Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Topic Author
ddurrett896
Posts: 1712
Joined: Wed Nov 05, 2014 2:23 pm

Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by ddurrett896 »

Anyone have home cooked dinner ideas that all their kids eat without complaining? I have a pretty solid list, but about half the options result in one or two of the kids not liking while the other children want more.

Winners so far are:
Burgers/Fries
Breakfast for dinner (eggs, bacon, biscuits)
Taco Tuesday
Hibachi chicken
DoubleComma
Posts: 2066
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2020 2:23 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by DoubleComma »

Ha Ha Ha, that’s funny.

DW and I are carnivores. DD 1 is a vegetarian. DD 2 no red meat and no pork, but will eat chicken and fish. DS won’t eat pasta with sauce.

It’s like hunger games at my house for each meal. We do manage to eat together every night, and one official meal is prepared, but someone is always making their own on the side.

Going out isn’t much easier.
stoptothink
Posts: 15368
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:53 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by stoptothink »

ddurrett896 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:32 pm but about half the options result in one or two of the kids not liking while the other children want more.
Well, there is your problem. In the words of my MIL "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit". I literally just finished putting together dinner for my kids as they have practice in 30min, random things we had around (for each of our two kids, 9 and 6): two hard boiled eggs, about a cup of mixed veggies, half a banana, and a slice of mom's homemade sourdough with some natural PB...that's about par for the course.

We don't generally make "meals". Wife and I will eat after their practice (a chicken breast and a whole bunch of veggies) while they are showering ad getting ready for bed.
bob60014
Posts: 3768
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:59 pm
Location: The Land Beyond ORD

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by bob60014 »

ddurrett896 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:32 pm......

Winners so far are:
Burgers/Fries
Breakfast for dinner (eggs, bacon, biscuits)
Taco Tuesday
Hibachi chicken
No offense, but this list is a recipe, as it were, for disaster long term.
Dottie57
Posts: 12379
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:43 pm
Location: Earth Northern Hemisphere

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Dottie57 »

Sloppy joes and veggies.salad
Previously cooked chicken in green salad.
Same with salmon and tuna.
Soup and sandwich.
Scrambled eggs with veggies added. I really like chopped tomatoes and onions.
mary1492
Posts: 716
Joined: Thu Oct 17, 2019 3:02 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by mary1492 »

.....
Last edited by mary1492 on Thu Sep 29, 2022 8:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
runner3081
Posts: 5994
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by runner3081 »

Our daughter really likes:

-Baked Potatoes
-Homemade Pizza using tortillas or flat bread as the crust - simple, shredded cheese, olives and pepperoni
-Hot Dogs
-Sloppy Joes
-Tacos
User avatar
Cheez-It Guy
Posts: 4007
Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:20 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Cheez-It Guy »

Chicken Nuggets
Fish Sticks
Pizza
Doctor Rhythm
Posts: 3061
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 2:55 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Doctor Rhythm »

When our child was around 6-years-old, I asked a colleague with more parental experience how to get him to eat a wider variety of foods. The response was a bit of an epiphany: “Why does he get to choose?”
stoptothink
Posts: 15368
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:53 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by stoptothink »

Doctor Rhythm wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:17 pm When our child was around 6-years-old, I asked a colleague with more parental experience how to get him to eat a wider variety of foods. The response was a bit of an epiphany: “Why does he get to choose?”
I'm not going to go off on a rant, but wife and thought this was parenting 101...until we met other parents. Always an interesting experience having other families (and their kids) over for dinner.
Cigarman
Posts: 480
Joined: Fri Jul 12, 2013 5:12 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Cigarman »

My parents had 6 kids, it would have been a nightmare trying to please 2 or 3, let alone 6! However you might want to make a big batch of pasketti sauce (kid talk) or chili and freeze it for quick meals that most kids seem to like.
KFBR392
Posts: 160
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2019 6:32 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by KFBR392 »

Every kid is different and OP was asking for dinner ideas. I mostly see replies criticizing the premise of their question. Congratulations to the super parents with small children who love eating crudité platters.

I've found the most success in making things where you're not hiding the vegetables per se but integrating them in a more kid-friendly way. You want your kid to recognize the vegetables are there but the food still tastes good. Our son will eat broccoli chips, broccoli sauce, broccoli tempura, sautéed broccoli with cheese sauce, etc. -- but good luck getting him to eat raw broccoli. I recognize nutrients are lost in doing so but it's a start and hopefully developing his fondness for veggies over time. He's only 3.

Dinners we make regularly:
Frozen potstickers come in handy, and can be served with "healthier" things like brown rice, edamame, teriyaki broccoli.
Boxed mac n' cheese dressed up with canned tuna, peas, broccoli, pureed butternut squash, etc.
Pizza with broccoli sauce
Avocado toast with fruit on the side
Ramen with soft-boiled egg and pickled daikon radish
Salmon burgers with sweet potato fries

We do practice the "this is dinner, take it or leave it" philosophy but will let him drink some milk before bedtime on the nights when he doesn't eat anything because more than once his stomach has been so empty he's thrown up in the middle of the night.
User avatar
StevieG72
Posts: 2214
Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2014 8:00 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by StevieG72 »

I really like EveryPlate during the pandemic since I do not eat inside restaurants. I will let my kid Hicks between a few options an make whichever she prefers. I don’t shop as much at the grocery store, get a little more variety, and the cost is reasonable.
Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
getthatmarshmallow
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:43 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by getthatmarshmallow »

I don't make kid centric meals beyond not spicing their portions heavily. That way lies years of plain pasta and chicken nuggets which they might not eat anyway. There are always fresh cut up veggies on the table, which they love, and if they don't like what's on offer, they won't starve before breakfast. (Which is almost always yogurt and toast with peanut butter. Sometimes a French omelet.)

