Meals your kids will eat - ideas needed
Discussion
C0ffin D0dger said:
Our kids generally just eat whatever we're having so long as it's not got loads of chilli in it. Bubble and squeak tonight with the leftovers from yesterday's roast. Lucky really as at 5 & 7 years of age they'll eat pretty much anything even stuff kids are supposed to hate e.g. sprouts, cabbage, etc.
Never pandered to them, can't be doing with fussy kids.
I was hesitant to say it myself,,, but THIS.Never pandered to them, can't be doing with fussy kids.
Our kids have never been given the choice but to eat what’s put infront of them. They’re allowed to leave it if they like but there won’t be anything else...
The three year old LOVES broccoli and all things green, five year old has always just got on with it... they are ‘normal’ in that they prefer white bread and eat rubbish if they can, but home cooked meals put in front of them of an evening are generally eaten with minimal fuss.
The contrast to some of their school friends is stark it must be said.
aberdeeneuan said:
Now, in reality, we put it all on their plates anyway and they have to something from everything but you'd be amazed how things change from being faced with a massive plate of food.
There is some research IIRC that backs up this point - they don't like being presented with too much food.For meals my 5 year old is fairly fussy.
Easy meals
Cheesy pasta with a bowl of peas
Home made pizza
Soup (tomato or chicken (with blitzed up veg)) with sandwich
Fish fingers or fish and chips
Stir fry noodles (no peppers or chilli)
Low sugar beans on toast
Shepherd pie / cottage pie
Sausages
Jacket potato or home made wedges
Cucumber
Raw carrots (never cooked)
Any fruit.
Less quick
Vietnamese fresh spring rolls with hoisin sauce (the rolled ones, not deep fried) - I know... picky!
Sushi. Will devour plates of raw salmon, mooli and rice
Roast chicken or pork with gravy
You can normally download the school lunch menu - ask them what they like from that (they probably copy their peers)
Tray bakes are quick and easy.
Assemble sausages / chicken thighs / veggies on a tray covered in tin foil, glug of oil and some herbs over, and into the oven for 35 minutes.
Any vegetables will work: potato wedges, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, fennel, red onion wedges, peppers, butternut squash, green beans, asparagus spears... whatever you have to hand.
Assemble sausages / chicken thighs / veggies on a tray covered in tin foil, glug of oil and some herbs over, and into the oven for 35 minutes.
Any vegetables will work: potato wedges, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, fennel, red onion wedges, peppers, butternut squash, green beans, asparagus spears... whatever you have to hand.
Edited by Mobile Chicane on Monday 14th January 12:49
I don't have kids, but in the pursuit of easy cooking for myself, I use a Tefal Optigrill a lot - it's like an advancement on the George Foreman grill things, it automatically times how long is needed based on what you put in (button to select type of meat and whether it's frozen) and the thickness of it (from sensing the distance between the grill plates). The plates ate removable for washing, too.
It's no "better" than just grilling food normally, really, but it makes it really easy to just put chicken breasts etc in it straight out the freezer and it'll beep at you when done, so you can get on with other stuff.
It's no "better" than just grilling food normally, really, but it makes it really easy to just put chicken breasts etc in it straight out the freezer and it'll beep at you when done, so you can get on with other stuff.
DoubleSix said:
C0ffin D0dger said:
Our kids generally just eat whatever we're having so long as it's not got loads of chilli in it. Bubble and squeak tonight with the leftovers from yesterday's roast. Lucky really as at 5 & 7 years of age they'll eat pretty much anything even stuff kids are supposed to hate e.g. sprouts, cabbage, etc.
Never pandered to them, can't be doing with fussy kids.
I was hesitant to say it myself,,, but THIS.Never pandered to them, can't be doing with fussy kids.
Our kids have never been given the choice but to eat what’s put infront of them. They’re allowed to leave it if they like but there won’t be anything else...
The three year old LOVES broccoli and all things green, five year old has always just got on with it... they are ‘normal’ in that they prefer white bread and eat rubbish if they can, but home cooked meals put in front of them of an evening are generally eaten with minimal fuss.
The contrast to some of their school friends is stark it must be said.
I would add that variety is important - tastes change as well, so if they like something don't keep giving it to them every week. They'll soon go off it.
Thanks all - this has been most helpful and inspiring.
Last night was the first night of the new meal plan....baked fish, potatoes and peas....one ate the potatoes and peas the other ate the fish and peas.....
I scoffed the leftovers.
So at least that's progress of sorts!
Veggie casserole tonight.
Last night was the first night of the new meal plan....baked fish, potatoes and peas....one ate the potatoes and peas the other ate the fish and peas.....
I scoffed the leftovers.
So at least that's progress of sorts!
