Child won’t eat these dishes, but you’d like them to and all enjoy one family meal together? It IS possible!
Download my popular, dietitian-approved How To Get Your Child To Eat More Variety for tips on how to serve these dishes to even the fussiest of eaters. Easy, practical tips that get quick results!
Meat Dishes
Fish Dishes
Veggie Dishes
Managing Picky Eating with Meal Planning
Meals for the whole family
I very rarely cook meals specifically for my children, not to be smug (!), but because I don’t want to be a short-order chef! I choose meals where there are components which everyone can enjoy. This immediately takes the pressure off the little ones to try everything on their plate as this is not the goal here. The goal is about creating happy mealtimes where children feel they can try new food at their own pace, which then creates healthier associations with mealtimes.
Type of meals
Some of these meals seem so basic I am slightly embarrassed to post them (!), but I think most people want just some sort of direction when they go to the supermarket rather than coming home with lots of food but nothing specific to actually make! (or is it just me?!) Or even wanting to cook a simple dish such as pasta sauce, but not knowing which recipe actually tastes good as there is no time for trial and error!
Cooking in manageable stages
I often do my cooking in stages and prepare part of the recipe the day before/earlier in the day so it’s less work, for example, shredding the lettuce and grating the cheese for the Caesar salad or rolling and preparing the meatballs ready for frying later in the day. Hopefully there’ll be some leftover chicken on Monday to double as a sandwich in the week or some soup for another quick meal. I stick my meal plan on the fridge door and actually write in when exactly I am doing any meal prep so it can be a quick 10 minute thing in the kitchen, then the next day is much more manageable and less busy in my head!
How to serve to the kids
There is also advice at the bottom of each recipe on how to get your kids to eat the dish too no matter what stage of fussiness they are at! Advice that really works I might add. I hope you find the recipes of some use!
One of the things lockdown has taught me is to make the most of leftovers