Kids are wildly inconsistent with respect to what they'll eat. 8yo will rave about a meal and insist he never liked it next time. 5yo won't eat chicken nuggets but will eat bite sized breaded chicken cooked in a air fryer.... :?:

Both of mine ate everything (Indian style black eyed peas? Nom nom. Sauteed mushrooms? Nom.) as young toddlers and became picky as four year olds. 8yo is growing out of it and 5yo is happy to live on fresh bread, beef, and cucumbers.

Irrational people don't get a say in meal planning. One doesn't negotiate with terrorists.

We do homemade pizza once a week which they prefer with cheese and olive oil. They also like tacos, gnocchi, breakfast for dinner, eggs, and bizarrely Caesar salad. Most fruit is okay, too.
Silverado
Posts: 1650
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:07 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Silverado »

stoptothink wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:24 pm
Doctor Rhythm wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:17 pm When our child was around 6-years-old, I asked a colleague with more parental experience how to get him to eat a wider variety of foods. The response was a bit of an epiphany: “Why does he get to choose?”
I'm not going to go off on a rant, but wife and thought this was parenting 101...until we met other parents. Always an interesting experience having other families (and their kids) over for dinner.
It’s a strange thing to me to be encouraged (let alone pushed) to eat something I don’t like. I don’t like peas, having tried one in the eighties. I haven’t had one in my mouth since, and never will. Some things I didn’t like when younger, I enjoy now, but I made that change on my terms. Why on earth someone would waste any of their three meals a day not enjoying the food is something I can’t grasp.

Of course this assumes some basic level of nutrition is met, but that bar is really low in my opinion…

To the OP, tacos where everyone builds their own, and other things where there are choices can work. Over time the tastes become known and quantities can be tuned.
MarkRoulo
Posts: 1198
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:25 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by MarkRoulo »

ddurrett896 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:32 pm Anyone have home cooked dinner ideas that all their kids eat without complaining? I have a pretty solid list, but about half the options result in one or two of the kids not liking while the other children want more.

Winners so far are:
Burgers/Fries
Breakfast for dinner (eggs, bacon, biscuits)
Taco Tuesday
Hibachi chicken
I don't have a specific answer, but if you teach your kids to cook and make them responsible for dinner a few times per week they will sort it out.

And being able to cook (rather than just microwave) is a desirable skill.

[My wife and I had our child cooking pretty early. It worked out well ...]
mervinj7
Posts: 2496
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 3:10 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by mervinj7 »

ddurrett896 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:32 pm Anyone have home cooked dinner ideas that all their kids eat without complaining? I have a pretty solid list, but about half the options result in one or two of the kids not liking while the other children want more.

Winners so far are:
Burgers/Fries
Breakfast for dinner (eggs, bacon, biscuits)
Taco Tuesday
Hibachi chicken
Rice, lentils, chicken kebob
Pizza Wed
Chapati (flatbread), sambar (veg curry)
Plain frittata ( no onions, no garlic)
Instant pot chicken curry and rice
Plain souffle

Pasta with cauliflower sauce. A big hit this week. You can make the sauce from fresh cauliflowers in the instant pot, puree in a Vitamix, and freeze in mason jars. Great for quick week night dinner. Just add pasta to warmed sauce.

Generally, the trick it's to prepare very similar foods to what the adults are eating but maybe a bit tamed down.
Last edited by mervinj7 on Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
getthatmarshmallow
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:43 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by getthatmarshmallow »

mervinj7 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 7:54 pm
ddurrett896 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:32 pm Anyone have home cooked dinner ideas that all their kids eat without complaining? I have a pretty solid list, but about half the options result in one or two of the kids not liking while the other children want more.

Winners so far are:
Burgers/Fries
Breakfast for dinner (eggs, bacon, biscuits)
Taco Tuesday
Hibachi chicken
Rice, lentils, chicken kebob
Pizza Wed
Chapati (flatbread), sambar (veg curry)
Plain frittata ( no onions, no garlic)
Instant pot chicken curry and rice
Plain souffle

Pasta with cauliflower sauce. A big hit this week. You can make the sauce from fresh cauliflowers in the instant pot, puree in a Vitamix, and freeze in mason jars. Great for quick week night dinner. Just add pasta to warmed sauce.
Oh my kids love cauliflower sauce. It works well with frozen cauliflower, too.
User avatar
vanbogle59
Posts: 1314
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 7:30 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by vanbogle59 »

getthatmarshmallow wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:03 pm Oh my kids love cauliflower sauce. It works well with frozen cauliflower, too.
My kids loved any steamed fresh vegetables (with a little butter and salt), including:
broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, corn, carrots, artichoke... :D

They also loved everything from McD's. I mean, who doesn't. :oops:
User avatar
quantAndHold
Posts: 10141
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:39 pm
Location: West Coast

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by quantAndHold »

Our kids ate the same stuff we ate, and mostly liked it. The main thing was to dial down the spice. Kids’ taste buds are more sensitive than adults, so they preferred things on the bland side.

