Make smaller casseroles instead of huge ones (like baked ziti and throw in some frozen spinach) or freeze half for another day. Have you tried Weelicious? She has great recipes that my kids love and that are real food and flavorful enough that you will enjoy them as well. Do as much prep the night before after the kid goes to bed as you can. The crockpot is your best friend. Cheap cuts of meat come out great in there and then you can whip up some sides when you get home. Also, meatballs. I do them a million ways. Swedish meatballs with egg noodles, meatballs in sweet and sour sauce with rice and stir fry veggies, meatballs with spaghetti. etc You can always add spinach to the meatballs for extra veggies. And have the kid help you in the kitchen. They tend to eat better when they are a part of the process.

My toddler usually eats brown rice stir fry with vegetables and eggs. The rice can be made ahead and you just use different vegetables (broccoli, green beans, spinach) and toss some tofu, herbs (green onions, cilantro...), with some ginger and garlic and finish with scramble eggs and soy sauce. He loves it. Or, when he's pickier, any kind of tomato soup or stew (with rice, polenta or bread, or eggs). Risotto is always nice and he likes it, but when I'm in a hurry, fritatta (with any kinf of vegetable) is the easiest and he eats it with no fuss.

How about oven baked breaded chicken fingers and sweet potato fries with a side of brocolli (raw or cooked). Serve with a little salad dressing and you have a nice dip-able dinner.

Store cupboard stuff, and less than 10 minutes to get on the plate:

Mini pasta shapes (you could use big ones of course...) cooked in a minimal amount of chicken stock, add some veggies (you can use frozen mixed veg if there isnt any fresh in the house) in so it all finishes cooking together, and most of the stock has been absorbed/boiled down. Add in a couple of eggs in a gap in the pan, and et them cook (it'll be a bt of nearly poaching in the remaining liquid...) give it all a mix, and then grate some strong cheese in, and let it all melt.

It sounds gross, and quite frankly it Proably could look prettier, but it tases delicious, and I'm always secretly very happy if my toddler can't manage to eat all hers!

I second the freezing aspect- I make a triple batch of stuff, and 2 go in the freezer - so no one gets bored of the same stuff several days in a row - that or it'll be bolognese/Italian flavoured one night, and then it'll be chilli/ Mexican flavoured another!

Man.
First tip: eat what healthy, timely food you want. If the youngun is not liking it, well, that's too bad. Dinner is dinner. Picky eaters are created by being accomodated. Your child will not starve and will ultimately benefit from seeing/eating new foods.

Second tip: rules at dinner: the old, 'you get what you get and you dont' get upset' works as does the 'we try everything on our plates.'.. add to that, 'every day your taste buds are growing and what you like changes' (so try this tomato ;) )

Third tip: have the youngun help in the kitchen; pick the vegetable for the meal, help chop/ break veg sticks, mix the salad. lots of good food gets eaten this way, too.

Good luck!

I try to make meals that have ingredients that my kids would eat individually, and set them aside as I cook.

Last night, my wife and I had fajitas with chicken, a bit of steak, some rice (that I flavoured after cooking) etc. the kids had plain grilled chicken, rice and some cauliflower I tossed in a pot for a few minutes.

I have one son who will try anything, and one who is more picky. He likes strong flavors, but he likes them one at a time, not mixed together. I try to make meals that I can feed all together to most of the family, but that I can present to him as separate elements. I'll make a stew to eat with rice or couscous or pasta, and I'll give him a plate of rice (or couscous or pasta), a little bowl of chickpeas, a little bowl of tomatoes, a little bowl of olives. It doesn't take long, and he gets all the different foods we do, but on his own terms.

I have a few meals that are kid pleasers. Magic Broccoli - they fight over the last spears, and it's very easy. Malcolm's favorite soup - it has tomatoes, white beans, pasta - so quick to make, and they both like it. I can't seem to attach links! Oh well.

I actually write a lot about cooking with and for my 2 little (vegetarian) boys. But I don't want to bore anyone, so I'll leave it at that!

I usually modify my kids' meals based on what my husband and I are eating. They won't eat minestrone soup, for example, but they'll eat pasta with canned tomatoes and peas on the side. I find with two of them, they feed off each other's dislikes so we get into a harder and harder place each day. But it's not worth fighting. I can, however, make my 7-year-old take seven bites before she leaves the table, but I can't convince my 2-year-old of that yet so lots of nights he takes a bite or two, then leaves the table which is fine by me. I'm guessing he eats well at the sitter, so I'm pretty sure neither of them will starve.

I'm lucky that my 18-month son will eat anything!! I make all of his meals from scratch...if you're in need of some ideas or a new recipe to add to your family's meal repertoire you can check out my blog www.bitesforbabies.com!

Ah, food and toddlers, so frustrating! I keep cooked food components in the fridge or freezer - cooked broccoli, pasta, chicken fingers, cheese slices - and warm a little of three or four items on a plate. My kids might eat just one of the items, or a little of each, but having a choice seems to help. For you, those ingredients can be put together as a soup or casserole or stir fry.

