Does anyone have any good recepies that would help me get my picky eater to eat more fruits, meats & veggies?

Question

My 9 year old is a very picky eater and I'm trying to get him to eat more meats, fruits & veggies but he's reluctant. I was hoping to find some fun ways to make him meals so he'll be more willing to eat them.

Answer 1

try having him choose the ingrediants to make his own meals! Cut foods into small pieces and let him choose what to put together! It may be gross to you, but he'll think it's fun! Put out yougert, then, chopped fruit, dry oatmeal, granola, raisins, applesauce, let him mix it all together. Wrap lunchmeat & cheese around an apple slice. Best of luck! Also, I found I didn't like things because of the way my Mom made it. Like her broccoli was always mushie, uck! I like it still firm. Try cooking a little different also.

Answer 2

Well, first of all you want to make it fun, and you want to remember that it often takes 9 tries at certain foods, to get them to eat them.

My 7 year old was a picky eater this time last year, and said he didnt want spinach. Well, he used to love spinach when he was 2-3, so I said "Gosh you are a silly kid. You used to live spinach. How silly that you say 'I love spinach' and then say 'no I dont like spinach'! Here, try it again. I bet you still like it, sweetie!"

Of course, that might not work for a 9 year old, but its worth a try.

Some fun ways to get them to eat healthy foods, is like this:

"ants on a log/ ants on a stump"
Ants on a log. Just take a piece of celery, and put some peanut butter or cream cheese on it. Then put some raisins in a line. Those are the "ants", and its a little more fun.
Ants on a stump, do the same thing with a half an apple. either peanut butter or cream cheese work well, for this.

Vegetables. Try butternut squash. Cut the squash in half, and fill a shallow pan, with a very small layer of water in it. Rinse the inside fo the squash with water, and do not dry it. Then put a tablespoon of brown sugar in it, and kinda rub it in a bit, covering the sides. Place both halves of the squash cut side down into the pan of water. Cook at 350 for about a half hour. That oughta do it. Its sweet and yummy. He will love it.

Another fun thing I do with my son, is call the fish sticks "bloody fingers", and fish fillets "bloody feet". He likes it that way. He wouldnt eat fish until I did that.

Try this one also:
A can of peas, a can of tuna, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and a bag of wide flat not spiraly, but theyre twisted a little) egg noodles.
Cook the noodles, and then dump in the soup (dont add water) and then the drained tuna, and then the drained peas. Warm it up a little and presto! Tuna noodle casserole. The peas will be easier to eat that way.
Green bean casserole, is also fun. French style green beans, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and french friend onions on top. Again, this will help to make the green beans more appetizing. Cook this in the oven. 350 for about 20- 30 minutes.

For meats, try making spam cheese spread. I believe its cream cheese, spam, and a little velveeta cheese. Its good. You might want to do a search on recipes for those.

Also shake and bake chicken is easy. Just buy some flavored bread crumbs, and pour a cup of them into a plastic bag. Rinse each piece of chicken, and then put it in the bag, close the bag, and shake so that the bread crumbs get all over the chicken piece. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Have barbecue sauce on hand, too.

Hope thats helpful!

Answer 3

I just tried this one and it is excellent!

Put a few bananas that are getting close to their age limit in a blender or food processor with some coco powder. Whip it until smooth. Put it in a container and place in the freezer.

The texture is very creamy and the flavor rivals most premium ice creams.

He'll think he is eating chocolate ice cream but you'll know that it has little or no refined sugar and is made mostly of fruit.

Making Popsicles out of fruit juice is also another nice trick to get fruit in them.

Answer 4

Ketchup! It may have a bit more sugar than you'd like, but it does have some nutritional value and it is fun and goes with lots of stuff. For fruits and veggies - any kind of dipping sauce - but again try to pick the ones with least amount of sugar.

Answer 5

Will he eat scrambled eggs? Omlettes are a good platform for introducing meats and veggies into his diet. Try fillings with mild flavors first, like ham and mushroom, or chicken and tomato.

Mac and cheese also is a good way to "camoflage" veggies. Peas and carrots are great in the cheese sauce.

Offer him different dips for foods too. Kids will surprise you with what they will eat dipped, like veggies in ranch, chicken and beef in bbq, heck, even fish in tartersauce.

A good way to get kids to eat foods they havent tries before is to make meal they like, as well as one new item. give them a little of everything, and let them know that they can have more of their favorites as soon as they eat the new food. They have to eat 3 bites before they can really say they don't like it. Then they can have more of the regular stuff

Answer 6

make fuit flowers..pineapple flowers with grape or melon ball center....freeze grapes...apple slices dipped in caramel...Veggies? mine always loved to dip raw veggies..you can buy a healthy veggie dip in the produce refrigerated section.
I tried sauces and stuff for the veggies too..they always liked that. If he really doesn't want them plain, just put them in casseroles. Mine won't eat onions or carrots or celery (they hate the crunchies) so I bought a Hamilton Beach Minin Chopper..it pulverizes them to almost liquid...you get the flavor and the health benefit without the crunch. Hope something here helps... ohhh I almost forgot...if they helped me cook it, they usually would want to eat "their creation" lol (if all else fails...multi-vitamin)

Answer 7

Salads are the best way, let him help prepare them, teach him about the different things you are putting into the salads, make it an adventure, education is always the key, children love to learn and I'm sure he would love to help you in the kitchen.

Answer 8

Cut an apple in half and cover it with peanut butter. put chocolate chips or raisins on the peanut butter and make is look like a ladybug.

cut a piece of celery and put peanut butter in the curved part. then add raisins or chocolate chips

Answer 9

May find papaya to be a good incentive to increase the appetite. Can be eaten in the raw state or in pill form.

Answer 10

try making a fruit salad and add cool whip
try dressing, peanut butter, or veggi dip for the vegetables. they may eat it that way.