If they didn’t like something, we didn’t make a big deal about it, but they didn’t really get any alternative choices, and they didn’t get to fill up on bread or mashed potatoes. If they really didn’t eat, they might get a snack before bedtime.
User avatar
windaar
Posts: 1674
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:31 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by windaar »

Kids always love & eat home made lasagna. No need to pre-boil pasta & don't skimp on the cheese!
Nobody knows nothing.
Susan1963
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:52 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Susan1963 »

We have 2 kids, both early adults now. When they were younger they were not picky eaters but we did have long streches of vegan/vegetarian, etc with each of them.
We learned that involving hte kids in making dinners was easiest to accommodate all tastes (and I am not a fan of the "eat whatever I make" philosophy).
To that end, we found the following options were simple and accommodated everyone:
Tacos (put whatever you want on your own - as another poster has mentioned)
Personal Pizzas, using naan bread as the pizza "shell" and everyone gets to top their own (no extra work to make dinner for everyone)
Individual food items that kids can eat with their hands are sometimes a hit (think Japanese rolls/cones/maki - also all dietary tastes can be accommodated)
Personal submarine sandwiches - everyone makes their own together.

To get veggies into the kids, I sometimes made "chips" by thinly slicing potatoes/sweet potatoes etc and roasting them in the oven.

Good luck (my mom used to say Parenting never gets easier, only different)
User avatar
Beensabu
Posts: 5658
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Beensabu »

Our list of food things the child will definitely eat:

Cereal
Milk + Ovaltine (it's hot cocoa lol)
Hashbrowns w/ egg sunny-side up
Toast w/ butter, honey, cinnamon (but not jam/jelly, heavens no)
PB & Honey (but not J, oh no)
Yogurt
Hard boiled eggs
Smoothies
Mac n Cheese (can slide in veggies on the side, but not mixed in)
Pesto pasta (egg noodles are great for sneaking in protein)
Corn Dogs
Orange Chicken
Rice
Couscous
Peas / green beans
Chickpeas
Apples
Tangerines
Coleslaw w/ croutons
Mashed potatoes
Deviled eggs
Ramen
Pizza

Best bet for other veggies/fruits is just getting them in front of the kid in separate little containers as much as possible at various times. Taste varies. Sometimes they can't get enough of something, and other times they won't touch it. If they don't eat it, I do.

Since you have multiples, setting up dinner with everything separate like a kind of salad bar / buffet that includes a few options that each kid is known to eat might work + institute a required veg and protein serving rule (they pick, but they have to pick something that covers those nutritional bases). And leftovers can always be reconstituted into more of a prepared meal to eat or stick in the fridge (like a scramble, casserole, fried rice, soup, fruit salad, etc.) for the less picky (like the grownups). Plus, if they see stuff they like going into a prepared meal, that might make them more likely to give it a shot. Just a thought.
Last edited by Beensabu on Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." ~Ursula LeGuin
pizzy
Posts: 4339
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:59 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by pizzy »

stoptothink wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:43 pm
ddurrett896 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:32 pm but about half the options result in one or two of the kids not liking while the other children want more.
Well, there is your problem. In the words of my MIL "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit". I literally just finished putting together dinner for my kids as they have practice in 30min, random things we had around (for each of our two kids, 9 and 6): two hard boiled eggs, about a cup of mixed veggies, half a banana, and a slice of mom's homemade sourdough with some natural PB...that's about par for the course.

We don't generally make "meals". Wife and I will eat after their practice (a chicken breast and a whole bunch of veggies) while they are showering ad getting ready for bed.
“You get what you get, but you don’t get upset” was the saying I grew up with.
Vanguard/Fidelity | 76% US Stock | 16% Int'l Stock | 8% Cash
pizzy
Posts: 4339
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:59 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by pizzy »

Susan1963 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:42 pm Personal submarine sandwiches
You mean a hoagie right?………… RIGHT?!?!?!

:D :D :D
Vanguard/Fidelity | 76% US Stock | 16% Int'l Stock | 8% Cash
dukeblue219
Posts: 4074
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 11:40 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by dukeblue219 »

Might be too late now, but we started our kids (who are still both under 6) very young eating regular food. No baby food or pureed garbage. Give them safe portion sizes at 6 months and they won't know that broccoli isn't cool. We've never made special meals for our kids - what we're having is what we're having.

We have pizza night on Friday but otherwise fruits and veggies are their favorite foods on a typical plate, and we're not some hippie vegan family either.

Now, that said, I find our kids love pesto on anything - shrimp, pasta, chicken, whatever. If they want a condiment with no nutritional value like ketchup they get one squirt on the plate and that's it. Eat it with a spoon if they want to, but that's all you get.

