Dinners driving me mad

[MargeOf2]

Can people please share meals they actually get their toddler to eat?! Finding it impossible to feed my 3 year old. All day every day is her saying she's hungry & me offering making a load of different things that get wasted.

I've tried homemade meals & then the typical turkey dinosaurs & mash beans etc.

The only things that she'll eat (other than fruit & general snacks) are fish fingers, sausages & ham wraps.

What works for your kids?

Spaghetti bolognese
Pasta with tomato sauce and grated cheese
pasta with meatballs in tomato sauce
macaroni cheese
chilli and rice
roast dinner
risotto
sausages and mash
Chicken korma with rice
Chicken tray bake with peppers and onions
jacket potatoes with beans and cheese
chicken salad wraps (with breaded chicken, cucumber, lettuce, sweetcorn, grated carrot, tomatoes, grated cheese)

Honestly, (assuming not ND) at this stage it's worth putting the effort in..it's soul destroying at times but worth it. Ds1 went through a stage like this, but now eats really well.

Always a safe food on the plate. Introduce foods in stages - so when the rest of us had chicken curry, ds1 had rice with plain chicken. Then a couple if bits of chicken from the curry. Then offered for him to try the sauce. Gave him a separate pot and some naan to dip. And so on.

If she likes hamwraps, try make your own wraps - dc have hot chicken (plain or breaded) and selection of salad items, corn, grated cheese etc abd assemble their iwn wrap. Ditto pizza. Try quesadillas.

All day every day is her saying she's hungry & me offering making a load of different things that get wasted

Little kids often say they are hungry when really they are bored. Is she doing enough during the day?

Also, why make lots of meals to waste? Breakfast lunch and dinner prepared the same as what you have, with only the fruitbowl/veggies for snacks if she says she is hungry in between.

You've had a lot of good advice in here already.

Totally agree with giving her a safe food on her plate.

Also, make sure she knows there's no pressure to try new foods. We had a rule that they didn't have to try anything but it had to stay in their plate.

Make sure she is hungry, so do things like take her to the park and swimming.

Also agree with fruit or veg sticks for snacks.

And never, ever, ever offer an alternative if she refuses a meal. No Toddler is going to want to eat a meal if they know that if they hold out, their favourite things to eat will magically appear

Also with the sausages, add variety - chips and beans, mash gravy abd veg, as part of a roast, chopped up in a pasta dish..