Kid Friendly food ideas?

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scookiemonster
scookiemonster Posts: 175 Member
in Recipes
Hi all! I need some suggestions. I don't have kids, but this weekend some good friends of ours are coming to visit and bringing their three kids. They will be with us for four days and their kids are ages 10, 8, and 2. Due to money constraints we'll be doing most of our eating at home. Breakfast is easy (I figure cereal, eggs, pancakes, etc.), and I can get cold cuts and sandwich stuff for lunches, but I'm kind of stuck on dinners. I don't want to just feed them hot dogs and hamburgers and spaghetti for four days, but I'm not really sure what else to do. I asked the mom what they like to eat and she wasn't super helpful - just said "oh, they're easy, they'll eat anything". I know she's trying to be easy going and not be a demanding house guest, but I could use some more guidance than that!

The only real food constraints are that I am gluten free (but I'm good at adapting recipes, so that's ok) and one of the kids is lactose intolerant. I am a good cook and can handle most home-cook recipes, and I have a kitchen fully-stocked with all necessary cooking tools and appliances.

Any ideas you can share would be great! I want to feed them foods that are healthy and fun and guest-worthy, but nothing too crazy or expensive or time consuming, as I'd rather be focused on my guests. Also, I'll be cooking for 7 of us, so something easy to make in larger quantities would be great - I'm really more used to just cooking for 2.

Thanks!
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Replies

  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    Home made pizza one night should be a hit

    Kids love chicken nuggets and macoroni and cheese
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
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    Have a gander at my diary. I'm gluten and milk free (plus a few others) and most meals I'm cooking for my 4 kids ranging from 3 to 14.

    One thing my kids love is fried rice( well that's what we call it) which is cooked rice fried (we use a small amount of olive oil) with meat and veggies - we usually use chicken but most meats work well including bacon. Also can add a couple of eggs scrambles up a few mins before its done. I usually cook the rice in the morning so it dries out.
  • rosemaryhon
    rosemaryhon Posts: 507 Member
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    My kids love Mexican night ~ make your own tacos & fajitas ~ put out bowls of ground beef, chicken strips, veggies, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream. Usually I serve with rice & beans and corn on the side.
  • maddymama
    maddymama Posts: 1,183 Member
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    Hi,
    I am a mom of two little ones (ages 7 and 4). Could you ask the mom again for more guidance? It sounds like she is trying to not be a burden, but tell her it's more of a burden for her to not give you specifics. A brand name for cereal for the am, almond milk, etc.? Or offer her a few ideas (spaghetti and meatballs, or grilled chicken, rice and veggie sides) and see what she thinks.
    My kids love ham, veggies on the side, and a baked sweet potato. Mine also love meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed veggies on the side. We also do lots of soups and stew in the crockpot and bake bread in our bread machine.
    Also, keep in mind that what they love one day they might hate the next. Don't take it personally. Sometimes traveling is stressful, and that is how they express their stress.

    edited for spelling
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Whole roasted chicken, caramelized onions and roasted new potatoes
  • scookiemonster
    scookiemonster Posts: 175 Member
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    Could you ask the mom again for more guidance? It sounds like she is trying to not be a burden, but tell her it's more of a burden for her to not give you specifics. A brand name for cereal for the am, almond milk, etc.? Or offer her a few ideas (spaghetti and meatballs, or grilled chicken, rice and veggie sides) and see what she thinks.

    Thanks! I've tried a few times actually, and I just keep getting "Oh, they're easy! They eat everything!" or "I'm sure whatever you make will be fine!" I think she's just really stuck on trying to be easy (which I appreciate!), and maybe doesn't have anything specific in mind. According to her they love fruits, veggies, etc., and eat whatever she feeds them, pretty much. I'm sure that's true and I'm sure if they really were picky she would say so, it's just leaving me a little blank on what to plan to feed them, and I want to be able to buy my groceries ahead of time so I don't miss out on quality time with my visitors.

    You guys are giving me some great suggestions, so thank you! We'll definitely be doing pizza at least one night (we're in NY, so pizza is a must), and I'm getting some great ideas for the other nights. Keep them coming!
  • scookiemonster
    scookiemonster Posts: 175 Member
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    My kids love Mexican night ~ make your own tacos & fajitas ~ put out bowls of ground beef, chicken strips, veggies, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream. Usually I serve with rice & beans and corn on the side.

