Trying new foods doesn’t have to mean pressure at the dinner table.
As a children’s dietitian, I love using theme nights like International Family Night to make food feel like an experience. These moments offer playful exposure, encourage curiosity, and helps fussy eater or sensory eaters feel safe when exploring new flavours.
One of my favourite ideas? A Turkish-inspired night, complete with a vibrant Chickpea Salad and fun extras to make it a full family adventure.
How to Set the Scene
Here’s how you can turn Turkish Salad Night into an interactive, low-pressure learning opportunity:
- Pick a flag colour theme — red and white like the Turkish flag!
- Play Turkish music in the background while you prep and eat.
- Assign everyone a job: someone can chop, someone stirs, someone lays the table.
- Look up simple facts about Turkey — language, traditional foods, where it is on the map.
- Encourage food play — smelling spices, feeling textures, or spooning food onto plates.
This makes trying a new meal feel like a fun family event, not a test of courage!
Turkish Kisir Salad
Ingredients
- 150 g Bulgar wheat
- 225 ml hot water
- 1/2 onion diced.
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 lemon
- 2 spring onions chopped
- Handful of fresh Parsley chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp sumac
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 romaine lettuce hearts
- 1 pomegranate optional
Instructions
- Get & measure out all the ingredients.
- Put the bulgar wheat in a heat proof bowl and pour on hot water. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile peel and dice the onion and crush the garlic.
- Fry the onion on a medium heat with the oil. Stir in the garlic and tomato puree and cook until the onion is soft.
- Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out. Add a teaspoon of sugar to the lemon juice.
- Chop the spring onion.
- Add the cooked onion mixture, lemon juice, spring onion and parsley to a bowl with the bulgar wheat.
- Add cumin, sumac, chilli, sat and molasses to the bowl and stir everything together.
- Pull apart the lettuce into individual leaves and fill them with the mixture.
- Top with pomegranate seeds and enjoy!
- Serve with a protein source of your choice.
Notes
Serve warm or cold with:
- Flatbreads or pitta
- Cucumber sticks and yoghurt dip
- A small side of plain rice or safe food of your child’s choice
Making It Fussy Eater Friendly
- Serve parts of the salad separately if needed (e.g. plain chickpeas, veg and sauce in small bowls).
- Use a compartment plate or bento-style tray to avoid overwhelm.
- Include one or two safe foods on the side (like plain bread, yoghurt, or raw carrot sticks).
- Involve your child in stirring, spooning, or smelling the ingredients before trying anything.
Why This Works
Themed nights build trust and food confidence without putting pressure on your child to eat. They create memorable experiences and positive associations around food.
Even if your child doesn’t eat the salad, helping stir the pan or lay out the dishes still supports their feeding journey.
Need More Mealtime Support?
In my 1:1 bespoke support packages, I help families gently expand their child’s food variety while reducing pressure and building trust at the table.
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Written by Dr Kirsty Porter, Children’s Dietitian