Picky Eatin'

Dear YOU + ME*,
I am currently feeding a toddler and she is picky, to put it nicely. I want to make her happy (and not aid in her starvation), but if I have another macaroni and cheese dinner, I am going to scream. Any suggestions for how to make meals that we'll all enjoy?
Thank you,
R.

Dear R.,
From what we've experienced and from what our friends also say, feeding a toddler is not the easiest of all of the parenting tasks. We've never known a faster turnaround from "I like it!" to "I hate it!" and back again. But! We've found a few ways to make it so that you only have to make one dinner to feed all of the members of your family. We've found the secret to cooking only one meal to be lots and lots and choices at said meal.

(Martha)

First off, consider using recipes that entail cooking a few different components and then putting them together at the end. Then you can serve the ingredients separately to let each family member put together a meal that suits his or her palate. Tacos and burritos are a perfect example of this. If you serve tacos with all of the ingredients separately, your toddler can pick and choose from the spread what he or she wants to eat, and all of the other family members can have a meal that's suitable for the over-four set. More ideas for meals like this would be a mezze meal (hummus, tabouli, pita, yogurt with optional cucumber, dill, and lemon juice to mix in, greek salad, falafel--definitely use this recipe--it is so yummy) or a salad bar (greens, toppings, and plenty of croutons and cheeses).

(Joy Dangeleert Cho on Design*Sponge)

Maybe also consider meals that entail individuals picking out the components of their meal before cooking. This pizza-in-a-bowl recipe allows everyone to pick their own toppings for their pizzas. Your toddler can pick just cheese, while your partner goes crazy with peppers and chili flakes. Another option along these lines is shabu-shabu, where you pick ingredients to cook, and then cook them in a shallow pot of broth.
We hope these suggestions help; if you're looking for deeper reading, Miya's really into this book and this one as well (anyone else have books on the subject they like?). Happy Tuesday!
xo,
ME*

Comments

[Meg Blocker]

I'm not a parent, but I'm intrigued by the way children's tastes develop (and, occasionally, constrict) over the course of childhood. One of my favorite books about getting a kid to eat is Hungry Monkey, about a dad trying to ensure his daughter becomes an adventurous eater.

http://hungrymonkeybook.com/