It started with a taco… that nobody had to eat.

She picked a soft tortilla.

Then added brown beans. Tomato. Lettuce. Cheese.

Built the whole thing in Canva like a tiny digital chef.

And then, plot twist…she didn’t have to eat it.

This session was never about the taco.

What ARFID Actually Looks Like in Real Life

ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) is often misunderstood as:

• “They’ll grow out of it.”
• “They’re just being stubborn.”
• “Just make them try it.”

…which, respectfully, is like telling someone afraid of heights to “just jump off the balcony and see what happens.”

What’s actually happening is:

• Their brain is flagging food as unsafe
• Their body is reacting with real fear
• And the pressure to “just try it” makes the fear louder, not smaller

So instead of forcing exposure, we build safety first.

Why The Storybook ‘Dragons Love Tacos‘ Works So Well for ARFID Work

If you’ve read Dragons Love Tacos, you already know:

Dragons = loveees tacos
Dragons + spicy salsa = absolute chaos

Which makes it perfect for ARFID work.

Because suddenly…

It’s not about your fear, but instead, about the dragon’s.

And kids will talk about a dragon’s fear wayyyyy faster than their own.

The ARFID Therapy Shift: From “Eat This” → “Let’s Get Curious”

Instead of: “Take a bite”

We explored:

• What the dragons thought would happen
• What actually did happen
• Whether all salsa is dangerous… or just some

And just like that, we’re working on:

• cognitive flexibility
• fear vs. fact
• reducing all-or-nothing thinking

Without ever taking a single bite.

The Taco Activity: Canva Edition

Instead of giving her a real taco…my client created one. I asked them to choose what ingredients that they would like to include and made sure to give options if they felt stuck.

Ingredients Chosen:

• Soft tortilla (hardest 😅)
• Brown beans
• Tomato
• Lettuce
• Shredded cheese

Then we built something even more important: A 6-level “brave brain” ladder

Using my tried-and-true methodology, we explore how brave brain could be accessed 1 level at a time. This looked like:

• Look at it
• Talk about it
• Imagine touching it
• Break it into parts
• Get closer
• (Eventually) interact with it

In the moment of building the taco, I thought the most difficult to explore was going to be the beans or tomatoes. But, instead the tortilla was the hardest.

Which is HUGE.

Because now we’re not guessing anymore—we’re targeting the exact fear.

What This Is Actually Teaching

This isn’t just a cute activity (though, it most certainly is), but it’s building:

• Interoceptive awareness (“this part feels harder than that part”)
• Distress tolerance (“I can feel nervous and still stay”)
• Gradual exposure skills (without overwhelm)
• Confidence through choice (not force)

We’re teaching the brain: “Hey… maybe this isn’t a 10/10 danger situation.”

This biggest takeaway here is that taking a bite was never an option. And that expectation was clear before we ever started.

We didn’t:

• Force a bite
• Sneak ingredients into safe foods
• Use rewards for eating

ARFID treatment isn’t about tricking the kid, it’s about helping their brain feel safe enough to try.

And funny enough, the real win had nothing to do with the taco at all. It was:

• Stayed engaged.
• Talked about hard foods.
• Built a plan.
• Identified what felt scary.

That’s the work. The bite will come later.

If you’re a parent reading this, know that the cognitive work is just as important as trying the food. But one cannot come without the other.

• Let your child talk about food without pressure
• Break foods into smaller, less scary parts
• Praise bravery, not bites
• Get curious instead of convincing

And if all else fails…

Blame the dragons.