What are some healthy cheap family meals for picky children?

Question

My husband needs to eat better and get weight down (too much buying fat-food for lunch at work--we're changing that). Our kids are small and skinny and picky eaters. Husband and I would like to eat better and are tired of the only foods our kids seem to like--pasta (ravioli, spaghetti, fettucine, and macaroni and cheese), PBJ sandwiches, pizza, and fruit. Don't get me wrong, we like these things but our kids make it hard to eat anything else. My two daughters will eat meat, my son won't unless it is a chicken nugget or he's starving to death. My daughters will eat some veggies but the only one I've gotten my son to eat is corn. I need ideas on meals that are kid-friendly, healthy, and cheap to make.

Answer 1

Tomato sauce with hidden vegetables
Serves 4

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time 10 to 30 mins

Ingredients
Suitable for children from 1-2 years

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
75g/3oz carrots, peeled and sliced
½ red pepper, de-seeded and diced
100g/4oz courgettes, washed and diced
25g/1oz butter
½ leek, washed and sliced
75g/3oz mushrooms, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, skinned, de-seeded and chopped
400ml/14fl oz passata (tomato purée)
1 tbsp fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
a pinch of sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g/2oz mascarpone cheese
250g/9oz pasta shapes



Method
1. sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until beginning to soften (about 2 minutes).
2. Add the carrots and sauté for 4 minutes.
3. Add the red pepper and courgettes and sauté until beginning to soften (2 to 3 minutes).
4. Add the butter, leek and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, passata, basil, parsley, sugar and salt and pepper and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
6. Blend in a food processor. Press through a sieve and stir in the mascarpone cheese.
7. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. When it is cooked, drain in a colander and toss with the tomato sauce.

Note: Brightly coloured vegetables contain a wide variety of phytochemicals (plant chemicals) that will give us a higher chance of preventing diseases such as coronary heart diseases and cancer. Tinned tomatoes and passata retain most of their nutrients but do also contain salt.

by Annabel Karmel from Superfoods for Babies and Children, Ebury

Answer 2

Get the kids involved in food preparation as much as you can. My kids eat all kinds of foods. The last thing we learned how to make together was sushi and they loved it. When kids see what goes into the dishes you make and can taste as you go along, it makes certain foods less scary. Meals that we eat regularly at our house..steak/baked potatoes, pork chops with corn and mashed potatoes, smoked sausage with haluski(cabbage/onions/garlic/bow tie noodles) steak or chicken salads (meat on top, sometimes french frys too...yummy) Italian meatloaf with oven roasted potatoes and green beans, chili, grilled chicken, chicken & dumplings (easy and fun to make, a kid favorite) We also have "running around nights" those are the nights that we're too busy to cook so we have frozen pizza, fish sticks/frys or burritos. Just try to mix it up, we always offer some kind of veggie every night. My kids will eat all veggies with a few exceptions. One wont eat cooked carrots, two wont eat peas, the other one eats every veggie I make. If I know 3 of the kids wont like the cooked veggie I'm making, I give them raw veggies and dip.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 3

There's a great website called the Hillbilly Housewife that has great recipes that feed many and cost very little. I use it as a resource all of the time. One of my favorite cheap and easy meals is Baked chicken with white beans and tomatoes. Cut about 5 pieces of bacon into chunks and fry in skillet, remove from pan.Season chicken thighs with S&P.Brown chicken thighs, legs or quarters in a skillet. Remove chicken. Add 2 medium chopped onions, cook until golden.Add 1 can stewed tomatoes and boil 3 minutes. Stir in bacon and 2 cans rinsed, drained white beans, bring to simmer. Nestle chicken back into pan, Bake 20-30 minutes at 350. Good luck!

Answer 4

Have you heard of meatloaf a la mode? You can make it with ground chicken or turkey instead of beef. Find a good meatloaf recipe (www.cooks.com has good recipes for almost anything) and bake it in a round pie pan instead of a loaf pan. When it's done, slice it in wedges like a pie. Take an ice cream scoop and put a nice scoop of mashed potatoes on each slice of meatloaf. Pour a little gravy over that. Mashed potatoes can be made from a box for this kind of thing. I make my gravy from a packet.

If you shop at dollar stores, you can get inexpensive gravy mix that tastes great. I make mine with half milk and half water, though the packet calls for all water. Heat the liquid in the microwave to just-beginning-to-boil, then stir in the powdered gravy mix. No boil-overs that way.

Another suggestion is that you make even-numbered days "kid food" days -- the pastas, etc -- and odd-numbered days "grown-up food" days. Cook things you and your husband like. The children should try one bite of everything, with the possible exception of one item on the table. Other than that, make PBJs their only other option. It won't hurt them to try new things, in fact it will be good for them. Yes, it won't be an easy change to make, but in the long run, it really will make it easier for you and your husband AND for the kids. Alternating the days will give them 'time off' from having to try new things.

Answer 5

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
1 pouch SHAKE 'N BAKE Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix
1/2 cup TACO BELL HOME ORIGINALS Salsa
1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese



PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Coat chicken with coating mix as directed on package. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
BAKE 20 min. or until chicken is cooked through (170°F).
TOP each chicken breast with 2 Tbsp. salsa. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake an additional 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Answer 6

My parents allowed me to be a picky eater and I wish they hadn't. I started to like a variety of food in my late teens when I began dating someone who like a variety of good food. Such a loss (and embarrassing) to be taken to fine restaurants and I am ordering hamburgers--plain! The health considerations are important as well.

Fresh raw veggies and fruits will be eaten by most kids. A big fruit salad with fresh fruit and minimal added sugar. Add nuts. Serve with grilled or broiled pork chops. Stop buying white bread. Try veggies in homemade veggie soup.

Answer 7

Sounds like it's time for tough love: eat it or go hungry. No snacks, no PBJ alternatives, just good food simply prepared. You can grill chicken, serve w/ garlic sauce over pasta (never met a kid who didn't like garlic), grill or broil fish, cook rice in chicken stock to boost flavor, eat fresh fruit cubed up for the kids (grapes, melons, apples, pineapple, kiwi, etc).

You and your DH will need to tell you kids how it will be, THEN STICK TO IT. If you're not ready to do that (and will give in), dont' even start. Just keep making PBJ and chicken nuggets while you and your DH eat good food. But your kids are only picky now b/c you allowed it to happen. Keep presenting good food and they will get hungry enough to eat it. I promise.

Answer 8

Try Dorito Chicken

Chicken breast
1 jar jalapeno cheez whiz
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 can chopped green chiles, drained
1 large bag of doritos
boil chicken, cut chicken into bite size pieces and set aside. In a skillet melt cheez whiz add broth, and soup,chiles and chicken stir together crush bag of doritos then layer chips and chicken mixture in a 9x13 baking dish start with chips and end with chips bake at 350 for about 20 min

Answer 9

we have the same problem with our kids. I usually make chicken nuggets from scratch with chicken breast and seasoned bread crumbs and bake it. puree some cooked veggies and stir them in to spaghetti sauce and use a whole wheat pasta, just as good as plain, but much better for you. the best thing to do is to cook as much as possible at home and don't become a short order cook and you will be fine. the more often you offer your children good home cooking the more they will come around to good healthy food. just don't cave in and give them the crap that is full of junk, they wont like it at first but its better for all of you.

Answer 10

The only advice I can offer is cook what YOU want to eat and let the kids go hungry if they won't eat it. I guarantee that won't last for long if you keep your resolve strong and don't give in. Give them things they like sometimes of course, and don't try anything new that's too exotic-but make it clear, it's this or nothing. My nephew was like that as a child and this worked for my sister-now he eats everything.