kids, this is what I cooked for dinner, you can either eat it or be hungry.
Cooking for Kids: A Survival Guide
Photo: Superbez
Not being a parent myself, this issue only arises for me from time to time. Like when a close friend in the middle of a “trying to accommodate my new boyfriend and his teens” meltdown recently asked me for some fun and frugal suggestions that would accommodate the masses and not leave her feeling financially drained or put upon. When I asked her why she couldn't expect them to respectfully partake of whatever she prepared, she looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head. This article is a result of the discussion and research session that followed.
Since I admittedly lean towards the old school on this issue, and my friend is willing to accommodate children in ways I consider equivalent to standing on her head and whistling custom-seasoned versions of home cooked Dixie, I remain unconvinced we'll ever come to a precise middle ground. While I expect respect for my efforts, particularly for unexpected company, I have to admit there are some frequent allowances I am willing to make, and indeed have made in the past. And, since we are so similar in other areas however, her shock and horror at my response prompted me to delve further into this issue.
One of my first stops? The Wise Bread forums. Lynnae from Being Frugal was here, answering questions for our readers. While I was glad to have my belief in structure and expectations agreed with, the fact that Lynnae's philosophy was very similar to mine wasn't exactly giving my friend what she felt she needed, although including at least one healthy side dish that all enjoy was a help. So I asked around some more. The sister of a close friend of mine is seeing a man with a young son. Her solution? Serving a separate food option altogether. While I respect the devotion to blended family harmony and relationship balance this has to take, it just didn't seem practical to me. Wasn't exactly ringing my friend's bell either.
But I was starting to notice a pattern: Mealtime child accommodation issues with people who may not technically be family. Then I remembered a long forgotten relationship with a man during my early twenties (which ended badly by the way, with this mealtime madness being one of the recurring nightmares of our brief time together) where I struggled to find balance with this very situation. Reflecting further, one critical difference I see with how most moms (or dads who cook) may handle this scene and the strategies that significant others and cooks in blended families have available to them is authority. Until a relationship has progressed to the point where these issues have been thoroughly hammered out between partners, which depending on the couple can take years, mealtimes can be delicate diplomatic affairs. Without getting too far off topic, it was clear to me that a large group of people are also in a similar situation, and do not necessarily feel they are in a position to lay down the law, so to speak. Others may simply be willing to go a bit further in letting the children have some flexibility at the dinner table. Whatever your situation or reasons for needing kid friendly meal strategies, this article's for you. Here we go!
Tips and Hacks
Focus on the fun factor.
I'm not saying you need to spend every afternoon building Eiffel Tower models out of string beans or creating Mount Rushmore from your mashed potatoes. Quite frankly, who has the time? While I don't personally feel the obligation to put on a show every single time, here are a few things I'm willing to do when the mood strikes me:
- Poke a stick in it. Toothpicks for cheese cubes and chicken nuggets, pineapple chunk and red seedless grape fruit kabobs, and terriyaki skewers all come to mind.
- Dunking is delightful. Veggies or fruits with dip, bread sticks with soup and family fondue night are all suitably fun filled and affordable.
- Hot dog rolls. Not only are these great for travel sandwiches in general, but kids really dig anything put into these. So pick them up at the bread thrift store if you have to, toast 'em up in the oven and consider using them for tuna salad, sloppy Joes, pulled pork and more. Here are even more sandwich ideas to help you take hot dog rolls to the next level on a regular basis.
Simple substitutions for sides.
While I am by no means willing to custom cook an additional side dish once menu plans have already commenced and prep work begun, I could be persuaded to allow the following no fuss substitutions if available: mixed salad greens with French dressing, apple wedges or raw carrots. Got another idea? I'm sure others struggling with this issue would appreciate your suggestions.
Dressings as dips.
This is one of my all time favorite food hacks because I know I can pick them up cheap with coupons and easily store them in bulk without a freezer or refrigerator. Since dunking is popular with kids of all ages, and many children I know will eat nearly anything if properly sauced, this is one of those affordable no-brainers I'm more than willing to incorporate. It even came in handy for us when we were living more remotely. We had a barbie fridge when we first moved in, and larger sizes of everything were harder to accommodate. My favorite three? Ranch, blue cheese and honey mustard. The blue cheese and honey mustard are great for appetizer night, and ranch always comes in handy for veggie stick trays. Just open a single jar when needed and you will only have that smaller container to refrigerate afterwards. There are many dressings I prefer to make from scratch, but these ones are so multi purpose and affordable, I don't mind stocking them in the pantry. Some ideas?
