Parents know that one of the hardest things to handle in the house is a child who is a fussy eater. Children who are fussy eaters will more often than not, dislike certain foods because of the color, texture or even shape of the food.
However, according to experts, fussy eating is a regular part of a child’s development. The good news is that as children grow older, their eating habits become more regular and they become less fussy.
One of the best ways to handle a fussy eater is by trying out a wider variety of food recipes. Here are three easy and exciting recipes for kids, especially the fussy ones.
1. Hidden Vegetable Sauce
Most fussy eaters do not like the sight of vegetables. However, even the fussiest of eaters is likely to be tempted to try out this wholesome vegetable sauce.
For the best results, make sure to serve it alongside foods that your child loves to eat e.g. rice or pasta. The best thing about this sauce is that you can use any vegetables that you have in your kitchen. All the same, you could use the recipe below;
Ingredients:
- 1 roughly chopped leek.
- 2 courgettes (zucchinis) chopped into chunks
- 1 chopped red pepper or yellow pepper
- 8 chopped mushrooms
- 1 chopped eggplant
- A clove of garlic (crushed)
- 800 grams of tomatoes (chopped)
- A pinch of oregano
- Pepper
- Sugar (if you want)
- A tablespoon of olive oil or butter
To prepare, add all the vegetables (including garlic) into a saucepan containing the olive oil or butter.
Stir gently for at least 10 minutes and then add the tomatoes and sprinkle the oregano, pepper and sugar.
Stir the contents in the saucepan then cover and simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes.
Once the vegetables are soft, transfer the contents of the saucepan into a blender and blend until the resulting mixture is smooth.
Once ready, transfer the sauce into a small pot and freeze.
2. Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s pie is one of the best foods for fussy eaters. It is also one of the healthiest because you can use a wide variety of vegetables in your recipe.
In addition to that, you can also give a twist to the shepherd’s pie recipe to fit vegetarians by using Quorn (meat substitute) or vegetarian mince and vegetarian Worcester sauce.
Ingredients:
500g of lamb mince or minced beef for cottage pie
- 1 chopped onion
- 4 chopped carrots
- 2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
- 500ml of stock
- 200g of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs
- 850g of potatoes
- 25g of butter
- 100g of grated cheddar cheese
To prepare, start by preheating the oven to 180C or gas mark 4. Put the meat into a frying pan and heat it gently making sure to stir until the meat starts turning brown.
Now add the onions, carrots & garlic and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
Add the stock and tomatoes; stir then brings to a boil. Now pour in the Worcestershire sauce and sprinkle with the herbs.
Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for at least 25 minutes making sure to stir now and then. At this time, start cooking the potatoes in boiling water until they are soft.
Drain the water and mash the potatoes with some butter (not too much though). Transfer the meat into an oven-proof dish, add on the mashed potatoes then smoothen the mashed potatoes over the meat.
Let it cook for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes become golden brown.
You can also add the grated cheese over the mashed potatoes ten minutes before you take the pie out.
3. Frittata
The fact that frittatas can be enjoyed cold or hot makes it off the best recipes for kids. It is also perfect for kids who are slow eaters or even as packed lunch.
Ingredients:
- 4 potatoes
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of milk
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Grated cheese
- You could use add ham, mushrooms or spinach.
To prepare, boil the potatoes until they are moderately soft then cool and slice them.
Next, fry the onions and garlic together until they are soft. Add the potatoes and the optional ingredients into the frying pan and continue heating.
Beat some eggs and milk in a bowl together then add into the frying pan. Cook until the eggs set around the edges but make sure the middle is still soft.
Now sprinkle the grated cheese on top and cook under a hot grill until the top turns brown.