so over meat balls and spaghetti bolanase
any ideas for fussy kids

gloriousgirl01 - 2013-11-18 15:15:00

Hamburgers

olwen - 2013-11-18 15:16:00

Nachos. Tortilla. Wraps. Bascially Mexican dishes... just don't spice them up, make a basic mince mix but have it with different things if the kids like plain stuff.

kirmag - 2013-11-18 15:16:00

tried them all them kids refuse to eat them

gloriousgirl01 - 2013-11-18 15:19:00

How about meat loaf?

kiwitrish - 2013-11-18 15:21:00

I make wee pizzas using mince mixed with spices.

jane310567 - 2013-11-18 15:22:00

http://www.kidspot.com.au/meal-planning/Recipe-inspiration-6
-new-ways-with-mince+5890+758+sponsor-article.htm

heres a few!

jane310567 - 2013-11-18 15:24:00

lasagne

robyn35 - 2013-11-18 15:29:00

Pasta bake? Like macaroni mince.

Maybe just don't feed them mince if they won't eat any of those.

kirmag - 2013-11-18 15:38:00

Cottage pie? Mini meat pies with puff pastry? Lasagna? How old are your kids?

thejewellerybox - 2013-11-18 15:57:00

Meat loaf

Get them to make their own patties then BBQ them

roshu - 2013-11-18 16:08:00

How about getting them to help make the meatballs or bolognese they do like, then getting them to help make something else that has basically the same ingredients like nachos, and hopefully when they see that the ingredients are mostly the same and they have helped, they might just be willing to try something different?

dskbl - 2013-11-18 16:20:00

Brown your mince, drain off any fat/juices, add a large tin of spaghetti or baked beans. My grandies love this!

rarogal - 2013-11-18 16:31:00

how about making fried rice and adding a small quantity of good quality mince or pork mince instead of a whole heap of the cheap stuff which I find tastes rather nasty.

karlymouse - 2013-11-18 16:40:00

I agree with you karlymouse re the good quality mince and the taste of the "cheap stuff" - we always use the better quality mince and have done for many years, after all.....the look of the "cheaper stuff" is IMO enough to put anyone off mince and we really don't see the point in paying for an excessive amount of fat amongst the pieces of minced meat.

gloriousgirl01, do you think your children would like this? It's basically an all-in-one meal that can be prepared ahead up to the baking stage. If doing that be sure to keep it cool, in this warm weather, ideally refrigerated and allow extra time for the dish to come to room temperature after removal from the refrigerator and before being put into the preheated oven.

CASSEROLE DINNER
1 tbsp oil or butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (optional)
227g-340g mince
1 x 450g can spaghetti
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
2 tbsp each of butter and flour
1 cup milk
½ cup grated cheese
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
pepper and nutmeg to taste

Brown the onion and garlic in the oil or butter, then remove them from the pan and set them aside. In the same pan brown the mince.
In an ovenproof dish spread the spaghetti. Cover the spaghetti with the frozen peas, if using, then sprinkle over the browned onion and garlic and the browned mince.
Make a roux sauce with the butter, flour and milk. Into the thickened sauce stir the grated cheese. Remove the sauce from the heat and cool it slightly, then beat together and add the eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Beat to mix, then pour the sauce over the casserole ingredients.
Bake at 180°C for about ½ hour or until the topping is golden brown and set.

Hope that helps. :-))

Edited by 245sam at 4:55 pm, Mon 18 Nov

245sam - 2013-11-18 16:55:00

Yummy Mince Fritters - Easy & delicious
Have been making these for years - Old Maggi Recipe Book
500 grams minced beef, pork or veal,
1 onion, finely chopped,
½ cup of flour,
½ cup milk,
1 egg,
1 ½ tsp Maggi green herb stock powder or (chopped parsley & chicken stock)
1 clove garlic- crushed,
1 tsp salt,
¼ tsp pepper.

