Recipes that picky eaters from hell will eat. Help.?!


Question: 3 kids. Will only eat carrots, potatoes, ground meat, pasta, junk, junk, and more junk.

Can anyone suggest a dinner recipe that has healthy stuff in it that they will eat?


Answers: 3 kids. Will only eat carrots, potatoes, ground meat, pasta, junk, junk, and more junk.

Can anyone suggest a dinner recipe that has healthy stuff in it that they will eat?

If you only have them 4 days a month, give them mashed potatoes for breakfast, macaroni for lunch, hamburgers for supper. Who can they complain to, you are giving them what they will eat but definitely get rid of the junk. Bedtime snack how bout some carrots. You can have salisbury steak,mashed potatoes, candied carrots. Macaroni & cheese with hotdogs. Believe me the hassle is not worth 4 days of war. Get yourself a GOOD steak with all trimmings. Let everyone else eat bread & butter They won't starve

just tell them they need to eat what you serve or they don't get to eat at all! I did that with my daughter and she eats a wide variety of stuff now! And Try checing out kraftfoods.com for some ideas. They give you healthy recipes, but creative ways to serve it that might get the kids to eat it.

Here's 3 recipes for picky eaters:

ORZO PASTA:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans (14 ounces) chicken or vegetable broth or stock
2 cups orzo pasta (enriched rice may be substituted)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat a 8 inch pot with a tight fitting cover over moderate heat. Add oil, onion and garlic and saute for 2 or 3 minutes. Add broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Stir in orzo and return broth to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until liquid is absorbed and pasta tender. Remove lid and stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. You favorite fresh herbs may also be stirred into the orzo or rice to strengthen the flavor even more.

Veggies:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of your choice of the following, or any combination of: "baby" packaged fresh carrots, brussel sprouts, yellow squash (you can also use broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

Place veggies in a pan with water and vinegar. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce heat to medium and cook 10 minutes. Remove lid and raise heat back up. Allow the water to boil away and the vinegar to reduce and glaze the veggies, about 5 to 7 minutes. When the vegetables are glazed, to a sweet, rich brown color add butter to the pan. Turn veggies to coat lightly with butter. Season with salt, pepper and serve. Garnish with parsley.
For an optional glaze for the vegetables, substitute 1/4 melted butter and 1/4 cup honey for 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar. Follow method as listed.

Meat:

Basic Marinade:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, a few sprigs
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves, half a palm full
One recipe will cover:
4 to 6 (1-inch) thick beef tournedos (filet steaks), 6 ounces each
4 strip steaks, 12 ounces each
4 pieces boneless skinless chicken breast, 6 to 8 ounces each
4 center cut pork loin chops, 8 ounces each, 1 inch thick

Basic Pan Gravy:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chopped shallot or onion
4 mushrooms, crimini or button, finely chopped, optional
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, a handful
1 cup beef, chicken or vegetable stock, found on soup aisle


Combine marinade ingredients in the bottom of a shallow dish. Season meat of choice with salt and pepper and set meat into marinade and turn to coat. Allow meat to hangout 10 minutes.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add marinated meat to the pan and cook 5 or 6 minutes on each side. Remove meat from the pan to a warm platter. Add butter to the skillet, chopped shallot or onion and mushroom bits (optional) then saute for 3 minutes over moderate heat. Add flour to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in stock and reduce for another minute. Pour pan gravy over the meat and serve.


Hope you kids like it!

Simple Tater Tot Casserole (Yummy Good!)

l lb. hamburger
1/4 c. chopped onions (omit for picky eaters)
Salt & pepper to taste
l can cream of chicken soup
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger & onions seasoning with salt & pepper, drain. Add soup, stir till blended. Put into greased 9x13" casserole dish. Top with tater tots. Bake in oven at temp suggested on the tater tot bag till tots are done. Sprinkle cheese on top & bake 5 minutes or till cheese is melted.

This recipe is also good for leftovers reheated in the microwave.

Serve with a salad & maybe green beans Enjoy!

dice up vegetables in a food processor mix with mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes

Mix sweet potatoes in with regular potatoes.

