pls share positive stories of changing family cooking/ eating habits!

[waterrat]

Like many I'm sure I feel absolutely crap about how my family eats - one child has SEN but both kids are fussy - I feel ashamed of how fussy they are.

We eat a few boring meals on rotation - I have never before this been fussy myself and love eating nearly everything - but cooking a meal that they don't eat is just so tedious.

I keep thinking I will start a revolution - but I really really struggle with the planning/ cooking of new meals.

I just want to know it is possible to turn a familiy situation around with food.

My SEN child ate about 4 things. I seem to recall it was bread and butter and apples and maybe chips. I just kept offering things and tried not to nag (and I wasn't always successful as I implored him to at least try something I'd cooked). Since he was about 4 he has been strictly vegetarian. There was simply no point in cooking meat for him.

He is now grown up and an adventurous vegetarian. He is a 5th year medical student so I don't know if that played any part. As a teenager I did take him to a dietician who talked to him about improving his diet - she got him to eat bananas occasionally. I don't think forcing them to eat stuff they don't want or clearing their plate works. These are not just fussy eaters. They would starve before eating stuff they don't want or at least go 24 hours.

We created a 4 week menu and once every 2 weeks we add a new meal in to try. If it's a success then it gets added to the menu full time until it gets knocked off by something else. My DC are fussy but they will try food so not many make it onto the menu but some do and that's a win for me.

I've been there! It gets so depressing and seems endless. But eventually they do grow out of it. In our case, having friends from different cultures has helped. Eating chinese dumplings on playdates for example. Or trying new things in any kind of group setting. Over time they get less sensitive. Good luck!

What kind of food will they eat?
Will they eat any fruit or veg ?