Picky Eater-recipes Needed

I think you should just let her eat like that. Thats a very healthy diet. It may upset her stomach to eat the things she doesnt like. My son is picky. Worse than that. But its okay. Just always give her the option to try something new.

I have an 11 yr. old daughter that is worse than your child. She won't eat red meat, very few veggies, no rice, I could go on and on.

I used to make her seperate meal also. One day I just got tired of it. What I do now is: spaghetti night-take 2 ladels of sauce and set aside and don't put meat in it for her. Chicken nights-I just don't season her piece. Salads- I just give her the tomatos and cucumbers. Things like that. If I am making something that we can't make work for her easily, she makes herself a sandwich. She is allowed to make a sandwich or some kind of frozen thing (taquitos etc.) 2-3 times per week and that is it (she has to make it). The other nights I make something I know she will like or that can easily be altered to fit her tastes.

It is hard to cater to a picky eater when you are also feeding others that like 'normal' food. All you can do is alter what is easy and have some healthy choices she can make on those nights you have something that can't be altered.

Check with your Dr. and make sure she is healthy and the Dr. is OK with her eating habits. It sounds like she is eating healthy.

I LOVE the cookbooks by Annabell Karmel. Especially SUPERFOODS! I use recipes out of her books all the time, they are made with children in mind, but they all taste great! Also, I used to be a very picky eater as well, when I was young, but my mother was relentless, and I found out that I was just scared of new things. Anyway, I would suggest not to give in to her, and PLEASE dont make her seperate meals. You could raise a very ungrateful child. With my daughter, we try to try new things often, and, she is picky...not overly picky, but picky, and I tell her that she needs to at least try one or two bites of what everyone else is eating, then she can have her own toned down version. Hope things work out!

I know you are looking for recipies, but I thought I'd throw in something that might help more than catering to her pickiness. Let her go without dinner until she is hungry enough to eat what the family is eating. It's just a mentality of not 'liking' certain textures,flavors,appearance of foods. It is learned behavior, not genetic. If a human being is truly hungry, they WILL eat anything. I grew up being a picky eater because it was modeled in front of me by my dad, and catered to by my mom. As a teen, I went on several youth group mission trips to foreign countries. At first I was grossed out by the cuisine offered to us and declined the meals ( which were really not horrible they were simply different than what I was used to) such as burritos, seafood, etc. No one made me eat. It was just "suit yourself" and they enjoyed their meal in front of me while I sipped on water. When real hunger pangs set in, I thought to myself, I don't care what they are having at the next meal, I will try it. It tasted soooooooo good! I never thought I would like tamales! I soon began trying other new foods and found that I love all kinds of Mexican foods!
When I was on a trip in Russia, we were served COW TONGUE for BREAKFAST - no, NOT JOKING!!! Of course all the kids were not looking forward to even trying it. It was considered a delicacy there and our hosts were offering their very best to us. It would have been rude to reject it. Plus we were VERY hungry. There was nothing else available to us. So, we all tried it, and most found a new appreciation for the term "tastes like chicken!" :) I ended up marrying a Russian man, and have aquired tastes for foods I cannot even pronounce!
SO HAVE OUR 4 CHILDREN! Our kids eat sardines, borscht, sourcream on pancakes, and a host of other "strange" foods. We've lived in Texas now for 11 years and if I let them, they start acting "picky" about food. Just let them be excused from the table a night or two. They won't starve. They'll be back the next night eating at least a few bites of whatever you are serving. It really is up to you. Pickiness is just a "control" issue. It is a child's way of resisting you since they usually have to obey parents in every other way. But when natural hunger takes over their will, then problem is solved.
Smile, when you excuse them from the table, and say "I'm so sorry you are not hungry this evening. I hope you'll join us tomorrow night for dinner!"

I dont have any advice-my son only eats like 10 diff things, but congrats! it sounds like she likes healthy foods! alot of condiments like ketchup have loads of sugar.

Have you thought that she might have some problem that prevents her from enjoying foods with spices? She may have sensory issues but it does not mean that she is trying to be difficult. You may try to talk to a pediatric Occupational Therapist and see if she may need to be evaluated. Does she have other things that bother her? Does she have problems with clothes? Does she not like certain blankets or sheets on her bed?

