Do you know what?/...I'm so sick of the f*cking veryday battle to get them to eat something half way decent that I feel like saying b*llocks to it all and feeding them shite!

[LadyTophamHatt]

Honestly I'm sick to ficking death of it.

Ds2 is currently getting into bed because of his refuse to eat a single spoon ful of bolognaise that had lumps ins. Tiny lumps of soft courgette and mushroom, all covered in bolognaise sause that he loves.

He's 5 yrs old FFS...he can eat lumps.

He was gagging and chockingand generally making a huge great deal of of it.

I took the plate away, after telling him to forget it a spit it out, threw it on top of the empty plates of Ds1+3 and broke it.

F*cking Great!

LOL georgina, in our house Ds1 is the veg eater and Ds2 is the meat eater.
i often think it would be easier if i just served up one plate between them.

The single bit a carrot was huge break through today....

I ignore any moaning and goaning and whinging simply because with 3 kids there are too many food dislikes to take into account unless I wanted to spend all day cooking.

For example, Dd2 says she hates mushrooms but Dd1's fave food is chicken and mushrooms in suace with rice, so we have this at least once a week. Dd1 clears her plate and at first dd2 would pick the mushrooms out, now though she can't be arsed and just eats it.

It tends to work out that with each meal, at least one child will leave one part of it, and thats fine with me so long as each person gets a turn of clearing their plate a couple of times a week.

Congtas Ladytopham on the carrot.
My DS1 went to a party today and all he ate was

raw carrots

and a cup of water

that should be congrats of course

(I really should go to bed zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

Have recently tried the self service method when feeding nieces and my extremely fussy nephew as well as dd (all primary school age). Put the food in bowls on the table, asking them to help themselves - particularly useful when it is salad as I can't remember who likes/dislikes what. So, all the cherry tomatoes in one small dish, sliced cucumber in another, etc, you get the idea. Also took it one further and gave them bread but invited them to do their own buttering. I served up the pizza directly onto the plates and just acted quite disinterested about the whole thing.

There was very little left on their plates at the end of it - they served as much or as little as they wished to eat. Result!

Oooo what a good idea!

Got one of ds1's friends visiting next week. I normally do something like chicken nuggets and chips just to pander to visiting child. But this kid even left that (because, I think, they were homemade nuggets and chips, not plastic birds eye and oven chips, argh).

So I'm thinking sod it - have two simple meals (NOT CHIPS!) that I'm prepared to cook in the time alloted, give him the choice when he arrives and that's it. Maybe do the "help yourself from the middle" thing to make it easier.

thank you for starting this thread - it's exactly the way I feel. Just read in the paper offer them healthy food and if they are hungry they will eventually eat, well I've got news for those in the real world... if they don't like it for whatever reason it just becomes another conflict that we could all do without. I am a bad mother because I can't get my children to eat a decent amount of healthy food. I give in to them just so they can get to sleep and up for school the next day. I've tried everything and gone round in circles again and again and I feel so bad that my children wont eat properly. It is a source of huge embarrassment because I try and fail but to others it must look as if I don't try but if they only knew. there got some of it off my chest. thanks ladytophamhatt

It is agood idea, isn't geordina....I might try it too.

Will be doing the full roast thing later today, If I'm brave enough to do it will report back later with "help yourself" results....

My boys are pretty good eaters really,the only thing they don't really like is fish,but I can get them to eat fish fingers,as long as it has gravey on it.YUK!!!To get my own back I give them fish oils on a spoonWhich strangely they don't seem to mind.
Heres a tip LTH,they did used to complain about the mince in spag bol,so instead of making it smooth,I made it into meat balls instead,and now they eat it,have you tried that???
One very annoying thing though,is when they change their mind from week to week as to what they do or don't like

ATM I am a SAHM so I am cooking dinner every night (they usually will be with CM where of course they eat the lot!!)

So far I have been trying really hard DD2 made bolognaise - decided exactly what would be in it etc - would she eat it??? Wuld she F**K

She also made cauliflower cheese, which they both loved (have been suggesting that for years and always got rejected!)

