S/O Picky Eaters

[thewop]

What do you feed your kids?  Like, what's their favorite thing or what do you give them on the regular?  Not necessarily "they eat what I eat".  For example- which I'm sure is flameful to some- we often feed DD a few Brown-n-Serve sausages for quick dinners.  Stick 2 in the micro with some peas, maybe add a string cheese or some shredded, kid dinner done.  She also loves Chef Boyardee mini ravioli.  It's super messy, so we only give it to her if we're planning on washing her hair, but she would eat a whole can if we let her.  And the kid loves pickles.  She makes a sour face, then says "Mmmm" and asks for more.  Also what do your kids absolutely hate?  DD hates avacado.  We've tried to give it to her, but she literally tries to scrape it off her tongue. 

Other regular kid type food I buy:
Danimals drinkable yogurt (we stick a straw in the top)
Applesauce pouches (greatest invention ever)
String cheese
Gold fish crackers
I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of.

[Deleted]

Fruit snacks
String cheese
those steam in micro pasta bags
yogurt with a straw through the lid
frozen waffles
Cheese crackers
Deli ham

There's tons of things. I do it at meals sometimes (I never said I didn't..lol!) but I do a lot of kid snacks.

[cajungal]

DS1 - His favorite meal is chicken nuggets and mac n cheese. He also will eat grilled chicken, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese, cheese quesidillas, and fries. He won't touch any veggies. We always have fruit, yogurt, goldfish, string cheese, fruit snacks, and applesauce on hand. He also loves other snack things like pop tarts, chips, etc.

DS2 - all of the above, but he is more adventurous with food. He will choose fruit over anything else, will eat veggies, loves to suck on lemon slices, will try meat that has sauce on it (major no no for DS1), etc. I can't think of any sort of food he hates right now.

[cajungal]

I hadn't thought about putting a straw in the lid of yogurt! We'll be doing that now.

[thewop]

Feb 26, 2013 13:58:33 GMT -5 @justdairy said:

Fruit snacks
String cheese
those steam in micro pasta bags
yogurt with a straw through the lid
frozen waffles
Cheese crackers
Deli ham

There's tons of things. I do it at meals sometimes (I never said I didn't..lol!) but I do a lot of kid snacks.

 I never think about fruit snacks!  I'll have to look into the steam pasta bags.  *adds to grocery list*

[emoflamingo]

Usually, he will eat the crap out of peanut butter sandwiches. The one I sent to school yesterday went untouched.

He won't eat yogurt (it makes him puke, his words; I don't like yogurt either, but it's the aftertaste that does it and I haven't said that out loud to him), he won't eat string cheese, he won't eat potatoes of any kind.

Basically, I'm on the verge of coaxing him to drink some Pediasure and do a food journal for awhile before I contact his pediatrician again.

[thewop]

Feb 26, 2013 14:01:17 GMT -5 cajungal said:

DS1 - His favorite meal is chicken nuggets and mac n cheese. He also will eat grilled chicken, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese, cheese quesidillas, and fries. 

 Oh yeah, we do all of this too.  Hot dogs and mac and cheese is awesome.

[bunnymendelbaum]

I didn't grow up eating the "regular kid food" because we were broke and my mom is cheap, so I don't buy much of it now because it feels weird and I'm also cheap. DD1 is having granola bars and juiceboxes for her birthday party and she is over the moon about it. My poor deprived child! My DH and I have made a really good effort to eat mostly "clean" and healthy after watching a lot of older family who eat very poorly versus older family who eat well.

The only thing she doesn't like is raw tomatoes, cooked spinach and avocado. She LOVES greek yogurt w/ honey for breakfast. Loves hot dogs (ew), PB sandwiches and ham and cheese for lunch. Dinner she eats what we eat. She loves sausage and pasta. Loves lentils, chickpeas and frozen green peas.

The only junky stuff we give her is snack crackers. Angry birds graham crackers and nilla wafers. I give her trail mix and she will try to just eat the m&ms and ask for more, but she will eventually eat the peanuts and raisins. She loves prunes (I did too.) She loves olives.

I guess it isn't great that my DH gives her the foam off of his espresso everyday either, but she loves it.

