To keep making this dinner

[Soitis83]

So, once a week I'll make a pasta and the sauce I make by myself. I roast loads of veg and blitz it in the blender with coconut milk. My two year old loves it, I love it and my husband loves it. Problem is, my 4 year old (who used to devour the whole plate) has now decided he hates it and refuses to eat it the last two times I've made it. Do I stop making it as it makes dinner time so stressful, or do I carry on making it as everyone else enjoys it and it's healthy? Making two separate dinners is just not an option as I also have a 3 month old and cooking dinner is hard enough as it is!

Me too!

As a parent of older children - the real lesson I wish I had known is that you should NEVER stop serving food when children complain!

I read an amazing fact - research has shown children have to be offered a new food over 30 times before they feel safe to try it. If you give up on something because they say no 5 times - thats a mistake.

Keep it on the table, perhaps let him have less of it or a bit of cheese, dont make a big deal of it.

50 years ago parents just fed kids and there was no choice - it's us modern parents that keep pandering to them.

I remember reading the French attitude is kids need exposure to a food 20-30x to decide if they really like it or not. So, I just keep offering. Lately if I say, this is mummy's, don't touch, or this is for baby, toddler walks right up and eats the food.
Score 1 for mummy. 👍

btw I absolutely don't mean you ever force or battle with a child over food - that doesn't work and ruins mealtimes.

You just have a calm atmosphere where there is no fuss - you serve it they can eat it or not.

@Mumtobabyhavoc snap!

It’s totally normal and possible to go off something you have too much of. If I ate coconut pasta sauce every week I’d definitely reach saturation point. I’m team daughter on this one sorry. Change your weekly menu and reintroduce it another time.

@waterrat cross post! 🧐

I mentioned it because I do strength training and am trying to build a little muscle.

Also others may feel differently but if I eat more protein I get fuller easier and am less likely to overeat the rubbish. Its also helped balancing my hormones.. so that's my reason since you asked!

OP Others have given good advice re 4 year old and their (hopefully) passing fancies. Hope you find a solution.

However, as a lover of Italian food I'd be horrified to find coconut milk in it. Some of us can smell it three streets away, and - this is the real horror - the fat in it seems to stick to the roof of the mouth and (to me, at least) threaten instant nausea. I'd much rather go hungry than eat it.

Each to their own,of course. But just perhaps your 4 year old genuinely does not like the stuff, either....

It's different for children, though.

I would agree if it wasn't for the fact that he used to finish his plate and looked forward to it when we were chopping the veg. But others have said perhaps he's just gone off it as we do have it often (once a week). Which is possibly the case!

I do this for my fussy kids but another one is homemade 'pizzas'

Blend the veggie with passata and let them make the pizzas themselves. Spread it over a wrap and add there own toppings. My children love this and a way of sneaking veggie in xx

Oh Uklady23 !! I make homemade pizza and have never thought of this!! You're a genius. This is on my menu, thank you.

I get that it may be different for children but making a meal for the family, I'd have a protein source in. My personal choice. My partner is also a meat fiend..

But different strokes for different folks. some people do so well on a vegan diet for example but it messed up my hormones and caused lots of issues for me.

Anyway, I'm now veering massively off topic from the OP's point!

I completely understand why you wouldn't want to read all 100+ comments, but somewhere between the how dare you put coconut with pasta and the don't let your 4 yo run your life comments, there's a recipe I added which states it has chicken in it. But, I'm super interested in how the vegan diet messed up your hormones and caused issues?

Sorry OP that wasn't directed at you at all. Just more explaining my own choices. Not that you should be adding protein into your meals, who am I to tell anyone that (also I read the bit where you mentioned the chicken anyway 😊)

Probably likely to some heath issues I have may have factored into it.. but I personally feel better when I have a high protein diet but I do tend to limit dairy (helps my PMS).

Interesting! I only ask as someone I know changed to the vegan diet and claimed it really helped with their endometriosis so recently been an idea I've toyed with

i make similar but with tinned tomatoes and creme fraiche,

Definitely never go down the path of more than 1 dinner! Just serve plain pasta instead, and maybe some veg sticks on the side

The coconut milk is probably the problem- I can't imagine what blending veg with coconut milk and then pasta would be like? It sounds weird.

Why not just make traditional pasta sauce with passata and add some roasted veg? That way he'll also be used to how most people will serve him tomato based pasta sauces when he goes to school, restaurants, friends for tea etc.

Here’s my ”pizza for fussy people” recipe
Homemade yoghurt flatbreads ( 250g flour, 250g Greek yoghurt, sprinkling of sea salt flakes. Roll into a dough , cut into portions and fry lightly in olive oil.
Then make a tomato based sauce or open a tin of pizza sauce etc.
Spread over the cooked flatbread. Cover with cheese ( i mix cheddar and mozzarella)
cut up a selection of veg and let people choose their toppings
5 min in hot oven.

I have endometriosis too! As well as PCOS and thyroid. nice triple whammy!

(Sorry I can't quote against a quote so hard to make it clear who in replying to I realise)

I think everyone responds so differently, no harm in trying it to see. What has worked for me is cutting down on the processed carbs especially sugars. Just focusing on real food basically and a balance of protein fat and complex carbs. With lots of veg too. Bit of everything in balance, and aiming for 80% good stuff with 20% to fit in treats and eating out.

This! Don’t over complicate it

Sounds delicious to me. I also support the idea of plain pasta and sauce on the side. This works for my kids.

For people not approving of coconut milk in pasta - try it, you may be surprised. :)

Meant to say DH likes a “dirty” version where the flatbreads are fried in bacon fat..