Mix all together. Fry spoonfuls in a little oil until golden.
About 5 – 6 mins each side.YUM!!

• If you want to extend the recipe to go further, add an extra ½ cup milk & ½ cup flour.

campmum - 2013-11-18 17:14:00

campmum wrote:

Yummy Mince Fritters - Easy & delicious
Have been making these for years - Old Maggi Recipe Book
500 grams minced beef, pork or veal,
1 onion, finely chopped,
½ cup of flour,
½ cup milk,
1 egg,
1 ½ tsp Maggi green herb stock powder or (chopped parsley & chicken stock)
1 clove garlic- crushed,
1 tsp salt,
¼ tsp pepper.

Mix all together. Fry spoonfuls in a little oil until golden.
About 5 – 6 mins each side.YUM!!

• If you want to extend the recipe to go further, add an extra ½ cup milk & ½ cup flour.

Do you have to precook the mince first, or do you use it raw?

litjac - 2013-11-18 20:48:00

Raw mince- i use beef

campmum - 2013-11-18 21:21:00

My kids love lasanga.. and I make them eat 'mince stew'.. browned with onion, oxo cube or two, bit or worchershire sauce and lots of vege's. I do let them add tomato sauce on top (if you ignore the sugar and salt) it's another vege serving.
I'm also really tough, can't stand fussy kids. If they don't want it fine, they can go hungry (ps I'm not old, just busy lol).
Edit... I do 'cheat's lasanga'.. do the mince add the sauce, etc tomato's, mix with whatever pasta.. put in a dish, top with cheese sauce and warm through.

Edited by nik12 at 10:43 pm, Mon 18 Nov

nik12 - 2013-11-18 22:40:00

Fussy? Hungry kids are never fussy.
If you start giving in to their pickiness now they'll never have a healthy diet.

lythande1 - 2013-11-19 06:46:00

I make Meat loaf and call it Meat Cake,that works for me

chez23 - 2013-11-19 06:57:00

lythande1 wrote:

Fussy? Hungry kids are never fussy.
If you start giving in to their pickiness now they'll never have a healthy diet.

I agree 100%! Its all attitude.
My kids loved All of the recipes in this thread. And others. It was hard sometimes to get away from the mince!
Use good stuff, take off the fat and use quality ingredients with it, cook it well, and most children will love it too.

There is also beef mince, lamb mince, chicken mince, pork mince and others.
nom nom nom (even now, oops)

Edited by kiwilion at 12:01 pm, Wed 5 Mar

kiwilion - 2014-03-05 12:00:00

I get the kids to make it themselves (under supervision of course) and make a big fuss at the dinner table about how well they did.
You can be sure that they eat what they cooked with a little less of the gripes

psychicxpress - 2014-03-05 12:21:00

There are no fussy kids, just kids that are not hungry.
They should be fed what you have right from the start.
Not hungry, then don't give them rubbish.
It's like a pet - you train them to be "fussy".

lythande1 - 2014-03-05 13:05:00

This message was deleted.

kcc55a - 2014-03-05 16:21:00

Great ideas

bev00 - 2015-03-06 00:20:00

Little pies around the size of those that people buy at dairies. You can add stuff on top of the mince that they like. Potato top pies look lovely if you put the mashed potato through a cream forcer to make it swirly. The brush the potato with a little melted butter or even grated cheese.

terraalba - 2015-03-06 07:35:00

Fish was the food my kids hated. I realise now, it was the way I cooked it and served it. Plating and presentation is important but not so easy with a busy family routine.

terraalba - 2015-03-06 07:37:00

Someone posted this on here once, it has had the nod from a few Mums and their kids...it's nice

great mince recipe
You need, 500gms mince, 1pkt of beef rice rissoto, 2 cups of stir fry veges, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, 3 tbsp of worchester sauce and shred some cabbage. Cook the rissoto as normal, put your mince, veges, cabbage, sugar and worchester sauce in.Simmer on a low heat for about half hour stirring regulary. You may need to add a bit of water to it. this is easy simple and feeds alot of people. If you want to make a big lot just up the ingredients. Its really yummy and great next day if there is any left over.

