Do you make alternative dinners for your kids if they don't like what you made?

[Anonymous]

They can eat - some - of what I made.

[Anonymous]

No. But...my kids get fruit and milk with every meal. With the fruit, they get a veggie, carb and a meat/protein. When I introduce something new, the other 3 things are familiar things they like. So the first time I made chicken parmesan, it was with sauteed spinach, spaghetti and fruit. Which is stuff they like, and eat all the time. So if they don't eat the chicken parm, they still had fruit, spaghetti, spinach and milk.

So the image of someone sitting forlornly at dinner saying they don't like anything on their plate doesn't happen in my house - as I actively prevent it from happening. I do not allow substitutions. You eat dinner or a big breakfast.

[Anonymous]

I never force my kids to eat dinner or even to try new foods. My parents had the 3 bite rule and I had a truly limited diet until my late 20s as a result of forcing myself to eat eat foods I truly didn't like.

Instead, we have family dinners at least 5 nights a week. Each of our kids must sit down for th he duration of the meal and can eat or not eat whatever they like. Then we clean up which takes another 15 to 20 minutes. If they haven't eaten they are welcome to a peanut butter sandwich.

This waiting game has resulted in no fights and all of my kids begin to pick at what's on the table out of hunger. Only rarely has one of the 3 eaten a sandwich.

[Anonymous]

I do as others do, not make a special meal but will accommodate things like keeping things separate. So everyone can decide if they want sauce on thier pasta.

I allow my son to help himself to a fruit cup or fruit. If we are trying something really new and he tries it but truly does not eat it, he can have cereal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a picky water. I grew up eating in a family where everyone had different tastes and lots of times there will be multiple separate dishes cooked (and more if grandparents visit).
It's the same now. Each eats their own dish. Most of the dishes are simple (steak and grilled vegetables for one, grilled shrimp and raw vegetables for another, salad for the third person, etc). Even desserts are different. I don't like brownies without fruit in them, everyone one else hates fruit in the brownies, but some want nuts and some hate nuts. Four separate trays are baked.

You make four trays of brownies every time you bake? That's a lot of work!

I think it's good to teach kids to be adaptable, willing to explore new tastes and gracious to someone preparing the meals (i.e., saying thank you, eating what is on the plate that he DOES like) rather than indulge their very specific personal tastes. Obviously you are doing to/for your kids what your parents did, but maybe you would have been less picky growing up if you had branched out more from an early age. Many studies show kids have to try new foods repeatedly to grow to like them.

My parents didn't believe in any pressure other then by example. Food was always non-issue, not worth paying attention to, nobody liked junk food. My parents just let me be and I started cooking myself, experimenting. Making extra brownies is just three extra bowls for the dishwasher as they are all based on one recipe (http://www.browneyedbaker.com/outrageous-indeed/). It gets tricker with cakes. All of it is not a complication, but an adventure.
As for eating what's on the plate: lots of people don't know how to cook and kids have to suffer. We were volunteering at a food bank that provides bags of food for the weekend. People were commenting on cans of clams and other similar stuff as being bad tasting as they didn't even want to think that you can make pretty tasty dishes out of basic stuff.

[Anonymous]

The only time I make something separate for my kids is if it's spicey, I'll make non-spicey version for them. Otherwise they eat whatever I make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a picky water. I grew up eating in a family where everyone had different tastes and lots of times there will be multiple separate dishes cooked (and more if grandparents visit).
It's the same now. Each eats their own dish. Most of the dishes are simple (steak and grilled vegetables for one, grilled shrimp and raw vegetables for another, salad for the third person, etc). Even desserts are different. I don't like brownies without fruit in them, everyone one else hates fruit in the brownies, but some want nuts and some hate nuts. Four separate trays are baked.

You make four trays of brownies every time you bake? That's a lot of work!

I think it's good to teach kids to be adaptable, willing to explore new tastes and gracious to someone preparing the meals (i.e., saying thank you, eating what is on the plate that he DOES like) rather than indulge their very specific personal tastes. Obviously you are doing to/for your kids what your parents did, but maybe you would have been less picky growing up if you had branched out more from an early age. Many studies show kids have to try new foods repeatedly to grow to like them.

My parents didn't believe in any pressure other then by example. Food was always non-issue, not worth paying attention to, nobody liked junk food. My parents just let me be and I started cooking myself, experimenting. Making extra brownies is just three extra bowls for the dishwasher as they are all based on one recipe (http://www.browneyedbaker.com/outrageous-indeed/). It gets tricker with cakes. All of it is not a complication, but an adventure.
As for eating what's on the plate: lots of people don't know how to cook and kids have to suffer. We were volunteering at a food bank that provides bags of food for the weekend. People were commenting on cans of clams and other similar stuff as being bad tasting as they didn't even want to think that you can make pretty tasty dishes out of basic stuff.

You're setting your kids up to being really high maintenance partners to whoever they choose to spend their lives with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make food they like. How is that so complicated.

I can't eat bread and pasta, I don't force myself because it is on the table.

You never try new recipes or foods that you're not sure if they will like?