Oh another thing - we both don't force the kids to clean the plate. We didn't grow up that way and it always felt odd to see other families make their kids eat all they were served. If they don't want to eat, we'll, so be it. Try a bite of everything, but we're not going to force some unhealthy relationship with food by forcing them to eat food they don't like.
Starfish
Posts: 2996
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:33 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Starfish »

Kid not complaining is not on my list of priorities in life, but his favorite food is pasta, and probably the kind he likes the most is carbonara or ramen/udon etc. From time to time I make some pasta carbonara or Bolognese.
Other than that he eats normal home cooked foods, soups, salds, stews, cabbage with meat, all kind of eggs, beans, peas, rice, sausages etc. From time to time I even make hamburgers (the real deal with letuce, tomato, onion) or barbeque (smoked). We rarely buy take out or pizza.
His friends come over sometimes and it is very sad to see that they won't touch any homecooked food although my wife is a good cook.
lightheir
Posts: 2684
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:43 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by lightheir »

stoptothink wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:24 pm
Doctor Rhythm wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:17 pm When our child was around 6-years-old, I asked a colleague with more parental experience how to get him to eat a wider variety of foods. The response was a bit of an epiphany: “Why does he get to choose?”
I'm not going to go off on a rant, but wife and thought this was parenting 101...until we met other parents. Always an interesting experience having other families (and their kids) over for dinner.
Hah - I used to think this was only a 'weak parenting' issue until I had my own kid.

Super picky about food when she was 6 (not anymore thankfully!). Refused most foods unless it was exactly the one she wanted, made EXACTLY the way she wanted.

Even tried that terrible advice, 'well, if she's picky and not going to eat it, that's her loss, she's going to go hungry.' Yeah, that went EXACTLY as we expected - kid refused to eat, expectedly had one if not more multiple meltdowns of rage, and ended up so angry that she wouldn't even eat ice cream afterwards. Literally raged herself to exhaustion/sleep. Actually, this happened even without us being 'tough' as she'd often reject things that she even told us she'd like, and we'd have the exact same outcome.

There's a reason why you see some parents almost force-feeding their kids - and it has nothing to do with weak parenting, and everything to do with kids that meltdown big time when they get hungry.
jlawrence01
Posts: 1908
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:34 am
Location: Southern AZ

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by jlawrence01 »

This summer, I prepared foods for my grand nephew and niece and three distant cousins, all between ages 5 and 9. I put out a bunch of foods that none of them had ever had including fruits like rambutan, prickly pears, mangoes and Asian pears. We tried a wide variety of meats on a charcuterie plate and a variety of cheeses. And of course, hummus.

I asked them to try everything and every one of them tries everything. Some were favorites, others were not.

The kids mothers were absolutely shocked to see that they tried nearly everything. But they did. I did not coerce. However, when they saw everyone else trying an item, they went along.

Personally, too much emphasis is given on what the child wants to eat. Why would the kid try anything different if they can throw a hissy fit and the parents will prepare them the meal that they want? Heck, I wish that I had a personal chef. In most of the world where there are not huge food stocks and where there is not a full refrigerator and pantry, children will eat what is placed on the table.
User avatar
Beensabu
Posts: 5658
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by Beensabu »

jlawrence01 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:36 pm I put out a bunch of foods that none of them had ever had including fruits like rambutan, prickly pears, mangoes and Asian pears. We tried a wide variety of meats on a charcuterie plate and a variety of cheeses. And of course, hummus.
Nice! Yeah, platters and options work with kids. Choice matters to them (like it does to everybody).
I wish that I had a personal chef.
You do! It's you. Being able to make what you want to eat is the best.

Being able to make what someone else wants to eat is pretty cool too.
In most of the world where there are not huge food stocks and where there is not a full refrigerator and pantry, children will eat what is placed on the table.
"Don't waste food" is different than "I don't care what you like, and I'm in control, so too bad, and also... here's a guilt trip for you".
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." ~Ursula LeGuin
User avatar
vanbogle59
Posts: 1314
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 7:30 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by vanbogle59 »

jlawrence01 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:36 pm In most of the world where there are not huge food stocks
Well, if ever there were an expert on this forum, it's you.
How have you been, Katniss?
stoptothink
Posts: 15368
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:53 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by stoptothink »

Silverado wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 7:45 pm
stoptothink wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:24 pm
Doctor Rhythm wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:17 pm When our child was around 6-years-old, I asked a colleague with more parental experience how to get him to eat a wider variety of foods. The response was a bit of an epiphany: “Why does he get to choose?”
I'm not going to go off on a rant, but wife and thought this was parenting 101...until we met other parents. Always an interesting experience having other families (and their kids) over for dinner.
It’s a strange thing to me to be encouraged (let alone pushed) to eat something I don’t like. I don’t like peas, having tried one in the eighties. I haven’t had one in my mouth since, and never will. Some things I didn’t like when younger, I enjoy now, but I made that change on my terms. Why on earth someone would waste any of their three meals a day not enjoying the food is something I can’t grasp.

