How To Serve One Family Dinner When You Have A Picky Eater

If you have a child, there's a solid chance you've dealt with their refusal to eat certain foods. These protests are especially heightened during communal meal times like dinner, when one recipe is typically prepared for the whole family. While getting your children to eat balanced meals early in the day is easy when you can promise kid-friendly treats from Starbucks or cookies from a local bakery, dinnertime is an anchor meal most families enjoy at home before winding down for the night. If you're tired of facing refusal over the evening entree, there's one genius way to tailor any dish to your picky eater's preferences. All you need to do is deconstruct the ingredients when serving.

For example, if tonight's dinner is spaghetti with meatballs, cheese, and broccoli, instead of serving your child a jumble of noodles and meatballs covered in tomato sauce, keep the ingredients separate yet serve them all on the same plate. This way, your child has small, simple portions of each food to try: undressed noodles, one or two plain meatballs, a few pieces of broccoli, and a small handful of shredded cheese. Simply add the tomato sauce to a small cup for dipping or pouring.

For a meal that contains extra (optional) ingredients like burgers, add your child's preferred toppings separately to their plate and allow them to compile and enjoy their burger any way they like. Fortunately, deconstructing your favorite recipes isn't the only way to serve one meal to your family when you have a picky eater in the house.

While picky eating can fluctuate depending on your child's age, refusal to eat certain foods is also a form of self-expression kids use to show their independence over which foods they're willing to consume. That being said, if you're dealing with a picky eater who likes to build their own plate, you can also serve certain dinners buffet-style. Examples of family meals that can be especially tailored to individual preferences include tacos, salads, or a dinner board filled with meat slices, cheese, and vegetables. For a taco bar, set up the meat and taco shells on a serving tray and add various toppings to small serving cups. This way, each person in your family can build their own tacos exactly how they want.

While following these tailored approaches can work, there are times you don't have the energy to serve dinner one ingredient at a time. In these instances, build your child's plate with a portion of whatever is on the menu, yet include one additional food you know they will eat. This can be as simple as a small bread roll or a few scoops of applesauce. Reducing stress at mealtime allows you to have better conversations with your child during dinner and, ultimately, can increase family connectedness.

Also, if you eventually want your child to order from the best chain restaurant kids' menus without relying on chicken nuggets, building their dinner plate consistently with both new and reliable foods may increase their willingness to tolerate, choose, and even enjoy more diverse meals in the future.