[thewop]

Oh, in addition to all the "junk" my kid eats she also eats a TON of fresh bananas, oranges, peaches, pears, strawberries and loves her some steamed carrots, peas, cauliflower, and broccoli. I'm not a completely bad mother

[teeah22]

Breakfast foods: Eggos, toast with PB, yogurt, cereal, sometimes bacon. He requests waffles for dinner quite a bit lately
Pizza
Cheesy garlic bread
Nutrigrain or Clif bars
Grilled cheese but apparently this must be made on bakery bread in a panini press
Sometimes cheese quesadillas and chicken nuggets

He loves any and all junk food: crackers, cookies, chips, popcorn, french fries, etc. DH has been giving him Muscle Milk lately which I'm not totally comfortable with (he's 3 and I'm really not sure those are healthy for him at his age)

[thewop]

This thread is proving helpful for new ideas for me. Meatballs?! Waffles?! Why didn't I think of that?

[Marmee]

They like veggie trays...carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, celery & ranch. Apples, strawberries & oranges. Go-gurts (not really any other yogurt), shrimp & cheese. And of course carbs like crackers, sweets, breads. They eat pb&j most days for school lunches. They are 8, 6 & almost 4yrs old.

They do not eat adult meals...casseroles, mixed texture foods, tacos, potatoes, most meats, etc. Basically all the stuff that I like/eat/grew up on for dinner. So yes, for example I'll make stew for us & give them a veggie tray w/ a little bit stew in a bowl to try (again). That way they aren't subsisting on milk and Miralax.

[bunch]

Dd will eat anything, but stuff I buy mainly for her includes hummus, apple sauce pouches, cheese sticks, honey wheat pretzels, any and all fresh fruit, dried cranberries and raisins, yogurt squeezes from TJs, and ketchup.

[rondonalddo]

My 2 y.o. likes apple slices, carrots, raisins, chicken nuggets, yogurt, beans (cannellini and black), roast chicken, pork chops, brisket, pizza/breadsticks, corn, berries, granola, Teddy Grahams, saltine crackers, tortilla chips, peas, bananas, broccoli, bacon, French fries.

I can't get her to eat sandwiches or cheese by itself (sliced, shredded, cubed-- all are no-gos).

[kristilynnmy]

Mine is almost 2 and she likes: Tofu dogs, tofurkey, chick'n strips, broccoli, green beans (from a can), carrots (from a can), sometimes spaghetti, oranges, bananas, pears, strawberries, blue berries, man n cheese, grilled cheese, pizza, anything cheese, anything fruit snack or chocolate, watered down apple juice or soy milk. I try to get her to eat new stuff. Sometimes it works, sometimes it goes to the dogs. Breakfasts are the most difficult but she likes eggs if we have them.
PS: I'm stealing the straw in the yogurt thing.

[sratsey]

Breakfast:
English muffins with peanut butter and pancakes are breakfast staples
Reese's Puffs or Froot Loops
Sausages
Waffles
Both my kids hate bacon. ^o)

Lunch:
Both love nuggets
DD isn't a huge fan of steak but loves any kind of seafood.  She loves tuna salad or salmon burgers, will eat hamburgers if they're plain.
DS loves turkey sandwiches.
Homemade pizza.  (Buy the dough, sauce, cheese.  They make their own with toppings)
DS loves mac and cheese but DD hates it.

Dinners (top
choices for both DD and DS)
Swedish meatballs. I basically make them by the vat and then freeze them.  Served over buttered noodles
Spaghetti bolognese with garlic bread.
Tacos: I season the meat
and they each get their own bowl of meat and a small thing of shredded
cheese.  My daughter breaks up the shells and spreads the meat on top. 
My son like's to make the traditional taco.  Interactive.  DD will eat
guacomole.  H and DS think avocados are gross.
Bratwurst
DD loves shrimp
Roast meat

Sides and vegetables:
DS loves mashed potatoes DD "only likes potatoes that are in the form of a french fry"
DD loves quinoa, DS hates the stuff.
DD eats broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach,asparagus, strawberries,bananas and grapes, but not big on apples and oranges.
DS eats broccoli and cauliflower. Hates spinach and asparagus.  Eats every fruit.

Snacks:
Aside from fruit, the obvious: animal crackers and goldfish. DS also LOVE ice cream cones.  I stock up and she eats 1 or 2 as a snack.
DS loves apples with peanut butter
Granola bars
Yogurt
Rolled deli turkey

I'm in the "eat what I eat" camp.  But DS and DD both get their choice, once night each, to pick what they want me to make.
So I'm pretty much guaranteed spaghetti once a week and either the tacos or the meatballs.

[bunch]

Oh and for breakfast - plain oatmeal cooked with milk. Gag.

