what supper dishes should teenagers think are not weird?

[grasswire]

I'm so tired of being limited in the variety of supper menus because the two young teenagers in this house have a very limited appreciation of food. So I thought I'd ask for a little feedback on what sorts of things an American teenager should be able to eat cheerfully.

For Sunday supper I made shrimp cocktails, spinach-parmesan timbales (sort of like little crustless quiches), pork loin with a smashed potato accompaniment with bacon, cream and grainy mustard in it, a fresh fruit platter, and a relish tray with pickled beets, hard-boiled eggs, and olives on it.

The girl (13) ate some shrimp and celery and one egg. We badgered her into trying a timbale and she had to wash it down with a glass of water.

The boy (15) ate about a cup of shrimp-celery-parsley, two boiled eggs, a few bites of potato and about half an apple. Prior to that, he had only eaten a PBJ sandwich during the day.

Here are the dishes I know they will eat for supper:

++homemade macaroni and cheese (the girl doesn't like the cheesy top).

++hamburgers, cheerfully

++pasta (the girl wants to only eat the noodles with lemon juice; the boy has started eating sauce on it this year)

++pizza (only pepperoni, and the girl wants to scrape off the cheese and sauce)

++tacos

++salmon loaf (only a certain way, with no onion or seasonings)

++plain chicken (white meat only)

That's about it. Obviously these kids have never experienced hunger. When dining out, the girl will only order a chicken caesar salad.

I am an excellent cook, and have already fed children who were very happy to eat a variety of food. The kids think that they are the normal ones and that people who want, for example, to have an omelet with something other than cheese are weird. "Why do people want to put things in eggs?!?" the girl said today.

What should teenagers be happy to eat in 2006 America?

[Robeson]

1. I would like to help you, but I can't......

...I'm 42, my wife is 50, we have no kids, and are with each other because we both made a conscious decision not to have any. Your predicament is beyond my abilities, and I wish you the best in dealing with them....:hi:

[MissHoneychurch]

2. Fírst of all

may I come over for dinner the next time. That sounds damn yummy what you cook.

I don't have any kids and cook for myself but I remember I was quite picky myself. But my mom made all kinds of dishes and tried new stuff. We were her guinea pigs for those :)

I remember that sweet fruit dishes were yummy (apple or cherry casseroles).

Keep cooking like you cook, they come around eventually.

[grasswire]

6. that's essentially the problem here

Their mom didn't cook a wide variety of dishes when the kids were little, and catered to an unusual amount of picky eating. They are my niece and nephew. The first time I made the girl a fried egg, she nearly fell off her chair. "WHAT IS THAT??!!" She had only eaten scrambled eggs previously. Even such a simple thing as a bit of dill weed in a tuna sandwich is viewed with grave suspicion.

Thanks for letting me rant. :-)

[jpgray]

3. It takes time--some kids are intense about discovering their -own- food

You know the friend who will never read a book or listen to a CD if someone specifically recommends it and guarantees that it will be a significant experience? My bro was like that with food; ate almost nothing but pizza for years 9-22. But it got weird when he was ordering 12 year scotch in a snifter and yet would ask for a special made hamburger at a nice restaurant, describing himself as a man of "simple tastes."

:rofl:

But -nothing- my parents tried would expand his palate. And my mother was also an excellent cook. He's much better now. :D

[deadparrot]

4. Maybe you could encourage them to look up some recipes on their own...

Have them dig around in some cookbooks if you have any, or look online. They can pick out some recipes they'd like to try, and you can go shopping together and pick out the ingredients, maybe fix the meal together. It'll give them an opportunity to have some control over the meal, and it's always fun to dig into a meal that you had a hand in creating.

BTW, that dinner you described in the OP sounds delicious. :9

[grasswire]

7. the girl does have one meal she makes and eats

....but it falls within her narrow parameters of choice -- pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. She's really not interested in cooking at all, unless it might be brownies, but those are off limits because of a sugar metabolism problem.

We have a gazillion cookbooks and cooking magazines in the house, as two of us are devoted foodies. We would be cooking and eating quite differently if they would loosen up a bit.

Hmmm....maybe I ought to get them to watch the Food network once in a while. That might provoke some interest.

[mykpart]

5. I have a son (now in his 30s) who lived for years

on Nacho-flavored Doritos and pizza (sausage only). But last time I went out to eat with him he ordered calimari! My advice is fix what you like to eat. quit trying to please them, if they don't want what you fix for dinner, they can get their own food after the rest of the family eats. (And they must clean up after themselves. And don't worry so much. And don't take it personally. Cooking for teenagers can be devastating to your ego if you let it.

[grasswire]

8. I just can't do that.

If left to their own devices, they will not eat nutritiously. Seriously. She will go hungry or find something that has refined flour or sugars (we don't have much like that in the house but she'll find it) and that becomes a problem with blood sugar swings. He would wander around, look in the fridge and crack his knuckles, and wander around some more.

Then, too, there is the socialization aspect. I sure think that kids should be able to come to the family supper table and have some of whatever is offered. It's a social skill worth learning, in my opinion.

[mykpart]

9. I admire your dedication. It's just that

my experience has been that they won't starve or eat poorly for long, certainly not long enough to do permanent damage (unless you have a type I diabetic on your hands). Eventually vanity (from gaining weight) or peer pressure will cause changes in their eating habits. But you're definitely right about the social skill part of it. I remember being a very young girl (about six or seven) and going to someone's house for dinner with my whole family. My father told me that I was to eat whatever was served, and pretend I loved it, even if it was pig slop and curdled milk! He told me it would hurt our host's feelings if I didn't.

[Nicole]

10. Do you always have to cook cuisine? Can't you ever just cook food?

That was a question Bree's son asked her on Desperate Housewives. It's all I could think of as I read your post. :rofl:

Your dinner sounds great to me. Yummy!

I really don't know what you can do to change their eating habits now, it sounds like they are accustomed to a limited variety of food. Someone did them a great disservice.

I wouldn't cater to them but I would ask for their input in planning meals. For starters I would tell them what the main course was going to be & ask them to pick the side dishes. Or the other way around.
It might make for some interesting meals.