S/O of Meal Planning.. Picky Eater Recipes

K

*Kelly*

New member
So LeeAndra got me thinking about my Bubba and the struggles we deal with nightly getting him to eat dinner. I mentioned, I do not cater to his 'wants' but certainly cook with him in mind. There are some nights I have made his favorite and for whatever reason, he'll have a wild hair and refuse to eat *whatever*. I'd like to get some weight on the kiddo.. he's 4 years old and is 31 pounds! Healthy, but tiny in his 24/2T shorts! :blink:

So my big question is.. for those of you with picky eaters, what are some of your go to recipes. What is it you are making to get them to eat that isn't just pizza, nuggets, and mac-n-cheese. Kaydan will eat those types of foods till the cows come home, but I would like to get him to eat something with a little more substance. *sigh* Thanks for the help.. I think dealing with 'battle royale' over what I've made is one of the reasons why I DESPISE cooking dinner.
 
I don't have a picky child, but techinically, I have 2 picky adults. lol My dh hates vegetables of all kinds and never wants to try new things. I hate meat and berries. Now the 2 year, he eats nearly everything. Its a PIA to cook, so meal planning is rough here. I don't have any advice, just wanted to say, I, too, wish that meal planning worked more universally. I love to do it, but my dh whines when I want to plan in advance and always just wants to do whatever. Which usually means, he cooks himself something and I am left wondering what to make ds and I every night. I hate that.
 
Mari.. I would hate that too! Can you compromise on the meal ideas? He chooses some nights and you choose others?

lovely1m said:
I don't have a picky child, but techinically, I have 2 picky adults. lol My dh hates vegetables of all kinds and never wants to try new things. I hate meat and berries. Now the 2 year, he eats nearly everything. Its a PIA to cook, so meal planning is rough here. I don't have any advice, just wanted to say, I, too, wish that meal planning worked more universally. I love to do it, but my dh whines when I want to plan in advance and always just wants to do whatever. Which usually means, he cooks himself something and I am left wondering what to make ds and I every night. I hate that.
Click to expand...
 
DS & DH hates veggies, but both love meat. So we do Taco Salad, Enchiladas, Tator Tot Pizza Casserole (I know sounds weird, but is actually really good and kinda like pizza:) ), Steak, BBQ or marignated chicken...stuff like that, that's easy and doesn't have a lot of ingredients, so everyones happy.
 
I think it really depends on what their brand of pickiness is you know? Some kids won't eat anything with foods mixed together so casseroles and even tacos are out. Some kids have texture issues, some color...some are just difficult. I am not hard core but at around 3 I expect my kids to eat what the family is eating and not get a plate of toddler food in front of them. We've had meals where we've had to do the ole "you're going to sit there until you take 3 bites of it" stance and we've had meals where a kid forced himself to throw up to prove his point. ;) Strongwilled children are the BEST! ha!

Some advice:

Don't overwhelm your kid with an entire meal they hate. Make sure the meal includes one item he likes - however, don't allow him to eat that one item to the point where others don't get their share or he's too full to eat other things (no eating 6 crescent rolls and then being too full for your chicken and green beans!).

Don't give them a snack before dinner. Lots of kids fill up at 4:00 and then are just fine going without at 5:30.

If they won't eat grilled chicken because they prefer nuggets - stop serving nuggets. Just an example but truly, I think the longer you continue serving toddler food the less likely kids are to jump into grown up fare.

Don't let them drink 4 cups of milk at a meal to fill up. (My #2 did this....Oy.)


It takes time but eventually we got all our kids to eat most of the things we eat (my allergy boy doesn't fit in to that comment though!). My greatest regret as a parent is introducing "kid food" to them - thankfully I figured that out before #3 so I didn't have to reprogram him!
 
I stick some kind of veggie in their mac and cheese no matter what... so my little guys have no idea that mac and cheese actually comes without broccoli or creamed spinach or whatever I have on hand. I usually cut up chicken breasts and put them in the mac and cheese.

I think I mentioned in the other thread that the mandarin orange chicken from Trader Joe's coupled with sticky rice is a big hit with my little guys. (2 and 1)

My doctor gave me the "dipping" idea... little guys love to dip.. so giving them dipping options at the table usually gets dinner eaten around here. He gets to dip his octodog in ketchup, his salad in dressing, I make sweet potato fries quite often, too, which are awesome for dipping.

Also tuna casserole with crazy colored goldfish crackers for a topping. (If you let him help pour the goldfish over the top, you'll get a renewed appreciation from him for dinner, cuz "he helped")

Also, pick up a copy of The Sneaky Chef.
 
*Kelly* said:
Mari.. I would hate that too! Can you compromise on the meal ideas? He chooses some nights and you choose others?
Click to expand...

When I do force him into the meal plans, I always ask him what he wants. I can adjust my food for those nights and then I fill in the rest of the nights. But he often whines and says he just wants to do whatever. It only works when I insist and I remember to take out his meat. Though since I don't eat, I really shouldn't have to take out the meat. lol You would think that because I am cooking it while he sits around, he would eat anything, but nope. Men.
 
Last edited:
When all else fails, I make a quesadilla - no matter what veggie I put in them, Wes will eat it. Now meat is a totally different story!
 
Can you please write a book abt parenting, Emmy, and send me the first copy?! I want to be you when I grow up!! :)
 
I have 2 picky eaters, but they're picky in different ways. DS1 doesn't eat combination foods, and DS2 doesn't eat most meats. Add in that I'm a vegetarian and my DH wants meat and dislikes combination foods, and meal planning can get interesting. We have a rule that the kids must take at least 1 bite of every food they're served. Being a vegetarian myself, I am willing to respect my kids' food preferences but not cater to them. So I make a meal with at least a few foods that each of us likes, and anyone who doesn't feel they have enough to eat can have a peanut butter sandwich. Here are some of the few meals that everyone here will eat:

Breakfast for dinner
Plain pasta with sides of veggies and fruit
Bean burritos (but the kids don't like them wrapped as burritos, so they eat separate servings of beans, rice, shredded cheese, and corn)
Hamburgers and veggie burgers with mashed potatoes
 
*Kelly* said:
So my big question is.. for those of you with picky eaters, what are some of your go to recipes. What is it you are making to get them to eat that isn't just pizza, nuggets, and mac-n-cheese.
Click to expand...

I wish my son would eat pizza, nuggets and mac-n-cheese but he won't. :( At dinner, we make him try whatever we are having and then if he wants plan B he can have it. Plan B is always a peanut butter sandwich and raw veggies, which he doesn't love, but he'll eat and it's healthy so it's a workable compromise. Anyway, by insisting he at least try everything, we've stumbled upon things he likes that I never would have thought to make for him. He loves seafood, he likes things that are spicy (curries, Mexican food, etc.) Anyway, this is all my long-winded way of saying, you might want to expose him to a wide variety of foods and flavors and hopefully several of them will click with him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Community platform by XenForo® © 2010-2026 XenForo Ltd.
Back
Top