What are some quick and simple recipes for a 3 year old who is picky?!
Answers: Thanks!
Hello, I have 4 kids (12,9,4 and 18 months). Here are some yummy ideas my kids have liked over the years.
little franks with mac & cheese - honestly - they love it! you can get the skinless little franks - i warm them up and slice them lengthways and add a nice big scoop of yummy mac and cheese (luckily my kids seem to love brocolli - so I always added a few little trees to the mac & cheese mountain.
Baby pizzas - you can buy ready made little pizza bases - or make your own - let your child help you make them with the toppings they like themselves - like tomato ketchup - spread it on first - don't like it? just put cheese, add anything they like - ham, chicken pieces, pineapple, bacon bits,
I generally do mixed plates for lunch - a few little bite sized sandwiches filled with their favorites (ham, peanut butter, cheese), a little pile of grapes or melon cut in cubes, cheese slices cut into cute shapes with cookie cutters, fresh orange cut up, or mandarin, or you can cut their sandwich with a cookie cutter - a little man shaped sandwich tasted MUCH better than a boring square one!
For dinners - we never prepared separate meals for the children - everyone eats the same meal ! They kids love bbq chicken kebabs with fresh rice and big fruit platters to pick what they like off
they love Daddy's spaghetti - just simple spaghetti bolognaise but he puts his secret ingredient - a spoonful of sugar in. We let the kids pick the pasta shape at the store - so your child might pick "bowties" or "little hats" or "curly worms" or whatever appeals to them.
they love mexian feast - we have soft mexian bread, very mild chili con carne or fresh bbq chicken, some light sour cream, cheese and salad
pancake dinner - they LOVE this one - we sometimes just be really fun and have pancake dinner. home made fresh pancakes with choices of fresh banana, strawberry, mango, whipped cream, ice cream and maple syrup
eggs - boil an egg just under 2 minutes - serve with little sticks of buttered toast - when finished - turn the shell upside down and draw on a little face - fun smashing it to pieces!!
there are some brilliant books for sale that focus on toddler and small children's recipe ideas - sometimes you just need some inspiration as you can get quite frustrated if your child only wants just toast, or just juice or whatever... hope this helps!
Oh, and to the answerer up above - picky eaters does not mean undisciplined children - my children are very strictly disciplined and I am pleased to say are growing up very respectful and with lovely manners - but they do have stages when they don't like certain foods and that is FINE - as long as they are healthy and happy - that is what is important.
Well done on being obviously a good enough parent to care enough to want to make sure your child is eating well - if you were undisciplined you wouldn't have bothered to ask!!
macoroni and cheese.
pssht! if yr kid is picky tell them u either eat what i cook or dont but u dont get no more meals after this! and dont give them a choice... picky hah all that means is ur not bing strict enough.
Good luck.
MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH SLICED WINERS
BUT IF U WANT TO SNEAK IN VEGGIE... TRY MEATBALLS
TAKE 2LB LEAN GROUND MEAT
GARLIC
ONION FINE CHOPPED(IF U LIKE ONION)
THEN U CAN SHRED A LARGE CARROT IN IT
AND SOME FINE CHOPPED FRESH SPINICH.
ONE EGG.
1/2C ITALIAN BREAD CRUMBS
I FORM INTO BITE SIZE BALLS AND BAKE ON BAKING SHEET FOR AROUND 10-15 MINS ADD FAVORITE TOMATO OR PASTA SAUCE OR EVEN BBQ SAUCE AND SERVE THEY EAT IT UP AND DONT EVEN KNOW ITS GOOD FOR THEM THE MEAT HIDES THE TASTE OF THE VEGGIES HAHA I AM SO BAD
spaghetti with no sauce..let the three year old add cheese or nothing maybe butter....have hotdogs with tater tots...put the hotdog in some pork and beans...rice with butter or a little sugar...alphabet soup...tomato soup with their favorite cheese cracker..any sandwich cut with a cookie cutter automatically taste better...pigs in a blanket..hot dogs cut in half with a slice of cheese in crescent roll baked in the oven..hotdogs arent the greatest food but sometimes you do what you have too...also cake mixes such as carrot cake use real carrots and grind them really finely before adding use applesauce instead of oil..Jerry Seinfeld's wife has a cookbook that tells you how to do this to just about everything
deceptively delicious is the name of it and her name is Jessica Seinfeld
Chicken nuggets, baked fries and a veggie
Mac and cheese
Pasta with butter or tomato sauce
Grilled cheese
English muffin pizzas
Chicken noodle soup
Yogurt with fruit
Little ones are picky. I follow the "they'll eat when they're hungry" mantra.
i dont think that its a matter of what you make but more a matter of how you present it. create incentives for the child such as "lets see if there are any big girls in here that can eat all of their lunch!" or "once you finish eating you get a treat but only big girls who finish all of their food can eat". you dont have to say exactly those things but what im saying is make eating interesting to her. instead of concerning her with whats on the plate concern her with wanting to get it into her tummy.
