Fussy Kids?

[LisaLQ]

My triplets (4 years old) are evil brats...but never mind that, they're also fussy eaters. Becca will only eat sarnies without crusts, and sausages, and that's about it (I mean - come on - what kid doesn't eat chips? Becca!) - anything else is touch and go, depending on her mood and she eats slower than my snails lol. The boys are a bit better, but still very fussy. They wont eat any veg, they love fruit though so that's good. I have to supplement their food with multivits just to make sure they're getting what they need.

They start school in September, and they have to be over this by then. Has anyone else had these kinds of probs? My eldest daughter was also a fussy eater as a toddler, but she got over it well before their age - my second daughter was weaned onto what we were eating (at 4 months lol) and never looked back. I must add - I'm no soft case, if they dont eat what's put in front of them, they do without - but the problem is - they dont seem to mind that!

Just wondered if anyone had fussy kids, and if so - do you have any quick, healthy, cheap and easy recipes that brought your kids round? I thought homemade pizza (sneaking veggies onto the top) was a good one, til they decided they'd only eat cheese ones, no peppers, meat, any topping...and sat there for half of their tea time picking off all the toppings.

Please bear in mind that when we're feeding everyone, that's seven people, so no fois gras or caviar please - the cheaper we can get without losing wholesomeness (is that a word? lol) the better

Advice welcome too!

 

[stang1]

I don't know if they'd like it but Sausage Pasta is a favourite in our house and it's quite inexpensive.
Cut some sausages up and fry for 10 minutes. Add chopped onion or celery and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add 2-3 tins of chopped tomatoes and a little bit of tomato puree. Then add some chopped mushrooms. In the meantime, cook some pasta in a seperate pan. Leave the sausage mi to cook for about 30 minutes and then mix together with the pasta. prinkle some cheese on top and hopefully enjoy!

 

[PlecMama]

Slow cookers are my friend. Chuck all the veg in the slow cooker and by morning it's all gone into a mushy sort of paste. Who knows where the nutrients go? but I always "feel" like I am doing right by him because I know he has eaten broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, onions, parsnips, carrots, swede etc without even noticing.

I make a casserole, beef or whatever, cubed, then all the veg and a good liter of instant Bisto and leave it over night. oh and if I have room, I also put halved potatoes in it.

I feel your pain though, Dylan will go through phases of not eating anything and not caring if there is a consequence, he'd opt to go to bed rather then eat something he didn't want. If I do an "eat it or go" ultimatum, he's just say, "ok, I'm going to bed now". and will walk off and leave his plate. Bah!

 

[LisaLQ]

Yeah - my slow cooker was a dream for my other two kids, but these three will take one look at even the mushiest mush and refuse it. They wont even taste it. Like I said, evil.

There's something to be said for weaning early. These three were weaned very late, as because they were prem, they had reflux and had to have special meds for months - and couldn't eat anything solid. Now I think it's just laziness and fear of trying anything, but now we're having to make seperate meals for them and it's so much work

 

[PlecMama]

Gaviscon? Been there, done that, lol

Hope something work for you.

xxx

 

[LisaLQ]

Gaviscon (I think that was the powdery stuff we had to add?), Infacol and iron supplements in every bottle for the first year lol. And they still puked up half their feeds *eek*. Those were the days, make nowadays look positively easy!

 

[Arfie]

I am one of those kids I still will not eat tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, onions or peppers, sometimes you may just find that children simply do not like the taste of something think of something that you can't eat, others may love it and they wont understand why you can't, it could be the same with the kids.

When growing up, my mum would try and hide things, especially onion in food and my best mates mum did when I went around to his house and the silly thing is that at 35 years old they both still try to feed me onions.

The thing is that some of the food may be an aquired taste, so it may be worth persisting and I honestly wish I could enjoy the things above as it would open up a whole world of food that I could eat. If you trick them though, by telling them it is one thing then if they say they like it telling them it was something else could work against you, it did with my parents, I ended up only eating things that I recognised by sight.

Another thing is, and I'm sorry to suggest it, but they may not like how you cook I would not eat any veg at all because it made me feel ill, yet oddly I always liked raw veg like, carrots, peas, beans even cabbage, it took me until my late 20's to realise why my mum overcooks everything, so it's all mushy and I just do not like it, cook them right and they taste so different that it could be a different thing. Had my mum liked crunchy veg herself, I could well be thin right now cos I'd have been eating healthier all my life

I have 3 goddaughters and the eldest is a fussy eater, she will eat veg but only if it is blended in with meat, potatoes, yorkshires etc, the trick they used on her younger sisters was to put them a piece of say brocolli on the plate, don't tell them to eat it, just say "if you want to, have a taste of this to see if you like it" if they try it and like it, great, if they wont even try it, don't mention it again, just add it on their plate every meal, eventually they will try it. If they try it and say they don't like it, keep adding a small bit of it every meal, eventually they will start eating it unless they genuinely dislike it.

