So what do the kids eat...?

Uselessly_Irrelevant

My son has Aspergers and is a very picky eater. single ingredient foods, no veggies, very limited. His diet consists of chicken nuggets, fries, fish sticks, vienna sausages, flour tortillas with cheese melted in them, pepperoni pizza, plain hot dogs, chips, and grapes or oranges, or watermelon. And scrambled eggs, ham and cheese , or peanut butter sandwiches. All very easy to fix meals. So yeah, most of the time I fix him a separate dinner from my husband and I. But it has been this way for most of his life, so no difference there.

We do supplement his diet with multivitamins, and he is extremely healthy.

Just had to share ... my brother has Aspergers too and is also a picky eater. My mom would blend up vegetables into his mac & cheese, or sneak them in wherever she could. My absolute favorite - she told him banana's were just white hot dogs! He loved them after that

askeates

The only thing I change for the kids (POSSIBLY) is the type of veggies I fix. My 2 older children are pretty picky when it comes to veggies, and I eat most veggies. Otherwise, we eat the same thing.

That being said, I do in fact get snacks for them, but I try to steer towards the healthier snacks. My 2 older children love chips and pop-corn, so I try (am not always successful) to get 2 bags each week. One is the Smart Pop pop-corn, and the other is usually one that isn't so healthy. This week I got cheetos.

Otherwise, snack food in the house consists of (at least this week) plums, granny smith apples, bartlet pears and strawberries. I did get some wheat crackers and cheese, and cheese sticks as well. All of these make the kids pretty happy :laugh:

Mokey41

Why would you choose healthy food for yourself and then feed your kids something different? How many people are here because of poor eating habits they developed as children? Feed your kids healthy, nutritious food and give them the gift of a lifetime of health.

skinnyinnotime

We all eat the same food. Really, why would you eat healthy but feed your kids crap?!

Lyerin

Generally, they eat the same thing that we eat. Last night we had chicken and vegetables. My DD (9) ate chicken and carrots. My DS ate chicken but wouldn't eat the vegetables, so he had some yogurt with his chicken.

We do make some allowances for things that they don't like (and we do the same for us). Last night, I didn't eat the vegetables that everyone else had. I had a sweet potato instead. The kids don't like my husband's spicy tomato sauce because it's too spicy for them, so they get plain marinara sauce. We generally ask them to at least try something new before they stop, but I'm not going to force them to eat. They can always have a peanut butter sandwich if they don't want to eat dinner (natural peanut butter and whole grain bread).

rderrickwhite

We eat family meals together. We do make some minor changes for the kids if there is a particular issue (our oldest hates tomato sauce), but we keep those pretty minimal. And to be honest, when our kids start commenting on a particularly "healthy" dish tasting gross, they're usually right. I just gave up on my many attempts with protein pancakes for this reason. IMO, food is meant to be shared and enjoyed and healthy doesn't need to taste bad, or require strange modifications to recipes.

This is it! I have 3 children. They try everything we eat - it's mandatory. If they don't like something we eat, then we have a few things on standby, but there are always fruits and vegetables represented, and usually in a variety of colors for them.

Southernb3lle

My son has Aspergers and is a very picky eater. single ingredient foods, no veggies, very limited. His diet consists of chicken nuggets, fries, fish sticks, vienna sausages, flour tortillas with cheese melted in them, pepperoni pizza, plain hot dogs, chips, and grapes or oranges, or watermelon. And scrambled eggs, ham and cheese , or peanut butter sandwiches. All very easy to fix meals. So yeah, most of the time I fix him a separate dinner from my husband and I. But it has been this way for most of his life, so no difference there.

We do supplement his diet with multivitamins, and he is extremely healthy.

My son has Autism as well and his diet consists of these things as well.

ShannonMpls

My son eats what we eat with a couple exceptions (allergy, spice, preference.) It's very rare that I make an alternate meal. We don't do "kid's food" in our house. No chicken nuggets, fish sticks, boxed mac and cheese, etc. If we don't eat that, why would I feed it to my son? We used to try to force him to eat, and it became a battle. Since we stopped doing that, everyone is happier - and my kid is eating - or at least trying - virtually everything that's put in front of him. And if he doesn't, no sweat. He'll make up for it tomorrow.

As for quinoa, OP, I make quinoa "mac" and cheese. Cook the quinoa in a mix of broth and milk, add in steamed and chopped broccoli and carrots, then melt in shredded cheese. Perfect way to introduce my son to quinoa and now he'll eat it plain as a side dish too.

katy84o

Why would your kids not eat quinoa? Do they eat rice? It's somewhat similar.. If they don't like they name you can at least tell them it's like rice or noodles.. What kid doesn't eat noodles.. Also, it's better for their health if they are starting to eat healthy now rather than when they hit their 20's or 30's.

