so tired of very limited range of foods my kids will eat....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: the kids complain and don't eat it (they will eat the part of the meal they will eat, like fruit and milk),

[snip] My son helped me make soup, took one bite and refused more.

The only problem I see is the bolded part. If they don't like something, they don't have to eat it, but they need to be quiet about it. Your son was willing to try the soup. That's great! He didn't want more? Not your problem, and now you have lunch.

Fruit and milk = they won't starve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: the kids complain and don't eat it (they will eat the part of the meal they will eat, like fruit and milk),

[snip] My son helped me make soup, took one bite and refused more.

The only problem I see is the bolded part. If they don't like something, they don't have to eat it, but they need to be quiet about it. Your son was willing to try the soup. That's great! He didn't want more? Not your problem, and now you have lunch.

Fruit and milk = they won't starve.

Sadly, I have banked on this being true. Half the time my daughters dinner ends up being an apple or a banana and maybe a piece of cheese.

[Anonymous]

My 7 year old is still very picky, and I would be happy if he ate some of the things on your list! We've tried lots of different things, and the upshot, for him, is that he would sooooooooo much rather starve than eat something he doesn't really like. He just would. He is incredibly skinny, and so he isn't faking so we'll give in. Anyway, his palate has expanded over the years, bit by bit. It isn't too late for your kiddos. But I have found, for my own sanity, that I make things that can be sauced separately. Kid gets plain sauted chicken and roasted potatoes...and I have mine with a dipping sauce and garlicky kale. It will get better with time!

[Anonymous]

It is so not too late. My son ate great between ages 2 and 4 and only now he is becoming a really picky eater. So, if he can become more picky, surely kids can go the other way (mine became more picky for a variety of reasons, and at least one of them is my fault for being too tired and worn out to push a variety of foods).

[Anonymous]

Personally I think you pick your battles carefully. I have picky eaters too. It could very well be my own fault for catering to their tastes, but it has been more important to me to have them eat healthy / bLanced meals than to develop their palates by serving things I know they don't like and not giving other options. Yes, I am sick of cooking plain chicken, veggie and carb of some kind almost every night but they eat it. Both my husband and I were picky eaters and we both ate the bare minimum at home (my mom was ahead of her time for the 70s and always cooked with whole grains, fresh veg me lots of various sauces). I would fill up on crackers and snacks at my friends houses (I loved those houses with wonder bread and fluff!) or as I grew older, I would buy hostess cupcakes with my school lunch money on the way home from school. Luckily I never had a weight problem but I am short. Would I have grown more with better nutrition? Perhaps... In any case, I have to lecture my 3 boys about so many things throughout the day that I do to want to make dinner uncomfortable too and have chosen to avoid that battle. I figure they eat better than I did at their ages!

[Anonymous]

It may take multiple exposures to a new food before a child begins eating it. The key is to expose them but not pressure them. Minimize distractions, meaning sit down as a family at the dinner table with the TV off making the food the main attraction.

Also, keep a handle on snacking. Snacking is ok, but shouldn't be at a level that fills them. If there not hungry at dinner time or if they know they can snack later anyway, it will be doubly hard to get then to try something new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I so emphathize with you over this that I am going to take my 10 minutes when the newborn is finally asleep to give you some tips that have worked for me and my 2 and 4 year olds! I LOVE to cook and try new recipes, so having picky eaters is not an option for me, even though I have two kids who will complain about almost anything I put in front of them. I SAH and have the time to plan recipes and cook a variety of foods, and yet my kids are still picky. Point it, don't beat yourself up over the past two years--sometimes you can do everything "right" and still get kids who don't want to eat a casserole.

To get them to eat more veggies, I put out dishes of raw veggies while I make dinner. No comment to the kids about them--just put them on the counter. My kids always want to be in the kitchen when I'm in the kitchen, and they generally start begging for food. If I say NOTHING about the veggies, 9/10 times they will just start eating them because they are bored. If I harass them to eat the vegetables, they will eat none of them.

Here are some recipes that I was surprised my kids liked. They are all a riff on the standard kid fare, but they provide more variety and offer you a chance to spice them differently for adults, add more vegetables and proteins over time, etc.

