Need meal suggestion for super fussy DD9 who suddenly thinks everything's "boring"

[coffeeiwish]

DD9 has been fussy from birth, she's always wanted the blandest things we can find. Even tomato ketchup she considers "too spicy".

Today she announced all her dinners were "boring". I'm slightly hopeful this mean her taste buds are changing and new food will be tried 🤞

So I'm looking for any meal suggestions for a child who thinks TK is spicy, hates potatoes (except chip shop chips and fries of course) and won't eat anything meaty textured including quorn and fish fingers. Nightmare.

We are pescatarian.

It'll be a miracle if there are any suggestions but TIA if you think of any!

@Caspianberg

I assume she’s willing to try if she’s mentioned being bored?

Try and just change to something close to what she eats already, before going further.

If she likes cheese omelette: scrambled eggs, cheese quiche, Spanish omelette ( potatoe filled omelette)

If she likes fish fingers : mozzarella sticks, different white fish.

Plain pasta : try udon noodles in basic veggie broth.

Thanks this is a great idea, trying similar things first. I think tbh she just thinks she's going to eat cheese omelettes daily forever

@redyellowpurple

My DS7 is similar. He turned vegetarian a year ago and He's super fussy and doesn't eat enough protein and keeps telling me to stop giving him eggs (one protein he will eat at school)

I told him he has to eat protein with every meal to help him grow.

This week he's had:

mushroom stroganoff with spaghetti (blended to a smooth sauce) which he declared delicious. Haven't broached the fact it's mushrooms with him.....
Omelette in a paratha wrap
Black eyed bean coconut curry with rice and pitta
Mild butter chickpea (rather than chicken, with cashew)
Pasta pesto
Fried egg in English muffin
Veggie nuggets and chips

Err if he eats all that he's definitely not similar to DD

Falafel in pita bread
Stuffed peppers/mushrooms stuff with rice/cous cous, whatever veg she will eat, top with cheese and breadcrumb.
Haloumi either plain or maybe cooked with honey and mustard.

Prawn pasta recipe:

Fry 1 chopped red onion, 1 chopped red pepper, 1 chopped courgette and a clove of garlic till soft. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a squirt of tomato puree, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and pepper, oregano and chilli flakes to taste. Once all cooked and tasting good, blend smooth and return to the pan. Add a bag of ready cooked frozen prawns (small ones have a less meaty texture than the big ones) and let the lot simmer until the prawns are done.

While the above is cooking, cook pasta of your choice, and grate some cheese. Once the prawns are done, mix it all together, top with cheese and serve with garlic bread.

Delish! :)

Try pan frying the gnocchi, my picky eater will eat them this way but won't have them in sauce because he doesn't like the texture. And tbh they are a lot nicer this way!

How does she feel about pulses? I can get mine to eat a chilli free bean chilli with sour cream, and a slow cooker green lentil bolognese went down well.

Has she tried tofu?

My son is a picky eater, but he seems to like tofu. I usually cut it into cubes, marinate it with soy sauce (but you can keep it plain). Coat with a bit of oil, then cornflour, and then roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

Sorry me again, I'm just posting as ideas come into my head!

Noodles with Edamame beans? They are quite bland and full of protein.

We also do taco night where 3 of us will eat vegan tacos with black beans, and I leave out vegan chicken nuggets, grated cheese, salad bits for the other 2 to make their own (very unauthentic) tacos.

Hi great tips thank you!

I will defo try noodles and edamame, maybe even a very basic and unflavoured pad Thai

I can't stand tofu but maybe I'll give it a another go to try it out on her!

@JellyTeapot

Try pan frying the gnocchi, my picky eater will eat them this way but won't have them in sauce because he doesn't like the texture. And tbh they are a lot nicer this way!

How does she feel about pulses? I can get mine to eat a chilli free bean chilli with sour cream, and a slow cooker green lentil bolognese went down well.

Great tip thank you

@ruralwanderer

Prawn pasta recipe:

Fry 1 chopped red onion, 1 chopped red pepper, 1 chopped courgette and a clove of garlic till soft. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a squirt of tomato puree, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and pepper, oregano and chilli flakes to taste. Once all cooked and tasting good, blend smooth and return to the pan. Add a bag of ready cooked frozen prawns (small ones have a less meaty texture than the big ones) and let the lot simmer until the prawns are done.

While the above is cooking, cook pasta of your choice, and grate some cheese. Once the prawns are done, mix it all together, top with cheese and serve with garlic bread.

Delish! :)

Ace thank you!

Has she ever been to a Wagamamas? All the kids I know love noodles and there’s such a variety of options - Yaki soba or in a non spicy broth. Itsu sell frozen gyoza at Waitrose which would be good in a broth with noodles. I personally favour the chicken ones but they do a vegetarian one. You can get a mushroom broth base by Clearspring but my friend uses miso ( I’m not a fan myself). M&S sell a ramen broth and that may be Itsu too ( sorry I can’t remember ). Otherwise stir fry noodles with whatever veg she will eat.

As she likes pineapple, this could be worth a try, just without the sausages: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sausage-sweet-potato-traybake it's one of my go-to recipes and is sooo good 🤤