kid friendly food

[sereia 0]

i'm a chef to a family with three young children. 3, 6, and 9. the family is getting bored with the current menu! the father tells me what to make so i'm not in control of this. they're a family of repetition but now they decided to spice things up (and its summer so more things are coming in season) now has asked me to send him ideas so he can choose from that. i grew up as the youngest child and never had any other younger relatives so i'm clueless when it comes to kid friendly meals. i've liked sushi and other adult things all my life.

anyone have advice on good kid friendly, low-fat meals?

examples of things i've been making: shrimp dumplings, stirfry with broccoli, tacos, vegetable lasagna, chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan, turkey meatballs, turkey burgers, steak, hummus and babaganoug, chinese chicken salad, caesar salad, carrot puree, brown rice, broccoli broccoli broccoliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, lowfat mac and cheese, roast chicken, .......

[Sinergy 3]

aztec caserole, my kids LOVE IT!

its ground beef, lots of shredded cheese any kind you like, bar-b-q sauce, and DORITOS lots of doritos, and corn, but the kids wont care with the doritos and cheese in there that there is corn

Edited May 8, 2007 by Ionescu

[Tim and Bethanie 1]

As a mother of three, if those kids are eating the stuff you posted they would eat about anything! Going with Ionescu posted, try some casseroles kids love cheese and mixed flavors.

This is a great place with good reviews. http://allrecipes.com/

[Sinergy 3]

something else good, mac n cheese and hotdogs, just cut the hotdogs up and mix together, and bake with bread crumbs ontop and parmasean cheese. its yummy and my kids love it

[keltic 1]

quesadillas

sloppy joes (you can make it with ground turkey if you are trying for healthier fare)

chili (yes, its typically winter food, but our family likes it year-round)

chicken & rice

pot roast

chicken fingers (you can bake them instead of frying - and change up the breading like using cheezits instead of breadcrumbs)

jambalaya

dirty rice

chicken pot pie

meatloaf burgers (you can sneak veggies into a burger this way!)

bbq mufffins (i make pulled pork and then line a minimuffin pan with 1/4 of a biscuit and fill it with the bbq and top with cheese)

these are all favorites of my 8 yr old daughter... i can ask her for other favorites when shes home from school

Edited May 8, 2007 by keltic

[boo boo 1]

how about suggesting bbq'd items ....hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, steak, corn on the cobb- w/ various salads, or at least making full course meals from grilled meats and veggies. Summer is fanastic for grilling and kids LOVE it. My kids love paella- w/ seafood and chicken in it.

Another thing is creating pizzas, burritoes, tacos....w/ black beans and yellow rice.

[keltic 1]

oooo and the post above reminds me...

i have found lowcarb tortillas that i use for tons of things... of course, anything that you could put on a sandwich... but i also like making mini pizzas with them... and my daughter thinks its fun to come up with different topping ideas

[Niels Bohr 72]

Anything that has no sugar.

[sereia 0]

ionescu, your dishes sound good but wayyyyyyy too fattening!

this family decided against me making pad thai because of the carbs! LOL

thanks for the ideas everyone.. keep 'em coming!

[Jenn! 918]

This topic reminded me of an episode of Top Chef where they had to prepare fun foods for kids at a weight loss camp. Here are some of the recipes from that show:

http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef_2/recipes/...e_4/index.shtml

[Sinergy 3]

ionescu, your dishes sound good but wayyyyyyy too fattening!

this family decided against me making pad thai because of the carbs! LOL

thanks for the ideas everyone.. keep 'em coming!

actually if you use ground chicken,low fat cheese,... for the aztec, its healthier, and who cares about mac n cheese being fattenting, ITS GOOD