Soooooo sick of my fussy eaters - our dinners are so boring

[paulapantsdown]

I am so fed up of trying to produce food every evening for DH and DS 14 and 11. Between them they dislike so many bloody things that we are down to about 4 meals that all four of us will eat, and one of those is bolognase, which the 11 year old has now decided that he doesn't like anymore.

I have tried the "2 choices, take it or leave it" path, but then then people go without, and they need to eat! I refuse to go down the road of cooking different meals for each person. I don't enjoy cooking anymore as everytime I see a recipe I like, there is at least one of them who wouldn't eat it.

DH - can't stand anything buttery or creamy or any kind of cheese. They literally make him gag. Loves meat.
DH1 - not a big meat fan, but also hates cheese.
DH2 - gags at anything even vaguely spicy. Not a vegetable fan. Loves cheese.
Me - I will eat anything.

So what we have every night is lean beef/chicken/salmon with spuds or rice. Meat and two veg sort of dinners. No lasagne, no curries, no creamy home made soups, no mashed potato made properley with butter and cream, no lovely home made pizza.....etc etc. I am so bloody bored!

I have honestly
Please give me some ideas before I do have start making separate dinners so I can at least eat something I really enjoy.

Sounds like you need to try some different cuisines. Traditional British food minus the butter and cheese sounds v boring.

How about getting some easy Chinese or Japanese cookbooks. Food is flavoursome but not spicy. Noodles, fish, dumplings, fab rice dishes etc. We sometimes have a brilliant crispy chilli beef which is v easy, I serve with rice and greens stir fried in garlic and soy sauce which makes them a million times more delicious than plain boiled/steamed.

Middle eastern food is also not particularly spicy but full of incredible flavours and not much dairy. Grilled meats with flatbreads, hummous, salads, samosas, falafel etc.

Or how about:

Jacket potatoes - everyone chooses own filling
Kedgeree
Fajhitas - non spicy
Mild Thai curry
Toad in hole
Homemade Burgers and wedges
Chicken/pork escalopes
Frittata

What you need is a rota. Everyone cooks at least once a week, and everyone eats what the cook makes. After a while they will get less fussy.

Another possibility is to eat family style with bowls of stuff they help themselves to.

Once a week make a meal you really want, tell them to enjoy their oven cooked fish, chips and peas. Before cooking it offer them the option of having what your having.

Ahh that's tricky. Maybe:
Pesto pasta. Maybe with options of grated cheese / chicken breasts on top for those that will eat it.
Jacket potatoes with a mixture of fillings.
Spanish omelette. Serve with salad / garlic bread.

i have softened a bit from my 'this is dinner, if you don't eat that then you go hungry' approach. Now i have some simple things that can be taken out of the freezer and cooked for individuals. So i cook one meal, but if they really can't eat one element of it, they get the frozen option instead. which is usually very boring - so no great incentive to be fussy and eat it - and also no fuss for me.

Possibly a daft idea but with homemade pizza could you do one without cheese? There's a few recipes out there, or do a half and half so one side with cheese

We're very similar.
Look at middle eastern dishes - butternut squash pilaf was a success initially, although now dd has declared she will not eat pasta, rice or bread to add to the cheese refusal. Loves meat.
DS has food allergies & intolerances, refuses meat.
DH will eat anything.

I'm going to try pad Thai soon.

Mexican food is lovely.

Ooooh I feel your pain, I really do. Meal planning causes me so much frustration. In our house it goes like this:

Me - eat anything though some things I don't particularly like but will eat
DH - no mushrooms and hopeless at veg
DC1 - no rice, no mince dishes, picks onions out of everything, no veg except baby corn, very little fruit, school curries are good, mine aren't, doesn't eat things like Mac cheese.
DC2 - loves red meat, not white, only potato product is the odd roastie, veg are the food of the devil but not a terrible eater
DC3 - loves potatoes, hates rice, will eat pasta, struggles to eat any meat except mince, loves Cottage Pies which the others won't eat
DC4 - oh my, where do I start? No pasta or potato products. Only veg are sweetcorn and the odd carrot. Doesn't like bologneses, things like pasta bake (I have to cook them sometimes despite the fact she won't eat pasta!), I can't really think of a single meal she enjoys except tacos. Will happily eat yogurts, custards and sweet stuff though.

It's a complete and utter nightmare. Following a help thread I posted a couple of months back, I have started offering a boring alternative to those who won't eat what I make - beans, hoops, toastie, fish fingers or Marks chicken goujons. It worked well at first but now they're all 'going off' the alternatives. Sometimes I make a meal and refuse alternatives. Like tonight, tried a new curry recipe - very mild and child friendly. Put bowls on table for everyone to help themselves and offered rice, chapati and poppadums. Huh ... DC1 ate the chicken with chapati, DC2 made a chapati wrap with rice and tomato ketchup inside and made a song and dance about eating 1 piece of chicken, DC3 - a chapati, piece of chicken and a few dips of sauce, DC4 - minuscule pieces of chapati 'dipped' in the curry along with 1iece of chicken. DH and I cleared our plates and saved the leftovers for tomorrow. They were all 'starving' afterwards. I truly despair.

Anyway, glad I got that off my chest but you really aren't alone and I'll read the responses to your post with interest.

Just make what ever you want - enough for the family and just freeze left overs! The boys are old enough to cook up something easy. Omelette. Jacket potato. Beans on toast. Their own spaghetti bol. Whatever. They will hardly starve if they don't.

DH cooks one night
Ds14 cooks the next night
Ds11 cooks that next night, with help from you
Next night is jacket potato night with lots of different (bought) toppings
Then you cook
Then it's a takeaway /ready meal / frozen food night
Then back to you

Essentially spreading the load. I get it, I really do, I am mother to the world's fussiest eater, but I genuinely believe as children get older learning how much time and effort goes into actual cooking can knock a lot of the fussiness away.

The might be more willing to experiment if they are doing the cooking