Healthy Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas!?!

meaganmorrow1984
meaganmorrow1984 Posts: 21 Member
in Recipes
I have a semi picky two year old who insists on ketchup on EVERYTHING! Anyone have any good, quick, healthy, kid friendly dinner ideas?

Replies

  • jrbb03092
    jrbb03092 Posts: 198 Member
    If you're interested or willing to try some vegetarian/vegan dishes, I would highly recommend Peas and Thank You:

    Blog is here: http://peasandthankyou.com/

    Cookbook is here: http://www.amazon.com/Peas-Thank-You-Simple-Meatless/dp/0373892403

    We have not made a recipe yet that my kidlet hasn't loved :)
  • TillyMomma
    TillyMomma Posts: 262
    I would love some ideas as well. My 3 year old is extremely picky!
  • BroiledNotFried
    BroiledNotFried Posts: 446 Member
    Pizza chicken.

    Brown boneless chicken breasts for three mins on each side in a teaspoon of oil. Take out of pan. Dice some veggies, small. Peppers, onions, whatever in pan. Add about four slices of turkey pepperoni, chopped, to pan. Add in spaghetti sauce. Put chicken in oven safe dish. Top with a few teaspoons of pepperoni marinara, and a teaspoon of part skim mozzarella. Bake in oven inti cheese melts. Serve with a side of noodles and use remaining sauce. Just measure your noodles.


    Tips


    Use chicken cutlets only. They are thin, cook quick, and perfect diet sized. No breadcrumbs on chicken. Just naked chicken.
  • annmwilson09
    annmwilson09 Posts: 8
    I am definitely interested in Kid friendly dinner ideas as well! I have a 6 yr old and 4 yr old boy. They used to eat just about anything, but lately, have become real picky. They no longer like mashed potatoes (or any potato for that matter unless it's fries, ugh). I will keep an eye out for any tips. thanks!
  • RobynLB
    RobynLB Posts: 617 Member
    My nephew would eat anthing that he got to skewer an a stick and dip in a sauce... even tofu... and he was a junk food junkie... it's all about presentation. I love the pizza chicken idea!
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    Wonder if these ideas would work for a picky 31 year old. :laugh: Yup, I'm bumping...
  • iqnas
    iqnas Posts: 445 Member
    bump
  • Brianna72994
    Brianna72994 Posts: 887
    My 3 year old brother is very picky too.

    My mom makes him homemade baked chicken nuggets alot, there are tons of recipes you could find.

    Also, bagel pizza. She puts sauce and mozzarella cheese on a wheat bagel and bakes it until the cheese melts. Its simple and yummy (I eat it also)
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
    Homemade chicken nuggets

    Season chicken breast
    Dip into milk and or whisked egg
    Coat with crushed plain corn flakes, bread crumbs, etc

    Homemade Fries

    Homemade anything! :)
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    My 3.5 year old is the worst. I need to keep an eye on this thread.
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,033 Member
    what about taco salad, burritos chili anything that the kids can put together themselves or can put their own condiments on tops such as cheese, sour cream, avocado, olives etc...you dont have to add the cheese and sr cream to yours

    also turkey loaf, my kids love cauliflower boiled with 2 or 3 potatoes and then mashed like mashed potatoes the cauliflower makes it sweeter
    maybe if you make mini turkey loafs in muffin tins if they have their own it is somehow cooler
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Like one poster said - presentation is everything for picky kids. He likes to dip? Make stuff that can be dipped - almost anything can be. You can come up with some pretty yummy dips. Try foods on sticks - hint - you can put almost anything on a stick! It may sound strange, but maybe try some foods that you don't really think of as kid foods. My kids love shrimp alfredo with broccoli. That is the only way they will eat it. Any of those items alone though and they really aren't interested. Maybe try cutting the foods differently too. If my kids think that their food looks different than mine, they aren't happy.
  • CLD79
    CLD79 Posts: 53 Member
    bump
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
    We've had luck with simply insisting the kids eat what we eat. We only give them a couple of exceptions to a very limited and specified foods. For example, our oldest doesn't like tomato sauce so we let that pass. If she otherwise doesn't like the food then too bad. I know that sounds harsh but I see the alternative with friends' kids eating nothing but pizza, chicken nuggets and hamburgers. Our kids eat pretty well and we have very few fights about food.
  • Linli_Anne
    Linli_Anne Posts: 1,360 Member
    Sometimes you simply need to make the food look a bit more "fun" to the kids.

    My 4 year old was very picky about vegetables - so I started to use cookie cutters to cut up his meals (I'd be cutting him things up anyway) and they instantly became appealing. Also, if you put anything on a stick it becomes more fun to eat - veggie kabobs, fruit kabobs, chicken breast with mandarin orange slices....or, serve the cooked carrots with toothpicks to pick up the food with instead of a fork.

    Some other favourites around our dinner table are mini-cheeseburger loafs (I bake meatloaf in muffin tins, and top the kids' portions with ketchup and melted cheese.), roasted veggie and cheese quesadillas, build your own tacos, and any kind of pasta dish that they can sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of.

