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Kid Friendly Dinner Meals

L

lcsamano

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I have 4 children and pleasing them is very hard when it comes to cooking dinner. Do you have any suggestions for kid friendly dinners? I keep telling them that I am not Burger King and they can't have it their way. However, they dont seem to understand.
 
I've found that any kind of "finger food" usually works pretty well.
 
Kids can be a handful because of these fast food places. Unfortunately - most kids would prefer fast foods or those frozen kiddie meals to a regular meal. You can get around that by making their meals "kiddie friendly".

If you are making chicken for the family - cut small pieces for them, bread or batter the pieces and bake them. At least they are eating healthier - chicken nuggets at these fast food places are filled with phosphates, fillers, etc. Make dipping sauces for them (I have recipes if you need them) and they can enjoy that. Slice potatoes and cut into fancy shapes using cutters and bake as well. Better than deep fried all the time.

Shape ground beef into fingers and roll in flour and skillet fry or bake.

Cut fish fillets into fingers or chunks, bread or batter and bake.

Easy mac and cheese - cook pasta and add a bit of butter and Cheez Whiz.

Buy pasta that is shaped in rings like spaghettio's, or goldfish, the alpabet, small stars, etc. and add to tomato soup. Or add rice.

Cut carrots, sweet potatoes or regular potatoes into fingers and steam.

Make your own french toast sticks using texas toast; make pancakes in fingers or small rounds. Dot your griddle with 2 dots for eyes and a smile; cook a few minutes before pouring more batter over - with practice you can make smiley pancakes.

Sometimes 2 fried eggs for eyes, 2 breakfast sausage links for a smile and 2 rounds of toast (cut from a slice of bread with a biscuit cutter) spread with strawberry or raspberry jam/jelly will make rosy cheeks.

I would have to fix a plate of fingers (chicken or beef) with a small dipping bowl of sauce in the center and the fingers placed around like the sun rays and a cut out baked potato slice between each ray. Using an oval plate gave me a chance to place carrot fingers on one side and a veggie on the other side.

Meatballs always tasted better when they were "baby" ones. I would make big batches of meatballs for the freezer and they were easy to warm in gravy or sauce.

We all eat with our eyes - but I think kids are worse than adults! Pretty or different looking ways of presenting foods can also make a difference.
 
Make dinner fun - let them help out. I found that Mac and Cheese or anything with noodles always works for my daughter. Like Mama Mangia said, presentation is key for children.
 
My daughter is 2 and a half. She loves to help me cook, any little bit at all. Any meal that she can help me out she always loves to eat.
 
Thanks for all of the tips. I actually try to get my kids to help since they seem to always complain about what we are having. I even have had them help with the weekly menus.
 
My daughter is 10, and seems to be past the picky eater stage... of course, this is also the same child that loves broccoli & always has. She helps me out with planning the weekly menu & if the 17-month-old is asleep, she will help me with the cooking too.
 
the bottom line is, give the kids what they want.

they want the ambience, the cute food, the heavy flavouring.

so by attempting to do that, as mentioned with some of the members here.
It has to be fun and little more on the heavier side?
 
Kids LOVE to help. I've found that any time a child helps to prepare a meal, they're more likely to eat it. I mean, they can't let all of their good work go to waste :)
 
i have found that if the kids help make a meal they will eat it.
 
Kids get attracted to variation: lots of colors, shapes and sizes. So all you have to do is be creative in presenting the meals. I can trick my nephew into eating vegetable for example by naming the slices of different vegetables in a stick, "Kiddie Kebabs". :)
 
new year.

happy new year and i hope we can come up with some good ideas. god bless you all.:)
 
You could also make a kiddie version of rice toppings. Just cook rice and put colorful, chopped foods on it. Make sure your kids like it of course. You can add chopped vegetables on it too and your kids won't notice it.
 
My son can also be a picky eater. He does do better when he helps make the meal, or if I let him have some ingredients to "create" his own. I always joke that he tastes everything with his fingers. The first thing he does with any new finger is stick his finger in it. If his finger likes it he will taste it, but sometimes all he will do is touch it and he is done. I thought he would outgrow this, he is 8, this has been his method since he was a baby.
You all are right on the money here with what kids like. He loves mac and cheese, spaghetti, and finger foods like chicken nuggets, or fish sticks.
 
I cant get 2 of my kids to eat any veggies. it is so hard.

All but 1 is a VERY picky eater. the oldest will eat anything and loves veggies.

The 2 yr old, totally different. I can not get her to eat beef at all. Only chicken and fish. She will eat pork sausage, but knows when it is beef and wont touch it.

The only way I can sneak any other meat into her is if it is in spaghetti sauce. She loves italian food.
 
Thanks for the tips. You guys are right; kids are more likely to eat it if they helped prepare it! My kids love things being cut into shapes with cookie cutters; but I just hate all that waste. Oh, my kids to enjoy carrots sliced with the cheese shredder. It's about the only way I can get them to eat them.
 
Mac and Cheese

My son will eat Mac and Cheese for every meal! I have tried many variations...including Mac and Cheese soup...any ideas on how I can spice it up for the rest of the family? :confused:
 
Making kid's type meals can be hard like everyone else said. But chicken tenders as well as macorni and cheese should work well. As well as french fries and onion rings on the side.
 
when I make Jack mac & cheese, I stir a cut up hot dog and some veggies down in it (usually peas). That way I'm at least trying to get some good stuff into him.
 
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