Whole Wheat pasta

Ground meat: lean (90%) Ground turkey

Ground Turkey, sweet potatoes/reg. potatoes, carrots
apples cut up with a little bit of sugar and cinnamon

whole wheat pasta with ground turkey cut up and put in tomato sauce with salad (carrots/raisins or traditional green salad)

Tacos or quesadillas

meatloaf: throw in veggies in a blender

add veggies to a brownie mix (blend them up), zucchini works well

I saw this a couple of days ago and it really looked awesome. If not, try a simple version and use ground beef a jar of beef gravy some caroots and peas ( Frozen, thawed and drained), some mashed potatoes and cheddar on top
Steakhouse Shepherd's Pie
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
See this recipe on air Monday Feb. 04 at 2:30 PM ET/PT.

2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Salt
1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 slices good quality bacon or peppered bacon, chopped
2 pounds ground sirloin
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound button mushrooms, quartered
Black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef stock, divided
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled (recommended: Maytag)
3 to 4 tablespoons chives
1 teaspoon paprika

Place potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water and bring up to a boil. Season water with salt and boil potatoes until tender, 12 to15 minutes. Heads up: save a ladle of starchy cooking water just before draining.
Heat a skillet with high sides over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, half a turn of the pan and the bacon. Crisp bacon and remove to paper towel lined plate. Add sirloin to the pan and caramelize the meat, 4 to 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and onions and cook until tender, 6 to 7 minutes more then season with salt and pepper.

While meat cooks heat a small sauce pot over medium heat and melt butter, whisk the flour into butter, cook 2 minutes then whisk beef stock into flour, add Worcestershire and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Thicken 6 to 7 minutes.

Pour gravy over meat and turn on broiler.

Temper egg yolk by beating it with the starchy potato cooking water. Place drained potatoes back into the pot you cooked them in to dry them out a little. Mash potatoes with egg yolk and sour cream then fold in crumbled blue cheese and chives. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and spread across the top of the meat in an even layer. Garnish the potatoes with paprika and place under broiler to crisp and brown the potatoes, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately right from the hot skillet.

I was always told if you don't like what I cook you can eat somewhere else. They will get hungry after a while!

Have you tried sweet potatoes?

A lot of kids will eat them because they taste like dessert. You mention your kids like carrots, try thinly slicing both carrots and sweet potatoes, toss with cinnamon and the tinest amount of butter, then sprinkle with just a tiny amount of brown sugar and bake until tender. It's a really healthy side dish that tastes like a treat! My son (toddler) goes bonkers for anything with sweet potatoes. I even make them into french fries (baked).

If the pasta you mention also has spaghetti sauce on it, you can add jars of baby food such as green beans (or puree some yourself to save money), and spinach to the sauce. You can't even taste it, and it adds a lot of extra nutrients.

Sub in ground turkey for everything you use ground beef in. It's much healthier, and hard to tell the difference.

Brownies are another one that get a bad rep, but you can easily add in pureed veggies to add nutrition. When I was little I had trouble with my iron, my mom would mash beans up and put then in everything! She made this apple cake that I loved, and added mashed beans! I never knew the difference, and ate tons of it!

Make your own chicken strips by tossing sliced breasts in bread crumbs and bake them in the oven. They are healthier than store-bought, and pretty kid friendly.

If your kids are young the answer might be as simple as making the food fun. Try using cookie cutters on their sandwiches to make fun shapes, or appeal to their imaginations by putting simply faces on their food. Even something as simple as "painting" a design (a favorite animal, a smiley face, a flower...you don't have to be Picasso, just creative!) on the top of a casserole with cheese and brightly colored veggies before baking can make a world of difference.

Let your kids help make dinner. Get their hands dirty. They will be more apt to eat something they themselves created.

Hope that gives you some ideas!

You can try Hamburger Helper or make any pasta and add vegetables to it. To be honest, you should throw out the junk food. At first they will kick and scream but after a couple of weeks they will get used to it not being in the house anymore. If you buy only healthy foods and snacks thats the only option they will have to eat. Good Luck. I hope they don't drive you crazy :)

Since they like ground meat, the best thing you can do is make a meatloaf and hide the vegetables inside. Just cut them up real small, and you can sneak in zucchini,and peppers...and then serve with carrots and mashed potatoes.

Tomato sauce is really good for you, so make a cheeseburger pizza.

