child friendly foods
child friendly meals
childrens meals
foods children eat
foods kids love
kid friendly foods
kid friendly meals
kid friendly snacks
meal planning
snacks kids love
Kid Friendly Foods
By clownfish
@clownfish (3269)
United States
November 13, 2006 9:56pm CST
Hi! I need help from all you parents out there who have had trouble getting your children to eat. What are some go-to meals you can always make that your children would eat? Same for snacks, etc. Any advice would help - I'm a terrible meal planner, so any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
7 responses
@mighty_mara (161)
• United States
14 Nov 06
well in my experience anything they can help make helps.also make it fun. if u want to make chicken parm thats great but try using the dinosaur shaped premade nuggets and use the pasta and chesse and such to build mountains for them. also my dad used to boil and puree veggies and toss it into premade cake mixes to get my sister to eat her veggies gl
1 person likes this
@clownfish (3269)
• United States
14 Nov 06
Hi and thanks for the great suggestions! I have hidden vegetables in other food with both success and failure. I think making it fun is the key. Lately we've been playing while we eat - making silly faces while we chew our food - and that seems to get her eating better.
1 person likes this
@primamomma (316)
• United States
14 Nov 06
PB&J, mac n cheese, yogurt and bananas, hot dogs, pizza, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, grilled cheese, chicken noodle soup. For snacks, usually just fruit or cheese.
1 person likes this
@clownfish (3269)
• United States
14 Nov 06
Hi, thanks for your response! These are all great suggestions. She eats all but the chicken noodle soup. For some reason, she just doesn't like soup, but I hope she gets over that eventually!
1 person likes this
@newmama412 (590)
• United States
14 Nov 06
my son (2nd child) is now three and is going through the stage of not wanting to eat. i try to make a game out of eating whenever i notice him just picking around his plate. i dont really force my kids to eat things they dont like though. my rule is that they have to at least try everything on their plate. i make sure they eat vegetables, but if they dont like all of them, then hey, at least theyre getting some in. most kids like mac & cheese, peanut butter and jelly, pizza, chicken, hot dogs, spagetti, (everything in the first response) and if your child doesnt like chicken noodle soup, try the ramen noodles and drain all but a little of the water. that way they wont look at it like its soup, just noodles. i've been very lucky for the most part, my kids love fruit, yogurt, and healthy snacks. popcorn is a good one too.
@clownfish (3269)
• United States
14 Nov 06
Hi! My daughter has always liked yogurt, but the only fruits she will eat are bananas and canned peaches. She loves popcorn, too! Guess I'm pretty fortunate there. The ramen noodles are a great suggestion, she loves noodles and I never think of ramen noodles - I love those! LOL Oh, now here's an idea you inspired! I wonder if I could make like a gorp snack with chex cereals and maybe a few chocolate or peanut butter chips that she would eat? I don't really give her nuts yet. She's four and she could probably do okay with them, I'm just not comfortable with it yet. Maybe just a few peanuts to start. Thanks.... I'm getting more and more ideas already!
@clownfish (3269)
• United States
14 Nov 06
Hi! I know how you feel! My daughter will eat very little some days, and others she'll eat very well. She only eats a small variety of foods, but I hope with these suggestions, I can get her to try new things. One thing that really helps us is making it fun, like making silly faces while we chew or making chips crunch loudly. That makes her eager to take another bite. I'm a terrible meal planner, too, so maybe I'll get some direction here. I'm just tired of the same old same old, you know? Best of success to you!
@baysmummy (1637)
• Australia
14 Nov 06
I think you also need to think about what is healthy and unhealthy for your children not just what they will and will not eat! There are some fantastic healthy recipes out there that are actually appealling to children
A favourite for my son is:
Chicken Quesadillas
Ingredients
1/2 lb. Chicken,chopped very small
1/3 c. Sour cream (can be lowfat)
1/3 c. Salsa
1 c. Shredded cheese, any type, i prefer cheddar
12 Small soft tortillas
1/2 tsp. Garlic salt
Pepper to taste
1 tsp. Chili powder
1 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp. Cumin
Preparation
1. Saute chicken with seasonings.
2. In medium bowl, combine chicken, sour cream, salsa and cheese.
3. Heat frying pan to medium.
4. Sandwich the mixture between two tortillas at a time. Place enough mixture so there is about an inch between the mixture and the edge of the tortilla.
5. Heat each quesadilla in the pan, and flip when the bottom is lightly browned. Serve with salsa and sour cream to dip. Enjoy!
@clownfish (3269)
• United States
14 Nov 06
You're exactly right! It seems that the more unhealthy it is, the more willing she is to eat it! Bummer! Your recipe is excellent! Yummy! Until recently, she wouldn't eat tortillas. Can you imagine that? What child doesn't eat tortillas? I'll try this recipe, it's definitely not the same old same old stuff we usually eat. Maybe instead of buying frozen chicken nuggets, I should think about buying fresh chicken tenders, breading them, and baking them in the oven. You are all giving me more healthy ideas already! Thanks and best to you and your family!
@jfeets726 (775)
• United States
14 Nov 06
You should checkout http://www.ragu.com/. They have a booklet that you can request, for free, with kid recipes in it. We got it a few months back and tried some of the recipes. They are cute and my daughter loved them.
@clownfish (3269)
• United States
14 Nov 06
Wow! Thanks, that's a great suggestion! I love those free booklets. I got one from M&Ms and it was awesome! I'll definitely go there and ask for a free book. My daughter does eat spaghetti (most of the time LOL) so I think recipes with spaghetti sauce will work. Here's a bonus, Ragu sauce costs a lot less at Target than it does in the grocery stores, so that's a money saving tip, too! Thanks and my best to you and your family!
@clownfish (3269)
• United States
14 Nov 06
Just wanted to let you know I checked out the site and requested the free book. There are so many great recipes on that site! I started a recipe box and I already have great ideas! Thanks again for telling me about this site!
@SViswan (12051)
• India
14 Nov 06
Touchwood! I was lucky. My son would eat all his veggies. I think it's because I started out earlier. Right from day one he was given everything and there was no choice. I also didn't start out on the sweet things first. So, I think the taste sort of grew on him. Even now (he's 6) and he's not very fond of sweets and eats healthy.
@clownfish (3269)
• United States
14 Nov 06
Hi! That's great that your son eats healthy! My daughter has had some sensory issues, and I'm sure that contributes to some of her pickyness. Something about a texture of a food might keep her from eating it even if it tastes good. Now that she sees other kids around her in her preschool I think I might have more success getting her to eat a wider variety of foods. Thanks for your response!








