Meals for Kids

[Phoebe]

What do you feed your kids when SO isn't at home for dinner? I am tired of the same ole and my kids are so picky. I want to try something new that I might enjoy as well.

We stick to breakfast food (i.e, pancakes waffles, and oatmeal), PBJ, hot dogs, spaghettios, sandwiches and chicken nuggets for the most part. I mix in fruits, some veggies and yogurt. I would rather start cooking meals the whole family will like so DH can have something to eat when he gets home. Any ideas?

Have you seen the Tyson chicken breasts that are lightly breaded and not cooked entirely through? They're in the freezer section - I get them at Costco. They are LOTS lower in fat b/c they aren't fried and have a lot less breading. You just thow them in the oven for 25 minutes and the kids LOVE THEM. When Entropy's kids were here she was amazed at how much they ate.

If dh isn't home I stick to the kid basics. Anything from grilled cheese, chicken, PB & J, mac & cheese, tortilla's w/refried beans or cheese, lunchmeat rolled up in tortillas, hot dogs, yogurt, fruit.

I'm fortunate that my kids love yogurt, fruit and dried fruit.

[DCJenn]

Ravioli's are a huge hit here. I buy the frozen cheese ravioli and top with jarred spaghetti sauce. We all eat them. Nikolai is also a major rice eater so we have rice a lot- I steam it or if I'm in a huge hurry I'll sue the boil in a bag kind or the boxed and flavored kind (but they're loaded with sodium). He also is a huge tortilla and guacamole fan so there have been more than a few nights that we walk to the local taco joint (Tito's) and just have guac and chips for dinner. (I'll get the tortilla soup, too) He still loves beets but prefers them as a salad with blue cheese from one of the restaurants near here.

Other than that- the usual stuff- fake chicken nuggets (Chik'N nuggets), creamed corn, grilled cheese, PB & J, Eggos, yogurt, bananas, etc. I'll also nuke a sweet potato or a regular potato, too. Scrambled eggs and toast have been dinner, especially when we first got back from Russia because I could load them with butter, cheese and whole milk)

He hates mac and cheese, jello, anything green or leafy. He's all about his root veggies.

Jenn

[houseelf]

My kids love Italian cheese stuffed shells and can "deal" with eggs and bacon for dinner.

Also, after YEARS of being a special order cook, I just don't do it anymore. Seriously, my kids just might have to go to bed hungry if they don't like what we're serving.

The only thing that I will alter for them is keeping all the components of a meal separate for them. For example, they insist that the ingredients of taco salad be served separately or that the noodles for stroganoff be served separate from the sauce and meat. That is it. Seriously. There was a month or two of serious outrage and now they just accept it.

The other little nugget that I've learned is to keep a bag of apples on hand at all times. I cut up an apple everyday before dinner to keep them at bay until dinner is ready. This stops them from starting in on dinner-ruining junky snacks.

Kelly

We just do the basics when dh is working, too. I usually make up some soup and serve it with grilled cheese. DS isn't really into veggies right now, so I try to pack them in to the soup. Other staples are Morningstar Farm chik'n nuggets, hot dogs, and veggie nuggets, breakfast burritos, pasta with tomato sauce (I use Barilla Plus and add spinach, carrots, peppers, tofu to the sauce), pitas dipped in hummus, cheese, yogurt, and lots of fruit.

It's hit or miss whether DS will eat the same thing as DH and me. It seems like whenever I prepare something for him, he wants whatever we're eating and when I don't make up something for him, he doesn't eat what we're having.

[alison]

This is an interesting thread. No kids here, but dh is a picky eater. He's worse than most kids. I will eat anything - once. My parents were old school, I guess. They had me eating portabellas, squid, green onions. I had no choice!

Dh complains when his pizza is not "in a circle," "when his (fill in the blank) is not as crispy as mine," "when his food is hot." It drives me nuts!

[samssugarmomma]

We usually do:
beef stroganhoff (I have a 5 minute recipe that DD loves!)
mac & cheese (I ease the guilty by making it homemade and freezing it)
tacos
meatloaf muffins (I use a regular meatloaf recipe and then cook it in a muffin tin instead of forming a loaf)
pizza
sloppy joes
kalbesi (spelling?)


DD is all about ground beef or turkey but she rarely will eat chicken. How can she be my kid - she won't eat chicken!!

[Sheherezade]

Outside of traditional kid foods, we've only had marginal success with my picky kids. Here are a few things that have worked.

Rachel Ray's Chicken with Leeks was bland enough. They also liked her Chicken with Lime and Scallions. Who would have guessed? I can post the recipes if you are interested. We are Italian, so pasta has always been accepted. Lasagna, ravioli, etc. Meatloaf is also a family hit. Flank Steak with Ginger (also Rachel Ray ) got an A from both kids.

Certain failure: Fish. My oldest hates it because the youngest loves it. We always serve our fish with Fluff's microwave risotto as a side dish so the oldest can eat that with bread and veggies.

I'm making a sincere effort to get away from the short order cook - and the kid foods - this year. I've tried lots of new foods with the kids giving them grades. Anything with an A or B stays in the rotation. Anything with a C could pop up again - but not often. Recipes getting a D or an F won't be re-served - BUT each kid only has 3 D's and F's to hand out this winter. It's worked well. We have added several new recipes to the family menu. Just in time. Mom was losing her mind with all the pizza. :yum:

[Stella]

Angie, that is such a cool idea!!! I'll have to remember that for waaay down the road.

Recipes getting a D or an F won't be re-served - BUT each kid only has 3 D's and F's to hand out this winter.

[DCJenn]

and another bump for inspiration

[fluffhead]

We always serve our fish with Fluff's microwave risotto

woohoo! I missed this the first time around.
Truth be told, though, "Fluff's microwave risotto" is a very slight modification to a recipe I found on the side of a box of arborio rice.

[Vanquisher]

My kids eat whatever I cook, period. I am a mean hard ass on this one.