Family style dinners for fussy 3yo

[SayDoWhatNow]

DS is nearly 3 and eats a very limited range of "proper" meals.

He does eat a wide variety of food items, but prefers them all separate. Eg will eat peas/corn/cucumber/tomato all on their own, but won't eat any of it if it is mixed into pasta.

He also doesn't really like pasta, rice or couscous whether it's served totally plain, with butter, or with a sauce and won't eat more than a mouthful at home.

I'm struggling for ideas for easy food that we can all eat as a family where DS can have a modified version. We always eat together as a family in the evening, but quite often DH and I have an adult meal and DS gets an assortment of things that he will eat put on the table to choose from.

So far, I have:

• scrambled eggs or omelette with salad veg and toast
• tortilla wrap with assorted (adult and child friendly) fillings - DS will have corn or hummus or cream cheese or grated cheddar
• baked potato with beans/cheese/tuna and salad/side veggies
• cheese and tomato pizza and veggies (although DS refused the pizza the last 2 times we had this)
• Sausages/baked chicken/salmon with veggies and boiled potatoes (although DS usually won't eat the meat unless it's really tender)

What else can I do? Any ideas gratefully appreciated!

Fish tacos https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/fish-finger-tacos.html
Toad in the hole
Tuna burgers https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/tuna-burgers-with-cucumber-salsa
Chicken skewers or lamb koftas with yogurt sauce, flatbread and salad
Fitters and eggs https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sweetcorn-courgette-fritters

sheperds pie
pitta pockets
spaghetti and meatballs
lasagne

doesnt matter if his are deconstructed, eg his shepards pie would be mince, mash, veg

anything with sauce, put it separate in an eggcup for dipping. Let him dip pasta in a little sauce

make marks with edible paint he’ll soon lick his fingers and then you may be able to get him to eat it
edible paints:
yogurt w/blended fruit (dif fruit is a dif colour)
hummus
guacamole
pasta sauce

@Forgottenmyphone Fish tacos and chicken skewers are a great idea - will definitely try these. Ridiculously, DS eats the fish out of the middle of fish fingers and leaves the bread, so will probably try a similar taco recipe but with grilled fish.

These are also good because DS likes bread type carbs, so there's a reasonable chance he'll eat some tortilla/taco/pitta alongside the veg/protein component.

The tuna burgers and sweetcorn fritters look delicious but possibly more for DH and me than DS - although he could have plain tuna and a piece of burger bun!

@stample Pitta pockets is a good idea - very versatile and lots of possibilities for fillings.

I've tried plain pasta with sauce on the side a few times, but he doesn't really eat either with us unfortunately - although will eat pasta if he sees another child eating it (at nursery or seeing friends).

Fajitas (just keep his chicken separate when you add veggies) and then raw peppers for little one, avocado, cheese, wraps etc on the side?

For ideas:

Crispy fried potato frittata type things always seem to go down well with children, and are easy to insert other veg into.

Mini pies, quiche, tarts etc. that they can pick up and eat, are another nice way to expand with vegetables that they wouldn't eat in isolation.

Deep frying veg (although not healthy!) can also be a good way to get children to open their mind. My son never liked mushrooms, until he had some crispy fried ones.. liked them, and was open to eating them in different forms

Japanese style okonomiyaki is also a great easy dish to get children to like cabbage.

Sweat and sour meet with pineapple was another favorite with my son and his friends, especially those who didn't like meat.

(That is all a lot of fried stuff, but frying is the predominant cooking technique in the part of the world where I live, so we do it a lot!)

That being said, I wouldn't change from the meals that you and your partner already like to eat + cook too much. Unless it is a special occasion when it can be his turn to pick, or you feel like being especially nice that night.

Cook what you and your husband like to eat, and if it requires a bit of de-constructing for him. no problem. Kids are naturally somewhat fussy eaters, and unless they have medical issues surrounding eating disorders (which this doesn't seem to be), then they will adjust to what their parents are eating given enough time and patience.

It just takes a lot of time and patience. If your son doesn't like sauces, the worst thing you can do is find meals without sauces to cook for him. just keep cooking your lovely sauce-filled meals, and eating them around him. Give him reasonable adjustments (sauce on the side, less spicey, less salty, in a sperate bowl, only mixed with half etc.) but eventually he will find out that he likes it. Kids can take 10-20 times of trying something before 'magically' they like it. You never get to that part though, if you start to avoid meals/ingredients. And instead, these things just stay ingrained as things that he knows he doesn't like.

I would just stick with what works. Keep it really low key-but occasionally remark to each other how delicious something is. In my experience, the least said the more eaten!

Could you get DS a bento box or something like a thali?

So if you have something like a roast dinner he can have some meat, some potato and some veg in separate parts?

Would he eat toad in the hole do you think?

Thanks @CurlewKate @herbygarden @NJLX2021 @sashh

I think quiche is a possibility - he eats omelette so might go for the filling if not the pastry.

Fajitas is a common rotation here already although peppers he seems to really dislike - spontaneously moans about it to me when they are served at nursery and I think he gives his pieces to his friends!

Toad in the hole he might eat some sausage separate from the batter, but neither DH nor I like it that much, so we might skip that.

I definitely don't want him to be eating totally separate meals to us, or for me to exclude all the foods we like from our dinner rotation. And I am seeing him gradually expanding what he will try when he can take a piece from a serving plate (tomatoes, edamame, different cheeses, cold meats). But some meals are just a non-starter for him if not deconstructed in some way (risotto, pasta with sauce, chilli) so then he does end up with a fully separate plate. So I'm looking for some more things where we can meet in the middle and he at least eats some of the same stuff.

Weirdly, it's particularly an issue with carbohydrates. He likes a big range of bread items but won't really eat pasta or rice or couscous which are the base for a lot of our cooking. I actually think doing BLW didn't help with this because those are foods that he didn't want to eat with his hands but struggled to manage with a spoon, so he didn't get so familiar with them before the toddler hesitation kicked in.

Weirdly, it's particularly an issue with carbohydrates. He likes a big range of bread items but won't really eat pasta or rice or couscous which are the base for a lot of our cooking.

That sounds like it might be a texture thing, pasta and rice can seem a little slimy. Could you try replacing his rice with a rice cake? No good for a risotto I know.

Also can you get him involved with the cooking? I don't mean putting things in the oven but with the prep.

You mentioned a serving plate, why not have one on the table with most meals, like a sort of side salad but with the addition of other things.

@sashh it could be a sensory thing and I think because he wants them plain they are a bit bland too. But apparently he eats them at nursery, so it's more of a sensory preference than a big issue I think.

We're going to try fish tacos with salad and some chicken skewers this week and go from there I think!

Can you stir an egg into risotto and make patties? Also works with veges. Leftover anything whizzed up and fried up can work.

DD loved a steak at that age - a proper little carnivore, she is. Steamed carrots and beans for her and that was dinner. No need for carbs at every meal.

A chicken breast diced with a little mayo over and dredge in flour, breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes or rice bubbles. Cook on the bbq or in the oven.