5 days of FIL fussy eater...

[Sonilaa]

he will not eat

• anything italian (pasta, pizza)
• anything exotic (indian, mexian, hot spices)
• fish
• roast or fried potatoes

his ideal meal would be a schnitzel with boiled potatoes and gravy...

oh dear. today it will be chicken kiews with potatoes and brokkoli/cheese but beyond that no idea. list above is what we like best...

Fussy eaters really get on my nerves. More often than not they are men who don't cook for themselves or others, don't you notice??!

I would be tempted to serve him whatever you're having but without the offending ingredients - e.g., if you're having an indian, serve him the meat/ vegetables without sauce, plus the rice or bread element. Obviously that wouldn't work for pizza, though, would it?!

You could roast a chicken, and have some of it with boiled new pots and salad one night, then leftovers in tarragon cream sauce with more potatoes and some green beans the second night. You could put the chicken under a puff pastry lid in a pie dish if you wanted to make it more substantial.

Then I'd be tempted to do a variation of ham and eggs: I like mine layered with fried mushrooms, wilted spinach, and parmesan, ie ham, spinach, egg, mushroom, cheese (you could use cheddar if parmesan is too Italian )

That leaves one night - why not give him his favourite meal even if it is schnitzel

Lunch - I'd do a ploughmans with a crunchy coleslaw (I like mine to with carrot, white cabbage and apple, without the mayo), a slab of cheese, some pickle, some nice bread (takes no time to make soda bread and is v impressive to have made your own bread.) That way he can help himself to what he will eat and you don't have to stress.

OH god!! Welcome to my world!! I feel your pain.

How about - meat and veg and gravy for him??
Just do a different meat every day.

For example - if you're having chicken curry/chasseur with veg and rice/spuds - just do plain chicken for him or with some simple no fuss gravy from gravy granules.

Next night do Pork chops/Lamb chops or similar??

Sausage and Mash??

Chicken breast/cold meats and salad??

Or dig out the slow cooker and do plain beef stew, sausage casserole type meals??

Sometimes I just give up and do a buffet - but I dont even get that right, they seem to struggle with the concept that you only need to take what you fancy.

Its when my FIL claims he cannot eat my carrots because I have been "posh" and cut them into batons as opposed to circles I get mightlily pissed off. Oh and one day I may share the controversy and uproar caused by my Red Cabbage and apple, served in a serving dish as a veg option on Xmas day (along with the cranberry sauce turn off thanks to MILs discussion about menstruation)! They still mention it - 2 years on. I think if I had served cow pat as an option it would have been less controversial for them!!

Good luck and happy cooking

thanks for all the suggestions. somehow I will survive. if he does not like what I give him, he can have bread (I bake myself anyway) and cheese/cold meats...

mum72: but red cabbage and apples belong together. especially for christmas !

mum72 you're kidding right? your FIL won't eat carrots because they're cut the wrong way??? Holy mother of God. How do you manage to put up with that -really??!!

My FIL was like this so remember how difficult it was cos we like a variety & "foreign muck" as he would call it.
To be honest, I used to make meals I knew he would like and make the same for all of us, he was still a visitor in our home and for the sake of one week, wouldn't want to make him feel uncomfortable by eating something different (tho would make veg I knew he didn't like to offer alongside those he would just for variety for the rest of us)

Some suggestions:
Shepherds pie

Beef/lamb stew with dumplings - or topped with a pastry crust - or just plain stew

Roast dinner

Fish n chips from chippie to give you a break?

sausages
chicken wrapped in bacon
quiche
fish fingers
jacket spuds with something
beans on toast
omlettes
cauliflower cheese
fish pie

just thinking of things my picky toddler likes to eat

bah, he did not like the brokkoli, he said it was undercooked (it was quite soft but still green)...and he sprinkled at least a teaspoon of salt on his food...
now I have sent him outside with my 3year old so both come back happy and excercised

lmao "foreign muck" my granny used to call it that!!!

Get him to cook!

My FIL won't eat onions, because someone once told him they are common!

You've already had plenty of suggestions, so I'll just add my sympathies abd wish you the very best of luck!

Hehehe
made a lasagne yesterday with chicken and peas and called it pie. he loved it. I even hid garlic in there
...so what can I call a pizza?

I once met an Italian who lived in Wales, therefore.... Pizza = Welsh Rarebit?

Pizza = Cheese & Tomato/Ham/whatever Flan. If you called it 'quiche' it would be classed as foreign, but 'flan' is a fully-fledged British name!

we had meatballs and white sauce yesterday, similar to the meatballs at IKEA. only the veg again was "undercooked"... bratwurst tonight for the football
lovely suggestions everyone!