What can i feed the fussiest eater in the world?

sethsgran

I agree with last post let her get involved with cooking. Perhaps you could try some homemade soups for her to make. You could freeze them for times when she doesn't want what you are eating. She could manage rissoto, pasta, jacket potatoes etc. Try this recipe it's like a chilli. It might look like tons of ingredients but it really does go a long way so you could freeze some for her later.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=578705&highlight=taco+soup

moanymoany

whatatwit wrote: »

At 13, she is old enough to cook her own pasta...my daughter does.
Does she just want a plain tomato sauce with it, as you could make a load and freeze it. You could hide plenty of veg in it and just leave what she likes showing.
That way, you would stop any potential arguements and no doubt she would start to eat whatever you have cooked.

I agree with whatatwit. She can cook her own pasta and have that with whatever you have cooked. If she doesn't want that, the sauce idea is good. Teenagers are intrinsically lazy as well as demanding. She may well start to eat what you've cooked, but if not you won't be cooking two meals.

Psykicpup

My DD went through a phase at about the same age, going off foods because her friends didnt like them....maybe encouraging friends who like eating the things your DD wont would help......

chardonnay_2

i wouldn't worry too much about her eating fruit and veg. just try to have a full fruit bowl and limited snack/ junk food - she should eventually go to the fruit if hungry.

keep hiding veggies in sauces etc and put seperate whole veggies out in bowls for everyone to help themselves. seeing others do it or being able to chose her portion size might help. having friends over for dinner might encourage her, if they are eating veg.

you say your new family - as they are older, are they with you all the time or just a few days a week. if the later i would suggest that you try not to get too stressed about mealtimes and just enjoy their company. i am also a stepmum and at first i got very stressed about them not eating enough or being fussy etc.

both my boys are very fussy- almost totally different tastes. if we pandered to them we would always be cooking completely different meals for them both. the good thing is they like fruit an will eat it unprompted from our overflowing fruit bowl. we have managed to find meals they both like and they tell us new things they have tried. we don't force them to eat the same as us as we tend to eat later and more spicy food.

some kids just don't like much veg and one of mine hates butter/ marg on sandwiches but will eat bread and butter

Uniscots97

chardonnay wrote: »

i wouldn't worry too much about her eating fruit and veg. just try to have a full fruit bowl and limited snack/ junk food - she should eventually go to the fruit if hungry.

keep hiding veggies in sauces etc and put seperate whole veggies out in bowls for everyone to help themselves. seeing others do it or being able to chose her portion size might help. having friends over for dinner might encourage her, if they are eating veg.

you say your new family - as they are older, are they with you all the time or just a few days a week. if the later i would suggest that you try not to get too stressed about mealtimes and just enjoy their company. i am also a stepmum and at first i got very stressed about them not eating enough or being fussy etc.

both my boys are very fussy- almost totally different tastes. if we pandered to them we would always be cooking completely different meals for them both. the good thing is they like fruit an will eat it unprompted from our overflowing fruit bowl. we have managed to find meals they both like and they tell us new things they have tried. we don't force them to eat the same as us as we tend to eat later and more spicy food.

some kids just don't like much veg and one of mine hates butter/ marg on sandwiches but will eat bread and butter

Thanks Chardonnay. Finding this being a Stepmum a little daunting as I've never been with anyone that has children before, also I don't have any brothers or sister and any of my friends that have kids eat everything in sight! I've tried suggesting chilli, but she won't eat kidney beans. We had a go at cooking together and thats how I got her to eat onion as apparently I cook it properly ( ). If I left her to her own devices to cook the kitchen would look like a bomb had gone off in it and if she cooks for herself she can only manage to make that nasty packet cheesey pasta stuff (:eek: ). I've even let her go through my recipes and choose what we have for dinner, but craftily she'll choose something without veg. I felt very smug when I pureed carrots and put that through bolognaise. She loves my pork bolognaise. I'm not too worried about the butter/marg on sandwiches thing as I was the same at her age. The only thing I have noticed is I cannot leave chocolate biscuits lying around. I had bought a pack of 20 chocolate biscuits and put them in a compartment in the fridge. Between the pair of them they scoffed the lot in a weekend. I don't remember seeing them taking them from the fridge but they have been told if they are hungry or thirsty they can help themselves to a sandwich or a drink. Is this normal for biscuits to disappear this fast with teenagers in the house? As i said very new to this.

