Healthy eating and fussy family - tips?!?

kaylz0106

I have a 5 month old baby, a four year old and a fiancee to feed at evening meal times. I'm finding it hard to find things that everyone will eat and remains healthy for me to eat also! I like fish and it has taken me the best part of 2 years to get both the 4yo and fiancee to not have battered fish!

What do you guys eat as family meals that satisfies everyone but remains a healthy option for the ones in the family who need to lose weight?

dinosnopro

in our house we all eat the same meal,if it is a new meal and the kids won't at least try it, we won't even offer to make anything else, if they try it and don't like it we will make them something else ( at this point we know what the kids like and don't like) On the other hand if my wife makes something I don't like, I either 1. grin and bear it. 2. Make my own meal.

seekingstrengthX2

Not much you can do about the baby, right?

The 4-year-old... well, I have one. He won't try anything new. I mostly make different food for him.

My husband will eat anything I make even if it looks odd or smells funny, lol. He wants to be healthy too and knows that I am making healthy food so he will give anything a shot.

I have a friend whose husband won't eat anything but meat and potatoes so she is struggling to eat healthy herself. So, I will tell you what I tell her. YOU do all the shopping and YOU do all the cooking. BUY healthy and COOK healthy. If he doesn't want to be a grown up about it, he can leave the family at dinnertime and go get McDonalds.

LOL But i'm serious. Your fiance' needs to suck it up. Hee.

RachelT14

Pretty much the same answer as dinosnopro i am afraid, i cook 1 meal the familly (4y old, 6 year old and hubby) eat what is in front of them or go hungry. If they wont at least try it no alternaitve other than a piece of fruit is offered as they are obviously not that hungry. If hubby doenst like it he eats it and his feedback lets me tweek a receipe or decide not to make it again. 9 times out of 10 the children will eat what is there after an intial fuss.

hdlb123

I have 3 kids - 9, 4 and 2. They eat what I cook or they can choose to go hungry. I know what they like, and what they don't like, and will never put a whole meal in front of them that they truley hate, there is always something on the plate that they like. But if they just decide to be picky for they day, too bad for them.

My husband eats what I cook or cooks for himself. I have enough things to cook around that I'm not going to cook separate meals for the kids or him. We have peanut, dairy and soy allergies thorugh the kids.....its not always easy to find a meal that everyone can have.

vim_n_vigor

I have 3 and 5 year old. They have to try everything (unless it is extra spicy). We try to only have one new thing at a meal with something more familiar so if they don't like the new thing, there is something familiar for them to keep eating.

angiemartin78

in our house we all eat the same meal,if it is a new meal and the kids won't at least try it, we won't even offer to make anything else, if they try it and don't like it we will make them something else ( at this point we know what the kids like and don't like) On the other hand if my wife makes something I don't like, I either 1. grin and bear it. 2. Make my own meal.

This is how it goes at my house. I have 2 kids; 4 yr old boy and 9 yr old girl and if they don't try what I put in front of them, they get nothing else. My bf just eats pretty much whatever make.

Good luck!

amymt10

I only cook one meal as well. I have my hubby, 3yr old boy and a 6yr old boy. My 6yr old is VERY picky but the other two will eat what I put in front of them. My 6yr old is learning eat your dinner or go hungry. If they insist on eating something unhealthy I will let them and I'll have a salad.

chachita7

We eat...

Steak, Chicken, Pork Chops, Pasta with Ground Beef... I am the only one in the house who eats fish so from time to time, I make fish for me...

You can find some great recipes online - low calorie, low fat -- what ever you seek you can find. I have tried some recipes from sparkrecipes.com - their simple salmon is delicious.

♥PrincessSaraGarcia♥

I have a 7 month old who started foods at about 4 1/2 months. I make all of his food and it is organic. There are some things he turned his nose at...but, they say to retry them after a month or so. For that age, I truly don't think they are being "picky". My husband eats whatever I make as he wants to be healthy as well. Make sure you use different spices and things to make the meal "alive". I know some people think healthy means bland. Growing up my mother didn't make a second meal. She said it wasn't a restaurant and I would eat or not eat. I wasn't forced to truly eat something I didn't like, however, I had to try everything...more than one bite. If I truly didn't like it...it was sandwich or cereal time. lol Oh, the hard times. lol Try going to the library and getting kids nutrition books for recipe ideas. There a healthy alternatives to chicken nuggets, burgers, fries etc.

Rozlynmac

I try to be vegetarian, but the family are confirmed carnivores, so I tend to find things I'd like and then tweak it to find a way to add meat for them. Last night I made a bean stew & stir fried beef for them to add to it. Most of them didn't like the bean stew, but I knew that was likely before I gave them it, so I just let them get something else after they'd tried it (and they all fished out and ate the meat). Other days I'll make something they like - like spaghetti bolognaise & make a separate pot of quorn mince/sauce for me - it doesn't take that much effort to have the smaller pot on the go at the same time 'cos i'm chopping and cooking everything else the same. They're happy and I get my version so I'm happy too.

Saying that, some days I'll end up making 3 separate things - so long as I can pretty much shove them in the oven at roughly the same time, or cook them on the stove top at the same time (like curry), I just let it happen.

I've never made my kids eat anything, I'll ask them to at least try it first but they can then go & have something they do like. Now everyone eats most things that are made for them, but if they don't it's no big deal and they're generally big enough to cook something for themselves if they won't eat whatever it is. For me the simpler option with less hassle was to go with what made most happy rather than have arguments and crying kids (well, when they were younger, they're 16,14,11 and 9 now) and if that meant making 3 different things, then I do. my eldest has a learning disability which made him quite awkward with food - colours and textures when he was young, so I got used to having to make changes to stuff pretty early on and I guess the others benefitted from that as they came along.

momof8munchkins

Here it's.. eat it or starve.. we have teens - little ones.. but I always make 3-4 sides to choose from.. We have soem very picky eaters.. sometimes they only choose to eat meat or baked beans or whatever.. but that's ok

SlimmingSarah2012

I would try and make meals they are comfortable with...if they like battered fish, try not battering but doing a healthier version like bread crumb coating and then baking it. Also, substitute ingredients that you know have a low fat version.
Ground Beef - sub in 97% fat free ground turkey
Sour Cream - sub in low fat or fat free
Milk - sub in skim or 1%
Butter - sub in EV Olive Oil or Light Butter/Margerine

Also, make sure to do veggies for sides...if you want you could even make a cheese sauce to get the rest of the gang to eat them.

Good luck!
-Wife to a husband that never gains weight
-Mom to 2 boys (7&1)

dinosnopro

I have 3 and 5 year old. They have to try everything (unless it is extra spicy). We try to only have one new thing at a meal with something more familiar so if they don't like the new thing, there is something familiar for them to keep eating.

Our kids are 2 & 5, our two year old loves spicy food, 5 year old not so much