Anyway, when I was growing up, if you didn't eat what was made for dinner you didn't eat. Who has time to cook separate meals? When I have kids, they will eat what is made. And for parents who say "that's what you say now" I know it works because it worked for my parents with three kids.

gingabebe

I got a lot of moaning and groaning about my healthier dinners when I started eating better, from my husband mostly :bigsmile: My kids got over it soon enough, still working on husband. Stick with it, they will adapt and feel better for it too!

laserturkey

I make what I want to make. They eat it, or don't. We have yogurt, fresh fruit and veggies, pumpkin seeds, cheese, tortillas, etc. on hand if they need to make their own "supplements."

AllonsYtotheTardis

I'm doing well with the healthy eating. Went shopping yesteday loaded up with fresh veggies, beans, quinoa. prepped a bunch of healthy recipes and then thought... And now what are the kids going to eat?! (and my husband remarked-where are the chips?) Sure they'll eat fresh veggies and fruit, but probably not Quinoa or Niciose Salad. So how do you integrate the family eating with your own?
2 seperate meals? And keep buying those snacks?

I am not a short order cook. I cook one meal, and the kids can deal with it.

Now - that's not a surprise to the kids - that was ALWAYS the way it worked here. And I haven't made drastic changes to how we eat - it's been a series of small changes. I'm not just trying to lose weight, I want to be healthy. It wouldn't make sense to not give my family healthy food as well. Hubby has been on board with the changes. We all get treats once in a while, so there has been no back-lash.

hdlb

For the most part, they eat what we eat. But between some very picky preferences, and multiple food allergies, (rice, oats, dairy, soy, gluten, corn) I end up making substiutions for some meals, which is fine. But I mean apple slices instead of steamed broccoli, or bbq chicken instead of teriyaki....there is not a chance that I will make hotdogs or chicken nuggets because my kids decide that the roast beef I made for dinner is "yucky".

Snacks in our house are pretty un-exciting. Fruits, veggies, rice cakes/crackers, jerky, hard boiled eggs, applesauce etc.

At the same time, we do not force them to eat. I make sure there is something one everyones plates that they will, and if they choose not to eat then they can go hungry until the next meal/snack. There are no snacks after dinner, if they don't eat they go until morning. And they do it without complaining.

Kxgz

We all eat the same way. Sometimes if I have taco salad they put it on a tortilla. Sometimes I make rice to go along with whatever protein and veggie I made, I just skip it usually. If you feed your family healthy, they will get used to it, eventually enjoy it and for sure thank you later for teaching them healthy habits.

bethlaf

my kids eat what we eat, they have to try some, a bite or two , if they don't like it , then they can have a fruit or another vegetable to replace it

but i refuse to cook 2 separate meals

ncl1313

The only time I make a second meal is if I have tried a new recipe that is...well...gross (baked tilapia with peaches and red onion salsa?...NASTY). Thank goodness I always have dry pasta around and can whip up some sauce in a pinch.

I assume as my son gets older and more picky about food, this will become more of a challenge and the temptation will be there to just throw some chicken nuggets in the oven so we can have a peaceful dinner. I believe in choosing your battles wisely. Who in their right mind wants to work all day, come home, make dinner, and then battle with their kids for the next hour about their food?

No, I don't think you should make your kid a completely separate meal, and I believe they should try everything you make. However, if you already know they don't like quinoa, perhaps make a second side so you can still have the quinoa and no argument. Or if they only like 4 veggies, make them one of those veggies and make yourself a different one. Or heat them up some leftovers if they are being extra picky and whiny. I, for one, really dislike leftovers, so I'd rather eat fresh food I don't like than microwaved stuff from last Tuesday.