I also made a tuna casserole which she gagged and spat out

So this week I am doing (my new meal planning phase!) one meal they each have chosen - Tomato soup One meal they always eat - fish and chips (oven baked blah b;ah blah) . Pasta with meatballs - I expect DD1 will be OK, DD2 will want the pasta with cheese but I will try one meatball Chicken casserole that is in freezer and they ate (sort of) last time and Cailiflower cheese

Each week I am TRYING one new thing, this week it is meatballs!!

We do have problems in our house as I am veggie, DH is not (so already 2 meals) We are also both on a diet. So the Meatball thing is his recipe, served with rattatuie?? for him, pasta and rattatoiue for me and pasta and meatballs for them, sauce optional!! We have to do the optional thing I feel, since as adults we are picking and choosing too.

Okay - can I run this past people. For visiting ultra-picky child I've decided instead I'm going to make pizza and just have a load of toppings they can choose to have on it.

So - ideas for toppings that 5 year olds might not turn noses up at?

Thinking of bowls of: cheese & passata for the base, ham, pineapple, mushrooms, sweetcorn.

What else can I have that's fairly easy to prepare, not too expensive if it gets ignored and have out?

peppers, pepperoni?, hmmm not sure

I always seem to buy the wrong type of pepperoni - and it's always too strong (even for me) - especially compared to if you get a bought pizza - what am I doing wrong?!

Peppers is a good one.

'whispers' I buy mini peperami (gibbon penis) and cut them up

(oh good idea! will add that to the list!!)

Well to add to the carrot achievement of LTH's, ds1 just ate a tiny fragment of broccoli, because I pointed to it and said (in mock serious tone) "DON'T EAT THAT TREE!"

Kids are perverse.

I persuaded dd to try a bit of spag bol sauce, on the grounds that it is her big brother's favourite (and he can do no wrong in her eyes).

She touched it with her tongue, and said "It's delicious, but I'm not eating it!"

Yes, they are perverse

LOL tissy! You've got to admire her cleverness, though

Georgina I do the following toppings on pizza:

peppers
sweetcorn
mushroom
ham
pineapple
onion

or you could have some diced cooked chicken

Tonight I am serving turkey meatloaf, roast potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage and carrots to my lot, plus my SIL and my nearly 2yo nephew. Will report back. I know that DH and DSIL do not like carrots but DS and DD love them.

Tomorrow DS has a friend from school. It will be sausage and mash with cabbage and one other veg. Will ask friend if there is one he likes. Might also roast some peppers due to mistakenly having a glut.

We have rather overdone the potato this weekend but that is just how it has worked out.

OK DS scoffed the lot - DD and DN touched virtually nothing including the jam sponge and custard.

I've given up on giving my two custard - they're weird, they hate it.

And I always assumed the pudding was the TREAT when I was growing up. They're no children of mine

My lot (esp. DH!) usually adore custard. TBH I think DD was put off by her cousin.

So we were up with her 6/7 times in the night and I am sure she was hungry. She ate her breakfast but has been stroppy all morning - a combination of being tired and not liking Mondays when DH goes to work, DS goes to school, her friend goes to nursery and she is stuck with me. But she is asleep now.

Ugh, that doesn't sound a good night.

I'm seriously considering cutting out snacks now. Normally ds2 eats his own body weight in biscuits at various toddler groups we go to in the mornings, and I can't do much about that, but both of them tend to have a snack after school to "keep them going" at around 3.30 (dinner is usually 5.30/6pm depending whether dh is working from home that day or not).

Would it be terribly cruel to cut out the 3.30pm snack bearing in mind they're then just about picking at their dinner? They're 5 and 2.

I would make it fruit or nothing Georgina. That is what I have decided and as you know my two are virtually the same ages as your two and we eat about that time although usually nearer 6.

Okay, I'm going to go for it.

Mind you - we've only got kiwi fruit left until Tuesday evening now (shopping delivery)... and neither of them like it... will be a bit of a shock "Sorry kids, run out of biscuits..."