My kids like store food better than mine

BadTichelDay

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 3:10 pm

My kids are like that as well. Dh and I cook nice meals that we like. They turn their noses up. Homemade pizza? Forget it. Frozen one from the supermarket - yum! Even microwave pizza Can't Believe It

Fresh chicken or fish - meh. Boiled cheap frozen supermarket sausages? Yeah! Homemade falafel, phooey. Bought one from the budke next to the playground - must have!
And sweets, sweets, sweets, whenever they can get their hands on them.
I wonder if that changes at some point later in life or if they just stay junk food addicts?
We really tried to offer them healthy homemade food.

amother

Clear

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 3:15 pm

Amarante wrote:

Why not cook "clone" recipes that duplicate popular restaurant dishes or take out style. There are loads of take out recipes for Chinese food.

And frankly cholent, soup and gefilte fish would not be the choice for most kids.

Why not? It is for my kids & for myself & siblings growing up. Creating clone takeout food will only get your kids more addicted to junk food. They should know that while poppers & Chinese chazerai is yummy, it is a treat & not real food.

I do have very sensory kids & some picky eaters, I find that persistence- always placing food on their plate without comment if they are or aren't eating- ultimately pays off.

amother

Amethyst

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 6:43 pm

BadTichelDay wrote:

My kids are like that as well. Dh and I cook nice meals that we like. They turn their noses up. Homemade pizza? Forget it. Frozen one from the supermarket - yum! Even microwave pizza Can't Believe It

What's a budke? New word for me!

amother

DarkPurple

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 7:47 pm

amother Clear wrote:

Most kids that I know don’t like gefilte fish, some like soup and cholent but not all.

Amarante

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 7:53 pm

amother Clear wrote:

Actually it wouldn't since you can make the stuff much more healthily than the cheap junk food versions. Less oil - not as sweet.

Have you ever looked at clone recipes?

There is a huge range between gefilte fish and cheap junk food.

amother

Blonde

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 8:14 pm

BrisketBoss wrote:

Huh? I thought bland, boring foods are child friendly.

No offense to anybody who would defend their own special recipe to the death. And I like all those things, though some people's are better than others' of course.

My kids love chicken soup but wouldn’t touch gefilte fish and even cholent is iffy for them

NotInNJMommy

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 8:25 pm

Someone not Jewish who I know told me decades ago that she made home made macaroni and cheese with four cheeses, super yummy, took forever…. Kids just complained it wasn’t Kraft….

So lesson learned: just make what they will eat lol

amother

Clear

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 8:29 pm

amother Blonde wrote:

My kids love chicken soup but wouldn’t touch gefilte fish and even cholent is iffy for them

Lol I didn't mean literally those foods, but wholesome home cooking. A variety of soups, different non fried no sugar chicken & fish dishes etc

amother

Buttercup

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 8:35 pm

Do you let your kids cook in the kitchen and menu plan with you? I include my kids in my menus all the time and it is a world of a difference. Personally my kids do well with soups so I load them up with protein and veggies.

amother

Narcissus

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 8:35 pm

And my kids are the opposite. They like my food and really don't like store bought except for pizza. My in-laws want to take us to a hotel for pesach and quite frankly I would rather stay home and cook than deal with unhappy kids for 8 days.

amother

Papaya

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 9:08 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

I also like store bought food better than mine.

But I know mine is healthier.

In a way, I'm the same. I love homemade pizza but there's something delicious and satisfying about pizza shop pizza. I love homemade food but the Chinese food from the restaurant is special and delicious in a different way.

I don't think there's anything wrong with your kids or your cooking, this is just the obnoxious reality of feeding kids.

amother

Aconite

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 9:10 pm

My DH is picky like this... Part of it is sensory, part of it is he mostly grew up on restaurant food. We compromise. We get more takeout/convenience food than I would like/grew up on, but not all the time and not for the full meal. I've gotten creative about making balanced meals from variations of the things he likes. And I just make healthy non-potchke stuff and serve alongside to supplement. Just hoping my kids will get a taste for both.

amother

Skyblue

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 9:37 pm

I think it means you're doing very well Smile

My kids beg for homemade challah and cakes. And get very excited with freshly fried schnitzels and meatballs.

Whereas my neices are so excited to have store bought challah and food.

Guess who cooks more nourshing food on the daily and is the better balebuste?

amother

Mayflower

Sun, Dec 04 2022, 9:41 pm

amother Buttercup wrote:

Kids helping meal plan and cook does not always make a difference. My kids are super picky. We meal plan together. They shop and cook with me. And most of the times they won't touch the food they chose and they made. That's the reality of life with picky children. If only it was so easy as shopping and cooking together...

yachnabobba

Mon, Dec 05 2022, 9:54 am

Consider reading about the method called food chaining it’s a slow process but it works

amother

Butterscotch

Mon, Dec 05 2022, 3:11 pm

ra_mom wrote:

Maybe they just like fried foods and sweet sauces.

Not necessarily. Since I’m expecting I only like takeout. Even the same foods etc. like plain omelets, grilled chicken.