Veggie casserole tonight.
towser said:
Thanks all - this has been most helpful and inspiring.
Last night was the first night of the new meal plan....baked fish, potatoes and peas....one ate the potatoes and peas the other ate the fish and peas.....
I scoffed the leftovers.
So at least that's progress of sorts!
Veggie casserole tonight.
One point on childrens taste - aside from being more sensitive to chili, etc they are also more aware of sulphurous vegetables - Brassicas – cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and Alliums – onions, shallots, garlic, leeks.Last night was the first night of the new meal plan....baked fish, potatoes and peas....one ate the potatoes and peas the other ate the fish and peas.....
I scoffed the leftovers.
So at least that's progress of sorts!
Veggie casserole tonight.
It's one reason many don't like them. You can cover them in a white sauce (can be made ahead of time) or a cheese sauce to disguise some of it.
Vaud said:
One point on childrens taste - aside from being more sensitive to chili, etc they are also more aware of sulphurous vegetables - Brassicas – cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and Alliums – onions, shallots, garlic, leeks.
It's one reason many don't like them. You can cover them in a white sauce (can be made ahead of time) or a cheese sauce to disguise some of it.
Interesting. I have three kids...It's one reason many don't like them. You can cover them in a white sauce (can be made ahead of time) or a cheese sauce to disguise some of it.
One hates cabbage, two hate sprouts, the one that likes sprouts hates cauliflower, but the other two like it. They all happily eat broccoli and pretty much anything else. Although one objects to onion in curry (so I blitz it up) but not Bolognese or chilli.
There's no rhyme or reason...
interesting.
as a kid i hated any form of chili in food. from 18 onwards i loved it. ive always loved onions..even as a kid. i always liked vegetables but that's because 95% of all dinners included a salad. what i liked most in the salad seemed to change every now and then.. one time id really like tomatos, another lettuce, another red onions.. but there was never something in the salad i didn't like.
i think with most food if there is a food they aren't keen on, tell them to eat it with something they do like. for instance as a kid i wasn't keen on lentils, but my parents would put pieces of hotdog or burger meat into it. or in a stew sometimes i wouldn't be keen on how soft the carrots are.. so i'd eat it in a mouthful with something i did like (the meat obviously)
as a kid i hated any form of chili in food. from 18 onwards i loved it. ive always loved onions..even as a kid. i always liked vegetables but that's because 95% of all dinners included a salad. what i liked most in the salad seemed to change every now and then.. one time id really like tomatos, another lettuce, another red onions.. but there was never something in the salad i didn't like.
i think with most food if there is a food they aren't keen on, tell them to eat it with something they do like. for instance as a kid i wasn't keen on lentils, but my parents would put pieces of hotdog or burger meat into it. or in a stew sometimes i wouldn't be keen on how soft the carrots are.. so i'd eat it in a mouthful with something i did like (the meat obviously)
towser said:
Thanks all - this has been most helpful and inspiring.
Last night was the first night of the new meal plan....baked fish, potatoes and peas....one ate the potatoes and peas the other ate the fish and peas.....
I scoffed the leftovers.
So at least that's progress of sorts!
Veggie casserole tonight.
Good work! You could use the same ingredients next time to make some simple fishcakes. I'd even mash the peas in with the potato so they can't flick them out :-) One or two of those with some tomato sauce on the side would be a good dinner.Last night was the first night of the new meal plan....baked fish, potatoes and peas....one ate the potatoes and peas the other ate the fish and peas.....
I scoffed the leftovers.
So at least that's progress of sorts!
Veggie casserole tonight.
Kids also like to be involved in cooking.
You can pre-make pizza bases (or buy). Jar of tomato sauce, cheese and then they choose the 2 veg
and one meat they want on top. They decorate it in whatever fun way they want to. Make it fun - crazy face with tomato eyes, etc
Total time: 15 mins.
You can pre-make pizza bases (or buy). Jar of tomato sauce, cheese and then they choose the 2 veg
and one meat they want on top. They decorate it in whatever fun way they want to. Make it fun - crazy face with tomato eyes, etc
Total time: 15 mins.
aberdeeneuan said:
Just a slightly different aspect - how do you serve your food? We make a point of putting it all out in bowls for the kids to choose what they want. Now, in reality, we put it all on their plates anyway and they have to something from everything but you'd be amazed how things change from being faced with a massive plate of food.
This tactic saw my eldest go from complaining like mad to eat sprouts at Christmas, to last night eating 4 of them happily.
This in spades. We do things like couscous salad - where the basics (couscous, onions, etc.) are all served mixed in a bowl but all the extras (read things that one likes and the other doesn’t) are served separately and each person makes up exactly what they want. Now they are teenagers the number of extras has reduced to just a couple of things.This tactic saw my eldest go from complaining like mad to eat sprouts at Christmas, to last night eating 4 of them happily.
