could i get a list of your healthy failsafe meals for a fussy eating child please?

[Booyhoo]

ds1 has always been picky. i've gone through periods of making him eat everything on his plate to just cooking what i know he will eat to trying to hide veg in meals and getting pissed off when he doesn't eat it. i've been really lazy recently and gotten into the habit of just giving both dcs easy crappy meals that i know wont be rejected but i need to stop it now and do right by the dcs so i need a list of meals for us all to eat that will be healthy but wont be pushed away by ds1.

I try and balance meals through the week so half the time it is something they like and the other days its a 'that's not my favourite' day. Even then I always cook carrots as I know they will eat those and have some plain meat.

Favourites - pizza, bolegnese, fish fingers, sausages, chicken with pesto in puff pastry, pasta, chicken and bacon cooked with lemon, ds2 likes a curry and a chilli

They all like garlic and I often find they like a stronger taste. Ds3 loves sweet chilly dipping sauce!

I would be adventurous - maybe once a week - you never now what they will like until they try it. Also worth getting them involved in planning and cooking. My DS love Jamie Oliver and ds1 in particular loves looking through cookery books.

What things does he actually like and dislike, in terms of veg/flavours/foodstuffs?

DSS has got increasingly fussy about vegetables, but he will always eat sweetcorn, raw tomatoes and radishes, so I give him a lot of all of these even if it doesn't always "go" with the rest of the dinner!

Can also hide lots of vegetables in pasta sauces if I whizz them in the food-processor or chop really finely. I make a big deal about how I'm adding chopped up hot-dog sausages to the pasta sauce just for him, and then he won't notice anything else in it.

Thinking about it I do a lot of pasta stuff for DSS (lasagne, spag-bol), but he also loves blanquet de veau (not sure of English equivalent - chicken fricassee?), homemade burgers, salmon (especially in the form of sashimi), and tuna/jacket potato. Also couscous type things with chopped up chicken, chopped up tomatoes, sweetcorn and I can usually sneak some peppers in there too.

Mine love their food, but getting them to eat new things does take time and effort. I aim to try something new or even slightly different, about once a fortnight. Last week I made steamed rice and veggies (new) to go with their favourite chicken kebabs. They both moaned, ate the kebabs, had a go at a bit of the rice, but after I've made it several times are likely to start eating a bit more , quite possibly one of them will be asking for it by the end of the summer.

Favourites include shepards pie, meatballs with tomato sauce, roast potatoes and veggies, beef or lamb stew, chicken curry, chicken risotto, chicken loaf, fish pie, homemade fish fingers or fish cakes, lasagne, roast meals as long as roast potatoes are involved, kebabs of all types, macaroni cheese, Spanish omelette, savoury pancakes. Dd also likes anything involving pastry and loves prawns. DS wants bacon sandwiches and sausages, which we don't have that often.

I have to admit I've largely given up hiding veggies. Mine can out a hidden veggie at 20 paces. Though I do put loads of veggies in tomato sauce, but I tell them I've done this, so hidden it isn't. DS basically refuses anything green and so far I've had no luck getting him to eat green veggies.

Oh yes, I forgot that DS loves savoury pancakes (with a bit of cheese and ham) and has recently professed a love of risotto . And he'll accept peas and mushrooms in the risotto too, which is good.

thank you both for replying.

he's very picky. he wont eat vegetables (except if whizzed up in a sauce and he doesn't know it's there) or fruit.

he is a really bland eater. think things like fish fingers, chips, pizza, pasta (he's only recently started eating it with sauce!) he eats the pastry from a sausage roll and leaves the sausage but he'll eat sausages normally like when they come with chips, but he wont eat beans. he'll pick the chicken out of a pasta bake and leave it on the side of the plate, the same with bolognese.

he would happily live on porridge if i let him and can often be caught trying to slide some of his dinner onto his brother's plate.

Why don't you introduce sweetcorn, carrots and peas. Three vegetables that are often more palatable to kids than the bigger, scarier greener ones! I'm sure he'll reject them at first, but could be worth persisting.

Homemade pizza? Then you'd know he was getting fresh tomatoes from the sauce.

If he likes pastry, try very plain quiches and pies? Mini versions maybe?

One of my children went through a very picky stage. Not helped with him being dairy-intolerant.
One thing that works is a chicken casserole. I add in carrots and cauliflower as both are quite bland and potatoes.

Would they try cauliflower cheese? Grill it to get it slightly browned at the end. I always think that makes it tastier!

Do you all eat together? I know it isn't always possible due to work etc., but I do think it helps children to try things if everyone else around the table is eating them.

Agree with MyLife re: Sitting together for the family meal.
Definitely helps "normalise" different foods if everyone tries.
Re: vegetables, try raw foods and dips? Crunchy always works better.
Mine have a raw carrot or cucumber or sweet pepper stick "tower" most nights. 4 pieces each To be eaten without the tower colapsing! Dips usually greek yogurt, guacamole, hummus or miso/lemon paste.
Alternatives are corn on the cob, endamame pods, baby tomatoes and roast potato of course.

yep we eat together every evening.

thank you all for suggestions this is great. i do think he'll reject them all at first but i'll persevere.

Definitely persevere - my dsil didn't and her DD became increasingly fussy and now will only eat fish fingers chips and beans so that is what she had Christmas dinner. My ds2 is my fussiest but will taste food and has surprising likes including broad beans and kidney beans.