home-cooked meals for picky 4 yr old

Hi I need ideas about what meals to cook for my 4yr-old niece who eats mostly chicken. I'm "borrowing" her for a month and don't want to feed her fastfood junk all the time.


I don't have children and mostly cook for adults only.


Any healthy and fun ideas to get her interested in trying out new dishes?

go buy either a recipe book by annabel karmel or gina ford's cookbook. there are lots of recipes in there that you can use for a 4 year old and adults. especially annabel karmel, she usually has great suggestions about how to dress up a dish to make it as attractive to the child as possible.


for snacks, stick to fruits and veggies sticks as much as possible, no chocolates or anything. if she hates eating fruits, try making a fresh fruit smoothie, that might interest her.


good luck!

Thanks Wheelymate.


Good thing she likes fruits--bananas, grapes, oranges and mangoes. Good idea with the smoothie, didn't think about that!

Cook spaghetti bolognase and throw in loads of grated vegies, splash of red wine etc and cook it down for ages - yum!


My kids also like to help make pizza - I buy pita bread and make the tomato base by blending lots of vegies and a tin of tomatoes, add some tomato paste to thicken. The kids enjoy putting their own pizza's together - ham, cheese, salami, olives etc.


Fried rice - again easy to chop veggies up nice and small, include the chicken.


Good Luck!

Thanks!


BTW, what are your children's fave restaurants? Or where do you usually take them?


I enjoy pizza hut, mcds and kentucky once in a while, but I want to entice their palates and encourage them to try something new..Oh, her 12 yr old sister is also a bit picky with food..

My kids love roast chicken with all of the veggies that go with it.


Marinated chicken wings (garlic, ginger, soy, little tomato sauce, mustard)


Chicken Pie


Homemade chicken nuggets rolled in cornflakes

Ask her mom for a list of her favorite foods, with recipes. But also, special time with Aunty can be a time to experiment with some of Aunty's favorite foods! Share with her foods that you enjoy! Your own enthusiasm may be more contagious than you realize, especially if her older sister isn't around to "model" picky eater distaste.

Both her parents don't cook, and sadly they are brought up with processed food--bacon, boxed nuggets, ham, corned beef-- if chicken is not available. They eat very little veggies, and not a wide variety really.


So I'm all geared up to introduce a better variety of more nutritious food, and make them try some HK dimsum, egg tart, some Chinese dessert. After all, food is a huge part of culture. So aside from showing them around town, I want them to enjoy eating too. Thanks for the vote of confidence Meiguoren :)

went out to a shanghainese resto the other day and 4yo won't touch a thing. Not even fried rice. Won't even try the dimsum and noodles (which she usually eats back home)...Don't want to make a big deal out of it. Shall I give in next time and buy her french fries and nuggets?


Sigh.. at least today she ate shrimps with rice.

Thanks all for the advice.


She still drinks (Anchor 3+ chocolate milk)from a bottle before going to bed and another bottle when she takes a nap in the afternoon. When she's hungry, she asks for "milk"..My mom, the doting granma that she is, usually gives in.


I'm enjoying time together with them and I don't want to be stressed with their eating habits, yet I want to somewhow influence them to eat better.


The 4 yr old is not bratty and doesn't throw tantrums--just the opposite--she keeps quiet and doesn't respond when spoken to when she's "not in the mood". Sigh..I applaud you parents out there, I'm realizing how challenging but fulfilling your roles are!

I never forced my children to eat, but I have a family rule which I learned from my grandmother: at each meal, the only rule is that the child must take a "tiny taste" of each thing on the table. It doesn't have to be a bite even. The idea is simply that in this way they might get used to it and keep an open mind that one day they might possibly change their mind. My kids cheerfully do this. When they have to tasted something they don't like, they do it with all the enthusiasm and drama of taking a medicine that tastes bad, but they still do it (and we tell them how wonderful they are for making the effort)! BUT I have a niece and nephew who were not raised this way and who wouldn't even tolerate the "tiny taste" rule when they were at my house. The issue came to a head one day when there was a food I just KNEW they would enjoy if only they would taste it, but they point blank refused and for half an hour there we sat. As sad and frustrated as I was, I made up my mind. I decided that I did not want my relationship with my niece and nephew, in the tiny bit of time I get to spend with them, to be focused on battles over food. I resolved that it's not my job to change them. Their mom raised them that way, and I can't undo years of parenting in my one week I had with them. Instead, it's my job to have a happy relationship with them and have fun together. So, I decided they would be completely exempt from the family rules, and I even bought white bread and hot dogs and all their favorite junk food for them. (My kids couldn't believe how awful their cousins were in regard to food, and thanked me that they weren't raised that way!) I'm glad I made this decision with my niece and nephew, because they now remember the fun times at my house rather than fights over food.

I'm trying to find a healthy balance between introducing new food tastes and indulging them. It's not easy all the time and it's a true test of my patience and tolerance. So far, 5 stars for me in this regard :) Well it's only been 6 days..


I want them to have happy and fun memories of their stay with me (it's the 3rd visit of my 12yo niece but the first for the 4yo) but at the same time, I want to inculcate some kind of discipline. I know it's the parents' responsibility, but you're right Meiguoren, it's not my primary task to change them.