I will sometimes do a variation on a food I know my picky kid likes and she won't eat it. For example, she eats turkey meatballs but somehow doesn't want a turkey burger even off the bun and broken into smaller pieces. If you have a picky eater, they will also sometimes suddenly stop liking a food they've eaten before.

So that's how it can get complicated.

Yes and I serve it with rice and/or bread or pasta.

We eat Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cajun. Etc... Mostly home cooked. We also eat ceviche... I don't force them to eat it, I serve it with something they like... Normally a carb, which I can't eat.

I have a picky eater too, I get it we buy a case of something then they hate it.

So if I make salmon which he hates i make surf and turf, because he like steak and we like surf and turf.

I'm not going to put 3 things on the table and know he hates all 3 and say"eat or go to bed hungry"... Just like I don't serve my Muslim friends pork.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. But I learned to cook first. I don't expect them to eat anything that doesn't taste good.

This. Most people I know who make separate meals for the kids are not good cooks. I have four kids, and none would eat a frozen chicken nugget over aa piece of roasted chicken and potatoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. But I learned to cook first. I don't expect them to eat anything that doesn't taste good.

This. Most people I know who make separate meals for the kids are not good cooks. I have four kids, and none would eat a frozen chicken nugget over aa piece of roasted chicken and potatoes.

My MIL is a chef and literally makes each of my kids a separate meal.

I suspect you have that kid That devours my candy jar because they are so limited on what they are allowed to have.

[Anonymous]

I also don't cook an alternative, but I have other easy options on hand.

Chicken nuggets, Easy Mac, quesadillas, sandwiches, etc.

The way I see it, kids are people. My husband hates peas and I don't like shellfish. If it was served, I wouldn't eat it and I'd eat something later. My 6yo can't cook her own meal "later", so if we want to eat something she doesn't like, I make her something easy that she does. Since she's not a picky eater, I don't worry. (She loves all veggies and steak, but she isn't really into French fries or potatoes or other meats.)

I'm also not worried because my mom made EVERYTHING from a box or a can as a child, and I love Thai and Indian and sushi and Middle Eastern, and on and on. I didn't develop a taste for those until I was older. But to say a child will "never" have a broad palate if they don't eat from a broad menu as a child, is BS.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a short order cook. I make one meal and they have to eat some of everything. Sometimes that's only one bite. After that, you make yourself a sandwich, frozen waffle, bowl of cereal etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. But I learned to cook first. I don't expect them to eat anything that doesn't taste good.

This. Most people I know who make separate meals for the kids are not good cooks. I have four kids, and none would eat a frozen chicken nugget over aa piece of roasted chicken and potatoes.

My MIL is a chef and literally makes each of my kids a separate meal.

I suspect you have that kid That devours my candy jar because they are so limited on what they are allowed to have.

NP. I suspect you're kids have a very limited palate and will probably be looked down upon as rubes as they get older

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a picky water. I grew up eating in a family where everyone had different tastes and lots of times there will be multiple separate dishes cooked (and more if grandparents visit).
It's the same now. Each eats their own dish. Most of the dishes are simple (steak and grilled vegetables for one, grilled shrimp and raw vegetables for another, salad for the third person, etc). Even desserts are different. I don't like brownies without fruit in them, everyone one else hates fruit in the brownies, but some want nuts and some hate nuts. Four separate trays are baked.

You make four trays of brownies every time you bake? That's a lot of work!

I think it's good to teach kids to be adaptable, willing to explore new tastes and gracious to someone preparing the meals (i.e., saying thank you, eating what is on the plate that he DOES like) rather than indulge their very specific personal tastes. Obviously you are doing to/for your kids what your parents did, but maybe you would have been less picky growing up if you had branched out more from an early age. Many studies show kids have to try new foods repeatedly to grow to like them.

My parents didn't believe in any pressure other then by example. Food was always non-issue, not worth paying attention to, nobody liked junk food. My parents just let me be and I started cooking myself, experimenting. Making extra brownies is just three extra bowls for the dishwasher as they are all based on one recipe (http://www.browneyedbaker.com/outrageous-indeed/). It gets tricker with cakes. All of it is not a complication, but an adventure.
As for eating what's on the plate: lots of people don't know how to cook and kids have to suffer. We were volunteering at a food bank that provides bags of food for the weekend. People were commenting on cans of clams and other similar stuff as being bad tasting as they didn't even want to think that you can make pretty tasty dishes out of basic stuff.

You're setting your kids up to being really high maintenance partners to whoever they choose to spend their lives with.

Looks like people really hate cooking. It is so easy and fun. No wonder there are so many bad restaurants. It's no maintenance. My girlfriend and I started doing girls football Mondays when we cook, watch the game and have fun, while husband's are watching football somewhere. Women who never like cooking now send me recipes they find interesting. The funniest part was is that husbands decided to join in a year later (cooked too), I guess we were more fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. But I learned to cook first. I don't expect them to eat anything that doesn't taste good.

This. Most people I know who make separate meals for the kids are not good cooks. I have four kids, and none would eat a frozen chicken nugget over aa piece of roasted chicken and potatoes.

Never heard of that or do you mean separate meals are separate containers of prepackaged foods?
Tastes are personal. I might not like your chicken and potatoes because you used rosemary.