March 02, 2017
What to feed the kids…
…that is also a satisfying meal for the whole family?
Feeding kids is no joke.
Every other day they have a dramatic reaction to something they HATE! (that they’ve never eaten before). And their rules for what they will and won’t eat are endless. Pasta with butter only, sauce on the side; only white foods; yes french fries, no hashbrowns (they’re both potatoes!); meat only if doused in ketchup; vegetables AWFUL, processed carbs only YES PLEASE.
It’s easy to feel like a failure when you’re a parent and your kid won’t eat anything. Especially if you like to cook, and nourishing your family is something you look forward to.
You are not a failure. You’re a parent in an often impossible situation doing the best you can. That’s an incredible thing.
When we feel stuck regarding what to feed our kids, we turn to food bloggers…who have kids. What’s great about this is the dialogue that comes along with the kid-tested recipes. Notes and tips on how they’ve adapted a certain meal for the whole family. What their children didn’t or did like about the meal. Real-life examples of how to get real-life food into your child’s belly without feeling like you have to resort to the famed trifecta of chicken fingers, cheese pizza, and grilled cheese.
Here are some of our favorite resources for family dinner inspiration. Kid-tested, food blogger-perfected.
Erin Alderson is the vegetarian food blogger behind Naturally Ella. She also has a toddler, and comfort food is one of her specialities. Here are 21 recipes for meals she can feed her toddler, herself, and her husband, ranging from Mexican food and pasta, to stews and her son’s top favorite meals. There are some gems here.
Oh She Glows blogger Angela Liddon is now the mother of two, with a toddler and baby in the house. She has some great ideas for how to sneak vegetables into meals — like her daughter’s favorite 10-minute pasta which includes hummus mixed into tomato sauce! (Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it).
Jenny Rosenstrach is the OG of family-based food blogging. Her wonderful blog, Dinner: A Love Story, is all about the family table. She has three excellent cookbooks, that are all about getting meals on the table regularly with children, and an entire section of her blog devoted to “picky eaters.” She has hilarious and helpful things to say about deconstructing a meal so that it serves everyone’s particular taste buds, as well as how to incorporate new and different foods into your children’s diets. Definitely one to keep on hand!
Let us know in the comments what you’ve struggled with at the family table, and any tips you have to share!