Other ideas:
- home made pizza where each person does their own (you can buy or make the bases in advance and freeze);
- wraps - grill some chicken or beef or beans then have extras like cheese, salad, onions, peppers, sour cream for everyone to make their own;
- roast vegetables with chicken pieces - butternut squash, potato, leek, onion, tomato all work well; roast the veg for half an hour or so then add the chicken and give it another 30-40 minutes
- roasted onion and tomato (slow roast them for about an hour) served over spaghetti with Parmesan - this is delicious and extremely popular in my house
Generally we have an everyone eats together policy but for evenings when some people have clubs and are back very late we either do omelettes (small one person, cooked as needed) or preferably a stew or shepherds pie type thing where people can eat at any time.
Last night we did a black bean and sweet potato stew with dumplings and my youngest (14) said “there are very few meals as good as this” which amazed me, we aren’t vegetarians but we are trying to reduce our meat consumption. It’s a BBC Good Food recipe and easy to do.
In general we just have a policy where they have to at least try everything, if they try and don’t like it fair enough, but they can’t reject something they haven’t tried.
Bill said:
Vaud said:
One point on childrens taste - aside from being more sensitive to chili, etc they are also more aware of sulphurous vegetables - Brassicas – cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and Alliums – onions, shallots, garlic, leeks.
It's one reason many don't like them. You can cover them in a white sauce (can be made ahead of time) or a cheese sauce to disguise some of it.
Interesting. I have three kids...It's one reason many don't like them. You can cover them in a white sauce (can be made ahead of time) or a cheese sauce to disguise some of it.
One hates cabbage, two hate sprouts, the one that likes sprouts hates cauliflower, but the other two like it. They all happily eat broccoli and pretty much anything else. Although one objects to onion in curry (so I blitz it up) but not Bolognese or chilli.
There's no rhyme or reason...
tertius said:
This in spades. We do things like couscous salad - where the basics (couscous, onions, etc.) are all served mixed in a bowl but all the extras (read things that one likes and the other doesn’t) are served separately and each person makes up exactly what they want. Now they are teenagers the number of extras has reduced to just a couple of things.
Other ideas:
- home made pizza where each person does their own (you can buy or make the bases in advance and freeze);
- wraps - grill some chicken or beef or beans then have extras like cheese, salad, onions, peppers, sour cream for everyone to make their own;
- roast vegetables with chicken pieces - butternut squash, potato, leek, onion, tomato all work well; roast the veg for half an hour or so then add the chicken and give it another 30-40 minutes
- roasted onion and tomato (slow roast them for about an hour) served over spaghetti with Parmesan - this is delicious and extremely popular in my house
Generally we have an everyone eats together policy but for evenings when some people have clubs and are back very late we either do omelettes (small one person, cooked as needed) or preferably a stew or shepherds pie type thing where people can eat at any time.
Last night we did a black bean and sweet potato stew with dumplings and my youngest (14) said “there are very few meals as good as this” which amazed me, we aren’t vegetarians but we are trying to reduce our meat consumption. It’s a BBC Good Food recipe and easy to do.
In general we just have a policy where they have to at least try everything, if they try and don’t like it fair enough, but they can’t reject something they haven’t tried.
this one?Other ideas:
- home made pizza where each person does their own (you can buy or make the bases in advance and freeze);
- wraps - grill some chicken or beef or beans then have extras like cheese, salad, onions, peppers, sour cream for everyone to make their own;
- roast vegetables with chicken pieces - butternut squash, potato, leek, onion, tomato all work well; roast the veg for half an hour or so then add the chicken and give it another 30-40 minutes
- roasted onion and tomato (slow roast them for about an hour) served over spaghetti with Parmesan - this is delicious and extremely popular in my house
Generally we have an everyone eats together policy but for evenings when some people have clubs and are back very late we either do omelettes (small one person, cooked as needed) or preferably a stew or shepherds pie type thing where people can eat at any time.
Last night we did a black bean and sweet potato stew with dumplings and my youngest (14) said “there are very few meals as good as this” which amazed me, we aren’t vegetarians but we are trying to reduce our meat consumption. It’s a BBC Good Food recipe and easy to do.
In general we just have a policy where they have to at least try everything, if they try and don’t like it fair enough, but they can’t reject something they haven’t tried.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chipotle-sweet...
if not can u post a link as sounds good!
thanks
petemurphy said:
this one?
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chipotle-sweet...
if not can u post a link as sounds good!
thanks
That’s the one - didn’t have any butternut squash in so just increased the amount of sweet potato. We’ve done it once before so had the chipotle paste in. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chipotle-sweet...
if not can u post a link as sounds good!
thanks
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