Feeding Kids.
My kids always eat everything I give them and they love it and they love me and they sing my praises at each meal and beg for more and lick their plates clean and no one complains and everyone speaks nicely and uses their manners and they inform me of my awesomeness constantly and they always use their napkins and sit on their bottoms and clear their plates and sweep the kitchen floor.
Kind of.
Ok, so not at all. But, I cook what I cook and they have to eat it. I have four kids and I don’t have time to worry about what each person loves and does not love. There are some minor exceptions. For example, Daisy Mae hates meat in the ball form.
Why?
We cannot be certain. She is my biggest meat eater out of all the kids, but you show her a meatball and it gives her, and I quote, “A head-ick.”
That would be “daisy-mae” for headache.
And the bigger the meatball, the bigger the head-ick.
So I don’t mind if she leaves out the meatballs.
Little Dude loves peas. He cannot get enough of them. And his diapers are evidence of that, if you know what I am talking about. And if you don’t know what I am talking about . . . lucky you!
But Little Dude despises green beans.
And Sweet Pea can’t stop eating green beans.
So, there you have it. There’s no pleasing my fickle bunch.
But here are some things that are usually pretty big hits with the kids:
Smaller sized fruits:
blueberries, grapes, mandarin oranges, strawberries
Note: I never give them regular oranges. They simply do not know what to do with the pale, white-ish, thin skin that covers oranges. Hence, they spend most of their time spitting out said white stuff and asking me what is all over their “or-nanges.”
Vegetables-
raw carrots, peas, and green beans
Vegetables are hit and miss. Ranch can be your friend.
Fun Fact: I have a nephew who hates potatoes in all forms. Even French Fries. I wish I hated French Fries.
Yum!
For breakfast, we usually do cereal, toast, or pancakes.
For lunch, we do bean and cheese burritos, chicken noodle soup, and sandwiches.
Some fun things we do:
When eating chicken noodle soup, I give them a straw and let them suck up the broth.
I must admit, it has been my finest parenting moment to date.
When making sandwiches, we sometimes use large cookie cutters to cut them into shapes.
My kids are homeschooled. Sandwiches in shapes easily excites them. What can I say?
And, finally, I wanted to share with you a recipe that my kids love. I love to make it when I have leftover Spaghetti Sauce (with meat) and leftover cooked noodles-that makes it super fast to throw together.
(This recipe comes from The Dinner Doctorby Anne Byrne.)
Spaghetti Casserole
Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 pound ground beef (or in my case elk-ha!)
1/2c chopped onion (I omit)
1 clove garlic, peeled and cut into slices
1 can (10.75oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups of your favorite tomato-based pasta sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or sometimes I sub mozzarella)
4 cups cooked spaghetti
2 T shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cook beef in olive oil with onion and garlic. Drain.
3. In a large bowl, combine the beef, soup, pasta sauce, 1/2c cheddar cheese, cooked spaghetti, 1/2c water and stir to mix.
4. Transfer to a 13×9 glass dish and sprinkles all but the remaining 1 T of cheddar and 1T of Parmesan
5. Bake until heated through, about 18-20 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses and serve.
It comes out creamy and cheesy. This picture was even taken the next day after I reheated it.
The kids love it!
And they never spill any of it on the off-white carpet.
So, what about you? What are some of your favorite tips for feeding little ones?
Happy Thursday!
I am joining in with Kelly’s Korner on Show Us Your Life.
Wow! I’m your first commenter! Check out my post a few days ago about crock pot chicken!
And be sure and read up on my hospital camping trip a few days this week!
Oh my word. I barely remember those days! I think my meals consisted of mac and cheese and chicken fingers. Grilled cheese made its way onto the menu quite often too. Sometimes, I made breakfast for dinner. We would all get in our jammies and enjoy pancakes and sausage links by candlelight. Ahhh…such fun times!
One thing I did that my kids somewhat tolerated was make fresh carrot juice. And they drank it. Because I made them. And because they never ate veggies. The kids used to race each other when drinking down their 8oz each day.
THAT was my finest mom moment as far as nutrition goes.
It’s me again.
I thought I might caution you not to do the candle thing.
Your crew does not sound like the most safety-conscious bunch. 😉
You mean you have to feed them something besides fruit snacks?
I could be in trouble.
I will not eat lima beans. Rich will not eat raw tomatoes. Eventually our kids noticed this so I had to let each of them pick a vegetable that they don’t have to eat either and instead they get raw carrots.
I have no tips for feeding little ones. My dog will eat anything. Lol.
Okay so my son has the same problem with oranges…UNLESS I cut them instead of peeling them. The white stuff disappears!
