To ask for meal ideas for our veggie family when DD doesn't like most things?

[PerverseConverse]

We are all veggie. DCs are 11, 9, and 3. DD1 eats pretty much anything I make, DS is 3 and getting much better but generally doesn't do dinner. He eats great at breakfast and lunch but by dinner he's just not very interested. Some days great, others he won't eat at all. DD2 who is 9 is the fussiest. She ate well until she was about 6 then became very fussy. She doesn't like things where the components are combined. She likes cheese but not melted unless it's cheese on toast yet won't touch pizza. Doesn't like pasta bake, or shepherds pie, or stir fry, or curry, and her vegetable choices are carrots and cauliflower. She loves soup and will eat vegetables blended together in this unless it's my fail safe lentil soup that's chunky with carrots and celery. I make soup once a week. She'd live off sausages and mash, chips, beans, Philadelphia and any kind of white bread product or cereal if I let her. Her favourite is a toast dinner without the meat but it's such a faff to do that I don't do it often. She has got a bit better lately as I've been a lot firmer with her and cut snacks to just fruit but it drives me mad trying to please everyone for meals. Any ideas?

Not meant to be a goady post. Would DD9 want to eat meat?

No she wouldn't. She finds the thought of eating animals abhorrent.

My kids hate falafel but that LOVE sweet potato falafel which I called creatively presented as ‘orange balls’. They’re inbetween your two youngest age wise. I appreciate it’s hard to con the older child! Mine still think salmon is pink chicken 😬

With the fussy eaters I know - a lot of it seems to be food preferences rather than actual dislike. Many children just want their favourites and need to learn they can't have them all the time.

We tend to do a buffet whereby everyone helps themselves. I come down quite hard on comments like 'Yuck, I don't like that' and other remarks on the food where it's attention seeking or disruptive behaviour. We have bread and butter and jacket potatoes/plain pasta with cheese, beans or tuna.

I work with children and feed them on an occasional basis.

Not to be rude but have you tried her with meat?I'm assuming you raised her veggie rather than her choice. reason being is a lot if your meals have quorn in which I find 🤢 and I know a lot of people do. I wonder if she would eat it if it was real meat?obviously up to you if you won't have meat in your house etc.

Cross posted never mind!

I do cauliflower steaks (sliced cauliflower in oil with seasoning - foil covered in tray, high heat in oven 5 mins, remove foil then 10 mins more).

I also do cauliflower rice and have tried cauli-based pizza (that wasn't great but will try again sometime)

I also don't really like quorn so try and avoid by using lentils and chickpeas and things. Is it that?
I'm sure you've thought of all of this though. It's tough when they're constantly refusing dinner.

Not to be rude but have you tried her with meat?

Why would she?

"chicken" noodle soup with sweetcorn.
wraps with spinach, cucumber, grated carrots and stuffing balls instead of falafal ( if she eats those with the roast).
Sweetcorn fritters
Cook a cauldron of soup, freeze in single portions, microwave her a portion every night until she's begging to try something different?

Roasted chickpeas with various spices are fab for a snack! Especially if you just think of protein intake over a full day/week rather than at every meal like I used to.

We're not veggie but my dd age 11 is and is as fussy as yours. I also have an older dd with asc who will only eat beige food, often only specific brand. So I feel your pain OP! They will eat anything then if hungry is not true unfortunately with either of them! I've given up trying to do the same dinners for the whole family as it was also restricting what we are. I batch cook and freeze meals that the dds like to whip out on a day when me, dh and ds have something they won't eat. Saves any meal time stress.

I never thought I'd be a parent who cooks 3 different meals a night, but there you go.

Sorry for typos but you get my drift

Can you adapt some of your usual dishes to take a bit out before mixing stuff together?

Will she eat plain noodles, plain tofu if you're doing noodles? DP usually fries tofu first for stirfry, so you could do that and set aside a bit for her, so she has plain noodles, plain tofu, whatever veg you were going to put in the stir fry (prob raw).

Or do the pie with usual accompaniments but substitute a veg burger that goes into oven with pie?

I sympathise as DS also will not eat any "blended" foods. It is really restrictive just doing dry food. And I love curry!

Other ideas:

naan or pitta bread with curry, tzatziki (aka raita!), broccoli/cauli & carrots. Tzatziki can be her protein, and a side for everyone else.

Veg sausage pasta - cook pasta, sausages, veg, set aside a couple of sausages for her & plain pasta & veg, then chop the remaining sausages, add with rest of pasta & veg to a tomato sauce.

What about if you don't eat your dinner then you don't eat? She'll learn to like it or be hungry. Don't cater to her fussy eating.

Some good ideas there, thanks.

How do I roast and spice chick peas? They sound nice!

Also, at 9 - can you start a "rota" for her and big sister so that they each start helping to prep one meal a week (separately rather than together), then start making it themselves eventually? A 9 year old should be capable of washing, peeling & chopping veg, grating cheese, frying sausages. If she makes it, she picks it.

It might be more work for you initially but will hopefully pay off as they get a bit more independent in the kitchen and can do more. Plus will help her develop some much needed understanding of how much work it is!

Will she eat hard boiled eggs? Would at least be easy to do and add to veg the others are having - you could do two meals' worth at a time?

An egg scrambled in the microwave takes literally a minute - could also be a good combination without much extra work.

Something like Greek salad for the rest of you, given to her as separate little piles on the plate?

Will she eat plain egg noodles, plain rice?

I hated combined foods as a kid, i don't think it is uncommon. If you can bear to feed her just a dry slice of toast, a lump of cheese and a handful of carrot sticks - ?

Cut cauliflower into wedges/nuggets
Mix together mayonnaise, (tomato puree optional) and smoked paprika or other spice mix, salt and pepper. Add cauliflower to the spiced mayo until well coated. Tip breadcrumbs (Panko) onto the wedges. Roast in the oven at 200 C for 20-25 minutes.

Mash chickpeas with a fork.Add grated carrots, curry powder, flour (optional finely chopped pistachios/cashews) and mango chutney. Make into burger shaped patty and fry. It's quite wet but holds together well.
I know you said she doesn't like curry but the mango chutney gives it a sweetness which balances the spice.

She needs to learn to eat foods she 'doesn't like'.

To make your roasts less time consuming, can you batch prep and freeze. I discovered a few christmases ago that you can prep roast potatoes ahead of time and open freeze... they still taste ‘normal’. Par-boil, coat lightly in flour, open freeze on tray then add to freezer bag. When you want a roast, put oil in tin and heat, tip frozen roasties in and 40 mins (ish) later you have roast potatoes which taste reasonable. I think it was the BBC website that enlightened me....

@CoughLaughFart

Because not everyone forces their beliefs onto their children?some people let their children make their own minds up and thirdly it was just a question sweetie.

Because not everyone forces their beliefs onto their children?some people let their children make their own minds up and thirdly it was just a question sweetie.

And my response was also just a question, ‘sweetie’. Also, wouldn’t suddenly serving up meat to a lifelong vegetarian because you’re not sure what else to cook for her be forcing your beliefs on someone?

How about making veggie burgers with a mixture of stuffing kidney beans and any mashed veg she will eat? DD is very fussy and did a veggie month last year and really liked these because she was a big fan of stuffing

Explore Indian !! Massive variety for vegetarian food