Go-to meal for picky kids

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alazio
alazio Posts: 44 Member
in Recipes
Parents with picky kids...what's your go-to meal that makes everyone happy (i.e. healthy for the kids, plus they'll eat it, plus it doesn't kill your calorie allotment)? I feel like most households have one of these meals...the one that gets served at least once a week. What's yours?
In our house we have two:
-trader joe mandarin chicken sauteed with a bag of frozen broccoli and served with rice
-tortellini with jamie oliver's 7 vegetable pasta sauce

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  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
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    pizza. depending on what you put on it it won't kill your calories. and kids and adults love it....

    I eat cheeseless pizza and my 2 year old devours it, i just pile on the veggies.

    He also loves refried beans, but homemade...or he really loves those chickenless strips from trader joes too. those aren't bad.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    pasta with pizza flavoured sauce.

    basically it's pasta with a bolognaise style sauce, but I put the same veggies the kids like on pizza on it, and top it with a little grated cheese. And you can put finely chopped veggies in it too, like spinach. My kids hate the texture of spinach, but finely chopped in something strong flavoured like this and they don't notice it.
  • Deena_Bean
    Deena_Bean Posts: 906 Member
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    My kids love mushrooms, and my spouse's son doesn't. I can make Crockpot Chicken Strogranoff with Egg noodles and everyone loves it. The anti-mushroom boy just pushes them to the side. It's just a large container of sour cream, a package of lipton onion soup, 2 cans cream of mushroom, 1 can cream of chicken and 1 pound of chicken breast (you can adjust it to fit the needs of your family). I use light sour cream and low sodium soups to help with the macros. Put it in the crockpot for 6.5 hours on low (and then it goes to warming). They ask for seconds.
  • goanothermile
    goanothermile Posts: 98 Member
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    Our kids probably aren't as picky as some.

    Sure hit - pasta with meat sauce. Kids get standard spaghetti noodles. Mom and Dad have spaghetti squash instead.

    Another staple in our house is some variation of baked chicken, starch, and a veggie.

    Chicken variations - baked with and topped with bruschetta & mozzarella, salsa & mozzarella, chimichurri sauce, or pesto sauce.

    Starch would be brown rice, orzo, or quinoa.

    The vegetable depends on what we have. Green beans, roasted brussell sprouts, roasted asparagus, or steamed broccoli would all be possibilities.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Honestly my kids typically eat whatever we're having for dinner. Fish, chicken, sausage, burgers, veggies, pasta, they eat everything but spinach and spicy stuff (although my son must be the only kid on Earth who doesn't like sweet potatoes, even as fries). So I guess we just rotate between things... and the 'go-to' meal on days when I don't feel like cooking anything fancy is pasta, hot dogs or chicken nuggets with veggies, pretty much.

    It's for lunch that they're picky, go figure!
  • agbmom556
    agbmom556 Posts: 694 Member
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    Tacos and Quesadillas.
    The kids eat them with cheese and meat. sometime they add lettuce
    I fill mine with ground turkey and veggies.
    Yum
  • _BearNecessities_
    _BearNecessities_ Posts: 432 Member
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    My kids don't run the show. I take their desires into consideration, but ultimately, they eat what I give them. Picky kids are only picky because they are allowed to be.
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
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    My son has never been a picky eater and will have whatever is served without complaint, but he requests tacos, spaghetti and meatballs and chicken nuggets on a regular basis. These are all pretty quick and easy, and I don't sweat it nutrition-wise. I make my own turkey meatballs and my own nuggets (thanks, skinnytaste!) and my husband I like those meals, too.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    My kids eat what they're given, but obviously there are some meals they'll eat with no complaints at all!

    Jacket potato with tuna is a favourite. We have salad with it and my 3 year old loves cucumber. My 5 year old is obsessed with tuna!
    They both love chicken or fish with veg. My 3 year old eats all veg, but my 5 year old prefer broccoli and carrots.
    Homemade spaghetti bolognaise is usually a hit.
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
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    I think it's important that kids be urged to try things, but in the end if someone is picky they are picky, i'm not going to force feed my two year old, that just screams of eating issues later on.

    of course a lot depends on the age of the child....

    anyways.
  • sistrsprkl
    sistrsprkl Posts: 1,013 Member
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    BFDeal wrote: »
    A belt sandwich with a side go to your room.

    lol.
    We do a lot of teriyaki chicken and rice, mac & cheese (with veggies added), pizza, grilled cheese, asian dumplings (my kids love these), and pesto tortellini.
  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
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    Burritos or pizza for my fam.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    My boyfriend is picky. Does that count?

    My go-to's: Pasta. Grilled cheese sandwich w/fries (I add 1 tbs butter to bread, 1 slice American cheese, 1 slice ham or turkey, 1 fried egg) and bake fries. Stir fried veggies with rice. Baked potatoes.
  • alazio
    alazio Posts: 44 Member
    edited October 2014
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    Thanks everyone! I am definitely trying a few of these suggestions this week (I'm lookin at you, Crockpot Chicken Strogranoff, asian dumplings, and cheese-less pizza).
    I too agree that its important for kids to eat a variety of healthy food. Our rule is that they eat what we eat unless they absolutely can't (I can tell the difference between a food that's just ho hum vs. one that's practically making them gag...in the case of the latter they can replace it with oatmeal and fruit, no dessert). BUT, we all like to have nice warm plate of yummy food we love, adults and kids alike, so the healthy meals our whole family loves become staples. I'm just looking for a few more of those to add to the line-up.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    BFDeal wrote: »
    A belt sandwich with a side go to your room.
    Dad?

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