I am so tired of making meals for my kids that they won’t eat. My kids routinely refuse the lunch I make them. That means the meal ends with them eating very little, usually just the fruit and vegetables on their plate. I put their leftover lunch in the fridge and they have it for dinner. The grumble, but they eat it (for the record, I’m a good cook, I just don’t allow my kids to eat chicken nuggets or mac and cheese every day).
After meal after meal of complaints I threw up my hands in frustration and created a meal I could live with serving and they would actually eat. I took a loaf of take and bake bread, put meats and cheeses that I know they like on it. I added lettuce, tomato, mustard, and mayo – all things they like. I cut slices and they ate it happily.
I called it at Family Sandwich and they raved about it for days. I’m quite proud of reframing a party sub as a family meal.
Please share your most frustrating story about what your kids wouldn’t eat with me. I want to feel better about my picky little ones.
mildlygranola 
That looks like a delicious lunch:)
My kids weren’t fussy eaters as kids. That came later as teens. Now my son has things he won’t eat so I just don’t serve them to him. He likes things very spicy so I’m used to him dumping hot sauce in everything.
My mother used to make a roll up sandwich thing when I was a kid that everyone loved. She’d defrost one of the frozen bread dough loaves (like Rhodes) and roll it out flat. Then she’d layer on cold cuts and cheese and then roll it back up and bake it according to the directions on the frozen dough package. It made tasty sandwiches when cut into slices. It was fun to eat. I was a fussy eater and never complained about this.
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I’m going to try that. It sounds delicious!
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Cher was in a movie called Mermaids.. it is a simply wonderful movie. She worked and came home, and she would give her kids a bamboo skewer of fruit and cheese in cubes . And a loaf of fresh bread. My kids were very picky eaters, especially Zach. To this day, they love cheese, bread , fruit dinner. I did too! I think Zach at pizza and mac and cheese for more meals than any DCFS worker would approve of. I made sure the took a multivitamin every day. Zach would eat an and all fruits , but little else. Now, in Mexico, he eats a vast array of many many different foods. HE is so adventurous now, so have hope. I also had a few homemade bread recipes I baked often. Cookies were never mastered by me, but I can make bread like nobody s business. So I felt they were eating fresh bread without preservatives. It is really hard to try to please everyone. I had a rule. If you didn’t like dinner, you could have cereal. But only cereal. Cereal is chuck full of vitamins. Good luck. They grow out of things. We had to call broccoli Trees, or zach would not eat it. “here zach, eat a few trees” and he would . Or he’d give it to the dog……I suspect!
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I love that movie! I often make my kids a cocktail party meal – cheese, crackers, raw veggies and fruit.
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What a great idea! So glad your kids liked it. 🙂
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My favorite meal is fruit and cheese and crackers and wine, like hors d’oeuvres. Bob is the cook and he mostly makes everything in one pot. He is a good cook but sometimes I like to taste individual things. I get tired of food all mixed together. My middle son Henry lived on veggie bootie and chocolate soy milk for two years as a toddler and he turned out ok.
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One of the meals my kids love to eat is “cocktail party” They have plates with cheese, crackers, raw veggies, fruit, and meat. All of the things I like about cocktail parties.
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My girls were not fussy, so we were fortunate! Your sandwich looks very healthy though! A favorite at our house was stir fry with beef or chicken. Throw in what you like and if someone doesn’t like a certain veggie they can trade.
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They won’t eat stir fry. It is so annoying.
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Hopefully when they are older!
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There isn’t enough time for all my stories! I just made certain there was something they would eat at each meal, but they always had to have a “no thank you” serving of the main item. Maddening, though!
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I go back and forth between making things I know they will eat and not caring if they like it or not.
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I totally get that!! One day I told my young son (6 at the time) that if he found what was in his nose so appealing, he could eat what I put on the table! 🤣
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I’m childless, but I was a really picky eater when I was a kid. I’m still pretty picky with textures and haven’t eaten meat since I was 16. So I’m sure my mum would have said I was a very fussy eater.
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I was also really picky and stopped eating meat at 16. I just started eating meat again right before I became pregnant with Audrey. My mom is still annoyed with how picky I am at dinner.
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I think you are being very creative with your strategies! I don’t have any kids, so no stories unfortunately 🙂
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Oh that looks so yummy!!!
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I had 9 children, every atom of whatever I made was always gone, but my youngest was basically an only child so a little pickier. Now she’s a great cook who experiments a bit too much even for me. Gotta say, they all love food when it’s scarce. Like my 2 puppies.
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