My son has made me a boring cook

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Meghan0116
Meghan0116 Posts: 1,340 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My son (3) is not necessarily a picky eater but he doesn't like food that most kids like. Forget PB & J, grilled cheese, or any cheese for that matter, bread, and most veggies. He loves meat, most fruit, and green beans. He also really likes the taste of raw carrots and celery but doesn't like to swallow them. He chews them, spits them out, and takes another bite (repeat over and over). So, I end up cooking the same stuff over and over and it is healthy but BORING!

Do ya'll have any advice for other nutritious meals I could make that he might enjoy?

Thank you!

Replies

  • timadotcom
    timadotcom Posts: 674 Member
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    Wish I had any advice. My son will eat spaghetti and roast beef endlessly over and over again. I tried to get him to eat chicken nuggets a few times because I was craving them and the little punk gave me a look of disgust! I usually make him his favorite foods and freeze them in little tupperwares, that way if I make something which he refuses to eat, I just take it out of the freezer and heat it up for him. Less of a struggle and saves time for me as well.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    Why are you letting your kid dictate what you cook? I have a 2.5 year old and he eats what we cook. At first he got pretty angry about it but now he doesn't complain and if he is hungry he'll chow down. We also require him to try at least a bite of everything. My wife and I are foodies so we are always trying new foods. Your kid isn't making you a boring cook, you are enabling your kid into being a boring eater.

    That sounds mean but it's really how the situation is. Kids at that age don't completely know what they like yet, add in they also can be temperamental. It took awhile but our son will at least try everything we cook and if he doesn't like it, he'll say "I don't want that or like that" We usually have 1 or 2 things (meat or veggie) that he'll like and eat. We aren't running a restaurant for our kid though. He gets to eat what everyone else is eating.
  • Spinelli2288
    Spinelli2288 Posts: 188 Member
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    When I was young and told my mom that what she was making wasn't what I wanted, she told me that this house wasn't a restaurant. My boyfriend and I did the same thing with his son, who is now 7, and he eats everything. You can't let a child control you.
  • Meghan0116
    Meghan0116 Posts: 1,340 Member
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    I get where you are coming from but I have introduced him to new foods since he was an infant. I made his baby food and included avocado, sweet potato, squash, spinach, and many others. I have tried over and over to get him to eat different foods and he just won't. We eat the same foods at dinner, i do not cook anything different for him. He does not like cheese. He doesn't like it on stuff, or in stuff, or by itself. My son would go hungry before eating it. I have not been lazy about introducing new foods and do make him try it. Usually it ends up on the table or floor, but sometimes it works. He does not dictate anything to me, he is the child.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    I get where you are coming from but I have introduced him to new foods since he was an infant. I made his baby food and included avocado, sweet potato, squash, spinach, and many others. I have tried over and over to get him to eat different foods and he just won't. We eat the same foods at dinner, i do not cook anything different for him. He does not like cheese. He doesn't like it on stuff, or in stuff, or by itself. My son would go hungry before eating it. I have not been lazy about introducing new foods and do make him try it. Usually it ends up on the table or floor, but sometimes it works. He does not dictate anything to me, he is the child.

    I was basing it off your original post that said.. "So, I end up cooking the same stuff over and over and it is healthy but BORING! "
  • ellie0213
    ellie0213 Posts: 562 Member
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    I've read that it can take up to 20 times of experiencing a new taste to like it. Don't deprive yourself or your child of variety and nutrition just because he says no. My daughter is 17 and she will still try to get her way. (I think just for the challenge of it.) when she is told too bad, she gets over it.
  • Meghan0116
    Meghan0116 Posts: 1,340 Member
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    This is where we have ended up after trying lots of stuff. And, I was probably a little defensive to your post.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    This is where we have ended up after trying lots of stuff. And, I was probably a little defensive to your post.

