Supplements for Picky Eaters: Essential Nutrients and Supplement Ideas for Kids

Written By Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD

If you have a picky eater, you know how stressful it can be trying to make sure your child gets adequate nutrition.  While our top priority is always to meet all of our nutrient needs by eating a wide variety of healthy foods, that is not always possible.

With picky eaters, it can be helpful to supplement missing nutrients until your child is able to eat a wider variety of foods.  In this article, we’ll cover the most common nutrients that might be missing in a picky eater’s diet, and give ideas and options for supplements for picky eaters.

What is picky eating?

Both picky eating and selective eating in autism can take many forms, from being particular about what foods are eaten, to extremely limited food intake.  Picky eaters are usually reluctant to try new foods, which can be a normal part of childhood development. “Picky eating” typically resolves on its own over time, and usually doesn’t have a negative effect on growth or overall health, whereas “selective eating” needs a different approach.

In autism, we often see selective eating that can be a result of sensory sensitivities and a need for predictability that often leads to eating the same small number of foods.  For autistic children who are selective eaters, it often takes time and intentional strategies to expand their diet to include new foods.  It isn’t just a phase that will pass, instead it often requires help from feeding specialists to work on sensory sensitivities and behavioral factors that are impacting their food intake. 

If your child is struggling with selective eating and you’d like to work on adding to their safe foods, this blog on food chaining for selective eating can be a great place to start.

In addition to selective eating, some children with autism may have ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), which is often characterized by fear or anxiety around foods, leading to severely limited food intake.  Children with ARFID are at risk for malnutrition and growth restriction, and often need a multidisciplinary team to help expand their diet and improve health outcomes.

What can I do to help my picky eater?

The best place to start with helping your picky eater is focusing on the foods they already like.  It’s so much easier to get a child to accept a food similar to one they enjoy eating than it is to get them to try something completely new or different.  

For example, if your child loves macaroni and cheese, try giving them macaroni and cheese with a little bit of pureed butternut squash added, since butternut squash has a similar color and texture as mac and cheese sauce, and is a good source of fiber and Vitamin A.  You could tell your child you are adding it, and let them help stir it in. In my experience, sneaking a new food into a safe food without your child’s knowledge often backfires and can cause them to be skeptical of their safe foods.  It’s best to serve a tiny amount of the new mac and cheese alongside their favorite mac and cheese rather than making the switch all at once.

If you feel like you need more guidance on helping your picky eater, check out this blog post on Autism and Picky Eating for more strategies you could try.

How can a picky eater get all vitamins?

If you’re concerned your picky eater isn’t getting enough of the vitamins and minerals their body needs, you are not alone.  While supplements can be helpful, the best way for your child to get adequate nutrition is by eating a wide variety of foods.  If that is not possible because your child is a selective eater, it makes sense to supplement their diet with a multivitamin until they’re eating more foods. 

According to a recent review, picky eaters are at increased risk of being deficient in iron, zinc, and vitamin D. [1]  With kids who avoid specific food groups like fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, and nuts and seeds, they can experience deficiencies in other nutrients like fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, omega-3’s and magnesium as well. [2]  

Let’s look at some ways to help increase your child’s intake of these nutrients.

Supplements for Picky Eaters

Once you’ve started working on expanding your child’s preferred foods, you can add in some supplements to help boost their intake of nutrients until they’re able to get all their nutrients from foods.  You could try a good quality multivitamin to get a little bit of everything, or add in single vitamin or mineral supplements for the nutrients you feel like your child might be missing.  Here are some recommendations for supplements to get you started.

Single Vitamin or Mineral Supplements

Iron: Mary Ruth’s Liquid Drops

Zinc: Mary Ruth’s Liquid Drops

Magnesium: Natural Calm Magnesium Gummies

Vitamin D3: Llama Naturals Vitamin D3 Gummies

Vitamin A: Dr. Green Mom Liquid Drops (use code AUTISMRD for 10% off)

Omega 3’s: Dr. Green Mom NeuroImmune DHA (use code AUTISMRD for 10% off)

Fiber: Klaire Labs (now SFI Health) Biotagen Powder

Multivitamin for Picky Eaters

If you’d rather have one supplement instead of several, a multivitamin can help cover gaps in your child’s diet by providing a variety of vitamins and minerals.  Multivitamins usually do not provide iron, omega 3’s or fiber, so be sure to include those in your child’s foods or use a separate supplement if needed (note: we do recommend taking an iron supplement separate from their multivitamin for optimal absorption).  If you’d like to know more about how to choose a complete multivitamin, here’s a blog on the Best Multivitamins for Children with Autism. 

Here are some multivitamins we recommend:

Multivitamin Powder: 

  • Ella Ola - does not have a taste, but will not be as nutritionally supportive as other multivitamins

  • My Spectrum Heroes - has a mild taste but is a more well-rounded, full support supplement

Multivitamin Capsules:

Multivitamin Chewable:

Multivitamin Gummies:

If you’re still not sure where to begin with expanding your child’s preferred foods and choosing the right supplements to fill in the gaps, reach out to a Registered Dietitian or other healthcare provider for help.  If you’d like to learn more and be part of a supportive community of moms, join us over at the Nourishing Autism Collective. You’ll find a library of helpful information, resources to help expand your child’s diets, and community with other moms who have been in your shoes.

👋 Need help with your child’s nutrition and Selective eating?

Join the Nourishing Autism Collective for expert guidance, a supportive community, and sensory-friendly strategies that actually work.

MEET BRITTYN, THE AUTISM DIETITIAN

Brittyn Coleman is a Registered Dietitian and autism specialist. She helps parents of kids on the spectrum expand their number of accepted foods and maximize their nutrition to help them feel their best & thrive!

You can find her on Instagram at @autismdietitian or on Facebook!

References

[1] Berger MM, Shenkin A. Micronutrient deficiency and supplements in schoolchildren and teenagers. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2024 May 1;27(3):266-274. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0000000000001027. Epub 2024 Mar 8. PMID: 38462972; PMCID: PMC11864051.

[2] Taylor CM, Emmett PM. Picky eating in children: causes and consequences. Proc Nutr Soc. 2019 May;78(2):161-169. doi: 10.1017/S0029665118002586. Epub 2018 Nov 5. PMID: 30392488; PMCID: PMC6398579.

Updated July 2025

Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD https://www.autismdietitian.com
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Autism Diet List: Choosing Nourishing Foods for Autism