Can we do a meal planning vent/rant?

[Ragana]

There must be many of us here who for medical or other reasons in the family can't just make a simple meal, put it on the table and have everyone in the family eat it. Can we vent a little about that?

In my case, my DH has developed a mild lactose intolerance (a little goat cheese OK, but no more regular pizza - that was his favorite food), so cheese, cream, milk, etc. are out in group meals. DD1 eats no meat except occasional salmon/seafood. DD2 eats a variety of things, including meat, but all unsauced and separate, and few cooked vegetables (she will eat a variety of raw vegetables), no strong spices. This has been DD2's M.O. since she was a baby, and she has a very strong sense of smell, so I think it's more than "pickiness" and I do accommodate it.

My aim is to make a meal that at least 3 of us will eat and something on the side for the 4th person. Everyone eats pasta and rice & beans, so we have that every week. Otherwise, I have learned to (and happily - for the most part) cook "modular" meals and leave some stuff out of the sauce, or keep meat and cheese on the side, make a quick sandwich for one person (or have them make it), etc., but it gets tiring sometimes constantly trying to get enough breakfast, lunch and dinner options on the table *and* still keeping everyone mostly happy *and* sticking to a budget. And I realize this is mild compared to the food limitations I have seen described here! So, I thought it might be nice to just VENT a little about this issue and maybe share some tips. Anyone?

[MrsGregory]

What about habichuelas guisadas?  I don't find them very spicy, so you might even get get both daughters into the pot - if not, you can leave the meat out and stew it on the side, and then at least 3 of you can eat!

Also, they are delicious.  Clearly I'm in the mood for them! 

It stinks that it's more complicated for you to meal plan.  Hang in there!

[flightgoddess]

Mmm, I like goat cheese pizza. How about one huge pizza with one section for each person, or personal pizzas? Each person puts their own thing on their part. (And who says you can't put raw veggies on after it is done cooking?)

How about the kids each get one day a month to choose some/most of the menu? 

Breakfast for dinner.

[onlyzombiecat]

My dh will eat anything I make. He thinks I am a good cook. We don't have many food intolerance or allergies in our family so I feel lucky in those respects.

Dd will not want to eat what I make for dinner several nights per week. It is a bit annoying that I can't please everyone most nights but I am not going to stop making things dh and I will both eat just because she won't. I want her to at least see us trying and enjoying a variety of foods even if she does not eat that way right now. I ask her to taste a bit of something new, will leave one portion plain, make a side dish she will eat, or let her eat a sandwich or cereal. I do let dd choose our meal one or two nights a week during the planning process so it isn't something she won't eat every day.

What frustrates me enormously is when dd refuses to eat a food she used to like because it tasted funny/bad to her one time. For example, she loved my homemade pizza for years and now she hates it but will eat a frozen pizza or the greasy mess from a chain restaurant. If she never had liked the pizza I made or hated all pizza I could get it but overnight she just changed her mind. Gah!

Another thing is that she will eat something in one form but declare she hates it if she sees it in another form. Tomatoes in something like spaghetti sauce, ketchup, salsa or chili are okay but she will say she hates tomatoes. She is aware that there are tomatoes in some of her very favorite meals but still says she hates them and will use that to refuse to try new things with tomatoes. It drives me bonkers.

I don't really plan breakfast or lunches.

Dh skips breakfast or grabs some fruit/yogurt. I pack dh's lunch and often use leftovers for it.

I often eat leftovers for breakfast or lunch. A salad or a sandwich is also typical.

Dd pretty much eats the same things for breakfast or lunch every day and it is usually a low effort item that we come to an easy agreement on. 

[AmandaMamma]

Ragana, I know how you feel. My husband is gluten free and my 4 year old is vegetarian because he just doesn't like any meat.

I also just wanted to add that we discovered my husband was Celiac because one of his first symptoms was developing problems with lactose. So if your husband starts having other problems look into gluten. In my husband's case his insides were so damaged from the gluten that it became hard for him to digest diary, a common thing with those with gluten problems.

[Ragana]

I love all the ideas so far! AmandaMamma, that concerns me because there is celiac in his family.
 

[purplerose]

onlyzombiecat- i hate raw tomatoes but love tomato-based foods(pasta sauce and chili, for example). there is a huge difference between the forms of tomato! i have had a child go off a certain food once bc we got a stomach virus and that food stuck in her head as the cause.

[skreader]

If you mainly want to vent, I can't really join in, because while there is some pickiness in my family, there is no food intolerances. If you want suggestions, here is what I would say:

Keep it Simple

Make breakfast pretty much the same most mornings: 

    yogurt & fruit

    bread (toast?) + butter and jam

    boiled eggs or scrambled?

Everyone can eat beans, rice & pasta - so let that be the staples for most dinners. Then try and make a 1 week menu of food that everyone will eat.

---------------------------------------

Monday: Risotto and salad 

Tuesday: pasta + red sauce + beans  + broc (keep aside some uncoooked broc for the child who refuses cooked veg

Wednesday - Red beans + rice + salad

Thursday - pasta primavera (keep some of the veg aside uncooked for the kid who won't eat cooked veg)

Friday - grilled or pan fried fish w/ butter + rice + salad

Saturday - Rice & dal + cauliflower (set aside some raw for the kid who won't eat cooked veg) - use some mango pickles to spice up the food for the adults

Sunday - Bean tacos or burritos - everyone can put on their own toppings (cheese, no cheese, tomatoes, etc.)

Once you've gone through 1 week, then see if you can get another 7 days worth. W/ 14 days worth, you should be set. It can turn into a "Oh, it's Sunday, that means burrito night" - but that can become your children's happy childhood memory or tradition.

[onlyzombiecat]

Originally Posted by purplerose 

onlyzombiecat- i hate raw tomatoes but love tomato-based foods(pasta sauce and chili, for example). there is a huge difference between the forms of tomato! i have had a child go off a certain food once bc we got a stomach virus and that food stuck in her head as the cause.

purplerose-

Sure raw and cooked tomatoes are different things. I'm talking about cooked tomatoes in one thing vs.cooked tomatoes in another thing though and declaring you hate all tomatoes and would never eat anything with tomatoes when you often eat and clearly enjoy things with tomatoes in them. Do you do that as well?

There wasn't a stomach virus putting dd off the homemade foods which she previously loved (and will still eat the less healthy frozen or restaurant versions). I really do understand how that can happen as it has happened to me with two things I previously liked quite a bit but have never consumed again after becoming very ill.

Regardless if there are good reasons for dd to do all of this it is still frustrating to me from a meal planning perspective.

[Ragana]

Originally Posted by onlyzombiecat 

Regardless if there are good reasons for dd to do all of this it is still frustrating to me from a meal planning perspective.

I totally understand. You get into a groove, thinking hey, I found stuff people will eat and then have to change again. But it is useful to look at why. My DD2 is generally suspicious of new foods, so we have to weigh her true food preferences against having her try new things (some of which she ends up liking).