At the moment they are at mine mid week (tonight in fact usually) and at the weekend. Tonight's dinner is spaghetti carbonara. I usually use spring onion but think I'll have to use normal onion so Holly won't pick it out .

newlywed

Hi I'm a step mum too. I sneak veg in things. They boys are ok though with most veg - they will eat carrots, tomato, peas and sweetcorn.

We kept giving them different veg to try. Eg just one sprout on the plate they had to eat as they'd never tried them, just one piece of parsnip etc.

They now eat parsnips, one likes sprouts but the other doesn't etc. Most of it is just that we eat different things to their mum (seems to be pizza, bolognaise, nuggets and chips whenever we ask them).

In things like shepherds pie and lasagna I always put carrots (grated or chopped small - but they like them anyway) - as well as some red lentils. It's taken nearly 7 months for them to ask "what are those little orange dots"

They think they don't like peppers but they have eaten them chopped up really small in lasagna and pasta sauce etc

Just keep trying. Eventually they will eat a bit more. I just try and make sure they get 5 a day each day of the weekend and then give them the mid week packed lunches they are used to.

I have yet to try fish as they don't like tuna and the only other fish they know is fish fingers or fish and chips

As for the biscuits - yup. Hide them!! Make a few available and hide the rest And crisps - I hide half of them in my wardrobe to save them for their packed lunches. And fizzy drinks litre bottles used to go in 2 minutes so now its tea, squash or apple juice

duchy

I have a picky eater-who also has aspergers so I do pick my battles.
Like your step daughter he'll eat all the junk food going-so I simply stopped buying it as part of a regular shop. Crisps, biscuits etc are now treats and we're all a lot healthier for it. Slip cheese in with mash, all the concealing stuff and if she wants pasta so long as she cooks it-AND clears up-well is it really the end of the world ?
Part of this is been a teenager anyway but some of it may be a testing the limits more so than the averasge teenager due to the changes in circumstance. Just be consistant and keep a united front as a couple -teenage girls can be really manipulative so just makes some reasonable mealtime rules and stick with them and only change with good reason, family discussion and good luck !!

chardonnay_2

our eldest eats like a horse and is as thin as a rake. he would eat junk food till it came out his ears. try having a hidey hole for the goodies and only letting some be in their tub at a time. in our house the boys know where the sweets etc are but they ask if they can have something first. the new annoying question is how many can i have?:rotfl:

make chilli and if she picks out the beans then don't stress. if it is you only have to feed them a couple of times a week, at least you are not just feeding them processed junk. try adding baked beans as some always make chilli this way. try not to make food a war ground as she will resent you and may see it as fun to wind you up.

our boys love coming here and playing on the games consoles with their dad and food is the last thing they are fussed about.

conradmum

I agree with the posters who've said pick your battles. Certain children take great delight in all the attention they receive from fussy eating habits.
When we started ignoring our various children/stepchildren (it's complicated!) at dinner time their eating habits eventually improved dramatically. We only had one rule - eat what's on your plate or no pudding. We ignored the grimaces, sighs, and grumbles completely. If they got out of hand they were asked to leave the room so the rest of us could eat in peace! Dieticians probably wouldn't agree but it worked for us.
And chocolate biscuits disapprearing mysteriously? Welcome to teenagers!:rotfl:

beedeedee

Well, if it's of any help I still can't stand fruit or salad and I'm well into my fifties! I don't mind the occasional grape or cherry, but apples, oranges, banana's etc are a no no. I can't stand lettuce or any of it's varieties although I'm a bit better with salad ingredients (toms and cucmbers with a nice dressing etc) than I was as a teenager. To me, veg was always about how it looked (and smelled) in the serving dish. If it was already dished onto my plate, I would hate it. I also disliked sliced carrots, but as soon as someone introduced me to "jullienne" carrots, with a glaze and just a sprig of parsley or something - well, a whole new world opened up. Just wondering if presenting the veg a bit trendily might help?