Quick meals for fussy preschooler?

[Misty9]

Dd (3) is very fussy and I'm finding it hard to come up with quick meals after nursery which aren't just bread based.

She won't eat any vegetables except tinned carrots. She won't eat noodles or anything in sauce. She likes anything salty and would live off olives, cheese and salami if I let her! She's had scrambled egg on toast twice this week but also generally has a sandwich thin for lunch and I'm concerned about her salt intake.

She likes pulses but won't eat baked beans. She likes fish but won't eat tuna mayo. She basically wants me to cook gourmet proper food meals every night!

Banana pancakes? I can mush those ingredients together in about 30seconds and it contains flour, milk, an egg and whole banana. An easy lunch or tea.

Ham and cheese potato cakes.

Mine like a sweet potato and feta fritter, might appeal to her salty side.

She turns her nose up at things mushed together like frittata and patty cake type things. She loves bananas! But I'm wanting to get proper food into her.

It's frustrating as her 5yo brother will literally eat most anything! He snacks on carrots and celery and will try everything. Strange child.

How about houmous (you could make your own if you want to control salt) - you could spread it on salt free rice cakes if you didn't want to give her a pitta

Burgers (again home-made if you prefer) - with wedges if she will eat them

If she likes fish could you give her fishcakes?

Would she eat risotto?

She does eat risotto. She used to like hummus but no more. Breadcrumbed things are hit and miss. She's a pain!

Maybe I'll just have to resort to cooking her separate food - something I swore I wouldn't do. Otherwise we'll all have to eat plain shite. For example, the other night we all tucked in to beef stir fry while she just nibbled a bit of the beef.

Hopeful bump

Will she eat pasta, rice, cous cous?

Pasta yes. Rice sometimes and couscous/quinoa/polenta (I'm gf) no.

She's got mac and cheese for lunch today (made at 10pm last night!) so I can feed her sandwiches without guilt for tea. She likes meat but that's not often quick to make.

Could you batch cook some things for her at the weekend and put them in the fridge/freezer so that you don't have to cook from scratch every night?

Also do you mind me asking what you've attempted to try and make her eat a wider range of foods? E.g. have you tried giving her what her brother - or the rest of the family are having - and not offering her a substitute if she refuses?

Batch cooking is a good idea for all of us - I just never quite get around to it and if I cook double, we eat more!

She gets the same as the rest of us and I'm quite strict about not offering substitutions. She'll often say she's not hungry anyway. This evening we all had rainbow trout, brown rice, sweet corn, carrots (tinned) and spinach. She ate a bit of fish and lots of carrots. Refused to have the spinach on her plate and left the rice. Sigh. She's just had a big growth spurt so is possibly now going through a lag phase in her eating. We've always been believers of children's bodies knowing what they need, but it's hard when she eats so little of what we offer.

Maybe give it a few days/a week or so and see how things are

To be honest at her age I would have refused spinach and probably also the brown rice....

Have you tried to get her a bit more engaged in food - e.g. taking her shopping and letting her pick some bits from the fruit and veg aisles that she would like to try - getting her involved in cooking etc - it might help

If she likes pulses would she go for home-made baked beans? (which you could rename something else).

I make them with a clove of garlic, tin of chopped tomatoes, tin of cannelini beans, tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp brown sugar and then either 1/2 tsp maple syrup or some bacon bits (fry them up in pan first if using). Just put the lot in a saucepan and let it simmer away till it looks baked beany.- maybe 15 mins.

Lovely with buttered toast or an egg. I also add some finely chopped spinach to the pot as a stealth vegetable!

I have a similar issue with my 2yo except she won't eat bread! She literally will only eat meat and rice/potatoes/pasta, no veggies, nothing in a sauce, my 5yo eats everything and I'm a vegetarian so I feel like every night I make 2 separate meals and it's driving me mad!

She ate two peas!!! I disguised the first one in a forkful of cheese and pasta sauce (she ate pasta sauce!) But when she realised she's eaten one, she then had another!!

We're going to start a sticker chart about 'eating the rainbow' and tonight was her 'green'. Failing that, I'll make hidden veg pasta sauce

Vegetable rice tonight!! I'm amazed. She is eating a bit more generally these last couple days.

blondie it's a fair point - I was called peas and carrots girl by my family as they were the only veg I'd eat. I love it all now though.

I know it's not the cheapest (!) but my kids love steak- and that is v quick to cook. I buy Bavette which is a lot cheaper. Flash fry.

Also would she (I know it's time consuming!) eat stuff she has made? E.g. Mine love 'muffin' pizzas- cut plain English muffins in half, toast lightly then let her top it with tomato purée and other toppings (if she likes salami you could let her have that on the understanding she also puts say, a couple of pieces of sweetcorn and peppers on?