Feels Like I'm Serving The Same Thing Every Single Week

[Josiegirl]

I need some new ideas the kids will eat. Tried fish last week. I ate it. I'm afraid to try anything new. These kids won't eat tuna, grilled cheese, pb&j, mac n cheese, spaghetti, anything fish, anything combined, anything with red sauce. I made pot roast the week before. I ate it. You know how much pot roast and fish costs??
They'll eat chicken, cooked 1 of 3 ways, ham, hamburgers, plain noodles, veggies and fruits. Then there's a dish I make that's kind of like Shepherd's Pie, only with brown rice; they love that(the one thing they will eat that is mixed together). Oh and they love pizza and pork chops.
I ask 2 dcgs what they eat at home and their reply is always chocolate waffles. I feed them tacos and they eat the cheese and shells.
I need some kid friendly ideas that are simple and basic.
Seriously though, except for the changing of fruits/veggies on my menus, I swear every week looks the same.

[storybookending]

I’m lucky because my current littles eat basically whatever I put in front of them. We tired corn on the cob for the first time and they loved it! Even my youngest 16 month old ate it straight off the cob.

I’m shocked your kids won’t eat spaghetti or grilled cheese. Those are everyone’s absolute favs here. It’s so cute watching them all dip their sandwiches in the tomato soup.. oh yes I’ve decided on dinner for me tonight.. I love it as well.

If they are into cheese and shells you could do quesadillas. I make them on the griddle to make a lot at the same time.

Since they claim to like waffles will they eat pancakes or French toast? I don’t serve breakfast here so at least one day a week we have breakfast for lunch, pancakes, waffles, eggs, they also all love cottage cheese or even bowls of Cheerios. Scrambled eggs are always devoured here.

If they like pizza have you tried making mini pizzas? I just use whole wheat English Muffins and use regular pizza sauce and cheese. You can buy pepperonis or any kind of veggie to put on them as well. Sometimes I’ll have the kiddos help make them in the mornings and they love that.

But their absolute fav.. friggin corn dogs.. seriously I don’t like serving them and won’t eat them myself but they think it’s so cool eating off of sticks.. kids hahah

[Blackcat31]

I need some new ideas the kids will eat. Tried fish last week. I ate it. I'm afraid to try anything new. These kids won't eat tuna, grilled cheese, pb&j, mac n cheese, spaghetti, anything fish, anything combined, anything with red sauce. I made pot roast the week before. I ate it. You know how much pot roast and fish costs??
They'll eat chicken, cooked 1 of 3 ways, ham, hamburgers, plain noodles, veggies and fruits. Then there's a dish I make that's kind of like Shepherd's Pie, only with brown rice; they love that(the one thing they will eat that is mixed together). Oh and they love pizza and pork chops.
I ask 2 dcgs what they eat at home and their reply is always chocolate waffles. I feed them tacos and they eat the cheese and shells.
I need some kid friendly ideas that are simple and basic.
Seriously though, except for the changing of fruits/veggies on my menus, I swear every week looks the same.

What do they like?

If you list a few common likes maybe we can help build a menu from a few things they do like.

We’ve been experimenting lately with different variations of mac and cheese.
Varying the cheese sauce and trying different noodle shapes as that does seem to make a difference.
Also adding things like bacon or broccoli..

[mamamanda]

I need some new ideas the kids will eat. Tried fish last week. I ate it. I'm afraid to try anything new. These kids won't eat tuna, grilled cheese, pb&j, mac n cheese, spaghetti, anything fish, anything combined, anything with red sauce. I made pot roast the week before. I ate it. You know how much pot roast and fish costs??
They'll eat chicken, cooked 1 of 3 ways, ham, hamburgers, plain noodles, veggies and fruits. Then there's a dish I make that's kind of like Shepherd's Pie, only with brown rice; they love that(the one thing they will eat that is mixed together). Oh and they love pizza and pork chops.
I ask 2 dcgs what they eat at home and their reply is always chocolate waffles. I feed them tacos and they eat the cheese and shells.
I need some kid friendly ideas that are simple and basic.
Seriously though, except for the changing of fruits/veggies on my menus, I swear every week looks the same.

I feel your pain! Literally. :hug: My own 2 boys have spd which affects their eating greatly and some of my dcks have some health challenges of their own so we are fairly limited here as well. They are all a lot like your crew, no spaghetti, mac n cheese, grilled cheese...normal kid food.

You commented they won't eat pb&j. Are they anti-peanut butter, or just don't like traditional pb&j? My one son pretty much eats nuts, fruit, and whole grain cereal with an occasional yogurt or cheese stick mixed in. Because of this I find a way to incorporate peanut butter into our meals every day or two. Some variations we try...pb&j cut ups (cut into small squares to make it finger food instead of a sandwich), pb & honey cut outs (sandwiches cut into shapes using cookie cutters), pb & honey roll up (roll the bread so it looks like a wrap rather than a sandwich), mix pb :& honey to use as a dip with apples most commonly, but also any fruit/veggie you want to try. I have a couple that won't do jelly, but love the peanut butter with honey instead.

Can you mix up the way you serve the meals? Like, since they like rice in shepherd's pie, can you serve chicken with brown rice?

If you make plain noodles with them, could you serve different sauces in a cup to dip on the side? I find that a lot of my kiddos like to dip things, even if they wouldn't eat the sauce directly on the food. Plus it gives you some variation so you're not eating plain noodles all the time.

I've been reading a lot about increasing tolerance of new foods in kids who struggle to eat. A few key points I've found...
1. keep serving new foods even if they don't "like" them. When you serve a meal you know they love, then add one new component. Don't force them to try anything, but encourage them to let it "live on their plate." It will at least help them be comfortable with the idea of unfamiliar foods in their immediate area.