I personally can't stand brocolli. The smell makes me gag and want to throw up. I can taste it even chopped up tiny in a casserole when my friends try to hide it in there. I buy it for my kids and it is kept in a sealed container, my daughter cooks it while I am gone and airs out the house and cleans up the mess. Perhaps your daughter feels that way about the food you serve the rest of the family. At 10 she is also old enough to learn to make what she likes with supervision. If you are cooking dinner, she might enjoy that time with you learning to cook things for herself. If she were allergic to shrimp and you were cooking shrimp for the family would you make her eat it too? Perhaps you can cook dinner, pull some out for her and then spice it up for the rest of the family. That way you are not cooking separately.

I seriously suggest you have her evaluated for sensory dysfunction. This is a problem that has a solution if she has it.

I guess im old fashion and just like my mother was. My mother always said " I'm not a fast food resturant, Eat what I fix or go without ". I may not have like what she fixed all of the time but my tummy didn't rumble either cause I didn't eat.

I was a very picky eater as a kid. I would eat no sandwiches, no soups, no veggies, no sauces, etc. My parents had my sister and I did a cool thing when we were growing up. They asked us to cook one meal a week for the whole family. (they made if feel more like a privelage) We got to pick the recipe, help Mom shop, and cook it. We kept a notebook of all of our recipes and the family members would add their comments. I loved looking at all the comments. I tried to make better things each week. And soon that became more variety. They best recipes had a wide variety of ingrediants. I was trying to outdo my sis. :) I even started cooking at holidays. I am still a kinda picky eater: no mayonase, mustard, onions, olives, onions, and lots more. But I love to cook! I started eating sandwiches in High school, and sauces, sour cream, and some soups in college.
Good luck!
K.

T.,
I know it is frustrating to distraction when you have one that won't eat what you cook. I have a niece that we live with that doesn't like her food to touch, doesn't like onions, soup, mushrooms, etc. So, because I am the one that does all the cooking, and with her parents ok, we quit catering to that. We know that she is not going to starve to death by missing one or two meals. She has tried, but got hungry enough to eat anything when she got ready. I don't go out of my way to make sure her food doesn't touch either. I put it on the plate just like I do my son's and nephew's plates.
Maybe being more stubborn than the children is what makes us win out in the long run? I know I can dig my heels in and it has made cooking alot easier for me. Good luck.
You're the one in charge there, don't let her be the boss.

A great way to overcome your picky eater (I am surrounded by picky eaters in our home) I started letting my kiddos cook with me. They began to want to try new things and before I knew it the picky eating issue started not being a issue anymore. Blessings, C.

I feel a common bond with you. I was, still am a picky eater myself and was also forced to eat foods I didn't like and have vowed I won't do that to my children. I have a 3 year old daughter who is a little bit picky, but not too bad, I don't think. When I make dinner for us, I usually include at least one thing that I know she likes and will eat. That way I'm not really having to make something separate, yet I'm not having to force her to eat or worry that she will starve. I put some of the other stuff I make on the plate, I encourage her to try it, but if she tries it and doesn't like it I don't make a big deal out of it. I usually tell her something like, "I didn't like those at your age either. Maybe you will like them when you get older." Since your daughter is a lot older than 3, she (and you) probably already have a pretty good idea of what she likes and doesn't like. It may be a little harder at this age to try new things, but I would still encourage her to try. Just tell her to take one bite and if she doesn't like it she doesn't have to eat it but you would like her to at least try one bite. Maybe you two can do some grocery shopping together and also let her help you prepare the meals, she may be more likely to eat something she helped make. The pillsbury website has lots of neat kid-friendly recipes, it's free to join their website and you can look at all the recipes, print them out, and even print out coupons there. Hope this helps a little bit.

I had favorites when I was growing up and believe that I would have developed better eating habits if allowed to enjoy them more. Favorites other than chocolate like fresh, raw fruits and vegetables and fish. Perhaps she can help you pick out what would be a good thing for two or three meals in the week. Eating raw, fresh foods without sauce is very healthy. She has good instincts in everything which I am sure you are proud of.