Meal Ideas - Santa Rosa, CA

My son loves his veggies, but can't stand fruit. I am all over smoothies. That is the only way I can sneak fruit in.

Hi J.,
Maybe you could try combining vegetables with mashed potatoes. That always worked when we were little. There are two casseroles my mother made often becuase we liked them so much.
The first one, just brown some ground beef and layer it with corn and mashed potatoes, put a few pads of butter on top and bake until golden brown, my mom sprinkled the top with paprika too.
The other is the same but layering cooked sausage links, steamed cabbage and mashed potatoes.
We loved them both. And they are pretty easy.

I have a ton of ideas, but I suggest going to online or to a bookstore and looking up receipes yourself. Because really only you know what your family will eat. Italian food is a good way to "hide" vegie's from your son. Put them in with the marinara sauce, he will never know.

lightly steam fresh green beans, then put in oven with mozzerella cheese and mushrooms

pillsbury crescent rolls with hot dogs and cheese
roll hot dog with cheddar cheese in crescent roll and bake as instructed on the can

try squash, like butternut, or banana, or spaghetti

Edamame soybean- my friend's son is very picky, and loves these

Hi J.....this is what I usually make my family in a week period. This is just an example of stuff I make that is perfect for my kids and us.

Monday: pork loins, mac and cheese, stuffing, spinach
Tuesday: chicken (baked is a lot healthier than fried), mash potatoes, corn bread, corn
Wednesday: Manwich, potatoe chips (we liked the baked lays brand...BBQ is great and so are the cheetos), green beans
Thursday: Chili (not the hot stuff), cornbread, and fried potatoes
Friday: Speghetti, mashed potatoes, corn, garlic bread (sometimes we eat salad instead of the mashed potatoes)
Saturday: steaks (you can get cheap ones or the expensive ones...whatever your budget allows for), stuffing, green beans, mac and cheese
Sunday: Tacos w/ cheese, lettuce, beans, meat...the whole works. we like to get some sour cream too.

There are so many different combinations that you can do. If you have a specific thing in mind, write me and we can go into details. I also have TONS of desert recipes that are fun, delicious, fast, and kid-friendly.
If this isn't enough, go to the McCormick web site. They have a link for quick meal ideas. A lot of them are really good. Good luck! And maybe we can switch off ideas. Best Wishes, T.

A good website that I visit often for meal ideas is familyfun.com They have lots of recipes, and most of them are catered toward children, but are tasty enough for all to enjoy. Hope this helps!

If you want to sneak vegetables into your sons food, shred it finely, cook it, and mix it in with things he likes, for example, you can add carrots to spagetti sauce, or macaroni and cheese, and he will never know they are there, add brocolli or zuchini to pizza sauce. Just a way to sneak some nutrients in there, and maybe he will acquire a taste for the veggies without even realizing it.

Some times if my toddlers wont' eat their lunch, I let them eat nothing, and save their lunch for later. When they get hungry enough, they will usually eat it, and find that they actually like it.

A few things I've found that are quick and easy are:

Kirkland Salmon portions at Costco.
You can microwave them for 4-5 minutes with slices of lemon on top, lemon peper and cayenne pepper for spice.
Instant potatoes and a veggie.

Also...

Birds Eye Viola has a great frozen food section bag called Voila. The Garlic Chicken is great. Stirfry with water until it's all defrosted and it's ready. About 9 mins. It's got pasta, chicken and veggies in it.

Tacos...fry up corn torillas in hot oil for a few seconds, fold to cool. Walm up refried beans. You can make ground beef if you want with taco seasonings but we usually don't. Top with favorite toppings.

Pasta with the four Cheese Classico sauce, fresh grated parm on top. Also toast bread, spread with garlic spread and butter, top with grated parm and broil in the oven for a crisp garlic bread. You can do the same with other kinds of breads too minus the toaster part of course.

I'm not much of a cook myself so I'm stealing all your reply's in exchange for a few of mine.

