Tips and Quick Questions on “How To Start Being Old Style”

sketchingkari

Can I just say how much I feel your pain

I am 'that' mum who cooks normally 4/5 different things every night, I have one teen who is almost veggie, one 10yr old bottomless pit who loves meat but not pasta, and a 4 yr old who would happily live on Pizza, sausages and carrots.

Add to the pot, my dietry requirments which mean I dont eat carbs, then my husband who needs his dinner after 7pm most nights and we have a recipe for disaster.

Things need to change here and I have tried and tried (and cried and cried) it really isnt easy, its hard and stressful and emotionally draining.

Two of my kids have actually made themselves sick after eating something new that they didnt want to eat (no my cooking isnt that bad :eek:) and as a mum, watching that, well, it breaks you down.

We are making some headway, we have a rule that if they eat one new meal a week without complaint, they get a gold star, 4 gold stars and they get a new book/music/toy. The rest of the week, I do my best to make sure they all have one day when they have their favorite meal, it might not be their siblings favorite, but they know their day is coming soon.

You have my sympathy cause it is a rocky road, but dont beat yourself up about how they are, we all parent differently, no one is perfect, we just do what we can.

Caterina

Quintwins, I had that with DH, he used to hate salads and he would moan when I served salad at the dinner table. I told him in private to buck up and give the kids a good example, so he stopped the "what, salad again" whiny nonsense. Now all my family love salad and greens, in fact he loves the salad pack lunches I make for him and prefers them to sandwiches!

Edited to say: DS (23 years old) hates cabbage, but when I cook it I say it is "spring greens" and unless it is blatantly recognisable as cabbage, he eats it and loves it! Sometimes it is easier to rebrand food with a different name and it gains a better image! Commercial food firms do that all the time!

heavenleigh

I've just been through a hellish couple of months with my eldest dd (not a toddler by the way 11 years old)

She suddenly went from eating everything and anything to eating nothing but cereal and jam sandwiches!

I was worried about eating disorders (pre-teen) or other health issues.

Whilst going through checks at the Drs and the consultant pedeatritian at the hospital i pandered to her whims and made seperate meals (on their advice)

When all tests came back clear, i sat her down, explained why cereal and sandwiches wasn't a balanced diet and unhealthy and she would eat what everyone else was served up.

I'm not an ogre, if there are things she really doesn't like i wont force feed her, but things she used to like and now doesn't are just faddiness.

It took around a week but she has started to eat alot more again, education seemed to work for me, explain why they need to eat things.

Good luck it's a long road, but i'm sure you'll get there xx

quintwins

Caterina wrote: »

Quintwins, I had that with DH, he used to hate salads and he would moan when I served salad at the dinner table. I told him in private to buck up and give the kids a good example, so he stopped the "what, salad again" whiny nonsense. Now all my family love salad and greens, in fact he loves the salad pack lunches I make for him and prefers them to sandwiches!

Hubbys not keen on salad either i do try to limit the amount of salad i give him as he doesn't find it filling and has a very manual job.

I have all boys who all wanna be just like daddy and will eat what daddys eating i really do find that helps, i have ibs and i need alot of fruit and veg in my diet and always loved veg anyway so they see me eat anything and everything.

kerrypn

Mine were exactly the same (mine are aged 6 4 and 2) The 2 year old will eat anything, but the older two were horrendous :eek:

I started off by pureeing things where I could like corned beef hash, HM soup, stews etc.

Then gradually introduced them in the solid form in small quantities, and if they didnt eat it no pudding no supper. It took about 3 months of tantrums-some nights one would eat it the other wouldn't, sometimes they have thrown it on the floor :mad: but eventually they decided it was a battle they just were not able to win :rotfl:

99.99% of the time they eat what is put in front of them and will try new things now.

Good luck, I know how tough it is but so worth it at the end of it

Lazy_Liz

Can I just say as a child I developed some strange fussy ideas all on my own, no milk except on cereal, no fried boiled or poached eggs. I did without while everyone else ate theirs. We were not allowed to leave veg etc and despite the fact I was not keen on some veg I ate them up and now I love them. My parents ignored my silly fussy ideas and intime I decided to try the dreaded eggs and guess what? I discovered I liked them.
So some times children develop fussiness becuase they are allowed to get away with it and sometimes they just get these strange ideas in their heads. Just ignore them, let them go without and probably they will get over it.
In the mean time find something they will eat and make that. even better do they have any friends or older cusons who eat "normaly"? if your kids look up to them invite them around and put the same food out for everyone, often childern will eat what their heroes eat when they won't on thier own or even if they see adults eating it.
Oh an by the way I still won't drink milk on its own, only on cereal.....I have really tried honest but I just don't like it:o

sjprmc01

Lol! I don't like milk either (again only since being preg though) can handle a touch in some cereals. And in coffee and in chocolate milkshake form that's about it!

The. Only person they have round is more fussy than them, lol!

carlymummy

I think as hard as it is you just have to get tough. I did the same thing with my sons (eldest 2) a while back because I would get in from work and start dishing out seperate orders like a blooming cafe, so I just lost it and declared that enough was enough. Good job I did as well because not long after I found myself out of a job and we living on a very strict budget. I do cook separately for them occasionally for example when we are having salmon steaks so they have fish fingers or fish cakes instead. Hope you manage to get them trying different foods, if I remember rightly I did it slowly introducing one 'new' food at each meal then one completely 'new' meal each week and so on, if they didn't eat it, they went hungry, they do soon learn.

budget_babe

Cut and pasted from the Grocery Challenge Thread.

Well Budgie has sorted out her food cupboards I have loads of herbs/spices curry powders etc. Also quite well stocked up on tins/pasta/rice/sauces/mixes etc. Also in the freezer I have:

Organic Mince both lamb and beef
2 packets of Duchy meatballs
Organic joint of lamb
Sausages
Stewing Steak
Frying steak
Quiche
French Bread Pizza
One HM sausage casserole
Two HM stew and dumplings
Fries
Beer battered onion rings (Small portion)
Peas
Puff pastry circles (Left over pastry from a pie)
2 panini's
Loaf of Bread
Pizza base

So I am currently sorting out my shop from Ocado (still have free delivery). Salmon fillets are on offer, so looking at things like that.

Need to meal plan, but suprised at just what I do have in, as another poster said on another thread, its silly having too much money tied up on stock. Though you do need a stock cupboard of course.

Stil Budgie is motivated and aims to sort out this grocery spending.

Take care
Budgie x

monnagran

I found that calling food something else sometimes worked hence Sprouts were always baby cabbages and served a special magic sauce (vinegar) was eaten uncomplainingly. The children at my school wouldn't eat cabbage, but shredded very fine and a dab of garlic butter on it (can't remember what I called it but it was something French) it was devoured. I once had a friend who hated blancmange (I'm showing my age here) but pink custard was fine.

With my own children a tiny bit of everything was put on their plates - sometimes only half a teaspoonful and I remember a pea hater struggling with 1 pea - and they managed that. I found that the more fuss that was made the more they dug their heels in. If food was left I made no comment, just cleared it away, but absolutely NO substitutes were offered.

They eat absolutely everything now except my 43 yearold son will never eat bananas after I once forced him to eat one as a child. I learned my lesson.