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-crunchy-black-bean-tacos-cookbook-recipe-from-love-your-leftovers-202861 (I don't follow this exactly. I take 2 cans of black beans, dump into a pan with their liquid, add cumin, smoked paprika, and salt, and cook until the liquid reduces a bit. Then I smash them up with a potato masher. You can also add a small can of diced tomatoes to this--they will never know it's in there. You can also add diced chicken or other proteins to this, grate in different vegetables--zucchini, carrots disappear into this--etc. You could also bake these in the oven for less fat, but we eat them fried on the stove--not afraid of fat, especially with kids who are picky eaters.)

http://www.food.com/recipe/ww-turkey-and-cheddar-burgers-7-points-402689 (My kids have no idea there is zucchini in these.)

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/soy-hoisin-chicken-thighs-50400000131792/ (Chicken thighs in any sort of sweet, Asian sauce are a hit with my kids.)

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-grilled-halloumi-and-quinoa-saladrecipes-from-the-kitchn-168027 (If your kids like cheese, this will be a hit. Mine reject quinoa, so I serve this with couscous or rice and chopped raw veggies or steamed broccoli for them while DH and I eat a more interesting salad base.)

http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-white-chicken-chili-114789 (My 4 year old loves this and he HATES soup. I serve it with Trader Joe's organic "fritos," which I think is part of the appeal for him. He's allow to dip them into the chili but the chips go away if he's not using them to eat the chili.)

http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/ultimate-cheater-pulled-pork (If your kids will eat pulled pork, this is a really easy recipe. I serve it with different types of slaw for me and DH and the usual raw veggies for the kids. This freezes beautifully and can be added to tacos, etc for other meals later in the week. My kids usually just want to eat it plain on a bun, but DH and I can then have other more interesting meals later in the week--it's good over sushi rice with cucumber, carrots, etc in a sort of Asian rice bowl.)



GOOD LUCK!! Meal planning and cooking used to be such a pleasure for me. Having kids who hate most of what I want to cook is a bummer, but I keep trying new things and occasionally stumble upon keepers that make us all happy. I also let them see me and DH eating a variety of food, even if what I serve the kids is a striped down version of that variety. Sometimes, they want to eat what we're eating and it gets them to try something new. Note that I never cook a separate kids's meal.... Also, for soup, try doing a chunky soup and then straining out the chunks and only serving the kids the chunks (no broth). That sometimes works for me.

Not OP, but thanks for taking the time to post this, it's really helpful.

[Anonymous]

My kids used to eat so many more foods when they were 2 than they do now at 5. I got tired of making several different foods at mealtimes to cater to different tastes so I make one meal with at least one side that I know they will eat - even if it is rice that they can make more appetizing by putting shredded cheese on it or a stir fry where they only eat the chicken.

We do the "no thank you bite". Where they have to take at least one bite of something new that is served. If they don't like it, so be it, they don't have to eat it and say no thank you. But about 25% of the time they actually like it and eat more.

I also can't stand it when they look at the food I'm serving and say it looks yucky or disgusting, so we have a family table rule that instead, all they need to say is "I'm not going to eat that today".

That said, my DH is very picky as well so it's me against them so I typically end up making dishes that I like since I'm the one doing the cooking and try to vary it as often as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I so emphathize with you over this that I am going to take my 10 minutes when the newborn is finally asleep to give you some tips that have worked for me and my 2 and 4 year olds! I LOVE to cook and try new recipes, so having picky eaters is not an option for me, even though I have two kids who will complain about almost anything I put in front of them. I SAH and have the time to plan recipes and cook a variety of foods, and yet my kids are still picky. Point it, don't beat yourself up over the past two years--sometimes you can do everything "right" and still get kids who don't want to eat a casserole.

To get them to eat more veggies, I put out dishes of raw veggies while I make dinner. No comment to the kids about them--just put them on the counter. My kids always want to be in the kitchen when I'm in the kitchen, and they generally start begging for food. If I say NOTHING about the veggies, 9/10 times they will just start eating them because they are bored. If I harass them to eat the vegetables, they will eat none of them.

Here are some recipes that I was surprised my kids liked. They are all a riff on the standard kid fare, but they provide more variety and offer you a chance to spice them differently for adults, add more vegetables and proteins over time, etc.

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-crunchy-black-bean-tacos-cookbook-recipe-from-love-your-leftovers-202861 (I don't follow this exactly. I take 2 cans of black beans, dump into a pan with their liquid, add cumin, smoked paprika, and salt, and cook until the liquid reduces a bit. Then I smash them up with a potato masher. You can also add a small can of diced tomatoes to this--they will never know it's in there. You can also add diced chicken or other proteins to this, grate in different vegetables--zucchini, carrots disappear into this--etc. You could also bake these in the oven for less fat, but we eat them fried on the stove--not afraid of fat, especially with kids who are picky eaters.)

http://www.food.com/recipe/ww-turkey-and-cheddar-burgers-7-points-402689 (My kids have no idea there is zucchini in these.)