Of course this assumes some basic level of nutrition is met, but that bar is really low in my opinion…

To the OP, tacos where everyone builds their own, and other things where there are choices can work. Over time the tastes become known and quantities can be tuned.
So don't force them to eat the peas, I assume that isn't the entire meal. In response, you're going to make a different meal for every kid :confused

As it is with many parenting threads on this board, I find myself an outlier. Our kids may not like some foods, but I don't recall them ever outright refusing to eat it when there was no other option and I've found the large majority of kids who come to our home do the same thing once it is made clear that a box of mac & cheese isn't going to magically appear in my pantry. I use mac & cheese as an example because that literally happened to us last week, with my neighbor's 4yr old son (he was also shocked we had no ranch dressing)...he eventually ate the chicken and veggies we provided. Who knows how much of being a picky eater is nature, but you're lying to yourself if you believe none of it is nurture. The large majority of ideas mentioned in this thread - macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers and fries, sloppy joes, pizza, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, ramen... - are not foods we would ever keep in our home and that my kids only eat on special occasions. To each their own.
yoga
Posts: 169
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 5:13 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by yoga »

dukeblue219 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:55 pm Might be too late now, but we started our kids (who are still both under 6) very young eating regular food. No baby food or pureed garbage. Give them safe portion sizes at 6 months and they won't know that broccoli isn't cool. We've never made special meals for our kids - what we're having is what we're having.

We have pizza night on Friday but otherwise fruits and veggies are their favorite foods on a typical plate, and we're not some hippie vegan family either.

Now, that said, I find our kids love pesto on anything - shrimp, pasta, chicken, whatever. If they want a condiment with no nutritional value like ketchup they get one squirt on the plate and that's it. Eat it with a spoon if they want to, but that's all you get.

Oh another thing - we both don't force the kids to clean the plate. We didn't grow up that way and it always felt odd to see other families make their kids eat all they were served. If they don't want to eat, we'll, so be it. Try a bite of everything, but we're not going to force some unhealthy relationship with food by forcing them to eat food they don't like.
This is almost exactly like our house. My oldest who is in middle school will eat anything. The younger one was always picky. I can see that if she'd had the option, she could be one of those kids who only eats chicken nuggets. Instead, she eats healthier food with lots of complaints. She's also slowly complaining less.
2Scoops
Posts: 238
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2020 7:01 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by 2Scoops »

Our child’s doctor wants him to gain 5-7 lbs because he’s a tad underweight for his height/age. He’s also a pretty picky eater with certain things - won’t eat a cheeseburger or pizza, won’t touch a sandwich or taco. The flip side is he’ll devour scallops, shrimp, Mahi, steak, asparagus, etc.

What has helped us is to get him involved in the meal planning and cooking. He routinely is involved in grilling with me and and helping select the menu. So, before we do grocery shopping we ask him to help plan dinners and lunches for the week.

I love the comments a about not forcing the child to clean their plates and do agree it can create an unhealthy relationship with food. In our case, we try to get to 80%+ but also supplement with higher calorie smoothies to help with the weight gain.
treesinthewind
Posts: 67
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 9:35 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by treesinthewind »

To continue the theme of tacos and salads, we find it useful to think of ethnic cuisines and have an array of options from which everyone can choose. If you think about most ethnic cuisines, they have an array of sauces, condiments, and pickled items at every meal plus a protein, carb, and vegetables. So for Mediterranean night, we might have hummus, tzatziki, rice pilaf, pitas, grilled meat, peppers and onions, and greek salad. For a Bibibop style rice bowl night, we might have sticky rice, seaweed, tofu, greens, shredded carrots, yum yum sauce, teriyaki sauce, grilled meat, and pineapples. Fondue, baked potato bar, and Indian nights are also fun. Kids (and adults) get to pick and choose. When you have a fridge full of little bits of remains, it all goes in the instant pot and it's soup night.
stoptothink
Posts: 15368
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:53 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by stoptothink »

dukeblue219 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:55 pm Might be too late now, but we started our kids (who are still both under 6) very young eating regular food. No baby food or pureed garbage. Give them safe portion sizes at 6 months and they won't know that broccoli isn't cool. We've never made special meals for our kids - what we're having is what we're having.

We have pizza night on Friday but otherwise fruits and veggies are their favorite foods on a typical plate, and we're not some hippie vegan family either.

Now, that said, I find our kids love pesto on anything - shrimp, pasta, chicken, whatever. If they want a condiment with no nutritional value like ketchup they get one squirt on the plate and that's it. Eat it with a spoon if they want to, but that's all you get.

Oh another thing - we both don't force the kids to clean the plate. We didn't grow up that way and it always felt odd to see other families make their kids eat all they were served. If they don't want to eat, we'll, so be it. Try a bite of everything, but we're not going to force some unhealthy relationship with food by forcing them to eat food they don't like.
Missed this the first time around; great advice.
dukeblue219
Posts: 4074
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 11:40 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by dukeblue219 »

Something else came to mind this morning:

Kid #1 was always a huge eater from birth, and has settled into a routine of eating a small breakfast, medium lunch, and an enormous dinner.