    It's okay, that is why I wrote, I'm not trying to be mean. As a parent it's hard anytime to deal with little ones who have decided on what they want and when they want it. I'm sorry as it was not a personal attack towards you.
  • Meghan0116
    Meghan0116 Posts: 1,340 Member
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    This is where we have ended up after trying lots of stuff. And, I was probably a little defensive to your post.

    It's okay, that is why I wrote, I'm not trying to be mean. As a parent it's hard anytime to deal with little ones who have decided on what they want and when they want it. I'm sorry as it was not a personal attack towards you.

    Don't apologize. I think I am starting to get frustrated with the same stuff and him. lol Our weekly meals consist of chicken, baked or roasted, spaghetti, steak, pork chops, soup, lots of green beans, chili, every once in a while turkey dogs, chicken strips, rice, and fruit. We eat so much chicken we are liable to start clucking at any moment. One of the issues is that I don't eat fish of any kind and I can't stand the smell, so that doesn't help the situation.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    This is where we have ended up after trying lots of stuff. And, I was probably a little defensive to your post.

    It's okay, that is why I wrote, I'm not trying to be mean. As a parent it's hard anytime to deal with little ones who have decided on what they want and when they want it. I'm sorry as it was not a personal attack towards you.

    Don't apologize. I think I am starting to get frustrated with the same stuff and him. lol Our weekly meals consist of chicken, baked or roasted, spaghetti, steak, pork chops, soup, lots of green beans, chili, every once in a while turkey dogs, chicken strips, rice, and fruit. We eat so much chicken we are liable to start clucking at any moment. One of the issues is that I don't eat fish of any kind and I can't stand the smell, so that doesn't help the situation.

    I don't like fish so I can understand. One thing that helps is to make the food fun shapes. Let me see if I can hunt down an image of some of the things we've done. I've gotten a lot of ideas from pinterest on kids food. If you haven't ever been on pinterest that might help. They have a ton of kids foods in fun ways to eat.
  • Meghan0116
    Meghan0116 Posts: 1,340 Member
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    Thank you! That is a great idea.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    Thank you! That is a great idea.

    If you don't have a pinterest account, if you pm me your email I can send an invite there. If you do have a pinterest account already look up d2footballjc and I have a board pinned "Stuff for Desmond" (That's my son) and "Foodies" and both have ideas for kids food. Stuff for Desmond probably has the cuter ones.
  • Pollywog39
    Pollywog39 Posts: 1,730 Member
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    I've watched my daughter with her son.....who, when he was an infant and up until about 1 year old, would eat most anything. Now? he's 4.5, and his diet consists of chicken nuggets, spaghetti, broccoli, pizza, some fruits, yogurt and milk, and he'll taste other things on occasion, but he would rather go hungry for HOURS before eating something he doesn't like! This kid is as stubborn as the day is long.....and no amount of cajoling, talking, time-outs or other will make him eat something he won't!

    I have a very hard time with it, and when he's at my house, I try to introduce him to new foods. He generally refuses, and like I said, will go hungry most of the day! So, I give him what he will eat, rather than make a big fuss about it.

