About Jackie
Jackie is a Registered Dietitian whose mission is to empower and support the neurodivergent and physically disabled communities through nutrition. Jackie runs a virtual private practice, providing services in Ontario and New York, as well as a blog which has simple recipes and health information tailored to these communities. She loves cooking, exercising, traveling, journaling, and spending time with family and friends.
About Gabi
Gabi Abreu, BSc, is a Nutrition & Dietetics graduate from Toronto Metropolitan University and the Blog & Social Media Manager at Jackie Silver Nutrition. She is also the founder of the Working Woman’s Health Collection. WWHC was created with the purpose of inspiring women to achieve a healthy relationship with food, while taking into consideration the busy lifestyles that we live today. Beyond her professional pursuits, she loves experimenting with new recipes, trying new workout classes, and indulging her love for adventure through travel!