Need Some Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

ok,

lets put the breaks on here and face reality!!!

are you a short order cook or are you a parent. never mind the fact that you are a SAHM.

I am sorry you are allowed to have one or two dislikes but at this age they should NOT be DICTATING what you are cooking for the the family.

If they don't like what you are making then they can go hungary. and make sure you get rid of the junk food.

Has anyone seen these kids today. they are for the most part lazy, inconsiderate and just down right rude. and I am sorry but the buck stops with US as the parents. and one of the lessons is that we need to teach them "you might not like it, but you are going to sit there and eat it"

as long as your food is nutris (sorry for spelling) and balanced then they should be greatfull. you are creating problems for yourself if you dont do this now.

as long as you limit the junk food/snacks! they will eat the food that you put infront of them.

with the way that life is and they way that the econmy is you are setting them up to be a failure if you dont teach them that they cant have it all their way.

my son is young almost 3 and he sometimes dosent want to eat what i cook, how ever i tell him that he eats what i put infront of him or he goes hungary and i wrap up his dinner and put it in the fridge untill the next meal. he eats it eventually because he is hungary. I am sorry but my budget dosent allow for me to be throwing away food. or fixing 5 different meals. one way that i have combated the problem for my self is i let him come into the kitchen and help me (with most things except the cooker or stove top) he likes that. and this helps with other things like teaching them the value of their meal, just how much effort goes into it. you also teach them how to cook, and how to clean up. give them some value on the subject.

well enough of my ranting. i guess the end result. you cook what you like and they will eat it if they are hungary enough. just think about this. what happens when go to someone elses house for dinner. they probably wont cater to their pickyness.

hope this encourages you a little more

Anika,

You said they love noodles - have you tried the spinach noodles or any of the other different colored (flavored noodles).

Try the divided plate option also since they don't like anything touching their noodles.

English muffins pizzas are quick and easy - they can help prepare them. Just take an English muffin half and top it with any pizza toppings. Put in the oven on 350 until the cheese melts and muffin is a little brown.

Fruit salad is quick and easy too. Take your kids to the supermarket and let them each choose 2 fruit items. After you wash and cut the fruit up - let the children put all the fruit in a big bowl and then let them stir it all together.

Make mini-hamburgers for them. Some children are overwhelmed by adult size food items.

What do they eat for breakfast? Maybe you can incorporate some of the breakfast foods that they like into meals at other times of the day.

Do your children go to pre-school? If not, maybe see if there is a pre-school that you can put them in 1 or 2 days a week --- a preschool that serves lunch. I work in a preschool and we have parents come in and tell us that their child will not eat certain things but once the child sees other children eating these things - the child will want to eat those food items too.

Also - try putting one bite of a new food on their plate BEFORE you give them their noodles. Tell them to taste a tiny bite of the new food and then you will give them some of their beloved noodles.

Last of all - I DO NOT agree with the "make them eat what you put before them or let them go hungry" attitude. As adults - we DO NOT eat foods that we don't like - WHY force our children to eat foods they don't like???

And last of all - have patience with them - this could just be a "phase" they are going through.

A.

I have a 5 year old & a 3-1/2 year old daughter. They love to help in the kitchen w/preparing, cooking, & cleaning up. I'm really happy that they will taste someting before they say they don't like it. They only get a little to drink for dinner. They also can't drink it all at once. Snacks & junk foods are not allowed prior to dinner. They also know that there are kids in the world that don't have anything to eat, so they need to eat what they have & be thankfull. A couple of ideas are: put their food on smaller plates or bowls to look like a lot of food. Then they are proud of all that they ate. If they get full before its all gone, then say to them, "just eat 3 more bites". It helps them w/counting & gets them to eat a little more. One of my girls favorite dish is tuna or chicken & noodles. In a large pot, boil 2 bags of egg noodles. In a smaller pot, mix 1 can of cream of something soup w/2 cans of milk, & a large chunk of velveta cheese. Drain all the water from noodles. Add soup mixture to the larger pot of noodles, then add 2 cans of tuna or your choice(amount)of chicken. My girls love it & eat lots of it. Hope this easy dish helps you & your family... Good luck & eat well... TAMMYRZD...