I tend to agree that picky eaters aren't hungry enough. Kids will eat when they are hungry.
Having said that, it is good to offer a variety, and offer foods more than once before you give up that they don't like it.
If you get kids in on the cooking, even at the age of 3 you will demystify some of the food. They will want to eat something that they helped prepare. Get them involved, even if it is just to help stir, or open packages while you cook.
Most kids like their food groups separate. They tend not to want casseroles, stirfrys, and skillets, or other one-pot meals for this reason. If you can serve a plain meat, a plain veg, and a plain carb, you may have better results than mixing them all together. They can also get their fill of what they do like. And take the required number of bites of what they don't like.
Please do not power struggle with kids over food. You don't have to be a doormat, I don't even think it is a good idea to offer a standing alternative like PBJ or bread and butter if they don't like what you cooked, or those stupid Ensure things for kids who need nutrition but think it's supposed to taste like chocolate milk. The meal should be the meal, the same meal or close to what everyone else is eating, prepared with a certain amount of sensitivity to what they are willing to eat. Remember that variety in the diet is one of the only ways we get all the nutrients that we are supposed to get, so sticking with only their comfort foods is a mistake.
It isn't cruel to allow a child not to eat what is prepared. It is offering the choice and allowing them to deal with consequences of that choice. Really, a child will eat well when they are hungry. Just make sure that when they are hungry, you offer healthy foods that you didn't bend over backwards to prepare...because face it, the easier it is to prepare something, the more likely it will end up on the table...and it isn't always easy to prepare a special meal for each finicky eater at the table. Also remember that children have a very healthy sense of when they are full. They don't overeat as a rule. So don't try to poke unreasonable servings into them and then get mad that they resist you.
A couple tricks I learned as a nanny...
Make it fun to eat. Finger foods, eat and run items, and lively colors on the plate are appetizing.
Allow condiments in weird ways. I had a kid who would only eat rice with sugar on it. If a kid likes ranch, you may be able to get veggies dipped in ranch down the hatch. If they like ketchup, set it on the table. Of course when you are talking about things like fat, sugar, and salt, MSG, etc you can easily overdo condiments but a responsible amount is acceptable, think of it as hearing your child, and respecting his wishes that he would rather taste the ranch than the carrot.
If you can set aside a little time, you can make a wonderful spaghetti sauce, with ground turkey, crushed canned tomatos, and oodles of other veggies (fresh or otherwise) that will get veggies and vitamins into them on the slick. What kid doesn't like ba-sketty?
You can also put fresh fruit on pancakes, wheat germ in their oatmeal or a smoothie, etc....sneak something unappetizing into something that they like.
i saw on tv once a lady that put pureed vegetables in a lot of her food so the child doesnt know he is eating his vegetables she took pureed sweet potatoes and put in chocolate pudding to disguise the sweet potatoes she added the cooked smashed sweet potatoes to the chocolate pudding and her kids couldnt tell the difference.
pigs in a blanket are a kids favorite just take a hot dog and wrap it in a either a buscuit or some refrigerator crescant dough and bake until light golden brown can put a piece of cheese in it too.
macaroni and cheese with hot dogs or ham.
try having your child help you in the kitchen too sometimes that helps and they learn even if he is only 3 gives him some skills like having him help measure water in the pan when you are cooking. putting a tsp of salt in the potatoes or in something that you are stirring up if he helps maybe that can help him not think everything is yukky.
my brother used to not eat tapioca pudding i had him see me stir it in some pudding one time and he found out it was jsut for thickening and no taste.
baked chicken strips just coat some chicken breasts strips with egg and dip in cracker crumbs or shake and bake and bake better than all the fried ones and healthier for him too.
My mum used to do little picnic types when my friends came over that she didnt know- because she wasnt sure what they all liked.
egg sandwichs
scotch eggs
fries
ham sandwichs
cream cheese sandwichs
mini sausages
crisps
carrot sticks
cucumber
lots of different types of things but you can do it on a smaller scale for your child
hope this helps
Flic x x
-allow children to take part in the cooking process
-cut vegetables into interesting shapes like stars
-make food look appealing with different colours