Recipes/ideas to get my 9 year old interested in food again

[Flopsymopsyandjoe]

DS age 9 has become really fussy with food. He weaned brilliantly as a toddler and we had a few years where he'd pretty much eat anything, but he's gradually lost interest and we're now at the stage where he's not really eating what I'd consider to be proper meals. He enjoys food prep and going to the shops for ingredients, but isn't keen on trying new foods and he'd happily live on cheese, bread, pasta, hummus etc. (fortunately he will eat fruit & veg but only on their own, i.e. not in a sauce or in a recipe, so at the moment he won't touch a stir fry or veg in a curry etc.).

I'd like to spend half term trying out a few recipes with him to see if we can find something he enjoys. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm at a bit of a loss and I've fallen into the trap of just feeding him food I know he'll eat.

I think it's quite normal for them to go through phases like this, although it's often when they're a bit younger. Then they come out of it because their friends are eating new foods or, in our case, because he liked the look of the more interesting food we were eating! DD, who is genuinely fussy and always has been, is starting to be interested in the smells of other foods... I am hoping this is a sign things willl improve over the next few years.

In terms of ideas, here are things my not fussy child especially likes:

Pasta with tomato based sauces. His favourite is aubergine and chorizo. He will eat other pasta sauces, but that's his favourite.
Chicken or pork schnitzel, preferably with wedges
Anything with a cheese sauce!
Salmon with stir fried veggies. I make a fairly basic "sauce" for the veggies with just soya sauce and lime juice.
Pizza. He'll happily eat it with veggies on it, but salami or pepperoni add additional value every time.
"Chinese" chicken - the sort of fried pieces of chicken in a slightly spicey or sweet/sour sauce that you can get at places like Kokoro and that we make a better version of at home. This is his "it's my birthday you have to cook what i like" meal.
He's not wild about mince in spag bol, but in almost any other form is good. So we have cottage pie or I do a pork mince and veggie stir fry or meatballs or tacos etc.
Steak with veg and potatoes and chips or, to keep costs down, I often do "posh" sandwiches eg ciabatta with sliced steak, fried mushrooms and some salad or slaw on top.
Baked chicken pieces (also fried chicken Ala KFC but I don't make that!)
Paella (chicken and chorizo but I'm confident he would love a prawn one - but DH is intolerant and I haven't got DS down to a Spanish restaurant yet).
Sushi (takeaway, obviously)
Burgers - I top ours with cheese, mushrooms and fried onions
He will eat veggie burgers too - we do chargrilled slices of aubergin and mushroom with a bit of goats cheese and honey.
Fajitas (peppers, chicken/halloumi/steak, tomato, seasoning all topped with cheese, sourcream, avo etc)
Jacket potatoes - not his favourite but will eat them, Our standard is with tuna or with beans
Chicken salad with garlic bread

Agree with @SpaceOP , this is perfectly normal. When we went through a similar phase I went with it and cooked a lot of pasta for DS and carried on cooking normal family meals for the rest of us. He soon got bored of pasta on repeat with salad and veg sticks on the side and started eating normally again.

You could print off a blank black and white map of the world, and he can colour in a country when he’s eaten a dish or a food from that country.
Or you could get these passport stamps style stickers and create a pretend passport. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stickers-Children-Waterproof-Scrapbook-Skateboard/dp/B0C6DD4XX2/ref=sr114sspa?crid=1I4OME8LNI2EJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DXXG9kPDcFHfGaRsvz52uwODDckvEVTC1J-HmUUBk55wyXCjnmYYuJJkh-h9ULjKMBQ2lxGDhfN9dBJVJLqP1jRLDKVExlSsqfbVywj1CV1zsJSQNGt34wh5UXq6ta1-XqOUQ3bcSCxxWLLgnBSSKEd8HaFPko-VqjatMCaeIwUGDa8Q9858xmvkcxcO1oiUqp797fu0EIyAaCOHSJdZcIeCy4cUiXfrTEUPziWgf9ZyiIMkEDkKCThCGzFsyoVWl7k-uxj2VYg3O1RaD3Hs4fmm5k0FfTr7VykAooZZcU.C1ApOXgUjTFnb7GjnQe90uZaKSIHhvTwaZQdvxfAXkw&dibtag=se&keywords=Around+the+world+stickers&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729680877&sprefix=around+the+world+stickers%2Caps%2C118&sr=8-4-spons&sppcsd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1&smid=A34TMBMR1BT66Z

@Forgottenmyphone That is a truly brilliant idea! He loves a challenge so that will go down a treat.

@SpaceOP Thank you so much for the great ideas!

If he struggles with sauces how about making fishcakes, veggie or bean burgers or falafel. Does he have a favourite restaurant? There's lots of copy cat recipes online.