TWO MENUS? I cant do it.....

HBBrown78 · January 2012

My husband and I are eating low cal but my kids are thin and need high cal. ( Not to mention kids under 11 dont like pork with mango salsa and steamed brown rice for dinner) I cant afford to buy two sets of groceries and have two menus with two different meals every time I cook.So what do you do? Any ideas?

hebbby · January 2012

You and your husband could eat smaller portions of the same meal or have a low cal meal and give the kids a healthy but calorie boosting dessert or you could cut calories out during the day so you have more to play around with at dinner

ChefSuzzieQ · January 2012

MY kids eat more, more at meals and more snack throughout the day. They also eat what we are eating. They won't starve. If they are hungry enough they will eat. I have preschooler and they now willingly eat things like salmon with rice and steamed veggies.

carolann_22 · January 2012

My kids will eat what I cook and not starve, even if it's pork tenderloin or grilled flank steak. I also give them snacks throughout the day with things like natural PB and other higher fat/calorie things.

the_fish_guy · January 2012

My wife and I also have two kids (10 and 8) and ran into the same dilemma. Ultimately, we worked to find healthy choices for us that our kids would eat, too. Our daughter is especially picky (and rail-thin), so it was quite a challenge.

In the end, we took those relatively few healthy meals we already ate as a family, and expanded from there. We found our kids would eat, for example, almost anything involving chicken, so we looked for a wide range of ways to prepare chicken that we all would eat. We kept boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese handy for those nights where whatever we did didn't work for them.

Between the few healthy meals we already ate, and the new ones we added, we were eventually able to come to a level of variety that kept us happy, but it did take a while.

I also found that in some cases we were able to do two menus once in a while . . . Mac and Cheese for the kids and a bean dish for us . . . because they were simple and inexpensive enough to do both.

Good luck!

kd_mazur · January 2012

would they eat a plainer version of what you have already made? If you make pork with mango salsa...perhaps they would eat just the pork? I have convinced my 6 yr old picky eater that she must try a "polite bite" of whatever is for dinner. If she really just doesn't like it she doesnt have to finish. She will just load up on the veggies or fruit offered.

I decided long ago that I am not a short order cook. If she doesn't like anything offered...there is always PB&J:)
Good luck.

kspoon5 · January 2012

I have 3 children and my youngest is 10 very thin and is not a big eater to begin with but then you add very picky to it and we are in trouble, The only veggie she will eat is raw carrots and celery - she doesn't even like potatoes - she is totally convinced that mac n cheese is a veggie LOL - She doesn't eat fish or pork - no rice - so usually I just cut up a carrot and throw on some meat and she eats that - she will eat salad so I try to hide some better greens in the salad ..... I hear your woos and am with ya !!!! :0(

susanswan · January 2012

Forgot to make this a quote:

would they eat a plainer version of what you have already made? If you make pork with mango salsa...perhaps they would eat just the pork? I have convinced my 6 yr old picky eater that she must try a "polite bite" of whatever is for dinner. If she really just doesn't like it she doesnt have to finish. She will just load up on the veggies or fruit offered.

I decided long ago that I am not a short order cook. If she doesn't like anything offered...there is always PB&J:)
Good luck.

^^^^^^^^^This!

HBBrown78 · January 2012

I have 3 children and my youngest is 10 very thin and is not a big eater to begin with but then you add very picky to it and we are in trouble, The only veggie she will eat is raw carrots and celery - she doesn't even like potatoes - she is totally convinced that mac n cheese is a veggie LOL - She doesn't eat fish or pork - no rice - so usually I just cut up a carrot and throw on some meat and she eats that - she will eat salad so I try to hide some better greens in the salad ..... I hear your woos and am with ya !!!! :0(

My 10 year old girl is just like this- to top it off she has to take a med that takes away her appetite so it is sssssoooooo hard. She is about 4 foot 8 and only 58lbs. Plus my middle child has very bad foos allergies. I like the carrot and meat idea- she might actualy eat that. Thanks

TWrecks1968 · January 2012

I decided long ago that I am not a short order cook.

