Help...picky Eaters

Anytime you make pasta, steam some broccoli then cut the tips over the pasta, even with mac and cheese. Or, add some pesto.

Broccoli with melted cheese.

Try some pan-grilled chicken (just a bit of salt/pepper) with apple jelly sauce (1 small jar apple jelly, a tsp of cooking sherry, salt, pepper). Halve grapes (I'd do quarters for the little ones) and add in with some snipped parsley til warmed through.

If you can, buy The Sneaky Chef by Missy Lapine. She has wonderful recipes in her book that helps you sneak in those extras.

At one point my DH and I had 5 very little ones, they were 3,3,5,5, and 6. Obviously they each had their likes and dislikes and there was just no way to cook for that many people individually. So my goal was to always make 1 thing that they liked with every meal, but only enough of it for one serving, then they had to eat what was made or go without. i had to go so far as to eliminate snacks to get even this to work though, but after they got over not wanting to try things they figured out that they actually liked a LOT.

other little ideas, if they like nuggets, dice up chicken and make your own with panko bread crumbs and bake them. You can add parm cheese and put over pasta for chicken parm, make slightly larger ones and stuff with ham and swiss for cordon blu, ect.

Fries, try sweet potato, if you are ok with it just introduce them as orange french fries.

They make purple cauliflower, it's grown that way, and tastes the same but the color might make it more fun.

shred or very finely chop carrots, broccoli ect. with noodle dishes

add ham or whatever you like to grilled cheese, or switch it up by making the grilled cheese on a pita or wrap (you can sneak in meats and veggies later)

Stop catering to them. They eat what you make or they don't eat at all. They won't starve themselves, they'll eat when they realize you aren't going to make them separate meals. Don't give in or they will be picky for life.

What would you like to make for their lunch? Some kids do not like the texture of certain foods or may have certain preferences. That does need to be respected. Pork chops and steak may be too tough or chewy. Perhaps cut them thinner. Maybe they really do not like apples. Now that being said. If you do not want your kids to eat it, do not buy it.
For those out there who have young kids and are reading this, please do not buy into the kid food idea. Children need to eat healthy foods. Children who do not have processed foods will not crave them. Make your own fries and pizzas and nuggets but also start your children eating what YOU eat. As they begin eating solids start adding foods that your family eats. Bits if chicken, real cheese, bits of ham, pasta....
Back to your question, as I stated, start by getting unwanted foods out of your house so that they are not an option. Then add foods that you DO want. Perhaps a turkey sandwich, but make it thin so that it is easily eaten. Pasta with sauce instead of butter. Lunch meat roll ups. Have your kids help pack their lunch. Give them choices of a main dish, fruit and a snack. When kids get to have control over their foods they are more likely to eat them. If they want to try turkey and ketchup, let em go for it.At least they are being adventurous. I do not have a problem with pizza, but have topping be healthy, like veggies or lean meat like chicken. It might be tough at first but giving them choices and control will help. Like I said, let them help pack lunch and choose dinners during the week. Lastly model the food behavior that you would like to see you kids adopt. Eat dinner together. (Family dinner are extremely important. They have been shown to reduce eating disorders, drug use and create family closeness and good eating habits.) Eat what you would like your kids to eat. You can make eating fun. Make cool sandwich shapes, have breakfast for lunch or dinner, send kids with bits of lunch meat, cheese and crackers and let them "play" with their food.

I would love to hear how it all turns out,

B. Davis

http://www.ChildAndFamilyCoaching.com
Because nothing is more important than family

I'm in the same boat. All my son (almost 3) wants to eat is pizza, pasta, bread, tacos and mac&cheese. He eats a lot of fruit and yogurt as well, but he is not a big meat eater. He does like broccoli though. I have to say that I've given up trying to get him to eat what I want him to eat. It's just too darn frustrating. I usually have his favorite foods frozen and if he refuses to eat what we're having, I just pop his food in the microwave. I think that as long they eat some veggies, fruit and some protein here and there they are fine. I think it's just a phase and they'll get over it eventually. Maybe you can try to make whole grain butter noodles or sweet potato french fries instead of the traditional stuff...Just try to sneak in something healthy whenever you can.

I'll preface this by saying that my boys aren't very picky - but their favorite dinner (by far) is pork chops with apples. This is off the top of my head, but its like 4 apples & 4 pork chops, you cut up the apples in a 9x9 glass casserole, sprinkle with 2 tbsp sugar and a little cinnamon. Then you salt and pepper the chops and tuck them in around/under the apples. cut a few butter pats on top, cover it and bake at 350 for like 30 minutes (you may want to check the time). They are yummy and moist & they love the baked apples too. We usually serve them with mashed potatos and asparagus or something...
good luck!

Updated

I'll preface this by saying that my boys aren't very picky - but their favorite dinner (by far) is pork chops with apples. This is off the top of my head, but its like 4 apples & 4 pork chops, you cut up the apples in a 9x9 glass casserole, sprinkle with 2 tbsp sugar and a little cinnamon. Then you salt and pepper the chops and tuck them in around/under the apples. cut a few butter pats on top, cover it and bake at 350 for like 30 minutes (you may want to check the time). They are yummy and moist & they love the baked apples too. We usually serve them with mashed potatos and asparagus or something...
good luck!

I was on kraftfoods.com yesterday (because we've run out of ideas for meals!) and there were some really good recipes on there. They also have budget meals and picky-kid meal ideas as well. (even had a lunch box menu that i loved since my girls will go to KG in the fall).

I agree with Meaghan H--I'm not a short order cook. Once my kids were toddlers, they were offered what we had for dinner. If they didn't eat it, they did not get another choice, they went hungry. At what point do you stop tailoring their meals just for them? The more you do it, the more they will expect it, and the harder it will be to get them to accept that they have to eat what the family is eating.
I did try to make sure they had a lunch that was healthy and appealing. One of our favorites was quick cooking grits. You can add in different things to change the taste--honey one day, a slice of american cheese or some cream cheese and a little shredded meat another day. Stir in the extras just at the end of cooking, and anything will melt/soften very easily.

I hear ya! I have a two year old and I just never know if he is going to eat!!! Try pasta! I make a couple different sauces that my son loves and then he gets veggies and its healthy! Spagetti and meatballs is a fav. or I roast veggies (tomatoes, onions, garlic, eggplant) and then make a puree out of them and put them with penne or rigatoni. The fam loves it. Or risotto - an italian dish, but there are so many variations on what ingredients you can add. I also just saw the idea for homemade mac and cheese "cupcakes". Layer muffin tins(well greased) with cooked noodles some veggies, cheese and bread crumbs. Bake and its a great kid friendly meal! Look it up on foodnetwork for the details. My other savior is soup - my son usually loves it. And it can be a meal in itself too - serve it with chees and crackers or fresh veggies.

Good luck!
A. V.

In our house, my son eats what we eat. I am not a short order chef, so if we are having pork chops, potatoes and salad, then my son eats that. He may not always like it and some nights eats more than others, but the only way to expand their taste buds is to make them try stuff. I promise that they won't go hungry, and you will find very quickly what they truly like and don't like.