Kid #2 started slow, but now that he's 3 his routine is the opposite. For breakfast this morning he had a cup of yogurt, an apple muffin, a hard boiled egg, half a pear, and a small bowl of cereal. For dinner he'll pick at his food and try everything, but rarely finish any serving.

If you can identify a pattern like that it may help you work in foods when your child is hungriest. If he or she is a big breakfast eater add in some extra protein or veggies (omelettes are easy if your ingredients are prepped in the fridge) for breakfast and don't fight the dinner fight.
getthatmarshmallow
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:43 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by getthatmarshmallow »

jlawrence01 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:36 pm This summer, I prepared foods for my grand nephew and niece and three distant cousins, all between ages 5 and 9. I put out a bunch of foods that none of them had ever had including fruits like rambutan, prickly pears, mangoes and Asian pears. We tried a wide variety of meats on a charcuterie plate and a variety of cheeses. And of course, hummus.

I asked them to try everything and every one of them tries everything. Some were favorites, others were not.
FWIW this is in line with a fair amount of research on children and eating. Most kids are averse to new tastes and textures --- the first time they encounter them. Familiarity usually brings them around eventually, and the problem develops when kiddo refuses to try something new and then that food is never encountered again. It's compounded because most 'kid food' is engineered to be hyperpalatable -- of course an apple is going to lose out to a pop tart. Putting out lots of options and letting the kids pick is great, but so is just showing them that there are options.

I'm lucky in that the kids don't have strong food aversions, but the rule of 'try everything and then eat what you like' works.

OP, any meal that has components or that is served family-style is pretty easy to customize, but another alternative is just to alternate the meals the kids prefer with those that their siblings prefer. Over the course of a week the nutrition/calorie issue will sort itself out.
stoptothink
Posts: 15368
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 8:53 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by stoptothink »

getthatmarshmallow wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:46 am
jlawrence01 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:36 pm This summer, I prepared foods for my grand nephew and niece and three distant cousins, all between ages 5 and 9. I put out a bunch of foods that none of them had ever had including fruits like rambutan, prickly pears, mangoes and Asian pears. We tried a wide variety of meats on a charcuterie plate and a variety of cheeses. And of course, hummus.

I asked them to try everything and every one of them tries everything. Some were favorites, others were not.
FWIW this is in line with a fair amount of research on children and eating. Most kids are averse to new tastes and textures --- the first time they encounter them. Familiarity usually brings them around eventually, and the problem develops when kiddo refuses to try something new and then that food is never encountered again. It's compounded because most 'kid food' is engineered to be hyperpalatable -- of course an apple is going to lose out to a pop tart. Putting out lots of options and letting the kids pick is great, but so is just showing them that there are options.

I'm lucky in that the kids don't have strong food aversions, but the rule of 'try everything and then eat what you like' works.

OP, any meal that has components or that is served family-style is pretty easy to customize, but another alternative is just to alternate the meals the kids prefer with those that their siblings prefer. Over the course of a week the nutrition/calorie issue will sort itself out.
Before my current career, I was in public health as a childhood obesity consultant for school districts then health director for an elementary/head start school system. Yes, there is quite a bit of related research and I've seen it with my own eyes with countless thousands of children before even becoming a parent myself. Children are inherently neophobic, of course some more than others; it shouldn't be any surprise that they are picky eaters when the usual options are mac & cheese, hot dogs, french fries, chicken nuggets, and other ultra-processed and hyperpalatable foods and they didn't have early and often exposure to a variety of whole foods. By the time children have reached 4-5yrs old, it's really hard to break these food preferences and habits:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7649857/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16239048/
https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articl ... 015-0184-6
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/86/2/428/4632971
sureshoe
Posts: 2165
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:26 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by sureshoe »

vanbogle59 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:08 pm
getthatmarshmallow wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:03 pm Oh my kids love cauliflower sauce. It works well with frozen cauliflower, too.
My kids loved any steamed fresh vegetables (with a little butter and salt), including:
broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, corn, carrots, artichoke... :D

They also loved everything from McD's. I mean, who doesn't. :oops:
My kids aren't the best eaters in the world, but here's a tip as someone who grew up on that trash. Driving by McDs and Wendys and declaring "that's all hot garbage" has trained the kids well. They won't eat most fast food.

Don't underestimate your influence on the kids - if you eat that crap, they will.
squirm
Posts: 4239
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:53 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by squirm »

My kids are to eat whatever i make. There is to be no complaining and they are to do the dishes everytime.
turnturnturn
Posts: 92
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2015 3:18 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by turnturnturn »

Arroz con pollo. Lighten up on the spices and/or substitute for those icky bell peppers as needed.
getthatmarshmallow
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:43 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by getthatmarshmallow »

stoptothink wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:54 am
getthatmarshmallow wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 9:46 am
jlawrence01 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:36 pm This summer, I prepared foods for my grand nephew and niece and three distant cousins, all between ages 5 and 9. I put out a bunch of foods that none of them had ever had including fruits like rambutan, prickly pears, mangoes and Asian pears. We tried a wide variety of meats on a charcuterie plate and a variety of cheeses. And of course, hummus.