    Thanks, that sounds perfect! I actually do this for my husband and I sometimes, I just kind of forgot about it. That's a great suggestion so that everybody can have what appeals to them.
  • jr235
    jr235 Posts: 201 Member
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    My daughter likes things with components. Make your own tacos, nachos, pizzas, pasta bowls.

    She also likes things to dip. Celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes and some sort of dip (ranch, cheese, hummus, salsa). Same principal for fruits. Apple slices, strawberries, bananas, kiwi, pinapple (whatever you have where you live) with peanut butter, nutella.
  • dressagester
    dressagester Posts: 53 Member
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    Why do you have to dumb down your meals? Maybe don't make it spicy or terribly exotic - but just serve them good food.
  • Ruchell
    Ruchell Posts: 236 Member
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    I think if she keeps insisting that they'll eat everything then maybe they really will and you shouldn't stress too much!

    That said, one of my son's favs is cubed chicken breast and rotini pasta tossed with pesto sauce. Super easy and delish for the adults too.
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    Maybe her kids really do eat anything. Mine did. I'd cook simple recipes so you have more time with your friends but don't go all out just to please the kids. Have some snacks like ants on a log, cut up fruit, etc. in case they don't eat well at meal time so they can munch between meals if that's allowed by their parents.
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
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    As a mom myself, if she told you anything

    She meant it

    Have some choices and she can go from there
  • fivethreeone
    fivethreeone Posts: 8,196 Member
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    Kids aren't aliens with alien food needs, they just have smaller mouths and a need to dip things in ketchup. Give them whatever you give the parents, but with ketchup.
  • zytah
    zytah Posts: 153
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    chicken fries/nuggets/fingers, mac n cheese, grilled cheese, quesadillas, meatloaf, fried rice, kid "sushi", noodle soup, lasagna, twice baked potatos go into our regular rotation. kids are 4 and 22 months. usually theyll have a small portion of what everyone else is having and i will make small side dishes just for them like some kind of potato, green beans or fruit.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Kids aren't aliens with alien food needs, they just have smaller mouths and a need to dip things in ketchup. Give them whatever you give the parents, but with ketchup.
    That's true. My son likes everything with ketchup. Grilled chicken, with ketchup. Grilled cheese, with ketchup. Basically if you can dip it in ketchup he'll eat it. I don't know if this masks true flavors or if the high fructose corn syrup is just that addicting but whatever the case is this seems to work.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    Liver!
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
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    Kids aren't aliens with alien food needs, they just have smaller mouths and a need to dip things in ketchup. Give them whatever you give the parents, but with ketchup.
    That's true. My son likes everything with ketchup. Grilled chicken, with ketchup. Grilled cheese, with ketchup. Basically if you can dip it in ketchup he'll eat it. I don't know if this masks true flavors or if the high fructose corn syrup is just that addicting but whatever the case is this seems to work.

    How bout bbq nuggets?

    He like those
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    these are a big hit with my kids:

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/08/sesame-encrusted-baked-chicken-tenders.html

    they are easy, and healthy too!

    (and totally dip-able, ahahha!)
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
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    Kids aren't aliens with alien food needs, they just have smaller mouths and a need to dip things in ketchup. Give them whatever you give the parents, but with ketchup.
    That's true. My son likes everything with ketchup. Grilled chicken, with ketchup. Grilled cheese, with ketchup. Basically if you can dip it in ketchup he'll eat it. I don't know if this masks true flavors or if the high fructose corn syrup is just that addicting but whatever the case is this seems to work.

    How bout bbq nuggets?

    He like those

    Are they dipped in ketchup?
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    Options
    Kids aren't aliens with alien food needs, they just have smaller mouths and a need to dip things in ketchup. Give them whatever you give the parents, but with ketchup.
    That's true. My son likes everything with ketchup. Grilled chicken, with ketchup. Grilled cheese, with ketchup. Basically if you can dip it in ketchup he'll eat it. I don't know if this masks true flavors or if the high fructose corn syrup is just that addicting but whatever the case is this seems to work.

    How bout bbq nuggets?

    He like those

    For sure. Nuggets in ketchup are a staple in his menu of things.

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