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/soy-hoisin-chicken-thighs-50400000131792/ (Chicken thighs in any sort of sweet, Asian sauce are a hit with my kids.)

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-grilled-halloumi-and-quinoa-saladrecipes-from-the-kitchn-168027 (If your kids like cheese, this will be a hit. Mine reject quinoa, so I serve this with couscous or rice and chopped raw veggies or steamed broccoli for them while DH and I eat a more interesting salad base.)

http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-white-chicken-chili-114789 (My 4 year old loves this and he HATES soup. I serve it with Trader Joe's organic "fritos," which I think is part of the appeal for him. He's allow to dip them into the chili but the chips go away if he's not using them to eat the chili.)

http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/ultimate-cheater-pulled-pork (If your kids will eat pulled pork, this is a really easy recipe. I serve it with different types of slaw for me and DH and the usual raw veggies for the kids. This freezes beautifully and can be added to tacos, etc for other meals later in the week. My kids usually just want to eat it plain on a bun, but DH and I can then have other more interesting meals later in the week--it's good over sushi rice with cucumber, carrots, etc in a sort of Asian rice bowl.)



GOOD LUCK!! Meal planning and cooking used to be such a pleasure for me. Having kids who hate most of what I want to cook is a bummer, but I keep trying new things and occasionally stumble upon keepers that make us all happy. I also let them see me and DH eating a variety of food, even if what I serve the kids is a striped down version of that variety. Sometimes, they want to eat what we're eating and it gets them to try something new. Note that I never cook a separate kids's meal.... Also, for soup, try doing a chunky soup and then straining out the chunks and only serving the kids the chunks (no broth). That sometimes works for me.

Not OP, but thanks for taking the time to post this, it's really helpful.

+1!

OP, have you tried dipping sauces? My DD has loved dipping her food since before she was 2 - I think it makes eating more fun for her as well as more flavorful. She adores hummus, likes honey mustard well enough, is passionate about ketchup, etc. It helps with getting her to eat/adapt to new veggies.

[Anonymous]

Don't despair. My 7 year old is FINALLY coming around and now trying and liking more food than ever. Try not to worry.

[Anonymous]

It's helpful and interesting to read all the replies.

I grew up as a "picky" eater. My parents always tried to pressure me to eat things and I'd get the requisite corporeal punishment if I refused. Laugh if you like, but there are a few fruits that make me feel physically sick as soon as I smell them, and I have to believe that's part of the reason why. I still don't enjoy the taste of any fruits and vegetables -- and with a vegetarian wife who loves them, I've tried them all -- but I eat them and tolerate them because I care about my health.

Our toddler ate everything we put in front of him until 24 months -- then he started refusing foods. We don't want him to develop the same hangups I have with food. We've been using some of the same ideas folks have talked about here -- everyone gets the same food, he's encouraged to try at least one bite of everything, and if he decides that he doesn't like the food, then that's okay -- he's just not getting anything special. He helps us cook some meals, and he likes to watch us prepare foods in the kitchen. We're fortunate in that some of the foods he likes are healthy and some of the foods he doesn't like are unhealthy (but I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone say that "picky" has positive connotations, PP aside) -- but we still want him to have more of an open mind than his father. We hope that just providing him with the opportunities to try new things as a toddler will open his palate -- and when he gets old enough he'll understand the importance of eating a balanced diet.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to thank the PP for all the recipes. I wouldn't describe my kid as a picky eater, but it does seem like we eat the same things over and over ... even I get tired of making the same stuff each week. It's great to have a new list to try, and most of them look easy and quick -- BONUS!

[Anonymous]

Introduce your kids to different things like
Pierogi
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pierogi-polish-dumplings/

Borscht
http://natashaskitchen.com/2010/09/26/classic-russian-borscht-recipe/

Schnitzel
http://www.germanfoodguide.com/schnitzel.cfm

Escargot
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Escargots-a-la-Bourguignonne-233523

These are just some European dishes, there are plenty of other exotic dishes.

[Anonymous]

Make whatever you want to make. Make sure there is at least one food that they like. Tell them that they have to take at least one bite of everything, and there is no complaining, but that they can fill up on anything on the table. Don't fight them if they want to fill up on bread or fruit or whatever.

Say, "Oh, you don't like that? That's okay, maybe you'll like it later/when you're older."

[Anonymous]

You cook and serve one dinner. If they don't eat it then they can go to bed hungry. They will eventually get with the program.