Terrible food rut with 3 year old

[belindarose]

Have a newborn too, so everything needs to be simple at the moment (for me). I do have chance to do some batch cooking for the freezer, so am looking for inspiration.

DD currently very fussy, reluctant to try new things. We regularly do baking together and she will sometimes try foods she is helping to prepare.

Her/ my current repertoire (embarrassingly limited and awful):

Pasta bolognese (sauce with hidden veg, frozen in batches)
Pasta with cheese sauce - now rejecting the peas and ham that used to be in it
Pizza (or muffins with topping) only cheese and tom purée though, sometimes tuna
Fish fingers
Tuna (tinned)
Baked beans
Pasta shapes in tomato sauce
Sweetcorn
Lots of fruit
Bread, rice, crackers, cereal, porridge
Yoghurt, milk
Eggs - but not anything like omelette with 'bits' in

She does tend to eat her tea on her own (I'm with her, just not eating my evening meal)

Can anyone share ideas for freezer meals I can make. She did like stew, so could try that again.

I feel terrible. She used to eat so well and so muh variety!

just cook what you eat normally and try and eat together. obviously not too spicy.

TBH I'd say it looks fine. DOn't worry about it for now and carry on in your rut till things get easier with you.

When you're weaning the baby use that as an opportunity to introduce new stuff.

Otherwise, so long as she's happy and healthy then don't worry about it. They all seem to go through this sort of phase so try to see it as just that and not fret unduly - they do tend to come out the other side unscathed!

That's not really working for us at the moment with the new baby and DH's working hours, but thanks.

How about non-spicy chilli con carne or curry, fish pie or fish in cheese sauce, sausage casserole, pork and prune casserole or lamb and apricot casserole (both quite sweet and you can stash veg in!), shepherd's pie, tuna pasta bake, homemade chicken/turkey nuggets. My DS would live on pasta with pesto and peas.

Homemade burgers (make & freeze raw)
Roast chicken with rice/potatoes & veg
Baked potatoes with anything (bolognase, cheese, tuna, beans, hummous etc)
Homemade wedges & chicken in breadcrumbs (make the crumbs in advance & freeze in big bag you can even make & freeze breaded chicken or fish strips)
Salmon? (omga 3s)

Sounds fairly typical for this age. I'd serve everything separately & avoid unfamiliar sauces . They do grow out of it. Some friends have got kids eating more by putting veg in the shape of a face on a plate I can't be arsed

Do you eat with her? Sometimes that helps.

Or if she likes sweetcorn, a sweetcorn bake? I have a just turned 4 year old and a 5 month old so you have my sympathies - at this stage making sure they have both been fed with something by the end of the day is my aim!

Useful book

Sounds very similar to my ds, its frustrating but I think there's a variety of different nutrients there and if there's one thing you can't make a child do, its eat. Have you tried her with noodles, ds thinks they're quite exciting!
My DS would live on pasta with pesto and peas - mine too!

Thanks for the great ideas. I feel more inspired already. Will make turkey burgers tomorrow - she used to love them - and a batch of roast veg/ tomato sauce to use with pasta, pizza etc.

The book looks good - cheaper on kindle too.

Also, a dietician once suggested to me to not worry about which meal is which. if she eats well at breakfast and/or dislikes 'breakfast foods' then serve up leftover dinner instead . Nowt wrong with pasta for breakfast . Equally, if they never eat dinner, then that could be porridge and fruit, with a more dinnery meal at another time of day.

That menu is exactly what my 23 month old DD eats, except she currently won't eat pasta. I have nearly 5 month old twins.

I know what you mean about food rut...

I like some of the ideas here but I have no time atm so will console myself that some people don't think its too bad

Totally unhelpful post, sorry. But i feel better :-)