- Buffalo chicken nuggets with celery sticks served with the blue cheese dressing and a side of rice.
- Sauteed sliced kielbasa with toothpicks and honey mustard for dipping served with a broccoli mac and cheese casserole.
- Hot oven sandwich night with carrot sticks and ranch for crunch factor. Quick and kid-friendly. Gotta love that.
Topping bars.
I love this idea because it incorporates some individual choice into a nutritionally balanced dinner plan while still landing on the side of parental respect regarding the efforts put into preparing a meal. One of the healthiest kid-friendly dinner parties my husband and I ever attended was an Indian curry themed self serve bar served family style. Everyone had bowls of rice with the tomato-based spicy curry spooned over the top and there was a selection of topping bowls with spoons in the middle of the table. It was a long table with people seated across from each other, so all toppings were in easy reach. The hostess arranged things with two sets of topping bowls in one long row separated by a centerpiece. Toppings included chopped nuts, coconut, chopped apple, sliced scallions, etc. Youngsters and adults alike enjoyed this ethnic, grown up, restaurant quality meal. Other ways to enjoy this strategy?
- Ice cream buffets. You can provide a fair amount of choice here without breaking the bank. Chocolate and caramel sauce, chopped nuts, a sprinkle option or two, crushed Oreos and whipped cream are all things that you could try out. This is one I'd only go through the effort for when a special event or party rolled around, but that's just me.
- Potato topping bars. While there of loads of things you can do with potatoes, topping bar night is a super affordable way to feed not just your children, but a crowd as well. Low carb tip? Since chili is an excellent potato topper and low carb to boot, consider picking up a large supply at the warehouse store. Many of the topping ideas that work for potatoes work for chili as well, so you can easily score a two-fer with no extra planning.
- Create your own gourmet pizza night featuring a choice between traditional sauce and toppings or a Thai peanut sauce with chopped chicken and scallions. Pinching pennies? Here's a recipe for DIY bulk pizza crust mix.
- Salad bar night where everyone starts with a basic mixed green and grape tomato base and selects from a selection of various add-ins.
- Try a soup topper buffet, featuring for example turkey sausage and noodles in a healthy tomato based broth with some veggie purees snuck in on the sly and served with a selection of shredded cheese, chopped onions, green peppers, bacon flavored TVP bits, low fat sour cream, etc.
Pre-dinner snacks.
A radical concept to some, I'm sure. I'm not saying let them spoil their dinner. The trick here is to go super light and healthy to eliminate crankiness prior to sitting down to the main event. They'll also be more inclined to help cook, a strategy that works well for adults too. Think celery sticks, apple wedges to share, raisins, or perhaps a tiny bit of DIY string cheese. Not only will the mood be better when you all sit down to share the main meal, but if you are serving creamed spinach as a side and cajoling them to take more than two bites isn't something you see happening in the immediate future, you'll know they've consumed something besides buttered noodles.
Allow yourself a few conveniences.
My absolute favorite affordable convenience food is Stouffer's large family size meat lasagna. Even at full price in a higher end grocery store, it comes out to a price I would have a hard time making it for. But when I recently saw them at Save-A-Lot for just under seven bucks, I nearly went nuclear with excitement. Jazzed up with a decent homemade salad and some garlic bread, this makes a nice sit down dinner that doesn't feel at all like it came out of a box. Bonus? Most kids dig it. Find an affordable kid-friendly convenience item that works for you and round it out with a few simple sides. As for me, I'm going to be stocking my freezer with my newfound Stouffer's source as soon as I can get it delivered.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ADVERTISEMENT
Get 'em in the game.
In addition to having them help with even the simplest things like pouring ice water for everyone, setting the table, picking out the napkin fold, etc, consider incorporating conversation starters to get things rolling before everyone sits down. This takes the focus away from “what might be on my plate that I don't want to eat” to what's going on in the family discussion. Some ideas? Pre-assigned fun topics such as slime versus silly putty, current events, or using some of the question cards from conversational–style board games to get you started.
