So what do the kids eat...?

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.

^^^this^^^
Have fun with it
Be persistent
And try the "three bite rule"
)

Glad to see I wasn't the only "mean" mom by not being a short order cook!
In our house its a bit tricky, I have 2 somewhat picky eaters (tomato sauce/fish etc) and one adult picky vegetarian. So my meal planning gets creative. That being said, they are encouraged to try everything, and if they truly do not want it they can go ahead and make their own food.
Lucky enough my kids have always liked fruits and veggies. And have respected my "just try it" rule.

Side note my 9yr old loves quinoa, my son is not a fan of it...or rice...sigh

bump

My kid eats whatever I cook. Occasionally she asks for a treat at the grocery store and I get it for her because she eats so well.

there's nothing inherently "Adult" about quinoa! My kids love couscous and barley pilaf and have happily eaten quinoa.

A lot of "kid food" as we think of it today is highly processed, salt-and-sugar filled stuff. Sure, they like it -- because we give it to them because we think that's all they'll eat. We really underestimate the ability of our kids to eat real food.

When my oldest was a toddler, his favorite foods were black olives, hummus, and sweet potato curry. People told me I was "so lucky you don't have a picky eater." But this was also the kid who refused lunchmeat, mashed potatoes, and cheese! But his likes/dislikes weren't about "kid food" or "grownup food.' They were his own issues with texture, entirely separate from whether something came in a package with cartoon characters on it.

So yeah, my kids are offered pretty much the same thing we're eating, and always have been. I will accommodate food issues --to this day, my son won't eat cheese, so we have cheese separately at the table and pass it for those who like it. I don't expect everyone to like every food and eat everything on offer, but I'm not cooking separate meals, and I'm trying to teach them to recognize healthy foods and understand that our bodies need a a good variety of foods to grow in a healthy way, and that treats should be balanced and considered in the context of everything you eat.

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?

get them to eat it too!!!! I always had what my parents had - grew up much healthier than I would otherwise. Of course I had some treat days with chicken nuggets or left over pasta when they wanted curry, but I grew up eating fish and loving it.

Foster a positive, healthy relationship between your children and food

Reading thru this thread I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong? I basically still cook the same as always only now I'm cooking a bit lighter version, watching my portions, and cutting down on my carbs (I was a severe addict!). So my family enjoys dinnertime same as usual.

Have others seriously changed their menus? If so, how? (btw I'm obviously new around here!).

Maybe you were eating fairly healthily before? I know that was the case for me, and I still cook a lot of the things that I used to. I have less pasta than I used to, but I still cook it and give my son a much bigger portion! I think my problem was eating a little bit too much rather than eating bad food, so I try not to do that now.

To answer the main question, I give my son the same as me, but I do adjust my cooking to his likes and dislikes. For instance, if I cook something with mushrooms I'll usually leave them big enough for him to pick out, or I'll pick them out of his portion and put them on his plate. I do ask him to try foods he doesn't like every now and then though, because he might find that he likes them! He has just started liking oily fish, thankfully!

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?

Huh? This is bizarre to me. Why wouldn't your kids eat what you eat? Why should they eat crap like chips? Just eat the same dinner.

i have never understood the "my kid will only eat __insert bad food here__". you are the parent. you make the rules. when i was growing up you ate what was served or you didn't eat. my mom very rarely cooked but a couple of times a year she would make bean soup. i hated it! hated! we ate it for a week. that means for a solid week i ate cornbread because there was cornbread to go with the bean soup. that said, i would kill for a bowl of my mom's bean soup now! not to mention, why would you let you child eat things that you deem unhealthy for you to eat.

also, i would wager the children of south america probably would disagree that children won't eat quinoa ;-)