Table 2.
Children’s average ranked preference and self-reported liking of each tasted main and side dish.
| Overall (n = 37) |
Younger Children (n = 11) |
Older Children (n = 26) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank-ordered preference, M(SD) a Main dishes |
|||
| Grilled Chicken Strips | 4.8 (2.5) c | 5.6 (3.2) | 4.4 (2.0) c |
| Turkey Sandwich | 4.9 (2.1) c | 5.2 (2.3) | 4.8 (2.1) c |
| Peanut Butter/Banana Sandwich | 5.6 (2.6) | 4.9 (2.1) | 5.8 (2.8) |
| Baked Potato | 6.7 (2.8) | 7.5 (2.7) | 6.4 (2.8) |
| Avocado Toast | 7.3 (2.7) | 7.6 (1.9) | 7.2 (3.0) |
| Side dishes | |||
| Strawberry Yogurt | 3.2 (2.8) | 3.0 (2.5) | 3.3 (3.0) |
| Applesauce | 4.5 (2.8) | 4.2 (3.3) | 4.7 (2.7) |
| Steamed Broccoli | 4.8 (2.5) | 4.5 (2.4) | 5.0 (2.6) |
| Mixed Fruit Cup | 5.1 (2.6) | 5.4 (3.1) | 5.0 (2.4) |
| Steamed Spinach | 7.8 (2.1) | 7.1 (2.5) | 8.1 (1.8) |
| Liking, n(%) who liked the dish b Main dishes |
|||
| Turkey Sandwich | 24 (66.7) c | 6 (54.6) | 18 (72.0) c |
| Grilled Chicken Strips | 23 (63.9) c | 6 (54.6) | 17 (68.0) c |
| Peanut Butter/Banana Sandwich | 21 (56.8) | 6 (54.6) | 15 (57.7) |
| Baked Potato | 15 (40.5) | 4 (36.4) | 11 (44.0) |
| Avocado Toast | 12 (32.4) | 3 (27.3) | 9 (34.6) |
| Side dishes | |||
| Strawberry Yogurt | 31 (83.8) | 9 (81.8) | 22 (84.6) |
| Applesauce | 28 (75.5) | 8 (72.7) | 20 (76.9) |
| Steamed Broccoli | 25 (67.6) | 9 (81.8) | 16 (61.5) |
| Mixed Fruit Cup | 23 (62.2) | 5 (45.5) | 18 (69.2) |
| Steamed Spinach | 10 (27.0) | 4 (36.4) | 6 (23.1) |
Note. a Rankings ranged from 1–10, with lower numbers indicating greater preference. b Liking was reported on 3- or 5-point scales, depending on child age and is operationalized here as the percentage of children who liked each dish, defined as providing a rating of yummy (younger children) or very good/sort of good (older children). c Sample size is n − 1 as one participating child was vegetarian.