Books and Links
- Deceptively Delicious, by Jessica Seinfeld. I only recently had a chance to check out this book while visiting a friend, and admit to being pleasantly surprised. I had expected an outrageous list of ingredient suggestions that only the super rich could afford. And while avacado puree (while something I love as a sandwich spread ) may be a bit out of anyone's reach to incorporate more than once a week, many of Jessica's puree suggestions were for super affordable vegetables such as cauliflower and squash. Another surprise was how similarly her pantry stocking strategies and chosen ingredients were to mine. For those that think this book doesn't include any “grown up” recipes, I encourage you to check out the baked doughnuts sprinkled with powdered sugar, and the amped up couscous with lower calories and more nutritional punch.
- The Complete Tightwad Gazette, by Amy Dacyczyn. While not normally considered a food book, there are several recipes in this title that in my humble opinion fall firmly within the category of extreme thrift. And remember, Amy pulled off some minor to moderate financial miracles with several kids along for the ride. The countless additional ideas and strategies in this book also make it an excellent overall budget resource and addition to anyone's personal library of thrift.
- As for links, I found several of note including these from CD Kitchen, Meals Matter and VegKitchen.Com. For those who may be working with public assistance resources, here's a link featuring child-friendly recipe ideas using foods provided by the WIC program. Additionally, Wise Bread's own Julie Rains wrote this nifty little clean eating article over on Parenting Squad.
Themes and Menu Suggestions
Italian night.
Meatball subs with veggie sticks and baked chips , customizable alfredo, affordable carbonara with leftover sale ham, angel hair with pesto and grissini, and bread sticks with multi purpose marinara are all simple and affordable ways to go with this theme night. Many tasty Italian dishes can be created inexpensively, and the cuisine is hugely popular with children, making it a sure winner.
Appetizer buffet.
This theme allows for tremendous diversity in the planning stage, which honors their likes and dislikes as well as yours. Bonus? The fun factor is huge, setting up a high probability for trying new things. Mozzarella sticks, healthy chicken nuggets, healthy rectangular pizza cut into smaller bars, spinach pinwheels, potato skins, fruit kabobs, stuffed mushrooms and anti-pasta skewers are all suggestions that would fit in with this type of theme.
Try a Tex-Mex theme.
Fire up your money saving crock pot and toss in a roast with taco seasoning. Have some tortillas and a toppings selection available. Other ideas? Bean burrito wraps, chicken filled quesadillas, or a corn and black bean dinner salad with salsa for dressing. This is another type of cuisine with loads of kid-approved menu options.
Go Asian.
While some of the more exotic dishes might not fly with the toddler crowd, there are plenty of simplified versions of Asian inspired menus out there to keep the kids happy. A few ideas would be fried rice, lo mein, grilled chicken skewers with rice and peanut sauce, simple stir fry, etc.
Breakfast for dinner.
Not only is breakfast a dirt cheap way to get dinner on the table fast, it's also a theme category with loads of ways to keep things running smoothly on the kid front. ( Think waffles with fruit, whole grain pancakes, breakfast casseroles, oatmeal with toppings bar and breakfast burritos with homemade tortillas. ) What I love about this theme is that it takes a yummy meal that most folks have no time to enjoy on a daily basis and brings it center stage for family time.
This is as much detail as I can think of to put into this post. I'm not a parent (unless you count canines), but my husband and I did have a teenager live with us for nearly a year during a time of transition for her family. I've also spent years observing lunch and snack sessions from a teacher's perspective and noticing how other parents I respect handle this on the home front. Any other folks who have some ideas on how to walk the discipline line while providing meals your whole family can enjoy, as always . . . share the love in the comment section below.
Best of Wise Bread
#1 - your reply mirrors my own.
If I take the time to make dinner, everyone in my house at dinnertime can either eat what I made, or eat nothing. Barring allergies (in which case I will not make food that contains the allergen), there is no excuse for such bad manners as to decline the food someone took the time to prepare.
Catering to every whim of children, in regard to this and other things, is a large part of why children today are so ill-behaved.
One way I've found around having to deal with this, when cooking for OPKs (other people's kids) is to get them to help you cook. I got a 5 year old to eat stilton and boiled garlic with pasta (normally too strong for children to enjoy), simply because she helped to prepare it. When children are emotionally invested in the success of the meal, they will travel far to make sure they clearly express their enjoyment of the dish in question.
My family's solution to my unreasonably picky sister was that she could always make herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as an alternative.
This saved the rest of us from being limited to what she would eat, there were never arguments about whether she had to eat something, and there were no hoops to jump through preparing things specially for her.
