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Feeding a family of just 2 on very limited budgets

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  • When my now strapping ds 13 was a toddler I had much the same problem. I was so hell bent on getting him to sit in a prescribed place to eat a prescribed amount that I drove myself mental:p

    Then I gave up. I invented picnics on the floor using a bath towel. It would be anything from HM pancakes with a plate of jam, some butter, cheese, some apple chopped to toast cut with cookie cutter shapes (I swear star shaped toast was tastier:D), chopped chicken, grapes, all eaten with cocktail sticks as we pleased (knives and forkes were an issue)

    Still the good news is I fretted for nothing. He sleeps in his own bed, he's out of nappies, he eats his food and he doesn't have a dummy:rotfl: All of the things that used to make me cry and feel a failure.

    Good luck
    Grocery Challenge M: £450/£425.08 A: £400/£:eek:.May -£400/£361 June £380/£230 (pages 18 & 27 explain)
  • vincenta
    vincenta Posts: 141 Forumite
    My toddler is 22 month old and also is fussy eater but I discovered rice porridge which is tasty ,simple to cook, not expensive.
    You need 2 glasses of water
    2 glasses of milk
    1 glass of rice
    salt and sugar
    Small pan is full of porridge.
    Add rice and water to saucepan and boil it while there is no water left than add milk. salt and sugar on your taste.
    Porridge will be ready in 15 minutes.
    It is so tasty with jam or butter.
    Hope it helps.
    “The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”
    ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
  • Snowy_Owl wrote: »
    :rotfl:

    That is brillaint!!!! Just soooo creative!!!!:rotfl::T

    My mum and dad did a similar thing when I was wee - I hated turkey, but would eat 'christmas chicken' all day long!:rotfl:
  • vincenta - Thanks for that recipe. I'm going to attempt that tonight (even if it's only me who eats it. :P)

    I think I may pretend to DD that certain foods are actually something she likes - there is always the possibility though that she wont like it and end up not liking the food she normally does like. If that made sense..... Haha.

    I've had some fab ideas from this site, and am going to putting them practice this week. :)
  • Hi, I was a once force fed child, and can remember how that made things even worse for me, and I literally used to dread meal times, with my parents constantly stressing out and I'd end up in tears EVERY meal time, and ended up hating eating anything. I was never fussy though, just had a very tiny appetite as a child, but obviously my parents were worried i wasn't eating enough, which them escalated into disordered eating due to the stress of meal times, and countless trips to the docs to be weighed and examined to see what was wrong with me!
    Of course, nothing was actually physically wrong, just mentaly I was now scared to eat anything. Luckily they stopes making such a fuss of meal times (not sure why, but thank god!) and then I soon started eating much more, still slowly eating but they just left me to it.
    Now I'm a young adult, I eat very well. Eat or at least try anything before deciding I don't like it. Just thought I'd tell my story to say that your daughter WILL be fine, even if she has been traumatised by past experiences of being force fed. The key thing I think, is to try and stay relaxed, not put pressure on her, and above all else don't let either of you end up in tears over meal times. Though I appreciate that it must be difficult for you, having to worry that she's not eating enough.
    I don't have kids yet, so can't be of much help I'm afraid but just wanted to try and offer some reassurance that the chances are she will just grow out of this and have a varied and healthy diet. Good luck.
  • fairy3
    fairy3 Posts: 511 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Gettingtherequickly
    Cooking foods differently could also help. I have family in the Middle East and they cook cauliflour to die for, still don't know how it is done as they won't tell me, but I think it is par boiled, then coated in seasoning and quickly deep fat fried & dried. Would happily make a meal of that on its own.

    Not sure if this is what your relatives do but I recently found it on an egyptian forum and have to say it was delicious and so not like cauliflower (if you know what I mean?)

    http://summertomato.com/roasted-curried-cauliflower-to-die-for/

    Sorry I still don't know how to do the links properly!
    January 2020 Grocery challenge £119.45/£200 :)
    February 2020 Grocery challenge £195.22 /£200
    March 2020 - gone to pot...
    April 2020 - £339.45/£200
    May 2020 - £194.99/£300
  • Hi

    Just wanted to say that when I was a child I was force fed liver and bacon - (not by my Mum, but by one of her friends who had cooked it for me), it was awful and I still can't eat liver to this day! My son went through a phase when he was younger of only eating chicken nuggets or sausage rolls and would not eat anything else - it was very frustrating! (to be fair I think that I was a bit soft with him because what had happened to me during my childhood). He has improved dramatically - he loves all kinds of fish and shellfish (which is something I do not like to eat - it's more of a game now try that 'cos Mum doesn't like it) he still struggles with veggies though! It gets better - the one thing that helped me was cooking one meal and all eating at the table together - instead of cooking something for my son and a separate meal for OH and me.

    The tips on here are really good, and I hope that things get better for you financially, I'm certainly going to try the websites recommended by AB7167? and Hilstep.
    Always be yourself, unless you can be a Unicorn - then always be a Unicorn !
    No More Buying Unnecessary Toiletries - Joined May 2013


    28x UU
  • Hello just popping in with my ideas!! Firstly id say persevere with DD. My DD now 2 was absolutely horrendous with food for a good 6 months and most of it got thrown to the dog (other than the nice bits she wanted to eat!) We stuck to our guns and will now eat anything (more or less) we put in front of her.
    We also dont give pudding if they dont have a good attempt at eating their meal. I do feel mean but the threat works every time with my 2!

    I make a hidden veg sauce and my 2 love it!

    Ingredients:-

    onion, garlic, passata (value is 25p I think), carrots, peas and anything else that needs using up.

    Fry the onion & garlic and then add the carrots and peas for a couple of mins. Add the passata and simmer for 20 mins. Blend into a smooth consistency once cooled.
    This freezes really well in little pots and I just take a pot out that morning for tea time.

    It works really well for pasta and im sure you could use on pizzas too.
    I think I get 6 portions out of this and it probably costs 70p max to make?

    Other ideas of things my kids love:-

    sausage and mash
    cauliflower cheese (if she likes cheese) so easy to make
    omelettes
    boiled egg and soldiers

    Hope this helps, il keep thinking for you!! x
    Mummytogirls x

  • hi hun my lo is 17mths and fussy too! Does she still have a bottle or still being bf?
    I find my dd would rather be bf than eat food, the only trick i do is to always leave a bowl of food in her reach so she can pick through the day. She doesn't do meals that often and is more of a picker and this is the only way i can get her to eat. We sit down for all our meals even if she doesn't eat much or any but after i will give her a bowl of dry cereals to pick at with breakie. Then leave her to run around with a whole apple etc. Lunch i make her a little selection to pick from, slices of cheese, peppers, toms. Some days she worrys me but she's a healthy happy girl so not too worried.
    I'm reading your thread with interest too as we have hardly any money this week and need to feed 5!
  • My DD had a lot of 'picnics' too. Bread sticks/yogurt/fruit/carrot sticks/cheese sticks/custard/cottage cheese etc. Then she could pick what she wanted eat as she felt like it. Sultanas too.

    I came across an american blog where they put the food in bun tins (6 hole ones) or cupcake cases. Makes it a bit more special. You could try themeing the food maybe by colour or shapes or something.

    I wouldn't worry too much, if she is happy and has energy the rest will come with time.
    Put the kettle on. ;)
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