2. Make the meal fun and pressure free. Focus more on the conversation and time together than you do on the food.

3. Build off of the foods they already like. For example, if they like raisins, you might consider introducing craisins next. If they like taco shells with cheese, maybe try adding in new kinds of cheese.

I don't have any real answers, but these are the strategies I'm trying. Hope some of them might work for your group too!

[Josiegirl]

They'll eat chicken: HM nuggets, barbecued, and just stir-fried in Italian dressing. Hamburgers and the Shepherd's Pie dish I spoke of. Pork chops. Hot dogs, which I serve 1x a month. Ham. Pizza. I'll make wraps or sandwiches from deli meats, usually turkey breast.
The grains are always pasta, brown rice, rolls, WG breads. Then I'll fill the meal in with veg/fruits, which thankfully they do pretty well with.

I'm lucky to get 2 weeks of menu variety out of the deal. Maybe I'm just sick of cooking.

It feels the same way for breakfasts and snacks too. Same old thing.
They will eat peanut butter on apples or crackers.

[Josiegirl]

Mamamanda, letting the food live on the plate(love that) actually worked with broccoli and 2 of my dcgs. They're now eating it because I'd serve it without bringing their attention to it and they'd see the 18 mo eat it all up.
And they love chicken with brown rice.

[rosieteddy]

I got to the point where we had 5 favorite meals.They knew what day it was for each meal.They liked what they liked.I would sometimes -once a month add to the lunch with something new served on the side.If it was liked I would add it monthly.I was driving myself crazy trying to change things up.They kind of liked knowing what lunch was.Make it easy for you healthy for them and all should be well.

[Cat Herder]

Taco salads in tortilla bowl, turkey sloppy joes, pizza/ham-n-cheese/chilli cupcakes (press dough in cupcake pan, fill with toppings), chicken/cheese/salsa quesadillas (cut in triangles), ham/chicken & cheese crescent wraps, twice baked bacon loaded potatos, meatball calzones, broccoli/chicken & mozzarella cheese ziti, all things tortilla wraps (ex. refried beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream) .

Lately my group has liked cooled, clean lunches like diced ham/chicken cubes, sliced boiled eggs, baby bells, sliced fresh fruit, raw veggies with dips and multigrain crackers. They especially like that we can pack them for the playground now that it is warm out. Eating clean seems to be preferred when it is hot out.

[Josiegirl]

Thank you for all the yummy ideas!! I appreciate the help.

And rosieteddy, thanks! I don't feel so bad serving what I serve now; just felt I should have more variety. But you're right, it's mostly healthy, they like it so they'll eat it.

[mamamanda]

Taco salads in tortilla bowl, turkey sloppy joes, pizza/ham-n-cheese/chilli cupcakes (press dough in cupcake pan, fill with toppings), chicken/cheese/salsa quesadillas (cut in triangles), ham/chicken & cheese crescent wraps, twice baked bacon loaded potatos, meatball calzones, broccoli/chicken & mozzarella cheese ziti, all things tortilla wraps (ex. refried beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream) .

Lately my group has liked cooled, clean lunches like diced ham/chicken cubes, sliced boiled eggs, baby bells, sliced fresh fruit, raw veggies with dips and multigrain crackers. They especially like that we can pack them for the playground now that it is warm out. Eating clean seems to be preferred when it is hot out.

Catherder, I seriously love your meal ideas. I still have your thread with the weekly menus posted bookmarked on my phone and I reference it regularly when meal planning for both my daycare and my family. Thanks for sharing!!

[Josiegirl]

Catherder, I seriously love your meal ideas. I still have your thread with the weekly menus posted bookmarked on my phone and I reference it regularly when meal planning for both my daycare and my family. Thanks for sharing!!

Can you post the link to that thread? Please?

[Josiegirl]

Can you post the link to that thread? Please?

Never mind, I just found it and saved it for further investigation. Thank you for that!!

[Cat Herder]

Catherder, I seriously love your meal ideas. I still have your thread with the weekly menus posted bookmarked on my phone and I reference it regularly when meal planning for both my daycare and my family. Thanks for sharing!!

You are very welcome! It was fun.

[mommyneedsadayoff]

I need some new ideas the kids will eat. Tried fish last week. I ate it. I'm afraid to try anything new. These kids won't eat tuna, grilled cheese, pb&j, mac n cheese, spaghetti, anything fish, anything combined, anything with red sauce. I made pot roast the week before. I ate it. You know how much pot roast and fish costs??
They'll eat chicken, cooked 1 of 3 ways, ham, hamburgers, plain noodles, veggies and fruits. Then there's a dish I make that's kind of like Shepherd's Pie, only with brown rice; they love that(the one thing they will eat that is mixed together). Oh and they love pizza and pork chops.
I ask 2 dcgs what they eat at home and their reply is always chocolate waffles. I feed them tacos and they eat the cheese and shells.
I need some kid friendly ideas that are simple and basic.
Seriously though, except for the changing of fruits/veggies on my menus, I swear every week looks the same.

I used to think I had to change it up a lot, and then I just embraced the same meals every single week. The kids like those meals, they eat those meals, and they are creatures of habit, so it makes them happy since they know what to expect. They look forward to meal times. And it makes my shopping easier, and my budgeting easier. Every now and again I throw in something different if I felt like spicing it up and I rotate the veggies/fruits based on sales, but the same meals every week is not necessarily a bad thing.

Just wanted to add, since they like tacos with cheese, one of the big hits around here is a deconstructed taco. We just use those little Scoops tortillas chips and they get to make their own little mini tacos and put the meat, veggie, and cheese on their own, which they love.