Most kids will have a reasonably healthy 'fall back' meal they will happily eat time & time again. Let them make their own decision, and do their own prep, and save the battles.
Like I said, that's how I was raised too.
But I do know that I've purposely included some fun stuff from time to time when I knew people were coming over with kids. That being said, If I had made roast chicken with potatoes and side vegetable, I'd be the first person to step up and say I didn't want any guff about it.
It just seemed like I was running across both ends of the spectrum when I checked around, so I figured this post might be in order. I'll be interested to see how the discussion unfolds, and where different people land on this issue.
My 10-year-old is picky. I always keep a bag of frozen peas on hand. When the meal includes a veggie that he doesn't like (6 out of 7 nights), he gets a cup of frozen peas.
The real beauty -- he eats them still frozen.
I fed him still frozen peas when he was teething, and he never outgrew his taste for them.
I now feed my 1-year-old frozen peas and frozen corn. I just plop a handful on his high-chair tray, while I am making dinner. Keeps him quiet and allows me to cook.
Hi Tara.
You know, I've never seen anyone do that except for my cousin with her three kids when they were growing up. But you know what? They LOVED the frozen peas thing. I think it's the sweetness factor. Cool idea. And of course I love the fact that it is simple and super affordable for all. For the healthy high chair entertainment factor alone, I think this tip is worth it.
We do like actually cooking with our kids, getting them a small safety knife and letting them cut up strawberries or cucumbers. When they have imput into the menus they have more buy in--there are rules, they need to plan for at least one vegetable and fruit.
Pasta bar night is a great one, breakfast for dinner is always a hit, Quesadillas with soup--we can add veggies or meat--the kids can have just cheese.
We serve family style and ask that you try one bite. If it is new, exotic, or "yucky," I've found with one bite they may like it enough that they develop a new food option...
The ironclad dinner rule is that if you don't like anything then you need to make something else yourself. This has worked since my youngest was 3! Sometimes the choice was a banana for dinner, now it can be cottage cheese, yogurt, other fruit or toast if her brother is willing to help her out. But when dinner is on the table, no adult will "cook" anything else.
Thanks, Leigh.
I'm loving the pasta bar idea, and also the tweakable quesadilla tip. Good for you for getting your kids in the game.
I am a Mom. I am not a short order cook. My family has the same rules as one of the previous posters - you eat what I cook or you make yourself a peanut butter sandwich. I never understood the people who say that their kids will only eat white things, or that all they will eat is chicken nuggets, or any other oddball eating habits. Allergies are different, and we are fortunate enough to have no one in our family with allergies, but that aside it is hard enough to do the things that I have to do and to also get a homemade meal on the table 6-7 days a week, but I feel that a family meal is important and that is why I make sure that I cook as often as I do. That being said, there is no way that I am making separate meals for everyone in the family.
I can totally understand where you're coming from, #8. One thing I think that is different for this particular friend though, is that she is in fact not the actual Mom.
This, combined with the fact that she and the gentleman she is seeing have many of their evenings together shared with the children until at least a certain hour of evening, and she wants whatever time they do have together (tough to carve out an evening with both of their schedules) to run smoothly.
While she will probably always be willing to provide way more flexibility than I would, I do agree that she's in an extra tough situation and has a different platform to function from entirely. Being the Mom versus being the girlfriend are two very different roles with two very different sets of authority parameters.
Also, if a woman is in a situation where she doesn't feel a new relationship is ready to have these issues discussed yet, I can see where she might want to just make sure that twice a month dinner ran smoothly and hammer out the rules when she feels the time is right for her and her significant other. Ditto in reverse for those guys out there who are cooking for the children of a newer woman in your life. Every relationship progresses differently, and people clearly have different boundaries on this issue. Not to mention whether the person is going to be cooking all the time versus just once in a while.
Speaking for the former relationship of mine that I mentioned in the article, I basically NEVER received any back up from him and he saw nothing wrong with letting his kids run roughshot over my dinner menu no matter how much distress I expressed over the situation. Now whether that would have worked itself out over time is hard to say. The whole thing lasted long enough for me to meet his children but nowhere near long enough to work out this not so little issue between us. Did this drive me into a nuclear state of irritation? You betchya. Which is why it didn't last long.
However, I can see in some instances where this might be something some folks were willing to work around this at least while they were figuring out the actual relationship. In which case, some supportive ideas would be in order. One of the main points of the article. Thanks for sounding off, everybody!
