Kid Friendly Meals

Everyone has different tastes, so kid friendly meals are sometimes difficult to master. I always tell my children that not every night will be their favorite meal. Some days it will be their favorite meal and some days it will be their sibling’s favorite meal. This helps them realize that life will have it’s ups and downs. They can enjoy the good and learn to live with less than their favorite.

By now you probably have a pretty good idea of which of your meals your children like and which they don’t. Sit down with your children and ask them to list their favorite meals for you. Be sure to write these down. Only write down the meals that are relatively healthy. Macaroni and cheese and hot dogs doesn’t qualifiy. Keep listing until you have come up with at least 30 meals.

If they can’t come up with 30 meals (or at least 15), then they will either be very bored with dinner because you will be making the same things over and over again, or they will have to eat what you prepare since they didn’t give you any alternatives. Encourage them to expand this list over the next several weeks.

Some kid friendly meals that work at my house are burgers, taco salad, baked chicken, meatloaf, tacos, pizza, chicken burritos, etc. You can get a complete list of our favorites with recipes and color coded lists at Cooking From Your Cupboard.

I know some people have picky eaters at their house (including picky husbands). I know I do. The best you can do is make their healthy favorites as much as possible and encourage them to eat at least a few bites of anything else you prepare. Many times picky eaters are fueled by eating too many snacks before or after dinner. Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours, by Dr. Kevin Leman has some great scenarios on dealing with this issue.

Kid friendly meals will be different for many families. Basically, you want to encourage children to eat theirs and their siblings favorite meals and be willing to eat someone else’s favorite until it is their turn again.