Suddenly picky eaters! What to feed them?!

seeker

Wed, Jan 06 2016, 2:37 am

OK all your theories of how to raise kids to eat a healthy variety of foods - forget it. I have fed my kids a wholesome mix of real-people food ever since they got old enough to grab it and eat it without choking. I confess to having been a bit proud when my 2 and 4 year old would get excited over steamed broccoli. I kid you not, it's a treat around here. They hardly ate white flour or non-whole grains until they started school. I serve minimum 2 vegetable dishes at every supper and I try to do the same for lunch when they're home. A protein, 2 vegetables, and a whole grain. Per meal. Except breakfast. Then from the behavior end, I strongly and successfully encourage everyone to taste at least some of everything, I don't take custom orders from people who reject the prepared menu offerings and dessert when it is offered happens after everyone has eaten at least some protein and vegetable. By the books, I did everything right, and for 5 years it worked beautifully.

Now they won't eat. It wasn't coordinated, they each came up with different fussinesses at different times. They are serious about it - they will still taste one of everything but then they say they don't like it. And they don't eat it. No matter how hungry they get (sometimes they capitulate eventually but very sadly. Everyone suffers either way.) and no matter how boring the alternative is.

I am out of ideas. If I would serve (whole wheat) pasta or pizza or dry cereal every night they would eat that, but I don't want to go that way. They get enough of that in school anyway, I don't know if her reporting is 100% accurate but my 3-year-old reports having some form or another of pasta almost every day for lunch in school, while my 5-year-old eats either pasta or bread - she used to love school lunch but now with very few exceptions (I think they serve waffles with syrup occasionally...) says she didn't eat anything but bread. So I want them to have something different at home.

I am also on a tight budget lately so it has to stay parve/dairy as much as possible. I usually (used to, anyway) make chicken and fish for Shabbos, serve leftovers of each once during the week, make something fleishig another once a week most but not all weeks, and that leaves 3 nights to serve something else - one night I'll go easy and do pasta or pizza (homemade on whole wheat pita), and the others I aim for eggs or something.

fish - Now one at most (3yo) eats gefilte fish, and she sometimes rejects that too. They did not go for the salmon patties I slaved over. They used to like tuna salad but now neither one will eat more than a bite or two.
Eggs - 5yo almost always won't eat eggs. Might eat egg whites if I boil them and carefully remove all traces of yolk. The 3yo also often rejects eggs but scrambled can be sneaked in if I distract her and feed it to her myself. I thought I was over that, she's 3! Have tried various forms - egg salad (they sometimes eat it and sometimes don't. They eat it when it is served in school but not at home. I have tried many ways to make it and serve it, no dif) scrambled, sunny side, frittatas, with veggie faces on them...
Chicken - 5 will eat chicken on Shabbos and pick at it during the week but 3 will only maybe eat a little on Shabbos if at all and won't eat it the second time (I make sure to keep it juicy, never use microwave, and often add something like a new sauce.) They both are not fond of chicken cutlets any way I prepare them (breaded went slightly better than all other forms but even that one doesn't eat more than the required taste and the other only if there is dessert after.)
Beef - They will usually but not always eat something made of ground beef with lots of sauce (meatballs, sloppy joes, etc) but sometimes they reject that too and I can't afford to serve beef very often (if I stock up on sale I suppose I can make it once a week. That leaves 6 days.)
Beans - They both hate hummus and falafel and pretty much anything I have ever tried to make with beans (bean dip, bean based veggie burgers, beans-n-rice taco style...)
Nuts - They are both allergic to nuts.
Yogurt - They will both usually eat yogurt but usually have that for a snack if they haven't had it for breakfast, and I would like them to have a little more variety than just yogurt every day and some days twice.
Cheese - both like but they are always getting that in school and I feel like we can do better nutritionally. Also high ratio of fat to protein.

Vegetables aren't going that much better than proteins but I haven't reached the end of my rope on that yet, it's the main dishes that have me stumped. Tomorrow we're technically due for a possible ground beef but I don't think I'll have the energy to prepare it, I have a ton of stuff to do and as you may have noticed I am up late picking the collective brains of imamother.