[pamela]

Easy meals: I am not good about veggies for me, so I'll add canned green beans to his plate a lot because he loves them and I want something green on there. Toast pizzas (jarred spaghetti sauce, turkey pepperoni, mozzerella, mushrooms if we have them, bake). Lil smokies in BBQ sauce. Vienna sausages. He loves anything with ground meat and anything he can dip. Soup. corn dogs (he really likes to eat the crispy part where the batter meets the stick)

Easy snacks: kix, cherry tomatoes, mini sweet peppers, cheese, jarred manderin oranges, animal crackers, lance PB crackers

his hates: avocados

weird things he likes: hot sauce, salt&pepper if he sees anyone else doing it, pickles, pickled ginger,

[emjacobs]

T is super picky, and I get lazy sometimes so we keep totally not adult approved things around for dinner, like:

Chef Boyardee ABC 123's
Ramen
Frozen Pierogies
Frozen Chicken Patties
Hot Pockets

[SusanBAnthony]

My kids go in and out of picky-ness. Last night for dinner we had stir fried green beans and they ate every bite. But tomorrow they might reject it. Drives me batty.

In general, their favorite things are:
Any carby snack food, which I buy 1 thing a week of, and when it is gone it is gone. Stuff like pretzels, goldfish, graham crackers, etc.
They LOVE tofu, especially baked or on pizza.
Any fake chicken product, liberally doused in ketchup.
Nachos- light on the chips, heavy on the beans and salsa, with a sprinkle of cheese. We have them for lunch almost every day.
Mac and Cheese- I finally got good at making it from scratch. It is so easy, I don't know what took me so long. And much cheaper than Annies!

The best thing we have ever done for DS is get him a cookbook and have him pick out recipes and help. We got a regular adult one with lots of pictures, as the kids books didn't seem to have enough healthy main dishes, IMO. The downside of this is that every night he wants to make something from his book, and DH and I would like a little more variety!

[SusanBAnthony]

Feb 26, 2013 14:50:27 GMT -5 bunch said:

Oh and for breakfast - plain oatmeal cooked with milk. Gag.

MMMMMMM this is what we eat every day (well, no milk).  But we put a glop of jam on each bowl.  Is it the lack of toppings that you don't like?

[bunnymendelbaum]

I totally agree in getting them to help! DD eats noticeably more when she helps cook. It takes some patience to let her assist, but it's worth it have her eat more.
I hacked a step stool so she could stand more safely at the counter. I'm actually working w my boss to try to make a version we could sell.

[april37]

DD loves meat... Ribs, brisket, Italian beef, ham, pulled pork, etc. She also loves fish, but only seasoned/ marinated fish, she won't eat breaded/fried fish or fish sticks. She will only eat chicken nuggets if they are homemade. She doesn't like hot dogs. She doesn't eat like a typical kid.

[bunch]

Feb 26, 2013 19:42:49 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Feb 26, 2013 14:50:27 GMT -5 bunch said:

Oh and for breakfast - plain oatmeal cooked with milk. Gag.

MMMMMMM this is what we eat every day (well, no milk).  But we put a glop of jam on each bowl.  Is it the lack of toppings that you don't like?

Yes. I love oatmeal - filled with brown sugar and raisins. I can't fathom how she can eat it plain and mixed with milk. I'm not complaining. I just hide my bowl of sugary goodness

[SusanBAnthony]

Feb 26, 2013 21:03:23 GMT -5 bunch said:

Feb 26, 2013 19:42:49 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

MMMMMMM this is what we eat every day (well, no milk).  But we put a glop of jam on each bowl.  Is it the lack of toppings that you don't like?

Yes. I love oatmeal - filled with brown sugar and raisins. I can't fathom how she can eat it plain and mixed with milk. I'm not complaining. I just hide my bowl of sugary goodness

Sprinkles on their oatmeal is breakfast crack around here.  We go through sprinkles like you wouldn't believe.  

[peach]

Hits around here are

-apple slices dipped in peanut butter
-tortillas spread with peanut butter and jam or nutella, rolled up and cut into spirals
-tortillas filled with cheese and chicken and grilled
-good old sandwiches
-Cubed cheese, crackers, and slices of ham or sausage

I just started making spinach smoothies and DD loves them also! I did one today with mango, strawberry, banana, a bit of greek yogurt and milk and spinach. She slurped it up and she HATES veggies and mango.

I do trail mix - when I am running low on things like cereal, raisins, goldfish crackers, I dump them into a big container and shake it up.