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Dinner. Complaining. Do kids like anything healthy?!

ottoparts's picture

I cook 2x a week for the family and without fail, the kids (11, twin girls) are NEVER happy with what I make. It's killing me. They don't like ANYTHING that isn't junk or takeout. Any suggestions? 

Comments

autumn_raynes's picture

I think kids generally will eat what they are accustomed to or grow up eating. My kids were not super picky eaters but the didn't like eating most vegetables. I used to make a green juice that we called a "milkshake" and they loved it. The would not actually eat the vegetables but were fine to drink it and they were non the wiser. Now they have no problem eating or drinking most vegetables. 

I think hiding the things that they do not like to eat in things that they love to eat is the way to go.

Stepdrama2020's picture

For those brats.

FinallySkidFree's picture

My GD6 used to eat EVERYTHING when she was a baby. Now she is super picky. We see her EOW and every Friday for dinner on the off weeks.  So on the days she is at our home, we cook what she likes, it just solves the "Eeewww I don't like that!"  In order to save myself the aggravation, I just plan the weekly dinners around GD and her favorite foods. My Skids didn't like beans, so I wouldn't cook beans for them. I think most kids are annoying like that. My nephew only eats hot dogs, white rice and bread with butter. Super annoying!

Merry's picture

Easy. You cook for yourself and your SO. If the kids don't like it, they can make themselves a sandwich, scramble an egg, get a bowl of cereal. Or go hungry. But they do NOT complain or get to order in.

You might experiment with different cooking techniques/sauces for vegetables though. Smoothies. Cauli mashed into potatoes. Zucchini ribbons mixed in with spaghetti.

In my house we had to at least taste everything, and if we didn't like it, no big deal, we made a sandwich. We also didn't get dessert if we didn't eat the main meal. Both my parents would have been all over us if there were one word of complaint and we'd be on dishes duty for a month at least. Zero disrespect tolerated.

Cover1W's picture

If you can't or won't stop cooking for them (recommended if your DH doesn't back you up), then revert to 'family style meals.' This is recommended for introducing toddlers to new food.  When my SDs were 7 and 9, through 8 - 10, I researched how to introduce solid food to kids/toddlers because I figured out BM/DH had never done this. They ate only, literally, white bread/toast, plan pasta with a little olive oil/butter and maybe some parmesean cheese, white rice, popcorn, chicken nuggets and french fries. I cannot think of anything else.

What worked for YSD (and a little for OSD - but she has other issues which you can also figure out by doing this...there's lots of info on the web about getting toddlers introduced to new foods), was family style meals with one or two things you know the kids will eat but they have to try everything once. Spaghetti, sauce, meatballs, veg all served in different bowls so they can make their own plate. Stir frys, baked potato night, tacos, etc. all work well for this.

Onanisland's picture

Offer healthy food, or whatever you want to eat, but don't worry about whether they like it! My skids are actually really good eaters , my DS, 3 is going through his picky phase. I do one 'safe' food per meal and then I don't think about or worry if he eats or enjoys the rest. I do ask him not to complain but to put his food on a 'no thank you' plate if he doesn't  want to eat it. If he's hungry later he gets a simple snack like toast or cheerios.

11 is too old for a no thank you plate of course! But maybe do the one 'safe' food and let go of the rest! Not looking at or caring what they eat takes a lot of practice but it is probably healthier for you and them to take the stress out of meal times.

Lizzylemon's picture

Like you, I had the same issue with my SD10. She came to live with us full time when she was 9 and she hadn't been intoroduced to food before. Everyone infantized her and only gave her milk. So, I had the task of introducing food to her. I make meals that are customizable because everyone in this house likes a variation of the same meal. Dh likes meat and no veggies, I like meat and veggies, sd10 refuses to eat meat or cooked veggies. Tacos is a good example. I can make sd10 a quesadilla while I have a taco with veggies and dh has a taco without veggies. 
 

In this house for every meal we have 4 categories on our plate; fruit, veggie, protein and grain. I also stipulate that every plate must be eaten to the last crumbs because sd10 started from crumble her meal so she wouldn't have to eat it. I also have her put her own food on her plate so she can judge the corrrect portion for herself. She is allowed to have as many servings as she wants as long as she eats every bite and crumb. She always has raw veggies for her serving since that's what she prefers. She can have dessert after that. We do not do snacks for her because we found that she wouldn't eat her meal, just waited for the snack.
 

It works for us. I don't tolerate any complaints at dinner time. I don't have patience for a 10 year old complaining about perfectly good food lol I run a tight ship and do not allow her to complain about anything. If she has an issue with something I have her excuse herself to her room and she can come out when she is in a good mood. I will not tolerate bad attitudes. I'm really strict but it makes everything run smooth at home since we have her full time. 

ndc's picture

I tend to make things the skids like on the days we have them, and save my more "adventurous" foods for when they're with BM.  My skids like spaghetti with marinara or meat sauce, pizza, macaroni and cheese, hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, steak, fish (DH is a fisherman and they've been eating it since they were babies, so they're used to it), ribs, stroganoff and crock pot soups (even those with vegetables).  We discovered by accident that they really like baked beans.  They like rice and potatoes and they'll eat certain vegetables, like green beans and carrots, but they're not fans of others, like squash or broccoli.  When I first moved in with DH and the skids, they didn't eat much other than spaghetti, pizza and chicken nuggets, because they liked them and those were within DH's limited cooking abilities.  I started making new things, and they would be required to take a taste.  They didn't need to eat a full portion, they just had to try everything.  That's how they discovered that there were other things they enjoyed.  It helps that BM is into healthy food and doesn't feed them a lot of fast food at her house, too.

ExhaustedByItAll's picture

My SS is extremely picky, if it's not white or yellowish brown food, forget it. So when I cook something yummy for all of us, I ask him, "Do you want chicken nuggets and French fries or fish fingers and French fries?" I always make enough that he can have what we're having, but usually he just wants his air fryer yellowish brown food. Doesn't take me any extra time, and it's literally out of the freezer, into the air fryer, onto the plate. If his dad wants him to eat something else, he can cook it or have the argument. 

Side note: we make fruit and veggie popsicles that SS loves. He'll even eat ones made with the green V8. Something like that or the juice/smoothie suggestion might be worth a try if you're really worried about nutrition.

thinkthrice's picture

You can cook for yourself and SO.  Same thing here...the three ferals were raised on junk food and McDonald's drive-thru.  The BM in my case is supposedly a caterer and her mother is supposedly a gourmet cook.  HA!!!!

In fact YSS a k a  the HousesHitter, PASed out over a home cooked meal.  I ended up letting Chef do the cooking for them if you can call it that...so-called kids Centric meals.  Of course got him nowhere as they demanded to eat out all the time at fast food restaurants. 

And of course we could not afford that even if we wanted to do that because so much child support money was being sucked out.  The ferals would not eat anything with Grill marks,  I kid you not.

  Chef would spend quite a bit of time scraping off the grill marks of hot dogs and hamburgers as well as chicken which they refuse to eat but got a big bowl of ice cream instead.

Their diet consisted of:

Oreos

soda

potato chips

french fries

chicken McNuggets

Cheesy poofs

macaroni and cheese

cheese pizza

Doritos

Chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup

Chocolate milk

Donuts

Reese's Pieces