So long as they are getting nurishment, I wouldn't worry too much yet, but Good luck anyway

Arfie

 

[-germ-]

Ween them into italian food with pesto and pasta with cheese and develop as you go, you can always blitz a sauce to make the veggies non apparent. Its how my dad did it for me and mushrooms and still gets hated veggies into my grandad one way or another every christmas. That is if your kids like pasta?
Even better get them to make their own pasta its easy with practice.....
Not got time but i'll post some quick and easy Italian recipes soon.....
Home made pesto is really cheap, and you mix and match whatever veg you want, enough basil and pecorino/parmesan and they won't taste anything else, although you gotta eat alot because one basil plant makes a fair bit (you could grow it)......
What veggies do they like?
What flavours do they like? (garlic, sweet, sour etc)

Ooooh.... stir fry!!! Do they like chinese?

 

[The-Wolf]

a quick and easy thing I used to love as a child is egg-in-nest

take one piece of bread and one egg cup
place egg cup in center of bread and press down
lift eggcup leaving a hole in the center of the bread

seperate 1 egg (you can save the white for making a merange later, if you want)

toast the bread, whilst second side is browning
fry the yolk
place toast on a plate and put the fried yolk in the hole.
hey presto egg-in-nest

for a less healthy option the bread can be fried
adding the yolk when the bread is turned over

Hmm I think a quick trip to the kitchen now is in order for me

EDIT
I just had it and it brought back great memories of Why-Don't-You
(where I got the recipe from)

 

[Teri]

My daughter (age 4) and I are both veggie, so luckily she doesn't mind eating vegetables too much!
Have you tried "vegetable fingers", they are a bit like fish fingers, but have peas, carrots etc in them instead of fish (tescos, 1.59 for 15).
Making pancakes with veggie sauce?
Fajitas (is that spelt right, i never know!), only without the spicy sauce.
With the pizzas, do you mean they won't even eat the tomato sauce? if they'll take that, then dolmio do a kids pasta sauce that you can use on pizzas, they claim its got 2 out of the 5 a day in it. Its expensive in tescos, but the "farmfoods" freezer store had 4 for £1 a few weeks ago.
Best of luck! Rhianna starts school in Sept to, and we're experimenting with lunch boxes (its not going well)

On a similar topic, has anyone got any sneaky ways of getting them to eat eggs? I'm making pancakes almost every day to make sure she's getting them, but she just refuses anything else. Even the novelty of collecting them from her grandads eglu hasn't convinced her. And now she's developed an aversion to anything fried, (except the pancakes, and thats only a matter of time!), so even eggy breads out of the question.
GRRRR!!!! Kids

 

[timmystood]

Looks like a develping baby!! (no offence wolf! - I used to get served something very similar and it's lovely! Just looks a little dis-concerning!)

I'm with Arfie on this one (for once!) I'm still fussy, even at 18! No tomatoes, onion etc. I espically won't really try new stuff. Yuck! LOL!
Just feed them on happy meals! Although saying that, there is probably more nutrition in the toy than in the meal itself!!


Maybe try feeding the fish with human food and when the kids see they like it, they may be tempted to try themselfs!!

 

[PrettyDiscus]

I have seen that recipe in a book and its called sunshine toast.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you really do have my sympathy Lisa I know it's not always easy for you so please don't take this the wrong way. But I'm a firm believer in (appropriate) discipline. I don't think pandering to your kids and making special meals just for them will do you or them any good in the long run. just put a plate of food infront of them. if they don't eat it don't kick up a fuss or shout and scream, just reward the good behaviour of the ones who do; like ice cream for pudding but only if you've cleared your plate. if they go hungry one night it's not going to kill them, give it a day or two of being a bit hungry and they'll soon start eating what's put in front of them. By all means make things they like or meals without veg as a treat once a week or something like that. I know it must take a lot of discipline as a parent to deprive your children of anything or to see them go hungry, and I'm not a parent so I probably haven't even got the slightest grasp on how hard it can be. But I do think things like this are really important.

Anyway I'm not gonna cluck on as this isn't what this forum or thread is about really. Just thought I'd share my views and I hope you don't take it the wrong way

 

[OohFeeshy]

Getting them involved in cooking can be handy- they get to make a mess *and* eat it afterwards. Plus you can give them all the hard/boring jobs and they won't complain Bread can be good to start with- you can make all sorts of shapes and flavours. Pizza bases- making their own pizza from scratch means they know exactly what's going on it. Fairy cakes, flapjacks etc.- find different ways of combining things they'll eat and they might be tempted to try new things.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ha ha i like that tactic FKNM

my mum never went as far as to serve us up the leftovers the next day, however she'd keep them all and put them in the fridge, then refuse to go shopping on the grounds that there was plenty of food in the fridge to eat if we were hungry.