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What to serve when your child has few dinner options

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What to serve when your child has few dinner options

Figuring out what to serve for dinner is the bane of many parents’ lives. The emotional investment involved in coming up with something quick, budget-friendly and crowd pleasing SEVEN nights a week can be a nightmare.

Add in a fussy eater and it gets even more complicated. If there is more than one selective eater in the house and the challenge is magnified ☹

It is very tempting to find a few options that work and then stick to those on rotation, however,
this can also work against you longer term. Yes, you want to serve foods that your children can eat. You want them to view dinner positively and go to bed with a full tummy.

But you do not want them to get used to having a menu of two or three things. Doing this can lead
to a reduction in variety over time.

It can also lead to boredom. The same thing night after night is demoralising for you but also boring for them. When boredom sets in a whole raft of new challenges can begin.

However, what are you supposed to do if you have a child who who only has a few dinner options? What can you do if your options are super limited? It is easy to say don’t serve the same foods over and over, but what if that is all they eat?

Even in very limited diets there are usually options that you can slide into dinner to change it up a little. Or ways
you can change foods you often serve so they are slightly different to usual.

However, it’s usually best not to surprise your child by suddenly doing different things at dinner. Instead, it is better to test new ideas at other meals first when everyone is less tired, and you still have other meals to fill tummies before bed if something goes wrong.

Let’s look at some foods that are frequently accepted by picky eaters but may not be on your menu, yet!

Increasing those few dinner options

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1. Fish – fish fingers are frequently enjoyed by fussy eaters. The crumbing on the outside can help with acceptance. Many picky eaters who are okay eating chicken nuggets over time have also accepted fish sticks. Often though this is process and does not happen on the first time serving. It takes time to build comfort with new foods.

If fish fingers are on the menu, then fish bites could be the next small move. Or moving to home-made crumbed fillets. Always start with small amounts of fish to crumb to help with acceptance.

From crumbed fillets it’s a smaller step to fish fillets.

2. Eggs – eggs are frequently either a yes or a firm no. There is little grey area! However, eggs are a great nutrient boost, source of protein, quick to prepare and budget-friendly.

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You can also prepare in multiple ways to help tick boxes for your child. For example, many children only eat the white part of a fried egg, or will eat scrambled eggs but not another presentation.

i) Scrambled eggs – these may be accepted, especially when paired with toast.

ii) Fried eggs – sometimes separating white and yolk works.

iii) Dippy eggs – with a soft-boiled egg and toast or crackers to dip in.

iv) Boiled eggs – the drier texture can be preferable for some children.

v) Omelette – a simple version with some added cheese can be a good starting point.

3. Cheese – often a picky eater winner. If basic edam/cheddar is accepted, you can serve in slices, batons or grated.

If a more neutral cheese is accepted then brie, feta or haloumi are worth a whirl. Baked feta may have an easier texture to accept than pre-cooked.

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4. Other dairy – don’t rule out yoghurt, sour cream, or cream cheese. They can constitute part of dinner as a dip or accompaniment. They are also a good protein source, plus fatty and filing so perfect before ‘fasting’ during the night.

Many children who are okay with yoghurt and cheese can gently transition to other dairy foods.

5. Pizza – pizza is a great social food to master eating, but as it’s a combined food it is not always easy. Plus, there is the red sauce which for non-veggie eaters can seem really difficult. Or the cheese, which for non-cheese eaters is a fail.

Teaching children to eat pizza can be a multi-step process. Base first, whichever version of that will tick boxes – a wrap, a crunchy, cracker-like base or a piece of bread cut into a circle.

Tomato sauce can be skipped or replaced with ketchup. Cheese can be skipped, done after cooking so it’s not melted, or replaced with another favourite sauce added after cooking.

Toppings can be as simple as a few pieces of pineapple or sliced nuggets.

Or you can start with a dessert pizza with jam and yoghurt, for example.

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6. Pancakes/waffles – although these are usually thought of as breakfast foods, they can also easily be savoury (or sweet) and served for dinner.

I make savoury crepes for my family with a stuffing and sauce on top. Of course, a simple version is the place to start. Maybe you can serve filled with cheese or chicken or with the pancake or waffle served plain and the ‘stuffing’ on the side.

7. Baked goods – many selective eaters are okay with a limited range of baked foods like scones or muffins. Although these are not thought of as traditionally dinner foods, they can be a good way to introduce variety.

If chocolate is the favourite, then it’s generally the best way to start, from there you can gently and gradually move to more savoury, perhaps starting with a choc/other food mix.

8. Pies/pastry – although complex pies may be too challenging, the simplest pies are a pastry shell with cheese or chicken or other favourite filling.

What does your child enjoy? Is it mince, chicken, bacon, tuna or perhaps carrots or corn. Add one to the pastry. It may even be Vegemite or peanut butter to begin with – there are no rules.

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Pastry goods like sausage rolls are a good next step for sausage eaters, or pastry eaters who are not particularly sausage fans!

Pinwheels or other pastry-based recipes can make the dinner table a little different.

9. Spring rolls – although you may think of these as complex – both to make and in terms of ingredients – they don’t have to be. You can buy the wrappers cheaply from the main supermarkets (in the frozen pastry section) and they are simple to make.

For fillings you can start super simply and just have chicken or even cheese. What rocks for your child?

The crispy outside is often a textural win.

10. Corn chips/tacos – corn chips can be a great way to have a meal that ticks boxes for everyone. Corn chips, grated cheese, alongside chilli or beans or chicken, salads and salsas.

The logical extension from corn chips is tacos and again, there are different versions that may tick boxes in terms of taste or texture.


A final thought. If your child likes fruit, do you serve it at dinner?
It can be an easy way to add options to the evening meal. Simple sliced apple or mandarin segments can work.

Or you can add fruit to other foods, such as a salad or chicken dish (which may need to be separate to begin with for your child).

 

Although this list is not designed to be exhaustive, hopefully it has provided some inspiration and a little less resignation if your child only has a few dinner options.

Feel free to let me know what is helpful and what isn’t!

Judith, MA Cantab (Cambridge University), MSc Psychology (first-class honours), is working on a PhD, an AOTA accredited picky eating advisor and internationally certified nutritional therapist. She works with 100+ families every year resolving fussy eating and returning pleasure and joy to the meal table.

She is also mum to two boys and the author of Creating Confident Eaters and Winner Winner I Eat Dinner. Her dream is that every child can approach food from a place of safety and joy, not fear.

Learn more about Judith here: https://theconfidenteater.com/about/

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