    I will not make special meals for our kids - they know that they need to eat what we eat or they can wait until Breakfast. The exceptions are for things like tomatoes make my son gag and that puts him off everything else on the plate. My daughter does not like white potatoes in any form, so I don't usually make her eat that. Otherwise, our rule of thumb is that they have to have their age in bites of each things on their plate (usually protein and one or 2 veggies, sometimes a carb).
  • _Sara_A_
    _Sara_A_ Posts: 113 Member
    Hopefully some of these help!

    ~ Use Cookie Cutters to Make Pancakes.
    ~ Make Meatballs in Muffin Tins.
    ~ Fruit Rainbow ~ http://belladia.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cc08553ef014e5fd2eee3970c-pi
    ~ Lasagna Cupcakes ~ http://quick-dish.tablespoon.com/2011/03/31/lasagna-cupcakes/
    ~ Fruit on a stick ~ http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llrlp4ko4P1qjc70co1_400.jpg
    ~ Fruit Christmas Tree ~ http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2009/12/kiwi-christmas-tree.html
    ~ Kids Octopus Soup ~ http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kids-octopus-soup/detail.aspx
    ~ Coconut Chicken ~ http://budgetbytes.blogspot.ca/2010/01/coconut-chicken-w-sweet-chili-sauce-691.html
    ~ Sweet Potato Fries ~ http://www.marthastewart.com/316829/spicy-sweet-potatoes?czone=food/thanksgiving-center/thanksgiving-center-dishes&center=0&gallery=274421&slide=264459
    ~ Shrimp, Sausage, Corn Potato Kabobs ~ http://www.repinly.com/pin.aspx?pid=5378&p=38&by=repins&t=0&cat=Food-&-Drink&rnk=607
    ~ Cucumber Feta Rolls ~ http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2011/12/cucumber-feta-rolls-holiday-recipe-exchange.html
    ~ Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls ~ http://allrecipes.com/recipe/vietnamese-fresh-spring-rolls/detail.aspx
  • BronnersHarris
    BronnersHarris Posts: 247 Member
    Hopefully some of these help!


    ~ Lasagna Cupcakes ~ http://quick-dish.tablespoon.com/2011/03/31/lasagna-cupcakes/

    I make a massive lasagna every week for my youngest who loves it so much he eats it at least once a day (it's my super healthy version) but that idea is just brilliant as I would be able to pack them in his lunch box for nursery without it being a super messy meal! Can't wait to try them!
  • Jaulen
    Jaulen Posts: 468 Member
    We've had luck with simply insisting the kids eat what we eat. We only give them a couple of exceptions to a very limited and specified foods. For example, our oldest doesn't like tomato sauce so we let that pass. If she otherwise doesn't like the food then too bad. I know that sounds harsh but I see the alternative with friends' kids eating nothing but pizza, chicken nuggets and hamburgers. Our kids eat pretty well and we have very few fights about food.

    We do this with our 4 yr old....plus if he says he doesn't like something, we make him have a couple of bites at least to try it. And he keeps seeing the same hated foods on his plate all the time, and he keeps having to have a couple of bites, he now eats things he wouldn't before. Only thing we don't make him eat is raw tomatoes.....he gags on those.

    Did the same thing with a friend of his that stayed over for dinner.....oh the looks of hate! He was like "My parents would fix me a hot dog if I didn't want to eat this." My reply to him was "In this house you'd go hungry" He unwillingly ate a couple of bites of everything.....weird to me, with how much complaining he did about eating, he ate all of the purple cauliflower on his plate.
  • ggsmamma
    ggsmamma Posts: 117 Member
    bump
  • LisaY76
    LisaY76 Posts: 76 Member
    Children will not allow themselves to starve if there is food around. Even if it's food they don't like. If you serve the kids the same food you are eating then it is up to them to eat it or not. I guarantee if they turn down the food once or twice and see that they DON'T get something else in return, they will start to eat what is served to them. Eventually they will develope a tast for healthy foods.
  • annmwilson09
    annmwilson09 Posts: 8
    what about taco salad, burritos chili anything that the kids can put together themselves or can put their own condiments on tops such as cheese, sour cream, avocado, olives etc...you dont have to add the cheese and sr cream to yours

    also turkey loaf, my kids love cauliflower boiled with 2 or 3 potatoes and then mashed like mashed potatoes the cauliflower makes it sweeter
    maybe if you make mini turkey loafs in muffin tins if they have their own it is somehow cooler

    My boys love mini meatloafs in the muffin tins! You are right, if it is a portion that is just for them, they like it :-) they will not eat meatloaf any other way
  • michellyn
    michellyn Posts: 108 Member
    When my son was 7, it seemed so difficult to get him to eat veggies. One day, I asked him why he didn't like veggies. He replied that he liked cucumbers, corn, and a few others. After that, I tried to make sure I always served one of those in addition to whatever else I was serving, just to make sure he always had vegetables he would like. I don't ever change my main dish, but on rare occasion, I'll let him make something for himself when he dislikes it.

Categories