I asked them to try everything and every one of them tries everything. Some were favorites, others were not.
FWIW this is in line with a fair amount of research on children and eating. Most kids are averse to new tastes and textures --- the first time they encounter them. Familiarity usually brings them around eventually, and the problem develops when kiddo refuses to try something new and then that food is never encountered again. It's compounded because most 'kid food' is engineered to be hyperpalatable -- of course an apple is going to lose out to a pop tart. Putting out lots of options and letting the kids pick is great, but so is just showing them that there are options.

I'm lucky in that the kids don't have strong food aversions, but the rule of 'try everything and then eat what you like' works.

OP, any meal that has components or that is served family-style is pretty easy to customize, but another alternative is just to alternate the meals the kids prefer with those that their siblings prefer. Over the course of a week the nutrition/calorie issue will sort itself out.
Before my current career, I was in public health as a childhood obesity consultant for school districts then health director for an elementary/head start school system. Yes, there is quite a bit of related research and I've seen it with my own eyes with countless thousands of children before even becoming a parent myself. Children are inherently neophobic, of course some more than others; it shouldn't be any surprise that they are picky eaters when the usual options are mac & cheese, hot dogs, french fries, chicken nuggets, and other ultra-processed and hyperpalatable foods and they didn't have early and often exposure to a variety of whole foods. By the time children have reached 4-5yrs old, it's really hard to break these food preferences and habits:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7649857/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16239048/
https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articl ... 015-0184-6
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/86/2/428/4632971
For my kids, the pickiness coinciding with starting at preschool which provided breakfast/lunch. Options were mostly healthy by school lunch standards but once the kiddos figured out there was this whole world of sugar & fat as options out there their pickiness skyrocketed. Neither of them developed an aversion to veggies or lean meats though, so it was pretty easy to hold the line and ride out the picky phase. Most of their pickiness manifests in aversion to textures or 'food touching other food' as in "there are onions and peppers in the beans" or "I will eat the sandwich only if I deconstruct it first."
welldone
Posts: 127
Joined: Sun Aug 17, 2014 2:53 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by welldone »

We have three kids and they run the gambit from pickiest eater ever to will try anything (more than once). From this, I will say I no longer think my children's eating habit have very much to do with nurture and almost everything to do with nature.

We started off only feeding them whole foods and not requiring them to finish their meal. Until you have a young child whose picky eating leads to a failure to thrive diagnosis (no, they won't eat even if they 'really get hungry'), it is really easy to think it must be 'bad parenting' and poor choices. Unfortunately, Miss Picky's eating is difficult because it is tough to get enough calories into a child who loves veggies and (some) fruit, but doesn't care for very many fats, little to no meat, and has strong taste aversions. And also reacts badly to most grain carbs.

We became experts in how to add calories in the least amount of food possible with the most bang for the buck (within the parapets of Miss Picky's willingness to eat). And there are certain 'junk foods' she will eat that we buy just to add the calories (even empty calories are helpful with a perpetually underweight child). I have little to no judgement on how any family feeds their children now - [most] everyone is doing their best.

Meals we have found that all three of our children will happily eat:

Soft boiled eggs with soldiers (toast cut into strips to dip into the yolk). This was a favorite when they were little and they still eat this once a week or so at their request

Egg in a hole - cut out circle in middle of bread slice, fry the bread in butter or olive oil, when first side is well browned, crack egg into hole, let set for a moment and season, flip to brown second side of bread and serve

Vegetarian Shepherds Pie (lot of good recipes online, easy to search - recommend the NY times one).

Make your own tacos/quesadillas (we use a plant based meat substitute with plenty of veggies - onions, peppers, fresh tomatoes added in) and then have more veggies as toppings - shredded lettuce, radish, diced tomatoes, avocado, pico de gallo, cilantro as well as shredded cheese or sour cream

French scrambled eggs with toast and fruit salad

Baked potatoes with toppings bar (again, different veggies primarily, sometimes with chili - though our picky eater eats with just salt and pepper, sometimes sour cream)

Roasted veggies (chunked up potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets, carrots, onions, peppers, but you can cut them into french fry shapes if you think that would help your child try veggies they don't normally eat) - toss with olive oil and liberally salt/pepper roast at 400 for 30-45 minutes depending on veggie size, serve with over easy eggs

Stir fried green beans w/red onion in garlic/ginger/soy sauce dressing (our girls will sometimes just ask for a huge platter of these and devour that for dinner as a shared plate)

Grilled Pork chops with applesauce or sour cream as side (only two of our will eat this but they love it), steam riced or baked sweet potato and whatever veggies we have available.

