Fussy Eater Meal Planning

Fussy eater meal planning can be complicated. If children dictate what food you serve, their difficulties around food will not go away. It’s OK to plan and alternate preferred meals with meals that provide good food exposure and some challenges.

“I always run out of ideas, says Tara and my 3 year old is very fussy so I often ask what he wants to eat. I think this is how we have gotten stuck with chicken nuggets for months now. I am not great at planning meals either. I don’t want to have to cook something that I don’t feel like eating just because I planned it a week ago. I dread mealtimes, I wish it was more fun”.

Are you like Tara? If you are, I get it, I am not a “meal planner” either. During our extended covid lockdown my eldest daughter who is 22, has been taking the matter in her own hands. Armed with a white board she has been deciding what will be cooked for the family, while I have been working late at night!

In the end it is all about making decisions about what is for dinner and it is exhausting. But, here’s the deal: children cannot decide what you are going to feed them because they tend to go for what they know, which is self-limiting. As soon as you let children decide, you end up stuck like Tara.

Some food challenges are OK

As parents, you have to make decisions about what you are going to serve. If your child is a fussy eater or an extreme fussy eater, they still need you to provide some variety. Challenging food, is there for exposure, as you will see hereafter. Here’s how I propose to help you eliminate the guess work:

#thisisourfamilyfood is served as a statement

What does your child enjoy eating?

See if you can list 5 dishes your child enjoys, it can be chips or nuggets.

Choose what to keep from your inherited food culture?

Make a list of the dishes you have eaten growing up. Can you prepare or learn to re-create some of them? Grandma’s pasta bake, dad’s bbq fish? Keep only 5 specials that you really enjoy and can reproduce easily and quickly.

What new ideas do you bring to your family food culture?

Perhaps you and your partner enjoy a curry or a stir-fry? See if you can list another 5 dishes that you would like to become part of the family food rotation, eventually.

Now you have about 15 dishes, does it look varied enough to provide good nutrition, can it help expand the family taste buds?

Which dishes require a lot of time, which don’t?

The more you understand the cooking techniques and the prep time some dishes require, the more you can adapt your choices to your schedule. On a Monday if you are busy, then you can assemble a meal from the food you bought over the counter. Perhaps it is thawed or microwaved. Perhaps it is leftovers you reheat. You need those options when you are too overwhelmed or too busy.

Start rolling out your 15 dishes, making sure that fussy eaters get a one easy meal every few days.

That’s right, your job is to provide exposure through a wide range of food that composes your family’s eating culture. When you serve foods that are challenging you will need a staple like bread, or one single food like plain rice as an accompaniment that works well with your child.

Let’s say it is a fish night. You know that fish and veggies are for exposure at this stage, yet you serve with rice, which you know your fussy eating child can eat successfully. I also recommend you offer a second course of fruit or dessert, yoghurt or cheese.

I hope that this help you out of that meal planning rut, and, like Tara, who now rotates her meals, you should see some improvement in what your children eat.

Ready to turn the tide on stressful family dinners? Then my free ebook is for you. It covers my top starter tips to raising a happy, healthy eater.