Edited for typos.

alilarmour

I give the kids a variation of what we eat or make them things they like instead of what we're having. I'm on a strict regime at the minute - low carb, high protein. Hubby is doing it with me but we are a bit bored with all the green veg etc so I won't inflict that on the kids. They get nice bright carrots and corn. What they get isn't necessarily unhealthy. I have scrambled eggs most mornings for breakfast. I stick to weetabix for my youngest cos he likes it but some days he has eggs too. For dinners we are adding a lot of spice to make things taste nice so if we're having very spicy chicken with quinoa the kids get plainer chicken with veg and maybe some potato instead of sweet potato as they don't like it. I make them spag Bol as they love it but I can't have pasta so I make us prawn stir fry. Spag Bol for them will do a few nights so I can freeze portions. It's not that difficult to make two meals each night. If I have cauliflower rice they get normal rice - purely cos it's easier than standing grating another cauliflower to make enough for them too. As the kids get older they will eat more the same stuff as us but they get well fed at school/nursery and aren't too hungry by tea time so they might as well have things they like. And yes they do get chicken nuggets sometimes and fish fingers and other frozen stuff. They're kids. They like it. They eat well and my 5 year old isn't picky - he will always try everything. The younger one hasn't quite got to that stage yet.

staceypunk

My kids are 4 and almost 2 years old. My 4 year old eats like a bird and is so stubborn and every meal is a freaking struggle. I always serve dinner as whatever I have made for the meal. Often my 2 year old will eat parts of it, but some nights she tries it and wants nothing to do with it. My 4 year old just looks at it and declares "I am only eating the carrots" or something like that. She's so annoying and when we make her try one bite she often literally gags, like a reflex but she must be acting right?
I really have tried to be a hard-*kitten* and have sent her to bed when she's eaten nothing several times but it's often a nightmare because she turns into a monster (from hunger I am guessing:)) .

A lot of times I give in because it really does ruin the whole night for everyone. If she is complaining that she is hungry she gets yogurt, peanut butter toast or a banana. Sometimes I give her cereal with milk which I know is not good because it what she wants but I guess I feel like I have to pick my battles. Sometimes if I am making something I know either of them will eat I make them chicken nuggets.

I wish every night could be taco night. Always such a happy dinner time!

I am hoping once they are a bit older, like school age I can be more firm and then they'll be eating what is served.

summery79

My son is a preteen. He has always been super picky. REALLY picky. He will eat quinoa though. lol So you never know. He fixes his own breakfast and lunch, but everyone has the same (generally) healthy dinner. When we have pasta, I do shirataki or spaghetti squash, and the guys have real pasta. Or when we have tacos, I make myself a taco salad instead. But aside from those easy sort of substitutions, dinner is take it or leave it. We do require that he eats at least a couple bites of the protein in his dinner.

My son does Lucky Charms or other crappy sugar-laden cereal for breakfast, and mac and cheese or mini pizzas for lunch most days. We've required recently that he at least includes some fruit in there for fiber. When I try to get him to eat salads, etc with me, he generally does not eat at all. I can get him to drink protein shakes with me. I've reached a point where I've tried pretty much all the advice from ppl over the years (making cute lunches, calling the food cool names, only giving the kid whatever we eat, mixing the brown and white rice together, whatever). I swear most of the ppl who give this advice have never had a *truly* picky eater. (But I'm sure it is fun to judge if you are not dealing with this personally, or if you were blessed to have children who grew out of it.) My kid is almost 10, he barely weighs 55 lbs soaking wet. He has always been very low on his growth curve (bobbing between the third to tenth percentile). Husband and I mutually decided we'd rather have him eat some calories, any calories than continually have him skip meals and fall off his growth curve. Son says he plans on being the smart and funny guy to get girls to like him, not the big and strong guy, so he feels that he is all set. lol

His pediatrician says that he will eventually make better food choices because he always sees his parents making good choices. I'm not so sure about that, I feel that that should have happened by now. I don't anticipate this getting better when he enters his teen years. Either way, this does not affect my weight loss (and now maintenance). At least I am setting a good example.

murphy612

My son has Aspergers and is a very picky eater. single ingredient foods, no veggies, very limited. His diet consists of chicken nuggets, fries, fish sticks, vienna sausages, flour tortillas with cheese melted in them, pepperoni pizza, plain hot dogs, chips, and grapes or oranges, or watermelon. And scrambled eggs, ham and cheese , or peanut butter sandwiches. All very easy to fix meals. So yeah, most of the time I fix him a separate dinner from my husband and I. But it has been this way for most of his life, so no difference there.

We do supplement his diet with multivitamins, and he is extremely healthy.

My son has Autism as well and his diet consists of these things as well.

My step son as well :-) Only no fruit and loves shrimp and any type of noodles as long as I call them "Asian". I make an exception for this son because if he doesn't like it he just won't eat no matter how hungry he is and he's already underweight so I do the best I can to get some healthy food in him. Most everyone else in the household eats what I fix, including my other autistic step son. Unless I make something really strange, then I try to be more accomidating and have them make their own dinner that night, heheh.