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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Would your dc eat this?

90 replies

Dancergirl · 14/04/2015 11:25

I have some frozen spinach in my freezer and I fancy making tonight pancakes filled with mushrooms, spinach and cheese which me and dh will love.

My dds aren't brilliant eaters (one has sensory issues so she has an excuse) and I know they won't eat it.

Would you:

a) Do the 'one meal or nothing' thing?

b) make a plainer alternative e.g. pancakes just with cheese?

They are 13, 12 and 8.

OP posts:

Stinkersmum · 14/04/2015 14:36

Notso maybe my parents were just lucky then. I was never made to eat anything I didn't like but then there isn't anything I don't particularly like apart from milk (to drink) and ketchup.

keepsmiling2015 · 14/04/2015 14:37

I'd make the plainer alternative. Nothing good will come out if forcing a child to eat something they won't like.

Hakluyt · 14/04/2015 14:40

12 and 13 should be able to eat something that they don't love but hasn't got any ingredients they hate in it. Not every dinner can be your favourite.

LowryFan · 14/04/2015 14:46

My DC hate mushrooms. So I'd do two versions with and without mushrooms. NO WAY am I wasting their deliciousness on unappreciative children.

TheMagnificientFour · 14/04/2015 14:58

come on. It's completely different to make a child eat something they ate to the point that they make themselves sick.
And ask a child to eat a coule of mouthful to try or to eat something they don't quite like but don't hate.

Also as an example, dc1 at some point was happy to eat to eat white fish as fish fingers, curries or just as fillet cooked in a pan.
But give him a fish (with a head and tail) he wouldn't touch it and be gagging on it.
What would you do then? It's not the taste or the texture that is an issue because he ate the fillet. It's the idea of eating a fish and seen it. It was clearly in his head.
Sometimes the 'I don't like it' as a lot to do with the idea of eating X and Y rather than the taste of it. And yes I'm thinking about what they hear at school and what they hear around is 'bad horrible' food that shouldn't be touched. Which then puts them off trying.

I've also noticed that if dc2 was saying 'It's awful' then dc1 couldn't eat the new stuff. Again. Not from not liking it but from thinking it would be awful so convincing himself it couldn't possibly be.

There is so much more to 'not liking a food' than just the taste or the texture of food.

Original poster

Dancergirl · 14/04/2015 15:38

The 12 year old is the one with sensory issues. She would love to eat a more varied diet but she finds it very difficult. We are working on it. Please bear that in mind before judging me. Its not really about age, it depends on the child.

OP posts:

Notso · 14/04/2015 16:15

Yes I agree about it being a lot more than just the taste of texture of the food.
That's why I don't pester my children to try different foods. I ask them if they'd like to try something new and if they say no I leave it. Occasionally I remind them of a food they didn't want to try at first then loved once they did.

I really don't like mushrooms, DH loves them and goes on and on and on at me to try them. I have tried them loads of times, and forced down mushroom soup and bolognese with mushrooms in to be polite but it was really hard to do. I still don't like them. His pestering doesn't make me want to try them, it f anything it makes me feel a bit defiant and want to not like them.
If my children do try something, great. They get plenty of praise even if they don't like the food. If they don't want to that's fine too they'll always be another time.

NurseRoscoe · 14/04/2015 17:07

I personally cannot stand spinach and whilst I like my children to at least try all foods (within reason) I wouldn't make them eat something they dislike, pancakes with cheese would be fine, I do chilli without as many spices for example for my two

Morelikeguidelines · 14/04/2015 17:11

My dd eats almost everything. However with this I would probably offer plain cheese (or cheese and tomato ) as spinach and (to a lesser extent) mushrooms happen to be two things she has tried but doesn't like.

Mostly I do one option or nothing though.

Kleinzeit · 14/04/2015 17:11

My teenage DS would eat it as they all happen to be things he likes! (In fact I'd love your recipe ) But he is a fussy eater and there are a lot of things he wont eat. He has Asperger's and food is one of the many things I am not going to fight over. Generally I simplify what we're eating for him. So if he didn't like spinach and mushrooms I'd do a cheesy pancake for him, with carrot sticks / lettuce on the side because they're easy for me and I know he'll eat them. (He doesn't like many veg so he gets tons of carrot sticks!)

ragged · 14/04/2015 17:44

Why make your life tough? I'd make nice ones for me & willing & plain ones for the fussy bots. My 15yo would devour OP's pancakes, 13yo would be game to try, not the younger ones (but they were all like that at age 1-9yo too).

AwfulBeryl · 14/04/2015 17:56

That sounds lovely, my dts would probably love something like that, especially if the spinach is mixed up with other shit - I don't think they would eat it if it was bunged on a plate.

I tend to just cook a dinner which will come with stuff I know they already like, that way they can eat the food they do like, then have some toast or cereal if they didn't like the main bit and are still hungry.

Doing other panckaes that you know they like sounds like a really good idea, if you have a system that works then stick to it. No point in changing just because other people do things in a slightly different way.

Original poster

Dancergirl · 14/04/2015 20:05

UPDATE:

8 year old dd3 helped me make the pancake batter, she's good in the kitchen. I did the spinach/mushroom/cheese combo baked in oven for me and dh (and delish they were too ), then I did cheese filled ones for the dds and I had some salmon that needed to be eaten today so I threw that in the oven too.

The cheese ones went down fantastically, I did try and persuade them to try the spinach ones but they weren't keen so I didn't push it.

I want to try the spinach/mushroom/cheese combo with cannelloni next.

OP posts:

MurderonthetopCs · 15/04/2015 17:36

I sometimes make do it yourself suppers where the base(pasta, pancakes etc) are offered with fillings in bowls that you can choose from. Would this work for you?

Hulababy · 15/04/2015 18:24

13y DD would eat it; she is really good in that she will eat a lot of stuff and will try everything/anything at least once.

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