to think it's not child abuse to make the DC's....

[BigMomma3]

eat spanish style chickpea stew with wilted spinach . DD has made herself choke to get out of eating it and DS1 has been in tears at the table. I cannot believe the fuss they made! DS2 ate it all after a slap bit of gentle encouragement!!

DD screamed 'why can't we eat normal food like normal families?' When asked to elaborate she said we should eat mashed potatoes, chips, fishfingers and sausages etc (which we do eat as well as my veggie concoctions ).

I have also refused to buy their usual Cocopops and Cheerios and am making organic porridge with dessicated coconut and golden syrup for their breakfast and we were late for school this morning due to the amount of time it took for DS1 to take one spoonful . I am sick of them always wanting to eat crap (although even if I give them pizza or chips they usually don't eat much because they are constantly raiding the fridge). AIBU to take a stand or am I wasting my time??? They are aged between 7 & 12 BTW

[Sagacious]

Calls social services

[waitingforbedtime]

Honestly, the chickpea and wilsted spinach thing doesnt sound exactly yummy to me and I am a 28 year old vegetarian but if its what you want to serve then serve it. They should at least TRY it.

Seems like one extreme to the other though. try and help them understand healthy doesnt have to equal chickpea!!! ;)

[overmydeadbody]

mmmmm can I have some of the chickpea stew with spinach?

[waitingforbedtime]

PS Not buying cheerios in this house would equal child abuse in the eyes of ds but he is not quite 3!

[overmydeadbody]

yanbu

let them go hungry

[PortBlacksandResident]

Sorry, i have tears running down my eyes at the thought of trying to get either of my DSs to eat spanish style chickpea stew with wilted spinach. The thought of DS1's face alone was worth opening this thread.

On the other hand - it does sound yummy - can you save it all for you and give them chicken nuggets and smiley faces?

[Missmodular]

I wouldn't have touched wilted spinach before the age of 25. Or porridge. But I'm now a health-conscious veggie so your efforts may not be wasted in the long run...

[HeadFairy]

definitely worthy of at least close supervision for the next 20 years. I'm badly scarred from my mum sending me to school with packed lunches containing boxes of puy lentils with garlic and pancetta and so on... of course I'd give my eye teeth for her to do that now, but that's gratitude for you!

[Orangutan]

How old are your kids? I've read that most kids tend to get adventurous with food only from about the age of 8.
IMO organic dessicated coconut porridge is asking for a bit much especially on a school day. Offer it on the weekend as a choice & eat it yourself & say how yummy it is.
Good luck!!

[mazzystartled]

Well it sounds delish and please can you post the recipe?

porridge great - but the coconut sounds horrid.

surely there is a middle ground? can you plan a menu with them choosing the meal one day a week each and do a deal?

what are they raiding from the fridge?

[silverfrog]

yanbu.

agree they should at least try it.

have you always served chickpea type meals, or is this a sudden conversion? if they've not been presented with similar meals before I can see that they might struggle a bit, btu they are old enough imo to understand that you put the effort in to make it, so they could at least give it a go.

would your older 2 be able to cook? maybe you could agree a menu and let them loose?

[Sagacious]

I still have cringy memories of a giant turkey leg in my packed lunch (and it was October (ish) so not even Christmas as an excuse)

Sorry OP but my 7 year old would have fallen off his hand wittled chair if I'd given him that

(he does love spring greens though perhaps try them?)

[Goblinchild]

Oh God, are you my sister? I didn't think she posted here.
I had a child crying over their sushi today, but it turned out my sympathy was misplaced. He'd run out of soy sauce.

[Littlepurpleprincess]

Maybe it's your reaction rather than the food. DS went through a stage of refusing to eat. I just stopped giving him attention for not eating. Now I put the food in front of him. If he eats it, that's great, if he doesn't, so what? He has to wait until next meal.

He starved himself for 1 day then caved in, has been good at meal times ever since!

Children will do anything for attention. Just act like you don't care, don't discuss it, they'll soon get bored of this game.

Alsso, why not give them food they like? DS LOVES baked beans, so I give him beans a lot. They're healthy and a after a while of beans every meal he was grateful for something new!

Mashed potato is good for them, as are fish fingers if you get good quailty ones. Sausages can be put in a casserole with loads of veg.

Stop trying so hard! Food should be enjoyed.

[wrigglershouse]

Porridge? yuck, yuck, yuck.

I agree that they should at least try it but if they genuinely don't like then YABU to expect them to eat it anyway.

The stew sounds gorgeous but a little daunting for a child.

And for breakfast how about offering something healthy and acceptable to children like toast, or boxed cereal that doesn't have any added sugar and fat? A lot quicker than faffing around with oats as well.

[TheInvisibleManDidIt]

Oh you have my sympathy. I cook everynight that I'm not working and trying to get ds2 to eat what everyone else does is a constant battle.

I made chicken wraps tonight- just grilled chicken, peppers, and a bit of bbq sauce with some salad and noodles for ds1, and didn't give ds2 any salad in the hope of him eating the rest. You'd think I was trying to poison him!! Chocking, muuuuummmmm it's gross, I'm going to be sick, Why can't I just have pizza...........arrrggggggg!

Take a stand!! I'll back you!

[LynetteScavo]

Well, I've heard if you give it to them 17 times they will decide they like it. Never tested that theory though[weak emoticon]. Stick to your guns and let me know if it's true.

[JemAtTheParrotsTable]

BigMomma- I know exactly how you feel.
If you asked DS1 (age 12) he would probably tell you I am a lentil and chick pea fiend who also knits yoghurt jumpers as a sideline, although the accusations started years ago...

He never gets crisps or pizza or chips or sweets like'NORMAL PEOPLE' don'tcha know...my fucking arse...he eats LOADS of shite, just I cook a lot...ooh, he is abused y'know...I just say 'twat' under my breath a lot...

[nighbynight]

Porridge is horrid with golden syrup. Give them porridge with sweetened condensed milk, my children lap this up.

Stick to your guns!! your children will at least know what healthy food looks like.

I laughed at "why cant we eat normal food like normal families". Tell him that our family eats chickpeas and spinach and we are normal.
(ds1's favourite line is "tastes like shit, but you can live on it" which he lifted from some tv comedy series.)

[mwff]

i don't get how chickpeas and spinach is daunting? although i do agree if you've made a sudden change (along with cutting out their usual cereal) then it's not surprising if they're somewhat suspicious. my toddler would eat it like a shot, my 6yo would prob leave the chickpeas but eat the spinach. i wouldn't make a fuss

[nighbynight]

cocopops are the work of the devil, and are banned from our house. One junk level too far. we do have cheerios though

[LynetteScavo]

Porridge is only edible with loads of golden syrup and cream!

[Littlepurpleprincess]

Why can't he just have pizza though? Seriously, a home made pizza is really good for you, you can put loads of veg on top. It's only bread, and veg! What's the problem?

I often do porridge for DS. I mash a banana in it and a bit of cinnamon. Takes me about 5 minutes and it's a bit more child friendly than coconut.

[notevenamousie]

I think there should be a happy medium that wouldn't be too hard to find here for your sake and the childrens' - you don't want them to leave home with an unhealthy attitude to food from pushing extremes with them.