Running out of ideas!!!

great question! I need to know as well! One picky kid and one not willing to try anything new....

Hmmm, what about lettuce wraps, with chicken, julienned carrots, sprouts, celery, peppers. Anything you want really. Have the kids choose/make their own. Getting them involved in it is more than half the fun! Let them help wash the veggies, set the bowls on the table, etc. Hope this is a little help. Good Luck!

LOL. Don't know if this will help, but in my house the kids HAVE TO eat what we make whether they like it or not. It is a really difficult task to cook healthy meals that they enjoy all the time...IT CAN'T BE DONE. Sometimes they have to eat foods they don't like because 1) it is good for them, 2) our budget does not allow for us to buy that kind of variety, and 3) I don't have time to make a bunch of different dishes to please everyone. If we know that they do not like something they certainly don't have to eat a lot, but they still have to eat it.

True story: my oldest once said he did not like peas. Well my husband opened up a can of peas and made him eat half. Needless to say, he doesn't do that anymore...that was when he was 9 yrs old...he is 17 now. He still doesn't like peas, but when we have them he knows to add them to his plate.

I lived through the same thing about once a week when I was young. I had to sit at the table until the peas were gone. This was in the 60's. Canned peas were cheap. I sat at the table until bed time. Then went to bed upset. I don't know why parents would force a child to eat something they absolutely can't stand. It's not like I was being picky every time I sat down at the table. It was just the canned peas that made me gag.

I do not force my children to eat something they don't like. Besides, there are dozens of fresh vegetables available at the grocery store. By the way, I love fresh peas. I still won't eat canned peas. Go ahead!! Try and make me.

I lived through the same thing about once a week when I was young. I had to sit at the table until the peas were gone. This was in the 60's. Canned peas were cheap. I sat at the table until bed time. Then went to bed upset. I don't know why parents would force a child to eat something they absolutely can't stand. It's not like I was being picky every time I sat down at the table. It was just the canned peas that made me gag.

I do not force my children to eat something they don't like. Besides, there are dozens of fresh vegetables available at the grocery store. By the way, I love fresh peas. I still won't eat canned peas. Go ahead!! Try and make me.

I'm going to have to agree with you on this one. When I was little, I HATED potato salad (and still do!). My dad sat me at the kitchen table with a bowl of it, and wouldn't let me leave until I ate it. I ended up puking in the kitchen trash after a few bites.

They always say that forcing your kid to eat anything causes negative emotions about food. Possibly how some of us ended up like we did.

Thanks for making that point. By the way, I do all the cooking. I have three girls. The youngest is still at home. We prepare meals together. It has helped her a lot. I would bet she is one of the better cooks in HS. Also, my wife recently started a diet where she has to buy the packaged foods. So, we split the food budget. She spends half on the packaged foods she eats and me and my youngest do the food shopping for the other half of the groceries that we consume. We do our shopping every 2 weeks. It's actually fun. I let her do a lot of the planning now. It will also help her with future budgeting, because I set a grocery amount and she knows she must stay within it and not run out of food. She was excited last night, because she began clipping coupons and was working on Saturday's list.

I agree with what everyone else said!! Don't stress about them eating all veggies. I HATED veggies growing up but now I love 'em.

My kids (7 and 9) like:

- carrot chips w/ ranch dressing
- spinach or zucchini sauteed in olive oil and garlic
- peas w/ butter and salt

They pretty much hate everything else. That's cool, I just make the ones they like and rotate them. Maybe when they're teenagers they will like them. They LOVE fruit and they take vitamins so I just make sure they get plenty of that. They are healthy as horses. We don't eat (much) processed food and we eat a lot of white meat and fish so everything helps!

I just tried a veggie "sea" cake recipe today and the kids ate it up. It's make with grates zucchini, carrots and corn. I paired the cakes with lemon pesto for adults but my son ate his with some tartar sauce and my picky daughter ate it plain.

If interested here it is.

2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup corn
2 egg whites, beaten
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning of fish fry seasonings
1/4 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
1/2 cup olive oil for frying or you can also bake them.

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, carrots, corn and onions and egg. Stir in seasoned crumbs and seasoning. Mix well.
Shape mixture into patties. Dredge in flour.
In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium high heat until hot. Fry patties in oil until golden brown on both sides.
You can also place the patties without dredging on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush a little bit of olive oil on the patties for browning and bake them for about 20-30 mins at 350F or until golden brown.

This makes about five servings depending on how big you make the patties.

About Calories: 196 | Total Fat: 9 g | Cholesterol: 55mg per serving.

Hope this helps you aout. We loved them.

My mama used to tell us "It's a bigger waste to put something in your body you don't want."
So we were never forced to eat a lot of something we didn't want, but we did have to at least try it, she called it out "No thank-you helping."
Because of this, I am willing to try new foods and even foods I've declared as not liking, I'll give them a try every so often, just to make sure I'm not missing out on anything good. :bigsmile:
She also said she used to blend veggies and add it to a lot of our foods, but it sounds like you are already doing that.
I really like the idea before about growing the viggies and then cooking with them - that sounds like an awesome idea!

Good Luck :flowerforyou: