should i give up?

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I put a lot of effort in preparing healthy meals for RJ. I usually spend hours in the supermarket, choosing the ingredients that doesn't have much or any preservative, for the week's menu.

 

For a person who doesn't like to cook, yup that's me, I am becoming exasperated with his picky eating. One minute I'm jumping with joy because he likes what I cooked, then when I cook it again he says he doesn't like it because it's yuck! It doesn't matter if I cook it again a few days after, the second or third try is always yuck for him.

 

 

Should I just give up and give in to what he wants? Bacon, ham, eggs and other processed food every single meal everyday?

my picky eater

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RJ is a very picky eater. Because I don't allow him to eat unhealthy food, like chips, candies and soda, I make sure that we are well-stocked with his favorite food that's not bad for his health. He doesn't like vegetables, so I'm really thankful that he loves fruits. I usually mix his fruits with yogurt because he loves that as well.

There are days when I find ways to make him eat his vegetables. Just the other day, he ate broccoli. I put steamed broccoli on a microwavable dish, put quickmelt cheese that's enough to cover the whole vegetable when it melts and then sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. He ate it! He said it's yummy.

I'm looking forward to the day when he'll eat his veggies without complaining, frowning and saying it's yuck. I want to cook more healthy food because all the fried chicken and fried fish, that he likes, are making me fat.

these kids can cook better than me!

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Watch these kids cook and you'll be amazed. I should show this to my son, maybe he wants to be like them. He did say a few times already that he wants to be a Chef when he grows up. He doesn't have to wait for a few more years, he can start now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed he can cook like these kids do.

picky eater's special request

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My son is a very picky eater. It might have something to do with what I prepare for him to eat. I try not to cook hotdog, corned beef, spam and other canned goods that kids his age loves to eat. Vegetables and fruits are a must in our daily meal. He does eat fruits, but vegetable is synonymous to yucky for him. Ask him how to suppress appetite and he'll surely say "vegetable on the table".

He's been requesting for a Kimbap for two weeks already. So tonight, I am going to prepare that for dinner. I'll make some california maki as well. I'll just put a thin layer of rice because I don't want carbo-overload on my already unwanted love handles!

waking up early during school days

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This is how RJ looks like, while eating breakfast, during school days. He can hardly open his eyes. It doesn't matter if he had 8 hours of sleep. If it's still dark outside, his eyes will still remain closed.





My role, while he's eating breakfast, is to remind him every single second to open his eyes and chew his food well. He spends a good deal of time eating breakfast so I end up feeding him most of the time.

I'm hoping he'll be "more awake", while eating breakfast, next school year. If that indeed happens, I'll surely miss feeding my 9 year old baby in the morning.

just like crop rotation

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"Can I have porkchops for lunch next week?", my son asked me last night.

"So we're through with fried chicken?"

My picky eater son has a suggestion. "Why not prepare something different every week for my lunch. Do it like crop rotation, new dish every week."



lunch baon: chicken balls with homemade gravy

 "Well, it's hard to do that with you because most of the time you don't like new dishes. So I just stick with those that you'll surely eat. So starting this week, tell me what you want for your weekly lunch so I can include it on my weekly grocery list."

I hope this will solve our problem of too much left over food in his lunchbox.*fingers crossed*

tips from a picky eater's mom

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When will he like food and really like it forever? My son is a very picky eater. I spend hours planning our weekly menu before heading to the grocery store. I don't mind eating nothing but white meat, fruits and vegetables. But that's not possible, I can't have just that because there's a picky eater in the house -my son RJ. A few weeks ago, he's so into chicken nuggets (again!). So I stuffed the fridge with chicken nuggets. After a few meals of "I like chicken nuggets very much", it's now on his list of "I hate this food".

                                                                                 about-recipes

When will I ever learn. I feel like I've won in a lottery everytime I hear him say, "This is yummy, Mama!" A few days after, I have to look for weight loss supplements because I end up eating the "yummy food" that I-thought-he-will-like-forever-so-I-bought-a-months-supply.

From now on, I'm putting my foot down. I will only prepare healthy food whether it's yummy for him or not. It's better for us to eat fresh, healthy food than stuff our body with yummy but dangerous-to-our-health food.

recipe of the day

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Here's another recipe for your picky eater.

                                                                              yummy.ph

Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe with ham and swiss cheese and mushroom sauce

Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
8 boneless chicken breast halves, skin removed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
4 slices (1 ounce each) cooked ham, cut in half
4 slices (1 ounce each) Swiss cheese, cut in half
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
vegetable oil
.
Mushroom Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup heated milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt
white pepper

Preparation:

Place each piece of chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper or in food storage bag. Pound gently to flatten, using a rolling pin or smooth side of meat mallet. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Combine eggs with 1 cup milk; dip chicken pieces in mixture. Place a piece of ham and a piece of cheese in the center of each flattened piece of chicken. Brush top of cheese slices with the milk and egg mixture. Fold ends over the ham and cheese; roll up, beginning with long side. Secure rolls with toothpicks. Dredge chicken in the 1/3 cup flour then dip in remaining milk mixture; roll in bread crumbs to coat well. Place chicken rolls on a plate; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Fry chicken rolls for 20 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown. Drain well. Serve with mushroom sauce. Serves 8.

Mushroom Sauce:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; sauté mushrooms until browned. Add flour and stir until mixture is well blended. Gradually stir in hot milk and chicken broth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to boil and thickens. Simmer, stirring frequently, over very low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 1 cup of medium thick sauce.

recipe: southernfood.about.com

picky eater's pick of the month

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...or maybe just for this week (?).

There are days when I am so frustrated that I just want to pull all my hair out. RJ is a very picky eater and it's very difficult to plan our meals because of that. If I can only have my way, I will cook vegetables for breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in-between. RJ's favorite line these days, "I hate vegetables! Yuck!"

Thank God that he doesn't hate fruits. And at the moment Taho.

Tahô is a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup), and pearl sago (similar to pearl tapioca). This staple comfort food is a signature sweet and can be found all over the country. The Indonesian and Malaysian equivalent of this dish is Tahu.

I found this video tutorial on how to make homemade taho. It's so easy.

Ingredients:

22 ounces extra soft tofu
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup uncooked tapioca pearls
4 ½ cups water

Procedure:

1. Pour 4 cups of water in a cooking pot and bring to a boil.
2. Put-in the tapioca pearls and cook for 40 minutes in medium heat.
3. Add ¼ cup brown sugar and mix well.
4. Turn off the heat and let the tapioca pearls sit on the cooking pot until room temperature is achieved. Set aside.
5. Heat a saucepan then pour-in ½ cup of water.
6. Put-in 1 cup of brown sugar once the water starts to boil. Mix well and simmer for 1 minute. Set aside.
7. Transfer the extra soft tofu in a glass or mug then heat in a microwave oven for a minute.
8. Top the extra soft tofu with the cooked tapioca pearls and sweet syrup.
9. Serve warm. Share and Enjoy!

Thank you to Panlasang Pinoy for the recipe. I am now a big fan!

pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

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My son can definitely live on pizza alone. He will say "Yay!" if I feed him pizza for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between meals. He has yet to try Freschetta FlatBread though. Zesty Italian, Roasted Garlic and Spinach, Pepperoni or 5-Cheese ... it doesn't matter, he'll gobble it all up in a heartbeat!

Who in his right mind will refuse Zesty Italian? Zesty and delicious come together on one thin crispy crust. Topped with pepperoni, sausage, Genoa salami, mozzarella and asiago cheeses, with a zesty red sauce just right for a great Italian taste.

You will never have second thoughts of getting another slice of Roasted Garlic and Spinach. Break away from the ordinary with this delicious fusion of roasted garlic, spinach, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses with a delightfully creamy garlic sauce on a thin and crispy crust.

And yes, Pepperoni is one of my son's favorite pizza topping. Generous pieces of pepperoni over mozzarella and fontina cheese is sure to please. The classic pizza and the taste everyone craves.

Cheese is good for the bones, who can refuse a 5-Cheese pizza? The perfect blend of mozzarella, asiago, romano, parmesan and provolone compliment each other culminating in a 5-cheese masterpiece.

 
Are you getting hungry now? Check out Freschetta FlatBread for yourself and get a coupon for $1 off!

fish fillet nuggets

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My son is a very picky eater. I don't want him to eat unhealthy food, so I try to make him eat a healthy meal everyday. Let me ask you something. Do you love eating fish when you we're younger? Me, I don't remember anymore. But I am sure I would have gobbled a piece of cookie right away instead of eating fish.

I tricked my son in eating this fish dish though.

Ingredients:

fish fillet

egg (slightly beaten)

cornstarch

Directions:

1. Cut fish fillet into cubes.

2. Dash beaten egg with a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Dip fish cubes in egg mixture. Don't soak.

4. Dip in cornstach.

5. Fry until golden brown.

Try using different flavoured dips, each time you cook this fish dish.

corn and spinach soup

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My son is not a big fan of vegetables. His favorite word everytime a veggie touches his tongue is...yuccckkk!

I have tried tricks to make him eat veggies and the most effective one so far is looking mad everytime he says yuccckkk.

Was very happy last week when he ate the corn and spinach soup that I made without uttering and muttering his favorite word.

Here is the recipe, won't make it too complicated.

Ingredients:

ground pork (just enough to add flavor)

corn (removed from the cob)

spinach leaves

minced garlic

diced onions

sliced tomatoes

fish sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute, onions, garlic and tomatoes.

2. Add ground pork, brown.

3. Add corn and fish sauce

4. Add water, boil. Better if corn softens up and make the soup thicken a bit.

5. Add spinach.

6. Don't forget salt and pepper!

Bon Appetit!

i made my son cry (almost!)

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As I have said on my previous posts, my son is a very picky eater. With the desire to play with his classmates right away during lunch break (instead of putting food in his stomach), he doesn't finish his lunch most of the time. Early morning of each day, while preparing his lunch food, I can't help but think that I am pretty sure I will again find his lunch container still half-full when I pick him up in school later during the day.

Today, I wrote him a note on a piece of paper. I taped it on his lunch container.

When I picked him up, he said: "Thank you for your note, Mama. I'm sorry I didn't finish my lunch. I almost cried when I read your note".

He was so touched with my note, it made him cry (almost!). Last time I made him a note for lunch was when he was still in preschool. Technically it was not a lunchnote, it was a recess note because he only stays for 3 hours in school at that time. I guess this is my first ever lunchnote for him then.

When I checked his lunch container, I was so happy that he almost finished his food. One more bite would have been enough to finish it.

Oh well, that is better than finding it still half-full right?

Lasagna, anyone?

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As I have said on my earlier post, my son is a very picky eater. I can count on my two hands the dishes that he likes to eat. Topping the list of his favorite food is pasta. He can eat macaroni and cheese on any given day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Today, I decided to cook another pasta dish that my son likes to eat. Lasagna. It has more ingredients and takes much longer to cook than the I-can-cook-with-eyes-closed mac & cheese.

Try cooking this Lasagna recipe for your family also. I’m sure they will love it.

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 medium sweet white onion, diced
1/2 large green bell pepper, seeds and veins removed, diced
1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles - unbroken)
1/4 cup sugar
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 28 oz can (16 oz) stewed tomatoes
1/2 6 oz can (3 oz) tomato paste
1 lb Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese (large flat square slices)
3/4 lb freshly grated parmesan cheese
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Italian Spice
Salt
Garlic Salt
Parsley diced (fresh flat leaf preferred)
1 Garlic Cloves, minced
White wine vinegar

Method
1 Brown lean ground beef in skillet until lightly browned and cooked through. Put a few layers of paper towels in large bowl. With slotted spoon, remove browned beef from skillet draining off excess beef fat and put on top of blotting towels. After all the browned beef has been removed from the skillet, drain off and dispose of excess beef fat. Wipe skillet clean with paper towel. (If your ground beef is sufficiently lean, there won't be any excess fat to drain.)

Add diced green pepper and onion to skillet. Brown for a few minutes on medium high heat, add browned beef back to the skillet, lower the heat to low and continue to cook for 5 more minutes stirring frequently.

2 Transfer browned beef, green pepper and onions to 3 Qt. pot. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste. Open stewed tomatoes and dice, then add to 3 Qt. pot. Add oregano, parsley, Italian Spice Mix to taste, probably 2 teaspoons of each. Add a pinch of garlic powder and a pinch of garlic salt, to taste. Add a dash of white wine vinegar. Add sugar a couple tablespoons at a time, until desired level of sweetness, no more than 1/4 cup of sugar. Note that it is hard to follow a pure recipe when it comes to pasta sauce. One Italian spice mix is not like the other, nor is one can of tomato sauce not like the other. So you really do need to taste the sauce as you are adding the spices, sugar and vinegar.

Stir and allow sauce to simmer 15-45 minutes to thicken (do not scorch bottom, stir frequently). Remove from heat.

3 Cook 1 lb lasagna noodles in 6 Qt. Pot per cooking directions (al dente). (Note noodles may be cooked in advance.) Stir often to prevent from sticking and be sure that water remains at a low boil during the entire cooking to prevent noodles from sticking. I usually add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the cooking water to help prevent sticking and I add 1/2 teaspoon of salt so the noodles are more flavorful. Drain in colander and place in cool water filled pan to keep from drying out and sticking together.

4 In dry lasagna pan, ladle one cup of sauce and spread along the bottom of the pan. Apply a layer noodles 3 length wise (edges overlapping). Ladle in sauce sparingly into center trough of 3 noodles. Apply a layer of mozzarella cheese slices on top of lasagna sauce. Place ricotta cheese dollops (about a Tablespoon) every 2 inches in center of noodles on top of mozzarella cheese slices, sprinkle grated parmesan cheese in thin even layer on top of ricotta cheese. Apply second layer of noodles, repeat three time topping with noodles. If you have extra sauce and cheese you can spread that over the top. Tent lasagna pan with aluminum foil (not touching noodles or sauce). Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Note - Flavor improves for second service and may be reheated in convention or microwave. Leave aluminum tent on for storage (Do not allow aluminum to touch the sauce.)

You might want to try one of my son's fave dessert - the Mango Float.

recipe source: Elise.com

picky eater

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When my son was still a baby, he doesn't complain what i feed him. He just gobble everything up, no wonder his face was way bigger than mine at that time. He developed carotenemia (yellowing of the skin) though because I always include squash to his everyday meal. Good thing he didn't turn green when I added more green leafy veggies to his diet.

But my son at 7.11 years old is a very picky eater. One day he likes a particular meal and requests it for a week or so, then he'll just surprise me by saying that what i cooked is not yummy. Whattt?? You requested it for a week and I followed the recipe instruction up to the last detail... and oh yes, it does taste the same everytime I cook it (I always taste it before serving it to you) -- now its not yummy anymore? Whatever happened to "this tastes good mama" or "you're a good cook mama".

Good thing that there are a lot of cooking shows (they have websites also) where mommies like me can get ideas to add to our already huge collection of picky-eater-friendly recipes. One such cooking show is quickfire, shown in Qtv. Its like 30-minutes by rachel ray but Chef Rosebud promises recipes that are "done in less than 10 minutes". Tried some of her recipes already and liked it because its not hard to follow. I do not use ajinomoto though, sorry. Hopefully she will add more recipes that will help moms prepare different kinds of meals to their family.