    I figure he will outgrow this. He's a likable, cool kid in every other way.......so, why make food an argument? That could develop into an eating disorder, and who needs that? He is a healthy boy - tall for his age and doing well. Guess it's all relative.
  • CBM23
    CBM23 Posts: 36
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    No child that young will starve themselves, survival eventually kicks in and they will eat. So don't let that stop you from putting your foot down. But also I want to point out that I hardly doubt that he doesn't like those things in every way they can be cooked. A lot of the time people will say that they don't like a food after trying it once, then they never try it again.
    My boyfriend wont eat boiled rice, but he likes it fried.
    My roommate wont eat cooked tomatoes, but she likes them raw.
    A friend of mine wont eat melted cheese, but likes it in other ways.
    Another friend wont eat eggs unless their scrambled.
    Another wont eat vegetables unless he can put hot sauce on them.
    You get my point. Don't let your little boy hate all types of a food because he had a couple bad encounters. Different ways of cooking something can change the complete flavor, texture and consistency of a food. But if hes already decided that that particular food is no good, then he's less likely to try it in other ways. Also, taste buds change all the time, he could hate a food now and absolutely love it later on in life. For example, I loved eggs as a child, hated them through middle school and now I'm just kinda neutral about them. But had I never tried them again after I started disliking them, then I'd never have known if/when my taste buds changed again.
    Make sure your son has an open mind about food, try to keep exposing him to different foods and different ways of cooking them, he probably isn't as picky as you think (I would also like to point out that if you're saying things like 'hes picky' or 'he wont eat that' or anything along those lines then you are probably reinforcing that behavior). I suggest trying to have somethings in a meal that he likes, and then something new. Make him try one bite of the new thing (and if he doesn't like it, DO NOT put up with him throwing it or taking a fit, a polite 'I don't like it made this way' is all he needs) and if he likes it then YAY, if not, he still has something he likes to eat.
    My god this is long. Sorry :P and I hope it helps at least a little.
  • ellie0213
    ellie0213 Posts: 562 Member
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    First of all I want to apologize for my first judgmental post. Kids are hard and we just try to do whats best for them.

    Secondly I had a couple ideas which may be more helpful than my first post. What about tacos? Maybe different shells, corn or wheat or something like nachos with corn chips to dip. Let him pick what veggies and cheese he chooses each time. Maybe talk to him about what "colors" of things you are picking for your dinner THIS time. Leaves the option open to pick different things each time. Same could work with homemade pizza. I think you said he doesn't do bread...there are tons of recipes floating around this site for cauliflower pizza crust that are supposed to be fantastic. I haven't tried it yet but have already bought the cauliflower. :)

    Maybe it's a texture thing-- that he doesn't like how certain things feel in his mouth. I have a whole class of foods that I won't touch because of their gooey, smooth, gushy (if that's a word) texture.

    For other veggies that he won't eat, puree them and add them to any sauce or soup. (I still do that with my hubby...shhhhhh)
    Best of luck!
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
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    meat, most fruit, and green beans
  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
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    My kids are 18 and 17. Here was the rule in my house. Eat what mom and dad put on the table of don't eat until the next meal. Worked pretty well for us. Unfortunately, they got so use to eating so well, they eat us out of house and home now.
  • wdwghettogirl
    wdwghettogirl Posts: 559 Member
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    Why are you letting your kid dictate what you cook? I have a 2.5 year old and he eats what we cook. At first he got pretty angry about it but now he doesn't complain and if he is hungry he'll chow down. We also require him to try at least a bite of everything. My wife and I are foodies so we are always trying new foods. Your kid isn't making you a boring cook, you are enabling your kid into being a boring eater.

    That sounds mean but it's really how the situation is. Kids at that age don't completely know what they like yet, add in they also can be temperamental. It took awhile but our son will at least try everything we cook and if he doesn't like it, he'll say "I don't want that or like that" We usually have 1 or 2 things (meat or veggie) that he'll like and eat. We aren't running a restaurant for our kid though. He gets to eat what everyone else is eating.

    ^^ THIS!! If they get hungry enough... they'll eat. :) It won't take too many nights of going to bed hungry for them to catch on that you're serious. You just have to be tough enough to stick to your guns when the water works start (aka tears).
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
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    I know it sounds kind of harsh but this is how it works in my house. I make the food and you get 2 choices, take it or leave it. If you chose not to eat it, you'd either get hungry enough to eat it later or you could wait til the next meal/snack time. My kids were really stubborn about it at first, but nobody starved and nobody died.My 3 year old is coming around and he eats pretty well and my 7 year old only dislikes peppers, considering the wide variety of foods should could turn her nose up at, i let her get away with that one little thing.
  • chachita7
    chachita7 Posts: 996 Member
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    LOL to this... my son will eat most all veggies raw... says I am not normal because I cook my veggies - imagine that, lol

    Check out this website, see if it helps any on making dishes that you both would enjoy, http://sparkrecipes.com/

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