Mel.

When I was little my parents made up funny names like green beans were turtle necks, ketchup was monkey blood. Now I think i dont know how we ate anything cause it sounds gross but it may work.
With my kids we say if you take a bite of broccoli you will jump so high. then they take a bite and get down and jump and we act amazed at how high they jumped. Or for my daughter we tell her how long her hair will grow. Just some ideas.

First of all, don't worry too much about yout child. Mine is the same way, as was my son then all of a he just started trying and liking things. He is 5 now and insists on a salad with his dinner almost everynight. As for my daughter I give her fruit and veggie vitamins I got at Costco. To answer your wuestion about meals, it would be easier to answer if you told us what types of things you like... I do lots of chicken,either on the stove on in the oven, not fried. I usually will cook it with some olive oil, water, oregano, garlic, onion and garlic salt. The kids actually like it. My kids LOVE Noodle Roni, and biscuits (I try to get wheat, Rice is always good. I also do a salsa chicken, this one I do in the oven I bake it with Pace Picante (mild) and when it is almost done I cover it with Monterey Jack cheese, I serve it with Spanish rice. I love to cook and have so many quick and easy things I like.. I hate to take up so much space, but if you want to email me at ____@____.com and give me an idea of what types of meats and such you and your family like I can give you more ideas. Alot of the dishes I make I just made up, tried and if they liked them did them again! One thing I am good at is being creative inthe kitchen!!!

Hi J.,
Have your child help in the preparation of your meals. Also incorparate your son in the grocery shopping. A farmers market is always nice. My children love going to pick out diffrent vegtables and fruit and then go home to prepare the meals. It takes some more effort but is great one on one time also. Remember have fun and everything else will fall in place. Good luck.

Whenever my kids are being extra picky at dinner time it becomes make your own taco night. Whether I made hamburger meat or chicken I just throw tortilla's and some toppings on the table. The kids make a taco or burrito and we get to eat our grown up food. Also try Family Fun Magazine. (check their website) they have all kid friendly meals and even a section for adult friendly kids meals.

Here's a receipe my kids love and it's something common but just spiced up alittle. You will need beef top ramen, ground beef, spaghetti sauce and what other spices you use in your spaghetti. so you are going to brown the ground beef and put 1/2 of the top ramen spices into the ground beef. At same time make your topramen like normal. when ground beef is finished put your spaghetti sauce and other spices toether and heat thru. when all is done serve just like you would spaghetti. the taste is differnt but, really good. I have a couple other's that are quick and easy if you would like to know just let me know. H.

There are a few things that my boys (15 months) love:
From Costco:
Kirkland frozen meatballs. You can warm them up 1 or 10 at a time and either eat them as is or with marinara sauce.
Dinosaur nuggets.
Macaroni and cheese (Kraft) with cut-up hot dog and peas in it.
From Trader Joes (LOVE their products):
Yobaby yogurt (my mom just told me she mixes it with chocolate pudding - eek!)
Bean and Rice Burritos - in the frozen section, 98% fat free and very tasty.
Any TJ's pizza - much healthier than "regular" pizza and cheaper too!
Cottage cheese.
Deli turkey.
Turkey bacon.
Scrambled eggs with or without chopped up turkey bacon in it.
Cereal - frosted mini wheats soaked in milk is a favorite...
String cheese.
Fun shapes of pasta with butter or marinara sauce.

Also, sometimes it's all about the bowl, spoon, fork, etc. Take your son to buy his own new bowl/plate/fork and he may just get excited to eat because of that.

Otherwise, all toddlers try to push your buttons and frustrate you. Don't worry about the veggies and know that your child is normal!

