Making a meal one person doesn't like. - Page 2

[mizzoh]

there are a few meals i make and love, but ds ( 4) just doesn't like. on those nights ds can have someting else healthy that requires no cooking ( usually hummos and bread)

[BeanyMama]

I make one meal for everyone. There's five of us so it's often somebody doesn't like it when someone else loves it. I make a big green salad with every meal and have my kids' whole life, so if someone doesn't like what I've made they eat as much salad as they want.

[alaskaberry]

My son is four...we have the same problem. He can make himself a sandwich or eat cereal if he's got a problem with what I've made.

[AZgirl2207]

I am not a short order cook--one meal per night is all I can handle! You have to eat whats on the table--no cereal or PB&J. DD doesn't like broccoli, so there is always a second veggie she can choose. If we have a casserole with something she doesn't like, she's free to pick it out and place it (nicely!) on the side of her plate.

We do lots of 'components' to avoid rejection of the entire meal. For example-- on taco night, kids get meat, beans, tomato, cheese in little piles with shell on the side. I don't think it's the food they don't like, it's the 'all mixed together' aspect. HTH

[Grace and Granola]

I have been struggling with this for a couple of years now with my almost 5yo. The things he likes are extremely healthy and he likes a wide variety, however he will not eat meat. He also will not eat foods that are "mixed" and all of the sudden he will not eat veggies that are cooked. So it sort of limits things, but I try to make things that everyone likes, but I've also gotten tired of never having a casserole or never having asian food because it's all mixed up. I understand why people say go ahead and make yourself a sandwich or grab a yogurt, but I really don't want to create a kid who will choose to make pbj every night rather than consider what's on the table...that's totally what he would do.

I'm not sure how you serve up your meals, but I used to dish up everyone's plates and bring them to the table. I would put a little of everything on everyone's plates. And I KNEW on some of those nights, ds would cringe as I brought his plate. This would cause me to sometimes make something extra for him and his brother. BUT, I have had great success with changing our system to family style dinner. I make everything that I want to make and put everything out on the table in the pot/serving dish, and if I know my picky one won't eat it, what I do is I will add things like cut veggies and dip, applesauce, fruit salad. All things that would naturally compliment any meal, but that I am SURE he will eat. Then we start our meal by passing around every single bowl and the rule is, you take what you want, no thank you to what you don't, and there is NO COMPLAINING because they have the power to choose and I am determined not to be nagging about trying stuff. It has even worked that my picky one will take a scoop of something he's never had and said he was going to be BRAVE! It's slightly more work to put everything out, but on the other hand, it's all ready to be put in the fridge after dinner because it's in a bowl. But it has dramatically decreased my tension and the kids LOVE passing the food!

[AAK]

For me, making a meal everyone likes is actually impossible. So, I make what I make. Usually, there is something that everyone likes. If not, they eat raw veggies and a piece of toast with pb.

Amy

[Heavenly]

We have to kids that are gluten and dairy free so for us making something a bit different is just second nature. If you could give some examples of the meals you are talking about I might be able to offer some tips. We also have one (the non-allergic one actually) who is picky with vegetables so we compromise. Tonight for supper we are having chicken parmesan (goat cheese on the allergic kids portions), mashed potatoes and peas. The picky one won't eat cooked peas so I give her frozen peas out of the bag. Same thing really. If we do a roast with potatoes and veggies all in the crock pot I will serve the picky one the meat and potatoes from the pot and then raw carrots from the fridge.

In regards to the question about making one pot meals or separate meals I do both. I love my crock pot and have the best crock pot cookbook which I recommend to everyone - http://www.amazon.com/Forget-5-ingre...8019395&sr=8-1 . This cookbook has tons of easy crockpot recipes. I will probably cook in the crockpot 3-5 times a week. I don't necessarily make the whole meal in the crockpot, I might make the meat portion in the crockpot and then cook the sides on the stove top, but I do have a lot of meals where I do the whole part in the crockpot and if there is a fussy kid I will give them the portion they like and just vary the sides. Other nights I will make different parts of the meal (and yes, serve it in separate bowls! lol ). Chicken, one or two veggies, etc. We rarely serve bread or the like at meals because they have carbs during snacks and lunch (sandwiches). Luckily all of the kids like veggies and fruits, even if they don't like them all, so we can usually just alter the side dishes if need be.