I've also found that presenting food as separate components rather than dishes mixed together (like casseroles) works best for my 2 year old and 4 year old. Taco night is a big hit in our house. I put out bowls of black beans, shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole or avocado chunks, salsa, and sauteed peppers and onions. I put a bit of everything on the kids' plates in little piles and the grown ups can build their tacos however they want. We do something similar with tortilla soup, a pho-inspired soup, dinner salads and a pasta bar. Most of the components can be made in advance over the weekend and kept in the fridge. Breakfast for dinner is also popular in our family. To echo some of the previous posters, I've also found that my kids just don't eat much for dinner. After a few bites, they're often done. And that's OK with me.

Freeze those casserole meals in single or double serving portions. You'll eventually acquire a stockpile. Move one from the freezer to the fridge each night to allow it to defrost slowly for the next day. No waste & you'll soon have a variety to choose from.

My kids were not picky eaters but the g-kids were. When dh was laid off, they were, more often than not, present at mealtime & dh morphed into a short-order cook. Um...no. Put a stop to that [enabling] nonsense immediately. Here's what worked for me..

Considering most toddlers are more prone to eat finger foods, I served the two little ones in muffin tins. Plopped a dollop of whatever I cooked in one or two spots & filled the remainder with chopped/sliced fresh fruits-veggies-cheese, whatever I had on hand. Green beans were always a big hit as were beans (drained so lil fingers could pick them up until they became proficient w/utensils). No more tears/tantrums at mealtimes, peace returned to the table and the kids had a healthy balanced meal.

They're past toddler stage now but often ask for a 'muffin meal' for lunch when visiting. They usually get it:) Oh - and a side of yogurt for dipping was always welcome!

I completely agree!! My son is only 18months so he can't do much in the kitchen to help, however, I always show him what I'm doing and cook in front of him and it seems like he's really developed a love for cooking...and food! Lol! Since his first solid meal, I've made everything from scratch and have given him tons of different foods (even fish roe and wild boar!). I'd like to think that he hasn't become a picky eater because of the fact that I exposed him to so many different foods and also because "he gets what he gets!" No funny-faced potatoes to get him to eat veggies! I firmly believe in the fact that "picky eaters are created by being accommodated."

@Lisa@bitesforbabies: You're a brave woman to suggest that on here! I like your blog BTW, great ideas on there.

@Cori: our kids have always eaten with us, but I cook very plain food, and keep the ingredients in any dish to a minimum - roasts with garlic and herbs; steamed fish drizzled with lemon and olive oil or a soy, mirin and scallion dressing; steamed veg and green salads tossed with olive oil and salt. It's quick and easy, and cheaper to cook from scratch than to buy processed food. In my experience, children like to be able to identify what they are eating, so don't shy away from showing them the whole bird or fish, or explaining what part of a larger animal their meat comes from. I think NOT knowing what is in a casserole, or a dish with lots of sauce is why children might be reluctant to eat those things. In our case, it could just be that my kids acquired MY preference for plainer food.

Hey there--I'm the person who originally sent this question in--thanks all for the suggestions! There's definitely some things in here that will work, and so I'm glad I sent the question in, even though I knew I'd get some judgement from some other folks because my child is, um, a child.

A quick note: Picky eaters are not just made by being accommodated. My son used to eat everything--foie gras, bizarre casseroles, eggplant parm, salad. Trying to explain to an 18 month old why he can't have the whole block of foie gras pate is a fun one. Dunno why, but suddenly when he hit three that faded and he's become quite picky. He still gets told to eat what I cook, but I never know if he's going to eat only a few bites or if he's going to ask for seconds and thirds. Given the choice, I'd rather have the latter: cooking for just yourself and a kid who won't eat kind of kills the fun of cooking. I want BOTH of us to enjoy my home cooked meals.

Either way, I'm sure enough of myself that I'm not worried about being judged for "making" a picky eater, but a thought for those of you suggesting I'm only reaping what I've sown:

There's no need to assume that everyone who's kid is picky eater or a biter or a slow to potty train kid or a whiner or WHATEVER is a bad or indulgent parent. Life might be easier for the lot of us as parents if we were more invested in raising our kids and getting new ideas to for good ways to do that than we were in insisting that our one way was the only right way.

@Cdid: None of the above posters was judging you or implying you are a bad parent, merely sharing strategies that have worked for them. You asked a question, and then dismiss the advice that people have been kind enough to share with you.

I've found that my toddler is more likely to eat purees than whole foods, for some odd reason. For example, she's rarely willing to eat broccoli, no matter how I cook or sauce it (unless she's in a really accommodating mood). But when I made a pureed broccoli soup over the weekend she was happy to eat up every last bite.

I also like everyone's ideas of separating out the components of the grown-up meal. The only problem for us is that my daughter would eat the "protein" and "carb" components of the meal and skip the vegetables. :-)

And for what it's worth, I put a lot of effort into trying to teach my daughter to eat well -- constantly remind her to try everything, serve her the same food we're eating, etc etc. But, I have to admit that there are plenty of dinners when I get tired of seeing her eat nothing, and tired of reminding her to try one more bite, and I'm tempted just to make her a PB&J, so that I won't have to deal with it. And I'm not a single mom, I have a husband around for extra support. So, CDID, I definitely sympathize and know what you're going through. I hope some of these tips will help!

Spaz much?

Spaz much?

Spaz much?