Chili with cornbread

"Cuban" sandwiches (basically upscale grilled cheese with pickle, ham and mustard) with soup

If they have more of a sweet tooth,

Pancakes (add blueberries or pecans to batter) with more fruit to top (strawberries, bananas, etc) with bacon/sausage (plant based if you don't eat meat)

Smoothies (this can be a great place to add veggies like spinach and they might even find the green color fun in a drinkable dinner). Our base is usually full fat greek yogurt, over ripe (frozen) banana and then whatever else fruit or veggie looks/sounds good to the child picking out their ingredients.
cs412a
Posts: 440
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 12:37 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by cs412a »

Well, this brings back a lot of memories. I grew up the oldest of 7 kids, and we ate what my mom made. She made the same set of familiar dishes throughout the month:

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Chicken and dumplings (she made this is an old-fashioned pressure cooker that scared the living daylights out of us kids :happy)
"Fried chicken" and biscuits (baked in the oven, so not really fried)
Ham and scalloped potatoes
Hamburgers and French fries (frozen French fries that were baked in the oven)
Spaghetti - lots of spaghetti (early in the month, we'd have spaghetti with meat sauce, later in the month, we'd have spaghetti with butter - it was great either way)
Ham bone and baked beans made in the pressure cooker
Oxtail soup
Pork chops
Creamed chipped beef with rice
Lasagna
On holidays, baked ham and roasts (beef, leg of lamb) with traditional fixings
On Fridays, if we were lucky, we had tuna casserole or spaghetti with butter; if we were unlucky, we had "fish sticks" (yuck).

Spices were salt and pepper. No ethnic foods, unless you count my mom's version of chop suey.

There were other meals, but these are the ones I remember. Except for the fish sticks, they were pretty good. We had (frozen) veggies at every meal - broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, corn, green beans, lima beans, spinach, asparagus, etc. She always made creamed broccoli and sometimes made creamed carrots, but otherwise, the veggies were served plain. Except for the spinach, I didn't have a problem with veggies. We were active kids, so it probably helped that we all had healthy appetites.

As far as picky eaters, I remember my sister Janet did not like spaghetti sauce, so she always had her spaghetti with butter. But that was about it as far as accommodating any of the kids.
User avatar
JoeRetire
Posts: 15381
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2018 1:44 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by JoeRetire »

ddurrett896 wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:32 pm Anyone have home cooked dinner ideas that all their kids eat without complaining?
When my children were young, they ate what we ate. We served a meal, they either ate it or had nothing until the next meal - we offered no alternatives. They learned to eat a wide variety of foods. Now that they are grown men, they are both good cooks and do the majority of cooking for their families.

Now our grandchildren for some reason are almost the opposite. (sigh)

I remind my wife that this is our children's problem to solve, not ours. And we give them whatever they want. What they want changes with time. But it often seems to involve "nuggets" (ugh).

To be honest, as they have gotten older, things have gotten a bit easier.
- When food is eaten with the fingers or a toothpick, apparently it tastes better
- When they express a tolerance for a vegetable, we include it in the meal. (Broccoli seems to be high on their list these days)
- When they express a tolerance for fruit, it's included (Berries and pineapple chunks are a hit)
- When they express a dislike for an item, we don't serve it.
- It appears that barbeque sauce goes with everything.
- It appears that chicken, in almost any form, is acceptable.
- When all else fails, we always have a Variety Pak of cereal ready.

We found that they both can find things to eat at a local Chinese Restaurant. That's been fun.

None of these accommodations were necessary with our children. But grandchildren are "different", mostly in a good way!
Last edited by JoeRetire on Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:18 pm, edited 4 times in total.
This isn't just my wallet. It's an organizer, a memory and an old friend.
User avatar
JoeRetire
Posts: 15381
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2018 1:44 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by JoeRetire »

stoptothink wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:43 pmIn the words of my MIL "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit".
LOL!

We used the phrase "You get what you get, and you don't get upset."
This isn't just my wallet. It's an organizer, a memory and an old friend.
oldfatguy
Posts: 1434
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:38 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by oldfatguy »

OP, it seems like the issue is not so much "kid friendly" meals, but finding meals that multiple people will all like. That's really just a matter of the collective preferences of the people in your household.

The only issue I have in coming up with meals is that my daughter has been a vegetarian for the past 4-5 years, so we have a lot of meatless meals and meals that can be complete with or without meat served separately.
User avatar
vanbogle59
Posts: 1314
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 7:30 pm

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by vanbogle59 »

sureshoe wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 12:06 pm Don't underestimate your influence on the kids - if you eat that crap, they will.
Well, my youngest is 25. So my influence has long faded.
His current diet is mostly protein shakes and grilled chicken since he's started lifting again.

However, I do get to ruin the grandkids whenever they come over.
On Saturday, they fought over who got to help air-fry the veggie burgers.
Since they shared, I took them for ice cream after. :D
fyre4ce
Posts: 2544
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 11:29 am

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

Post by fyre4ce »

Pasta is very versatile. Can be served cold or hot, with lots of options for meats and vegetables mixed in, and with a variety of sauces. Most kids I know like pasta. In the worst case they can just eat the noodles.

In general, we let our 2-year-old eat basically whatever he wants from what we put on the table. If he ends up eating too much of one thing, like three plates of plain pasta, we may take it off the table, but that's not common. Even when we see him eat tons of only one item at a particular meal, we notice he does tend to average out to a balanced meal when we look at his intake over (say) an entire week. All pasta one night, all vegetables another, all fruit another, etc. Overall, the plan of offering healthy foods and letting him choose and self-regulate has been great - his diet is awesome and really healthy, especially when "averaged" over a few days. He likes most foods and is pretty adventurous for trying new things.
Post Reply