Dinner Ideas for Picky Eaters

Cooking for picky eaters can be a daunting task. In today's stressful life, where there are a million things to worry about, you shouldn't have to worry about dinner ideas for picky eaters! Pleasing everyone on the table is not an impossible task. Also, children aren't the only picky eaters as, even some adults can be very picky. It can be very frustrating for the cook of the family (almost always the mother!) to decide whether to make something they like (which is often unhealthy) or make a simple, healthy meal. But now you don't have to make this difficult choice. The following are some dinner ideas for picky eaters which will not only ensure that you get your daily dose of nutrients, but will also get your taste buds jingling with anticipation!

Dinner Ideas For Picky Eaters

Here are some easy dinner ideas for picky eaters which are simple to make and are everyone's favorite (but of course, with a healthy little twist!)

Broccoli Cheese Soup: Experimenting with classic soup recipes is a great way to include vegetables that otherwise are never eaten by kids. Most kids run away from broccoli, but one of the easy dinner ideas for picky children is making broccoli soup with a strong taste of cheese. Whether you tell your child about the broccoli or not is a personal choice, but by giving it a creative name it will be a sure shot hit with your children. And the best part is, that it is very nutritious.

Chili: By including beans, onions, peppers, tomatoes etc. chili can be a very healthy and nutritious meal. Cornbread can be served with it to make it more filling. This is one of the all time favorite picky eater recipes which is extremely easy to make.

Chicken Stir Fry: If your child loves chicken, the easiest dinner idea for picky children is making chicken stir fry with a twist, by adding snow peas, mushrooms, red peppers etc. This is a great way to make it a more healthy recipe for dinner and no one can complain!

Tacos: Not only children, but even adults love tacos! To make it a little more interesting, set up a taco bar with different ingredients to choose from. Instead of just chicken or beef, keep different vegetables and fish. This will make the dinner fun and interesting for everyone.

Hot Dog Quesadillas: American food includes all kinds of fast foods with hot dogs topping the list. Try and make it a little more nutritious by making quesadillas with a filling of beans and hot dogs. Definitely something unique that kids and adults alike will enjoy.

Meatballs: Meatballs are an all time favorite. Besides the regular filling, adding mushrooms, cauliflower etc. is a great way of including vegetables in your meatball dishes. You can keep experimenting with the sauce of the meatballs for a different taste each time.

Tips to Please Picky Eaters

Besides being creative with recipes, there are certain simple tips which may help you pique the interest of your picky eater, thus, instigating him into trying out your new recipe! Here are a few of those pointers on how to get picky eaters to eat your innovative dishes:

Grocery Shopping: The first problem that you come across for dinner ideas for picky eaters, is the grocery shopping. It can be quite challenging to buy groceries that will not go waste. The easiest solution for dinner ideas for picky children is to include the children in grocery shopping. By taking them to the supermarket and asking them to choose vegetables which they would like, gives them a sense of power of making decisions. They will be intrigued by the new shapes and colors and will invariably pick out new vegetables, fruits etc. Including the child while preparing the vegetable or fruit that he or she picked out is a sure shot way of getting the child to eat it.

Being Creative: Another way to get children to eat something that they don't want to eat is by being a little sneaky. Okay, so being stealthy is not exactly the perfect solution but it won't hurt them, right? Making a puree of the vegetables they don't like or slicing and dicing all those veggies in their favorite dishes like pastas, pizzas or even pancakes is an age old solution (or shall I say, a trick used by almost all mothers!). It is not necessary for dinner ideas for picky eaters to be the same boring repetitive dishes. Just by browsing through some magazines, you can get tons of food recipes. It is know that picky eaters will not try new recipes easily, but the key for picky eater dinner recipes is substitution. Including their favorite ingredients in any new recipe is incentive enough for them to try it, after all, they do get bored of the same food items day in and day out.

Making Food Fun: Making food fun is important. Besides tasting good food also has to be visually pleasing. Making the dishes attractive with the use of different colors and cuts is a added incentive for picky eaters to try new dishes. For dinner ideas for picky toddlers, the easiest way is to make the food fun by including shapes and adding colors in the food and serving it in their favorite shaped plates.

Read more on:

• Healthy Dinner Ideas
• Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes

These are just a few dinner ideas for picky eaters. The key here is to use your creativity and come up with unique recipes that include the ingredients that are their favorite. However, try to avoid fast food recipes as vegetables often lose their nutritional value when they are deep fried. So try to strike a balance between fried and healthy food which will ensure that dinner will no longer be something which picky eaters will avoid but, instead will actually look forward to!