I just got back from the grocery store, which almost killed me and now I have a Head ICK and I am wondering why they don’t have a play area where you can dump your kids while you shop. Also, I am wondering how to get my 1 1/2 year old to listen to me and hold my hand so I can stop carrying him around because he’s freaking heavy and wiggly and okay so he was in the cart the whole time but he kept stepping on the yogurt.
Fred Meyer has a child-care-play area.
It’s worth whatever the price of groceries may be at that store to be able to shop in peace.
cutting bigger fruits like melon into bite sized pieces and sticking a toothpick in it makes it more fun to eat
Mine were never picky eaters and my oldest used to ask for lettuce for a snack which probably explains why she weighs 90 pounds as a full grown adult. I never ask for lettuce as a snack.
Have a nice weekend!
We keep it pretty simple, but here are some favorite lunches in our house:
My kids get excited over “make your own pizza” lunches. Pizza being a flour tortilla, sauce, and mozzarella cheese baked until crispy or cheese is melted. We sometimes use olives and other toppings, too. Not too unhealthy. I think.
When tired of plain ol’ sandwiches, we make what we call “cracker sandwiches,” basically a homemade Lunchable. I use whatever I have in the house, sometimes Wheat Thins or saltines or Ritz, with sliced cheese and shredded deli meat. They seem to enjoy it.
Homemade sweet potato fries are also a big hit with them. And so easy. We drizzle a little honey on them, which is probably the reason they like them so much.
My child is my husband who doesn’t eat “green”. M&M’s don’t count. He also will not eat anything with a foreign sounding name. I am starting to wonder, however, if he would eat salad if I cut the lettuce up into the shapes of the Jimmy Johnson’s Nascar or maybe in the shape of those naked silver ladies you see on mudflaps.
It’s the same in all families. I feel like a short order cook most days. The days everyone likes everything is rare. One thing they all like is lasagna roll ups. It’s the shortcut to making lasagna. I do a cooked spinach meatless version but here’s one with meat.
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/lasagna-roll-ups-2/Detail.aspx
That recipe sounds good, and I think I’ll try it. My sixteen-year-old doesn’t like anything that doesn’t have pizza sauce and/or pepperoni in it. I’m make him eat other things any way. : )
I am picky and so is my 7 yr old son. What a pain we are.
My two year old daughter, however, will eat ANYTHING! I find this a blessing. A big blessing.
I got one of those sandwich makers that squishes the sides down like an uncrustable. Ooooh, it’s a hit!
My hips wish I didn’t like french fries either. I am going to have to try your spaghetti casserole and see if its a winner with my kids… ya never know with those two.
http://www.thecharmingtyrant.blogspot.com/
I have to comment: four children and you have an off white carpet? You are a VERY brave woman!
We have had most success at meals by tricking our daughter. Sweet potato/yams were rechristened as fairy potatoes and she can’t get enough of them (mashed, or oven roast as wedges/inch size cubes drizzled with a little oil).
She didn’t want to eat her peas as a 3 year old? Fine, she laughed herself silly feeding some of them to me, and then we started taking turns spooning them into each other’s mouths. Peas get eaten with giggles.
Cooked carrots get snubbed? “Oh look DD, if I take a bite out of this round slice of carrot I can make a crescent moon. You try!” Bowl of carrots transforms into moons and gets gobbled up.
Yep, it’s playing with food. But even her grandmother approves 🙂
I had to lol at the “head-ick” My middle child came home with a story he had written about him having a head-ick…….. no joke I am gonna find it and take a pic! I could not figure out what he was talking about. I asked him and he said “you know when sissy picks on me she is loud and it gives me a head-ick” Soooooooooo funny!
We have lunch menus around here: child #1 likes to be scheduled
Monday – Ramen, everyone’s favorite, + any leftover meat and carrot sticks
Tuesday – egg salad or tuna sandwiches. 3 out 4 approve
Wednesday – chef salad + greens, boiled eggs, sliced turkey/ham, random veggies + crackers or something “crunchy” (if covered with Ranch, it will be consumed)
Thursday – soup and grilled cheese sandwich (3 out of 4)
or ‘pizza roll-up’ (tortilla with pizzaish toppings ) + fruit
Friday, we pack a lunch and go to town – PB’n’J, grapes/apples, Go-Gurt, cheese sticks
Saturday – nachos
Sunday – corn dogs. I don’t cook on Sunday. So I say. Sadly, many exceptions arise.
Mostly, they have learned to eat what they get. Though they are SLOW eaters.
And your fab-o noodle casserole falls into my favorite cooking category “Leftovers Reclamation Project”! Save time and $$ by giving leftovers a make-over. If I was going to blog, it would be on that topic.
Until then, thanks for sharing with us, Taylor Mali-blah-blah.