rainrain1 - 2015-03-06 09:51:00

This message was deleted.

whitehead. - 2015-03-06 10:03:00

Good old mince on toast (mince/mixed vege/gravy mix/worcester sauce/whatever). I can't bear the stuff myself but my husband makes it for him and the kids and they behave like they're eating eye fillet.

battgirl - 2015-03-06 11:50:00

Maybe get them involved in making their own. Like nachos, have the mince - chilli beans and other ingredients all ready to go and they come and assemble their own. Same with tortillas, wraps or hamburgers. What about a curry mince? Maybe just leave mince off the diet for a while and come back to it later on?

asue - 2015-03-06 16:32:00

How old are your kids OP? And why the need to eat mince at all if they don't like it?

Edited by sarahb5 at 6:25 pm, Fri 6 Mar

sarahb5 - 2015-03-06 18:25:00

sarahb5 wrote:

How old are your kids OP? And why the need to eat mince at all if they don't like it?

They should eat what's put in front of them, and so should you

rainrain1 - 2015-03-06 18:43:00

rainrain1 wrote:

They should eat what's put in front of them, and so should you

Eat it or starve in this house but everyone has foods they don't like - I won't waste money cooking food for my kids that I know they don't like - seems a bit pointless

sarahb5 - 2015-03-06 19:26:00

Pandering to them will just create more fussyness.

..pip.. - 2015-03-06 20:17:00

..pip.. wrote:

Pandering to them will just create more fussyness.

So what foods don't you eat? You'd eat anything at all on your plate? Rotten corn? Bull testicles? Fish eyes? Every veg and every meat in every form there is?

I don't blame your kids OP, I seldom eat mince or sausages. I don't like them and I don't have to. I don't like venison. It doesn't make me fussy, it means I have normal preferences. I eat almost every veg but not brussel sprouts. I don't like them, either. Not eating one or three or 5 foods isn't fussy and refusing crap like mince isn't unusual.

So why would you buy something you know your kids don't like and create a drama when there are so many alternatives?

morticia - 2015-03-06 20:32:00

koftas?

jncook - 2015-03-06 20:50:00

I used to make a meal that your kids might like. Put some canned spaghetti in the bottom of a baking dish. Then put some cooked mince on top of it followed by some mashed potato. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the potato. Put into the oven for a half hour or so and then pop under the grill to brown the cheese.

pogram0 - 2015-03-06 21:39:00

..pip.. wrote:

Pandering to them will just create more fussyness.

Disliking something is not being fussy - my 20 year old doesn't like fish and my 17 year old doesn't really like rice - doesn't make them fussy or picky, thry've tried them and just don't like them, neither of them appear to be suffering any lasting ill effects as a result. Mr 20 was 15 before he really enjoyed steak - now he'd eat it every night if he could.

sarahb5 - 2015-03-06 21:43:00

rainrain1 wrote:

They should eat what's put in front of them, and so should you

Unless its a bacon butty with butter on it, tripe or any form of meat pie I pretty much eat anything ...

sarahb5 - 2015-03-06 21:45:00

Kids will eat anything ... if there is nothing else :)

If you want to be "slave" to them - then go for it - otherwise it is "here is dinner - eat it or leave it" ...

I know it sounds harsh to all the lovely kiwi mums who even cut of the gooey "crusts" of their white bread for their darlings - however if you were brought up in Europe you just ate what was on the table and even if you did not like it - you at least had to try a spoonful or two ... And interestingly enough after about 4 or 5 "trials" you started to like all those different tastes and textures.