I am a sahm, who also babysits 4 days a week, and works part-time at this place called Dream Dinners. We have become dedicated to this place. I'm not sure where you live, but I work at the one in Alameda. It's a place where you go to "prepare" your meals (ex. recipe is there, you put all your ingredients in a bag. Take the bags home and freeze. Instructions are included. Thaw and cook when you're ready) Now...my husband does almost all the cooking...and we're eating healthy...and the food is DELICIOUS! There are several places like Dream Dinners. I do hear Dream Dinners is one of the best, although I do not know this from personal experience. But I have a 2 1/2 year old, and there has not been a meal he hasn't liked yet. You take 1-2 hours out of your time once a month to go put these meals together, then the meals take 15min-2hrs to cook...but all the preparation has already been done, so you don't have a lot of clean-up or preparation. You can check them out at www.dreamdinners.com, or like I said, depending on where you live, there are similar places. Maybe google "meal preparation" or something similar. But it's definitely worth it! That's almost all we eat any more. My husband does almost all the cooking now, because he enjoys the easiness of it (and he works 70-80 hours per week) You'll become a believer just like us. I guarantee that! ;)

I crumble up goldfish on pureed greanbeens, broccoli or peas. my son sees the goldfish and gets excited and then will eat the greens.

this is my mother in laws recipe for a quick dinner she calls them chimie-changas (there not buritos). My husband and two year old love this,and there both picky eaters. I normally serve it with a salad (which I can never get my son to eat).
you'll need for 4-5 people:
2 packages of cresent roll dough in can
1 tub sour cream
1 package uncooked ground turkey
1 small can diced olives
1 small can of smoked green chillies
2-3 cups of gratted medium chedder cheese

brown turkey add spices you like (I like garlic), add the green chillies, and the olives to the ground turkey. Open the cresent rolls up, un-roll them, spread on some sour cream in the center of the cresent roll, add your turkey mix on top of the sour cream, put a little cheese on top of the turkey, pull up the corner and close the turkey mix into a pouch put a little more cheese on top. Put them all on cookie sheet and bake at the temp and time on the back of the cresent roll can. Shouldnt take more than a half hour to make this w/ a salad (we serve it with a little sour cream on the side).
my kids love this if I leave these on the counter after dinner they disapear.

Hi, J. -

I know this recipe may seem a bit involved, but if your son likes soup, this one is not spicy and it is full of flavor, and it might be fun for him to add his own toppings (perhaps with some assistance). I've made this soup about 4 or 5 times since January now and though it is only a TAD involved in the preparation, once it's made, you have a nice surplus of leftovers...

http://food.sunset.com/sunset/recipefinder.dyn?action=dis...

And tortilla chips work just fine. Just add them RIGHT before serving. The homemade chips as suggested in the recipe stay crispier a lot longer. But heck - the soup is so good, you barely need the chips.

You and your husband are sure to enjoy this recipe if your son doesn't...

I'm a first-time mom of a 3 month old, so I don't have any other advice for getting a toddler to eat different things...sorry!

Good luck!!

S.

Hi J.. If he's hungry he'll eat. I wouldn't worry unless the doc does. A couple ideas though...Make his food look fun...faces, shapes, cookie cutters, mellon balls. Let him help prepare it in any way...washing veggies, taking things out of the fridge, putting on plates/in bowls...etc. Peanut butter on apples and celery with raisens on top in a design may help. Also, meal ideas, I use allrecipies.com and I make a menu for a month. The menu helps me so much. I rarly have to think about it and I make it with stuff I know I'll have. I hope your son doesn't make it too hard for you. My son does it and it's frustrating but they just are learning a little more about becoming an individual. Oh, try sneaking veggies. I let my son have a can of v8/day (low sodium) and he loves it because he gets to drink out of a can. Good luck. I'm sure he'll be just fine.

Hi J.,

I, too have the the same problem, except my picky eater is 17! I'm so tired of making the same ol' stuff. There are a lot of good sites that suggest menu ideas, maybe you could check that out. Or maybe try to get him hooked on V8 juice? Use reverse psych -- "oh no, you can't have this, it's only for big people..." you can always give it a try!

Good luck

V.