dkhedmo wrote:
keira wrote:

I have two boys and a girl. They all like different foods. I insist on
making them the same thing, which is often a battle but getting easier
since I have not back downed once. I want to know if anyone has any kid-
friendly dinner and/or suggestions for finicky kids. I am concerned
about protein and if my kids get are getting enough nutrition in their
diets. I need suggestions. Are there any foods out there that are
flexible but also nutritious? --Keira

You don't say what age your kids are, but something my 5 yo has gotten
interested in is having one or two days a month where he gets to choose
the menu and help shop for and prepare the food with his parent of
choice. I set the parameters, such as "1 fruit, 1 veg, 1 protein, 1
whole grain, and dessert" and he gets to choose the items and greatly
enjoys the preparation. Everyone in the family eats that meal (parents
too, even if it's a bunch of "kid" food).

Funny, his most favorite part is being the one to call the other parent
and his litle brother in from playing when it's time to eat. I didn't
realize that was such a mystical and coveted position to hold!

With three kids, I'd pick one night a week to be "kid's choice" night
and rotate that to each kid having a turn. If you have a
husband/partner, have them plan the menu one night a month also and that
makes an even 4 weeks and they can plan on one kid always being the
first Thursday, next kid second Thursday, etc. and that might give them
some time to anticipate and plan a meal, look up a recipe, etc. I would
definitely not allow it to be pizza or whatever junk food every time,
unless they were making whole wheat dough from scratch, preparing fresh
vegetable toppings, etc, that kind of a thing.

Speaking of pizza, my son had a lot of fun one night last week making
pizza. There were some nice pitas on sale at the grocery store, so I
picked up a couple packets, one whole wheat, on pesto flavored, and laid
out a buffet of toppings and we each made our own little pizza. My 5 yo
loves broccoli on pizza, he also put olives, tofu, cheese, sauce. You
can make your own sauce - steam or saute a bunch of vegetables, tofu if
you're worried about protein, blend it all up and put it in sauce on
pizza, over pasta, in lasagne, they'll never know!

-Karen-


That last sentence really rubs me the wrong way -- if you
are tricking your children into eating vegetables, then IMO
you've already lost a battle. They've learned, from you,
that vegetables are a thing you have to be tricked into
eating; otherwise, they're no good. I don't think that's
a healthy viewpoint.

DS and his friends are very interesting to watch. He was
one friend who has an eagle eye and can discern any
vegetable within a muffin that does not belong there.
Another friend eats anything you put before him -- as if
he's daring you to find something he *won't* eat. DS
was Mr. Carrot Only for years. And they're all healthy
9-, 10-, and 11-year olds today.

If your child isn't eating vegetables, I wouldn't sweat
it. Things will change. Find something he or she
does like and give that to them. DS was also Mr.
Pasta Only. Suddenly one day he started eating
blazingly hot chicken wings. It's very odd how
tastes change with time. For years it was peanut
buter sandwiches (NO JELLY!) for lunch. Suddenly
he wants Ham and Cheese.

To the OP, worrying about protein. We have had good
luck with cheese (this is WI, after all) and nuts.
Beans as well, in season (Not dried beans -- the wife
and I don't like them). And meat as well. DS is
a chicken only person, but DD loves a good steak.
All are good sources of protein (as is skim milk).
Not a lot of tofu is consumed at our house, but
some people swear by it, and it can be very
flexibly prepared.

Good luck!

Scott DD 12 and DS 9