Love this. I tell the kids constantly, "You do not live at Waffle House." One of the issues is that I have five children. My oldest is heavy for his age, and he works out with me, and he eats what we eat. However, my other four are rail thin and they get larger servings, but we have to watch my oldest's servings. Talk about a balancing act.

southern04 · January 2012

This is wonderful to see!! I run into this problem. But here is where mine gets bad! My kids are picky and my husband wants things like potatoes at every meal, big lunches, and bacon in his green beans. He turns his nose up to my healthy cooking. I can handle my kids by just telling them to make a sandwich or eats loads of the sides. However, my husband is a seperate issue all together!

Leigh_b · January 2012

they need more calories, but not necessarily high calorie food. They can just eat more of what you make. My girls aren't given the option. They eat what I make. That's not to say they like everything I make and my rule is that they are allowed not to like something but they always have to try it. We always talk up how great something tastes right before they eat it and when they say they like it we give them TONS of praise so it is rare that they actually admit to not liking something. If that happens, they have to eat what is left... rice and peas and not the shrimp, for example and then I will make them a peanut butter sandwich if they are still hungry. I also have a rule that they can't have dessert (which is usually fruit with yogurt) unless they eat what I make so if they opt for the peanut butter sandwich, they get no dessert and that in and of itself is often motivation for them to eat what I make.

Since your kids aren't used to eating your specialized meals it might take a while for them to adjust, but if they are hungry, they will eventually eat it....

Good luck!

sandy2006 · January 2012

I KNOW I have a husband who refuses to eat healthy and I have a 4 yr old with autism and is very very picky so I end up making 3 different things sometimes! A lot of times I just tell the husband he has to eat my healthy food or just make a sandwich. I dont have an answer but would love one.

Diary_Queen · January 2012

Dang... my kids love mango salsa... I even let them help chop the veggies and make their own separate container so it's as spicy (or non-spicy) as they prefer. I do have trouble with my son who has a peanut allergy, but other than that... they eat what I cook or they go to bed. I'm not a short order cook for my children. A family meal is a family meal period. My boys only need about 1400 calories a day and they're normal sized, but I make sure they eat well from the food pyramid. Healthy lean meats, good fats with omega-3s, low sugar, moderate carbs, and very little junk. Just because it's healthy doesn't mean they won't like it or that they should have a completely different menu. That seems totally out of the question for my household.

idauria · January 2012

I am low carb and both dh and I are wheat free for the moment. The kids eat what we eat. I normally make a protein, veggie and some sort of grain/starch. I just don't eat that part of the meal. I don't eat very adventurously so my kids generally like what I make. I don't like to make special meals because what I make is way healthier than an alternative like chicken nuggets or mac and cheese.

Kirkajuice · January 2012

Please encourage them to try new foods. I had a problem for years (20 exactly, 3-23) with food. People said I was fussy but I had (have?) a type of eating disorder where the texture of food can make me throw up. It was hugely embarassing, I'd never go to friends houses for dinner or out to restaurants with people because I was always picked on about order the plainest thing on the menu.

I got some treatment at 23 and have been able to try new foods since then. It's a slow process and there are still many thing I don't eat and it can take me weeks to work up the nerve to try something new, even if I'm very determined or if I know I like the taste but the texture will be a lot of mental effort for me to eat and prevent myself from throwing up.

The point of me saying this is that being a picky eater is so humiliating, you need to stop that before habits form and it becomes a huge psychological issue and therapy is needed like me. It's best for their health and their self esteem if they don't have issues with food.

NoAdditives · January 2012

My kids are 3 1/2 and almost 2 (and almost 3 weeks, but she doesn't count as far as this issue is concerned). They try to be picky but I don't allow it. During the day they choose between two meal or snack options and at dinner they eat whatever my husband or I cook. If they don't like it, that's too bad. They'll usually complain for a few minutes and then will try the meal. More often than not they end up cleaning their plates, but occasionally they do go to bed only having had some milk or juice for dinner. We have three kids and things are difficult enough. Neither one of us wants to make multiple meals. My husband and I also have different nutritional needs. He's trying to gain muscle and I'm (not really actively) trying to lose weight. We still only make one meal. I eat a normal, healthy portion. He often eats twice what I do and our kids eat as much as they need.

TWO MENUS? I cant do it.....

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