Thanks Myscha for the article and the support, I appreciate it. The fact is it is a very different ball game between being a parent and being a girl friend who is developing a relationship with their dad AND building a relationship with two teens. There is much to be said for making our shared dinners fun and and enjoyable for all, not only does it help their dad it helps the teens and I enjoy the evenings we have and build the relationship in a positive way without being a wench about what teens do or do not prefer to eat.
My very flexible perspective comes from my own family who were very accomadating to my picky eating as a child. I don't see making accomodations as an issue at all. I was needing tips and meal plans to keep meal accomodations simple and fun for the four of us! Thanks Myscha for providing that! The meatball subs and pizza night have been a big hit already in this past week.
My sister married a guy who never outgrew being picky about food. Unfortunately he's passing that on to their two boys. Having to get around what they "will eat" has limited her meal options, although she's adapted to some extent. And she's gotten better about making the boys eat vegetables (they'll both gladly scarf down any fruit that you put anywhere near them, so there's that). But it does sorta boggle my mind that there are people who get to adulthood and *won't* eat anything but a small list of things. Maybe I'm just lazy and really will eat almost anything (oysters, beets and lima beans are on my list of foods that I won't eat. And pumpkin, but that's a weird allergy.). If I ever have kids, the "eat it or make something for yourself" rule will be applied at my table.
There is also the other thought - that while MOST people, while dating, will deviate a bit from their average meal (eating out more, or making special dinners), if this is an every-night (or more than one night a week) thing, and she deviates from how she normally cooks, what will happen to her meals when and if they suddenly decide to marry? Will she continue to put herself out to all ends to make special meals for the kids, or will she disappoint them by suddenly going back to the way that she normally cooks? If you can't be your honest self while dating - even when eating food - then really, you have to look at whether you're being your honest self in other areas as well.
Like I said, that's not to say that a "special night" once in a while is bad, but if her normal thought would be an "if you don't like it, I've got pb&j sandwich stuff in the kitchen, take it or leave it", then she really ought to try and stay as true to herself the majority of the time (even with the kids) as she can.
My 2 cents. And PS. I WAS raised (and we raise our daughter) in the "eat it now or eat it later" school. And while my nephew and husband's cousin (she's young) were BOTH initially hesitant about this idea, they took to it quite quickly. *grin*
But I can see how it might be difficult when you're not the mom.
And baby carrots are my standby side-dish. Healthy, and everyone likes them.
Thanks for the link!
When my husband and I married, his daughter was 6. She ate chicken nuggets (or plain chicken) and fries. I refused to cook a separate meal for her. Soooo, lots of arguments in the beginning as well as tears. We did lean heavily on chicken meals during the first couple of years, because SD would at least pick the chicken out.
One of the things I found, though, as I was checking out how to get kids to eat unfamiliar food was this. A child has to be exposed to a new food multiple times (15+) before they are comfortable with it. So we gave up insisting that she eat a 'reasonable' amount of any food item, and just had one simple rule: The One Bite Rule. It applies to all of us, as well. If there is something that's served that you don't like, you must eat one bite of it. After one bite, there are no other comments about it. If you're still hungry after the meal, a pb or cheese sandwich is ok. This rule has changed stressful mealtimes into pleasant occasions.
Of course what's happened over the years is that my step-daughter has 'learned' to eat lots of foods that she would probably have never even tried. She has seen that I will eat one bite of peas when I serve them (peas are gross!). And that Dad will eat his one bite of asparagus, too, with no complaints.
Now that SD is 14, I know I won't be embarrassed when we go to the pastor's house for Sunday lunch, and get fed lamb kebabs! She left a bit on her plate, but ate enough to not be rude.
This has been hard work, but worth it. I know now that my step daughter will try unfamiliar foods, whether she's at our house or her mother's house, and I have a good feeling because I know that without me in her life, she would probably still just be eating chicken and potatoes.
More of a philosphical slant.
We teach our kids, if you're at someone else's house you eat what's given without complaint. If you serve yourself, then just be reasonable about the sweets and take a bit of protein and vegetable. They've gotten to try things they might never have tasted and realized they actually like them. If your friend's boyfriend doesn't think this is important to emphasize with his daughter, (you're a guest in someone else's home), then like it was in your previous relationship, it's not really a food issue, but a relational/respect one. Even with our own kids, food can be a power play forum. Sometimes kids fight to win even if what they win isn't something they really want. They just want to know where the boundaries are. That said. In our house I have a husband who grew up on iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, white bread, and meat. I accomodated him by serving mostly things he liked but stretched his diet by interspersing different things. As a result the kids grew up eating a fairly decent variety and DH has grown to enjoy/tolerate more.
For whatever reason, some people don't like everything in the universe so your post is well suited for all! I started eating kale (who knew it wasn't just for decoration and what a nutritional bargain!) after joining a CSA and cooking with rhubarb after taking a cooking class.
It is funny how tastes change (and hopefully mature!) over time, often suddenly.
And speaking of Stouffer's lasagna, I have found that kids at the youth group love it. I've had the occasion to have a child tell me (and none of the other parents or leaders) that he/she is a non-meat-eater when it is my turn to fix the meal. As it turns out, the kids didn't like the "vegetarian lasagna -- creamy style" but don't seem to be able to tell the difference between the meat lasagna and the five-cheese lasagna; so it's nice to have the five-cheese on hand just in case a non-meat-eater is sharing your meal.
I grew up with rhubarb, and miss being able to access it for free. Not every place we lived at had it, but usually somebody we knew did.
I'll have to check out the five-cheese lasagna. Always nice to find a fellow Stouffer's queen. I don't do many processed or prepacked meals, but we do enjoy that one and on occasions when we have been in transition for the military (or now with this freaking flood recovery) I have also done Skillet Sensations and the occasional Bertolli meal.
Another thing we will do if in a pinch is a higher quality, self rising crust frozen pizza. While we enjoy making the super duper budget version from scratch, sometimes we are just trying to keep our heads above water with schedules and having a decent frozen combo pizza sure helps keep things rolling full steam ahead.
Myscha, I appreciate this article and the comments. I've not been in the situation your friend is experiencing, but I have a family member working through these issues right now. The couple I know is blending together two families of teenagers, so food is just one of many issues fraught with peril. :)
Including kids in a dinner party can be just as hard sometimes. We are raising our kids the was #1 suggested...eat it or be hungry. But not all our friends and family do the same. My strategy when having kids over for a meal is to make sure I have plenty of good rolls and a big, sweet fruit salad (maybe even Jello!), and lots of kid-friendly dessert.
Then I avert my eyes and let the parents deal with what and how much their kids eat. If little Buford eats only rolls and chocolate cake he at least will get filled up, and one bad meal won't kill him. Plus he'll have fond memories of dinners at our house. :)
I think it's helpful if people can chime in from all ends of the spectrum with their strategies and opinions. Chances are, people have experienced this as well from time to time, no matter how they may be raising their own kids. Since we generally all feel safe sounding off here, I'm hoping people will continue to feel comfortable chiming in.
The dinner party thing comes up for us too, so even though we are still technically childless, and are both in agreement that respect if first and foremost,I'm certainly gathering information from all who take the time to comment. Besides, we are still keeping the parenthood option on the table, so these are specifics we may still need to work out as a couple too.
Let's keep the conversation going, everybody!
You know, I grew up eating what I was served. It's funny, because my step-dad is one of those guys who is very picky, and in his 60's, still won't eat vegetables. It's funny because I *KNOW* he is on a vacation, visited my in-laws, and was served veggies last night. And he was raised a polite person...so I bet he ate what he was served...
I do adjust meals a little bit for adults and kids. At home, my family eats what I cook. But we don't eat much meat. And for some of our friends, it's not a meal if there's not meat. So when we have them over, I cook meat.
At our house we have a courtesy taste instead of a courtesy bite. My daughter has a pretty sensitive palate and I want her to feel free to spit her taste out if she doesn't like it. Sometimes those tastes are microscopic, but she tastes it. We'll get there eventually. That's at home. I don't require it when we're guests elsewhere. Although, she tends to be more adventurous away from home. And most people ask me in advance what she likes so they can have something she'll eat.
Our other rule is to always have bread (or rice) at the table. If she doesn't like what's served she can fill-up on that. It's only one meal and I tend to choose a well-liked lunch on days I know I'm serving questionable foods at dinner. I also try to choose sides I know she's eaten in the past. Add a glass of milk and really, it's not so bad.
Our most important rule is politeness. Nobody is allowed to make disparaging comments about the food. If you don't like it, just say "no thank you."
