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

Some things I do:

Have the kids cook. Hunter especially will be more adventurous if he cooked
it.

Eliminate the real junky food from the house. My kids wouldn't eat fruit
for a long time. Once I eliminated snack crackers and ice cream they
suddenly decided fruit was worth a try although they are still a bit
reluctant and will only eat a few types. I do let them dip strawberries in
sugar. We still get the other things but they aren't around all the time.
Once I went a couple months without hot dogs they suddently decided to eat
more of the other meats.

Keep things seperate if possible. I don't mix meat sauce over the spagettie
because one kid only likes a little. I used to seperate some macaroni
before adding the cheese as one kid doesn't like cheese. He's 6yo now btw
and in the last 6 months he'll eat mac and cheese as one dish. I do cook
some casseroles but everyone seems to like them. Meat, potatoe/rice/pasta,
couple veggies, maybe something else at a meal is nice because they can pick
and choose. I usually only cook one veggie and then their is some left over
from the night before. I like beets and zuchinnie and the kids hate it so
on those nights I usually have corn too.
Hunter and I love soup - Luke not so much. When we have soup I always pick
a sandwich or something that I know Luke will like. To make a long story
short I try to make sure there is one healthful thing on the table that each
person likes ;-)

I don't do bread at meals unless dh is home, otherwise they fill up on bread
and aren't hungry enough to want to taste the other things.

I don't ever fight about it. I sometimes try to get them to take one bite
to decide if they like it but if they don't or won't, I drop it.

For things to eat? I'm sure that varies. In my house beans, soups, deli
style trays with good meats, cheeses, veggies (they only really eat
carrots), fruits where they can just pick and eat (good for lunch). One kid
likes cheese and yogurt. Fried stuff which we don't do all that often but
they like it - especially fish, making their own pizza's with healthful
toppings, tuna and crackers, anything on a stick, lol. We make skewers for
the grill and put fruit and stuff on a stick sometimes. Mine like veggie
burgers oddly enough.

--
Nikki
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
EDD 4/06