Question for ladies with families....

Eat it or starve.

Handed down from generation to generation to generation in my family.

My son eats what I give him, or he starves.

So does any man who may enter my life.

Make one meal, if they don't eat, they can make their own.
That's how I learned to quit being a picky eater as a child.
Edit to add: And any grown man should know how to make his own meals.

I often put out but up fruit or raw veggies while I am cooking dinnner. It's amazing how the kids will eat them when they are so hungry. They will keep running back in to eat them. No sense cooking them or serving them WITH dinner, just get them in first. A little low fat ranch dressing makes a reasonable dip. Baby carrots, sliced cucumber or celery, cherry tomatoes, etc. Sliced apples or oranges, strawberries, etc. Put them out on a pretty plate like you would for guests.

Take some advice from someone who wishes she had asked the same question 20 years ago.

In the beginning when my kids were little, they would eat with Mommy and all was ok. I would cook healthy food and my kids would eat it without any trouble.

My husband would do what yours is doing... refuse to eat vegetables.. not eat healthy... and he negatively influenced my children. It is now 20 years later, my husband has had a heart attack at 48 and my kids, 23 and 15 are bears when it comes to healthy eating. They have had his horrible infulence for years.. (often taking my kids to McDonalds behind my back).

I should have stood my ground. I'm still fighting every day for my kids... but it is really really hard when they get older.

Do the right thing. Set the rules in your kitchen. Tell HIM to eat by himself if he must eat unhealthful. Do it for your kids.

Start serving the veggies TODAY! The sooner they start to eat them, the better. Kids who don't eat fruits and veggies early, have more trouble with it later. Don't do that to them. You are investing the time and trouble in their lifelong health.

I try to serve meat, a veggie, and a good carb with every meal. We snack on fruit. No sodas, limited processed snacks. Limited juice (100% juice). Let the treats be real treats. The rest should be food.

Our dinners have a couple of things I expect everyone to like and a couple of experiments or iffy things. If they don't like the squash, they can eat the quinoa and salmon and just a few bites of the squash. I try to spice up the veggies some, though: cheese sprinkles, Tony Chachere's (my family likes spiciness), nuts, etc.

Good luck. They will adjust after a few weeks. My kids love turkey burgers now and will try any new food in a restaurant. It is great!

im not a short-order cook....



i eat healthfully and i belive that my family should to...

I agree with both of these statements. I may ask for their input and over time they've learned what our family eats. Just tonight my 5 year old requested fish for dinner! baked fish, not fish sticks, but a fish fillet! I honestly don't think he even knows what a fish stick is. I digress, I cook what I cook and they know if they don't eat it, then they go hungry. Thankfully I don't have to deal with many if any complaints.

You have the right idea! You cook a healthy meal, put it in front of them, and that's the meal. Like it or lump it. I would also talk to your husband about being quiet about his dislike of certain foods. He can have his dislikes, but he needs to allow his children to make up their own minds.

Go old school on em, either they eat what you make, or dont eat at all. that BS! your not a slave. ( you know what I mean) theyll learn to love veggies.

Nip that in the bud NOW! Your kids are so young they are still building preferences...i would only cook one meal include something you know hubs likes and if there are veggies he does not like he can pick them out without saying ewww gross or anytjing. You should never discourage healthy eating I have 2 yr old and often prepare veggies I dont like so he and I both get used to them. Myparents never encoraged veggie eating I wish they did.

2 signs in my kitchen "two choices for dinner :take it or leave it " and "if mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy ". Your kids are not going to learn any younger how to eat healthy. If your husband doesn't care sbout his own health maybe he would about the children's and yours. Can you talk with him about this?

I often put out but up fruit or raw veggies while I am cooking dinnner. It's amazing how the kids will eat them when they are so hungry. They will keep running back in to eat them. No sense cooking them or serving them WITH dinner, just get them in first. A little low fat ranch dressing makes a reasonable dip. Baby carrots, sliced cucumber or celery, cherry tomatoes, etc. Sliced apples or oranges, strawberries, etc. Put them out on a pretty plate like you would for guests.

This is a great idea. I've done it before and am astounded when my husband and kids gobble them up. But I'm also in the "eat it or starve camp." I serve veggies/protein/carb with every meal and the kids are expected to at least take a few bites. My husband is pretty good about veggies, though, so that makes it easier. Not sure what you can do about your husband, but you CAN influence what your kids eat by just giving them the healthy food you are eating.

Fix this now or your kids may end up like my youngest!!! My first 2 sons ate what I cooked. They ate fruits, veggies and meats. Of course there were things they did not like but there was always plenty at the table they liked. Then I had my third child. When he was 2 weeks old, we went for his checkup and he was still under his birth weight. I went back the next day and he lost another half pound. The next day...same thing. He was losing weight daily. I was nursing him so we went to a lactation nurse for help. He was just not getting enough. The other 2 had done great so I was really surprised. I tried giving him a bottle to supplement but he would not take a bottle. They gave me a large tube with very fine tubing going down with a small hole in it. I would put breast milk in the tube, hold the end of the tubing on the tip of my finger, put my finger in his mouth, and literally pour the milk down his throat. It worked and he started gaining. As he grew, he was eating a good variety of baby food and moved on into table food. He loved my homemade chicken vegetable soup! Then when he was almost 2, he got pneumonia. He did not eat a crumb of food for 7 days. Hen he finally did eat, it was crackers but I was so happy, I just shoved crackers in him. Then he added cookies. That was all he ate for a long time (along with a vitamin daily!). We have worked so hard to get him to eat healthy but at 14 years old, he eats no vegetables, rarely eats fruits. He eats pop tarts, pizza, cereal, popcorn chicken, and yogurt. Those are they "healthy" things he eats willingly. I believe if I had pushed him when he was very young, we would not be where we are now. He looks healthy, in fact, quite thin. He is 5' 10" and weighs 142. He is very active. He does not eat very much or very often. I blame myself for this and now I know my son will have lifelong health problems because of my negligence. Please don't let this happen to your babies. Do something now while they are still young. If Dad is not going to eat right in front of the kids, don't let him sit at the table with you and the kids when you eat so that you are the one setting the example for them. Surely Dad knows that his eating habits are not good. Appeal to his senses as a father. Ask him if he wants to pass on his eating habits as a legacy to his children or do something to make their lives better.

Honestly, I did not read all the responses, but I've been hiding onions and mushrooms IN.EVERY.LUNCH/DINNER for the past 6 years for the skids.

Cauliflower in mac and cheese
Squash, real tomatoes in spaghetti sauce
Anything pureed in homemade pizza (in the sauce, covered in cheese)
Anything in lasagne, manacotti, stuffed shells
Anything in Mexican (tacos, lasagna, etc)
Faux meats - soy crumbles in any of the above

It's really easy, just be imaginative. Ask me if you have a specific recipe you want to hide something in.

I've even gotten the skids eating veggie risottos without knowing!