I agree with Melanie...when I took over as a full-time step mom, the grandma had already spoiled the kids with separate meals...kid food for them (not healthy) and adult food for her and my then fiance. I was absolutely shocked when I made a perfectly good lasagna and they wouldn't even try it - and the grandma didn't even make them take a bite! So, when I took over and wanted us to eat meals as a family at the table all together, they went berserk. They did not want to eat normal healthy food, they would throw temper trantrums and cry and cry every night. I was going out of my mind, but I did not budge...they would have to eat a certain amount before they could get down from the table and eventually they did...even if it took an hour. Sometimes they would just go to bed without eating much dinner...but they would always have breakfast and lunch to hold them through, then the next night was a different food...sometimes they liked it and others they didn't...but they had to at least try it. Eventually, the foreign became regular, and they weren't as closed minded and spoiled...I taught them why they needed a balanced diet and what was healthy and what wasn't. They gave up on their temper tantrums after about 3 weeks and then they realized they were not the boss and they weren't going to change my mind...now things are so much better - they actually ASK for my lasagna and say "Yea!" when I make it....they try new foods and are allowed to say they don't prefer something, but they at least try it. I also don't blatantly make something I know they don't like - I don't expect them to like everything, but they know that I am not going to let them eat junk food and get away with rotten attitudes.

Hey there - I know this challenge - a few things I like to make that are pretty simple:

1. Crescent rolls with turkey (or whatever meat you eat).Kind of like pigs in the blanket but without the nasty hotdog
- Just buy a pack of the pillsbury crescent rolls and a pack of deli or lunch meat (and american cheese to if you prefer)
-Put the meat and cheese in center of role, roll it up like you normally would and bake for however long the packaging says (maybe a minute or two longer)
You can serve this with apples, pears, healthy cheese corn puffs or whatever they will eat.
2. I always like the Morning Star Veggie chickn nuggets or the Minitaure Veggie "corn dogs". They taste great and served with ketchup the kids will never know - they are also a lot healthier than the regular chicken nugg. and cord dogs.
3. Chicken and cheese with rice
- About a cup and half of white rice
- About two handfuls of chedder cheese
- 3.5 cups fat free chicken broth
- can of cream of chicken soup and half can of cream of mushroom or cream of celery or cream of whatever...
- boneless skinless chicken breast
Cut up chicken breast into a little larger than bite size pieces and lay them in a glass pan
Spread the cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup all over the chicken
Pour rice all over
Add chicken broth
Add cheese (kind of mush it down with a spoon into the chicken and rice)

Cover with tinfoil and bake for about 45 mins. at 425 - ten minutes before it's done take out and sprinkle some xtra cheese on top - then continue to bake for 10 more mins.

Good luck - I deal with this challenge daily and can understand the frustration of a child not eating (especially when they are so small). These all work well for me...for now

How old are your kids?

Morning, Anika,
I think maybe some of the ideas previously mentioned are great. I totally agree with the logic that the kids have to at least taste the food they think they don't like. Mine don't eat potatoes (unless they are fries) but they at least have to try them each time I make them.

As for the food touching other food, I use divided trays/plates. I bought mine at Wal-mart for a buck each. They are great for foods that are runny or those kids who don't like food to touch.

My kids like to make their own pizzas using tortilla shells as their crust.

Chicken pot pies (we prefer Marie Calendars) with extra veggies (steam fresh are great) for a quick dinner are always a hit. Try a beer can chicken. The chicken is super moist and tasty. You can get the can stand at Wal-mart or Bed Bath and Beyond. I serve this with veggies, rice, noodles, potatoes.....really anything you can think of.

I also take thawed chicken breasts, sprinkle with salt and pepper (any spices really), surround in plastic wrap, and pound it flat. I then heat a pan, place the meat in the pan, add chicken broth to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and flip the chicken every 2 - 3 minutes. When the chicken is cooked, remove the lid and let the liquid simmer out until you can brown the meat. The chicken turns out really tender and full of flavor! I serve this with rice, wild rice, or couscous. And veggies of course.

One of our favorite meals is so simple. It is just rice and hamburger. Make your rice (we use a rice cooker) and fry up ground hamburger with salt, pepper, and minced onion (dried or fresh). Mix the two together in a bowl with soy sauce. It is so simple but my kids love it!

Spagetti but with a small amount of sauce and rotini noodles. The noodles have more surface area to hold onto the sauce.

Mashed sweet potatoes. Noodles with butter and garlic salt.

Try roasted potatoes. Cut up potatoes in bite sized chunks, toss with 3 tbs of olive oil and a packet of lipton onion soup. Bake in a 425 degree oven. I think those are the directions but check the soup box. The recipe is on the back.

Build your own tacos are always fun. It might just be plain hamburger and cheese at first but they might get more adventurous.

I always tell my kids (3 and 4.5) that I only fix one meal for the family. If they don't like it, fine but this is what they will eat if they are hungry. There will be no snacks unless they eat dinner. Their tastes have greatly expanded. They love colored peppers, cucumbers, most fresh fruit....They still don't like potatoes!

I hope this helps.

There are some excellent Children's cookery books and that might be a help to you. You can get the kids involved with the preparation of the food and they will be more inclined to eat it. Cooking isn't really hard or so many people wouldn't be able to do it. However young they are they can help. First they can look at the pictures and choose what they want. Let them help bring the ingredients to you. While they are doing this they are also learning to count and do simple math.

Let the whole process be fun for them. It will also relieve you of the worry of what to cook. Don't worry if what they choose isn't following the rules for nutrition that will sort itself out. After fifty years of cooking I am often in the position of not having a clue what to make for dinner. I have done it all before and I am bored, but for you and the children it can be an wonderful experience trying new things and letting them help.

Good luck but don't worry too much they will grow out of the phase if you don't fuss about what they eat.

I have a couple of picky eaters and I try to have at least one thing they like at a meal. If they don't eat or at least try a couple of bites of what is on their plate then that is it until the next time I go to the kitchen to make food. When my boys were little they would not eat salad but I kept putting it on their plate now they like it. My very picky girls will eventually except a new food if I put it on the plate enough times. If they are very little then they don't have to try it if they don't want and as they get older I expect them to try more. In life sometimes we have to be polite and eat things that we do not prefer. The library has tons of children's cookbooks you might let the kid help you choose some recipes and make them. Kids are more likely to eat what they make and choose and then you can work some of those recipes into your routine.

I didn't really read the other responses. Get your children invovled with the making of thier food (if possible). Like mixing things, pizza is great, I've done PB&J's (with plastic knife of course). I did this with my almost 3 yr. old. I had the hardest time getting him to eat or try anything, but once he started helping he would eat more. He's still picky, but not as bad. I try to make simple dinners, nothing too fancy. I use the campbells web site, they have easy recipes. I also use cafemom.com, they have a group on their called cooking cafe, that I get alot of recipes off of. Then I may alter some recipes to suit us. They are also very easy. Maybe you could go out and have them pick out their own fork, spoon, plate and bowl. We have the CARS set for our boys and they love to use them. I also keep a notebook, that I write recipes in that the kids will eat (even for my husband cause he is picky too :P) Any recipe that is a hit I right it down. I hope this helps you out. I use other sources too. If you liked to know more just pm me. Good Luck.

P.S. If they don't eat then they don't get anything else till they do. Our boys go to bed at eight. Sometimes our oldest doesn't eat till 7. They don't even have to eat it all. If they don't eat what I make I will not make anything else.

Anika,

First of all your kids will out grow this phase, and you can be creative without having to master culinary arts! I would suggest that if they hate having their food touch, let them have special plates, that have divided sections, tell them that they are being served like dad in the military, ( I am a Vet, and we had serving tray that were sectioned for the food, I guess they still do). Then if they like noodles, serve them noodles, add something new, try all recipies.com they have good recipies that are quick and simple and you can adjust the quanties to fit your family size. Try fun finger foods like sweet potato fries or glazed carrots. These are sweet but healthy. Don't try to give them too many new things all at once, maybe one new food a month. Make a game out of it or ask them to help you with the cooking or finding the new food to try. If they are part of it they might be willing to help. you did not say how old they were. If they will try pizza seek some veggies on there by letting them make the pizzas and being creative with the vegies, make it fun time and then they get to eat their work of art, also let them make a dessert pizza to eat if they eat their vegie pizza. you can make the crust out of a flat bread or a tortilla. Use cheese and whatever veggies the kids will eat for veggie pizza, for the dessert use fruit, choc, ect.

I hope this helps.
C.

I got my 5 yo involved and he is more likely to eat what he has a hand in (oddly enough has developed an interest in watching tyler Florence and the Neely's on the Food network recently). We started a quest to create the perfect pizza crust after our favorite pizza joint closed and that really kicked it in for him. Try interesting things, like Artichokes- he loves them! Of Course, it might be the melted butter dip, BUT at least he's eating a freakin artichoke!LOL! they are easy- you cut off the stem an just boil the whole thing in water (about half way up the height of the choke) for about 30 minutes or so. Then drain and you pull off the leaves like potato chips and dip in melted butter-you scrap off the tender green stuff with your teeth- SOooooo good. I caught a sale at Whole foods and got white asparagas recently and discovered he loved it raw. Take them to the store and let them pick out new things to try- we have a try it once rule- It's okay if you don't like it- but you gotta try it at least once.