Try Barilla Pasta Plus (in the yellow box)..it's a multi-grain pasta that has added protien, fiber, and omega-3...and the best thing is it actually tastes as good as regular white pasta.

Don't give up on them. Did you know a child has to try something an average of 7 times before they decide they like it or not? Make a new veggie every week, and offer some little reward if they eat it. I used to call it the "Fear Factor Game"...I figured if kids know some idiot will eat pig intestines for 100 grand, they can eat a brussel sprout for a dollar.
Have your kids prepare dinner with you. Sometimes if they help make it, they'll be more inclined to eat it, since they know what's going into it.

I'm sure there are tons of healthy recipies for kids on the net, but as far as the junk, junk and more junk... well that can be eliminated since the "parents" do the food shopping.

Make healthy meals for the family, put it on the table. If they don't eat it well then, so be it. They will learn to eat what mom/dad puts on the dinner table because eventually they will get hungry and when hunger pains kicks in, they'll eat anything.

I know my answer is going to get thumbs down, but the matter of the fact is that the traditional way of families sitting down to a single fixed meal is gone. Now, parents are making 3 or 4 different dishes to please little Suzie and little Johnny..

Make them eat what you cook or they can starve. It won't take long before they're not so picky.

Turkey Burgers,they can build their own.
BLTs
Mac & Cheese.... anything with cheese :)
Fish Sticks
Homemade Pizza
Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese-- They can put all kinds of stuff in the soup,and they can pick their own cheese.
Try Different shaped pasta,such as bow ties,and experiement with sauces.
Try making a sampler platter of all different kinds of colorfull healthy foods,with dipping sauces,that way they feel they have some sort of control over what they eat,but really,you are in control... for the most part anyway :)

You'll definitely want to nip this in the bud as they say rather than indulging the pickyness. My husband was a picky kid and his mom indulged that behavior and now he's set in his ways and makes it so hard to plan meals or go to dinner parties.

There are a few schools of thought on how to break kids of this:

1) You simply decide on what's for lunch or dinner and serve it. Period. If they eat, they eat. If they don't, they'll be hungry enough to eat at the next meal. No treats, no snacks. They need to learn that you're the one who decides mealtime -- not them. It's a little painful at first, but I've seen it work with friends & their kids.

2) Sneak healthy foods into the foods they like. Add pureed veggies and beans into things they normally eat. You can buy baby food for this or puree veggies yourself. (I actually have been sneaking healthy things into my husband's food for years & he has no idea ;-) so I know it works!) You can add squash to pasta sauce, pureed white beans into gravy or mashed potatoes, etc... Some of the sweeter veggies (and fruits) can be added to baked goods as well without anyone knowing.

3) Get the kids involved in eating different things -- don't say these are "healthy" things, just that they're fun. If they take ownership of the things they eat, they're more apt to try new things. If you're able, grow some tomatoes or herbs and let them help. Or, let them help prepare lunch or dinner even if it's just topping some english muffin pizzas with healthy toppings (chopped chicken, minced veggies). If they help "make" their food, they'll be proud of themselves & want to eat it. They can spread peanut butter on celery stalks & top with raisins. They can make lunch "roll-ups" by spreading hummus and sliced turkey on some tortillas and then roll up into tubes & eat. And so on...

So, there are definitely some options rather than only cooking with four ingredients. It won't be an immediate fix, but you can make a behavior change over time that will be beneficial to you and your sanity as well as the lifetime health and well-being of your kids. Good luck ;-)

Try cookinglight.com as well. You can put in the ingredients that you have, the method you want to use to cook it, etc. and see what comes up. You may also want to have the kids try to plan a menu that they will help you cook, that way it will be something they like and they get to learn valuable cooking skills (plus it gives you a night off).
Also easy things that they can put their own ingredients on , such as pizzas or tacos, are always great and can be very healthy if you use things such as whole wheat items, lots of veggies, low-fat cheese, etc. and are super easy to make.
Good luck!

Provide a lousy to-them alternative to the meal. Like salad in a bag. That bag will sit there forever, but they will come around to eating if you tell them to choose the meal or the salad. Either way, it is healthy.

Well, you can continue to cowtow to them, but it sounds like a power struggle and guess who's winning? Does your husband get that this will continue and expand as they get older? He needs to support you in this. Better to nip it in the bud now. They eat what you cook or go hungry.





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