Feeding Kids

[OliverB]

mine (8 and 4) eat just about anything from the bbq. Roast chicken. Pasta. Pizza (from the bbq, it's fun!).

last night I made rockfish for the first time, I spread mustard on it and breaded it, fried in the pan. Was delicious and they devoured it, I should have bought 2lbs! I was surprised. But then, it was basically really really good fish sticks (which I never buy).

They all love scrambled eggs.

Note: I never do nor did I ever "cook for kids" in my house. I cook what I cook, and that's what we'll have for dinner. Mostly they like it, sometimes they only eat one thing or the other, but I figured if I start catering to one's taste I'll have to do the same for the other, soon enough I'll be cooking 4 dishes every night, and that's not happening :-)

Oh, a nice chicken with curry (Indian) and yellow rice (rice where I add some tumeric before cooking) is always a hit, sometimes I get the curry pita bread from Trader Joes to go along.

they also love sausages, brats of all kinds. Kale & broccoli salad (both raw) gets eaten, steamed broccoli not so much. Last night's butter and oil poached asparagus was gone faster than I ever would have expected, eaten by both.

If there's enough time I try to involve them in cooking somehow, not that that's a guarantee that they'll like it later.

I just believe that they'll eat anything if hungry and while they do have to try everything on the plate, they don't have to finish this or that if they really don't like it. Works for us so far, the older one is getting more adventurous, often getting some extra spices or hot sauce to add here and there, which I'm more than fine with.

Dessert lately was always strawberries with honey drizzled on, maybe some other berries and one small caramel cookie from Trader Joes. Not that we have dessert all the time, but it's cheap strawberry time right now :-) Once they're gone, I sure won't replace them with ice cream or cake, LOL

[Lisa Shock]

Do you have room for a garden, or some planters? Growing some herbs and vegetables and then cooking with them is fun and will teach the kids about food origins and what various plants are like in different growth stages.

[torakris]

I think the thought of summer lunches for kids makes every parent cringe. My 3 are between the ages of 10 and 15, so they are pretty much responsible for their own lunches now but we spend most of the summer vacation (5 to 6 weeks) in Cleveland with my family. This means lunch for a minimum of seven kids in the same age range (depending on how many siblings are visiting with their families. Our lunches tend to rotate around 3 things, sandwiches, pizza and quesadillas.

For sandwiches we usually set everything out buffet style and the kids can make their own. We usually have 3 kinds of meat and 3 kinds of cheese, so there is something for everyone.

For quesadillas, it's sort of similar, we have the tortillas and a variety of fillings/topping and the kids can make their own. When I'm doing quesadillas just for my kids I usually just use a can of refried beans, cheddar cheese and jalapenos with yogurt and salsa for a topping.

Pizza is also done in a similar style with all the ingredients set out and the kids pick their own toppings. We make pizza out of absolutely anything, bagels, english muffins, hamburger buns, flat breads, pita, tortillas,etc. Really any kind of bread we have in the house.

I also purposely make leftovers, if we are having rice with dinner, I make extras for fried rice the next day. If I am roasting chickens I make an extra one for either eating as is or for a filling for quesadillas or chicken sandwiches. Likewise with dishes such as pasta, lasagne, macaroni and cheese or other casseroles, I always make more than we need to save for lunch the next day. Extra meatballs can become meatball subs, etc. Extra hamburger patties can be used in a patty melt or a loco moco (Hawaiian dish of a hamburger patty on rice and topped with gravy-jarred is fine).

[OliverB]

great idea with the garden, even if you just have room for a pot or two, you can at least grow some herbs. Fun and my kids love the whole process, from planting to picking (and making "tea" with the herbs).

We also do the buffet kind for sandwiches, meats, cheese, condiments, pickled things. Works great and fun for everyone.

[ckamom]

Thank you for the replies.. we have a container herb garden going and I have my kiddos pick the herbs for me. I love that they know the difference between chives and dill.. or greek oregano and (italian?) regular. While that may be common in some families (or groups of peeps) I live in a very suburban area and most parents do not cook, so my kids have a much more well rounded concept of food than their buddies.

Next week I am baking brie with brown sugar and serving with crackers and apples, but otherwise.. who knows.