So do not give up - but persevere - make rules and follow them through - the kids won't die if they do not eat for a day or two!

uli - 2016-03-03 16:13:00

I remember my parents making me eat silverbeet and brussels sprouts, and just about (I thought) dying of revoltingness... wasn't allowed to leave the table until it was eaten. Child abuse!! Funny thing is, they are now my favourite vegetables. Guess adult taste-buds are a bit more... flexible? Blunted? Sophisticated?

Anyway, I made a pizza casserole once, for some picky children and thought it was fabulous. (Cos everything tastes better with cheese...)

No recipe, just (precooked) meatballs in a casserole dish, then keep going like its a normal pizza. Pour over pasta/pizza sauce (give pan a shake so balls are coated), add whatever (mushrooms, capsicum, etc). Top with grated cheese. Bake.

Kids loved it. AND there was spinach in there. HA!

It tasted really good, so not just for kids :)

mjhdeal - 2016-03-03 16:29:00

uli wrote:

Kids will eat anything ... if there is nothing else :)

If you want to be "slave" to them - then go for it - otherwise it is "here is dinner - eat it or leave it" ...

I know it sounds harsh to all the lovely kiwi mums who even cut of the gooey "crusts" of their white bread for their darlings - however if you were brought up in Europe you just ate what was on the table and even if you did not like it - you at least had to try a spoonful or two ... And interestingly enough after about 4 or 5 "trials" you started to like all those different tastes and textures.

So do not give up - but persevere - make rules and follow them through - the kids won't die if they do not eat for a day or two!

I am sure that NZers who are your vintage, didn't get pandered to, as you are suggesting.
I'm equally sure that European kids probably get choices these days, as well.
It's nothing to do with cultures/countries etc ...it's more to do with different modern trends ...whether you think it's right or wrong ...it's just the way it is in modern society, world wide.

Edited by samanya at 5:44 pm, Thu 3 Mar

samanya - 2016-03-03 17:43:00

"Modern Society"?
"World wide"?
Been to India and Pakistan lately? Syria maybe?
Cutting crusts off soggy bread? Not likely.
Cooking separate dinners? Not likely.
Dinner? Not likely!

"....it's just the way it is in modern society..."

uli - 2016-03-03 18:16:00

uli wrote:

"Modern Society"?
"World wide"?
Been to India and Pakistan lately? Syria maybe?
Cutting crusts off soggy bread? Not likely.
Cooking separate dinners? Not likely.
Dinner? Not likely!

"....it's just the way it is in modern society..."

FGS talk about going off on a tangent. Red herrings anyone?
What has Syria etc to do with it ..have you been there lately either?

Please read what I posted again.
You were comparing your childhood growing up in Europe (or more precisely Germany) a long time ago...OK, with me so far?
My point which you have clearly totally missed ...is that it wasn't so different in NZ, in those days, apparently.
Things/attitudes/child raising ideas have changed & children now have choices as to what they would like to eat!
I can't spell it out any clearer & if you can't understand what I'm saying ...not my problem.
GOT IT?

Edited by samanya at 6:34 pm, Thu 3 Mar

samanya - 2016-03-03 18:32:00

lythande1 wrote:

There are no fussy kids, just kids that are not hungry.

This is SO untrue *sigh*

pennyo - 2016-03-03 19:12:00

pennyo wrote:

This is SO untrue *sigh*

I agree,wholeheartedly.
ETA: I speak from experience,having had to use 100 ways with mince to feed a young family when the housekeeping budget didn't allow for steak.

Edited by eastie3 at 7:32 pm, Thu 3 Mar

eastie3 - 2016-03-03 19:24:00

eastie3 wrote:

I agree,wholeheartedly.
ETA: I speak from experience,having had to use 100 ways with mince to feed a young family when the housekeeping budget didn't allow for steak.

I still do!
Got a 1/4 of home grown beef & have heaps of beautiful mince in the freezer ...google is my friend.
Bobotie is nice ..Sth African dish & heaps of recipes on our friend Mrs Google.

samanya - 2016-03-03 19:40:00

This message was deleted.

hd07 - 2016-03-03 20:41:00