Food advice and kids

I have two boys and a girl (ages 14, 11 and 5). My problem is that 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.

"Janet" wrote:

I have two boys and a girl (ages 14, 11 and 5). My problem is that
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.

It might help if you could give us some examples of what they do and
don't like. I also wouldn't fix different things for different kids on
the same night, but taking turns for things two like and the third
doesn't might make it so that everyone gets nourished at least every
other day. And the 14-year-old is probably old enough to be
responsible for making himself a peanut-butter sandwich, macaroni, or
yogurt, or something, for meals that he just won't eat. Maybe the
11-year-old is as well.

Peggy

--
The Duke showed his lower teeth. "We all have our flaws," he said,
"and mine is being wicked." --James Thurber

My kids are similar in age, boys 14 and 11, and a daughter 7.

The 14 year old is slowly starting to come around, but I would still
class all three as picky. I do keep meals very simple for the kids, and
I tend to still feed them quite early. They are starving when they come
home, and if I don't feed them 5-5:30 ish, they are hoovering up
whatever they can find as snacks and spoiling their appetites.

A typical dinner would be meat, a veg and a starch. They like it plain.
No sauces, no fancy spices, and they really hate casseroles or other
dishes where ingredients are mixed together. The 11 year old still
doesn't want sauce on his spagetti, or even on the meatballs. He even
wants the meatballs in a separate dish from the spagetti. Sigh.

For meat, its chicken, ham, a pork chop, or something like a hamburger
or mild sausage I can grill. I think they'd eat chicken 7 days a week
if they could.

On the veg front, they are also quite limited - carrots, green or
yellow beans, corn, sometimes lima beans or broccoli, and that is about
it. I tend to rotate them.

For the starch, its potatoes, rice, or noodles most of the time. I do
come up with variations like cheese scalloped potatoes, but again, the
plainer the better as far as they are concerned.

They do like burritos and soft tacos - great way to get them to eat
meat and cheese and very quick and easy dinner to make. You just cook
the meat (chicken or hamburger) with a little mild seasoning, and roll
it up in a burrito with some cheese and ta-da. Normal humans would also
like some salsa, sour creme, green onions and maybe some chopped
lettuce, but plain meat and cheese will do for my kids.

I don't worry about protein with them, its fruits and veg they don't
consume enough of.

Mary G.

Janet wrote:

I have two boys and a girl (ages 14, 11 and 5). My problem is that 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.

My kids will happily make a meal out of fajitas. I use separate dishes to
serve up totillas, fried chicken strips, cucumber, pepper strips and maybe
some salsa or guacamale. They each take what they want and roll it up.

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

Been there! Check out the web site http://www.mypickyeater.com it
helped me with my fussy eating kids.