Having a hard time finding meals or food me and my little both like

[KingVyn]

Any suggestions? I have a heap of meals and food ideas but when it comes down to my little she doesn’t like or want what I’m having. Having food prepped out for your little one along side having to make food for myself is tough work in the kitchen especially when you’re the only one doing dishes. It always discourages me heavily… should I stick to Dino nuggies and macaroni and anything freeze warmed. A hamburger at a restaurant will be devoured but a hamburger made at home will be untouched what am I doing wrong 😕

[Little kaiya]

My Daddy and I just have the same meal. Personally although I'm a little that doesn't give some kind of pass to demand my partner do more work or chores. If I really want something different then I make it myself as littles are still adults and need to be able to function as such.

[Suzette]

It is important to eat a balanced diet if you want to get all the nutrients your body needs, and if you want to age healthily and avoid diseases! (At least one criterion among many others!) You are her Daddy, so make sure she eats a balanced diet (If you are not yet educated on this subject, you should for your own good and that of your little one), and if you sometimes have to punish her, I don't think it's a bad idea. Of course, if she always consents in this role play. You can also prepare food and do the dishes together, while having a DDLG dynamic, it's not incompatible !

Personally, if I have a Daddy who is too nice, I risk taking advantage of him when I am in little mode! He is more likely to become my slave xD But some people also appreciate this dynamic.

Edited February 21 by Suzette

[.คℓ𝐞ﾒเᏰααα .ᐟ]

Is there any particular reason why you're doing all the dishes? Because unless it's a major reason, I don't understand why you're not being helped. If your little is going to be picky with what they eat, and you're willing to cook separate meals, I feel that helping do the dishes is the least they could do. Little or not, they're still an adult.

[Lil Baby Stoner]

I do all the cooking and sometimes make dishes my partner wants and I think I won’t like but the same rule we have for our kids I have to follow I have to try it and take a few bites can’t just flat out refuse and sometimes I’ll just make stuff I know he likes that I don’t personally like but make myself a separate meal or just suck it up and eat it we compares a lot and make random dishes we both like 

[beanbean]

6 hours ago, KingVyn said:

Any suggestions? I have a heap of meals and food ideas but when it comes down to my little she doesn’t like or want what I’m having. Having food prepped out for your little one along side having to make food for myself is tough work in the kitchen especially when you’re the only one doing dishes. It always discourages me heavily… should I stick to Dino nuggies and macaroni and anything freeze warmed. A hamburger at a restaurant will be devoured but a hamburger made at home will be untouched what am I doing wrong 😕

I don’t know exactly if your doing anything wrong sit down with her and make a list of things to make have both input ideas then at least make sure you try it and go from there 

[Gambit]

sounds like you have a picky eater on your hands! idk if your little has ARFID or previously had an ED or anything, but my advice is, if you don't do this already, cook food for you and make sure they try some. maybe you'll find more things you both like this way! and if your little is addicted to frozen meals, it may be a matter of not being seasoned properly or seasoned enough! frozen food has a ton of flavoring additives like MSG and Citric Acid or cheese emulsifiers to make the food more appealing to eat and easier to mass produce.

MSG is not evil! it's actually just a salt and is very common as a seasoning in asian countries and has been for centuries! if you use knorr or other "chicken bouillon/stock powder" that has msg in it too and it tastes really good in a small amount lol. it enhances savory flavors and makes them pop! msg has a bad rap these days but it's really a useful thing to have in your arsenal if you have a picky eater who loves stuff like tv dinners and chicken nuggies lol. they're all very salty and sometimes they aren't very good or good for you, but they are Safe foods for a lot of littles, especially those with autism (i would know, even though i throw it down in the kitchen i still love nuggets lol.) 

additionally, if you're young and don't have a lot of cooking experience (a lot of people learned when they left the house and home economics class was unavailable or underfunded-- i get it!) my advice is to watch cooking youtubers, and i don't mean the big names like Joshua Weissman who demands you use dry aged wagyu to make your food taste good (lol) i just use jarred garlic and it still tastes great! listening to actual chefs can help you learn techniques from culinary school (like how to sear meats, how to prepare a proper smash burger, etc) and you get to look at new foods and learn flavor combinations you may have never considered before! personally i liked Camirra's Kitchen and i also like random dudes who cook cajun food lol. soul food is really tasty AND it teaches you a lot about hard topics like "using cheap meats", "making bitter stuff taste delicious", and "about how much seasoning you should consider".

but most importantly, see what kind of frozen foods your little likes. do they like spaghetti? make spaghetti at home. ask them what they like about the freezer section stuff! what flavors, how done they like the pasta, sauce to noodle ratio, do they like ground meat or do they like meatballs (my advice? buy bag meatballs, making them at home is a nightmare and takes forever. frozen meatballs are literally fine). buy alcohol to cook off in tomato sauce. use cheese with reckless abandon (i loooove a cheesy tomato sauce, a block of cream cheese in there makes it decadent). salt appropriately.

but most importantly, let them taste your new acquired knowledge and see if they like some of the dishes you made at home with more veggies (ask which ones they like! and some of them you can blend up and sneak into the sauce hehe as long as they aren't allergic) and less of the stuff that makes stouffer's such a nightmare for people without dietary restrictions where frozen lasagna is all they can eat. any food is better than no food-- but if you find stuff they like more than tv dinners and nuggets, start there. later you'll learn what flavors they actually prefer. 

and if you can, it sounds like you're doing a lot of work already! see if your little will help with dishes if you make it fun and rewarding and congratulate them when you both get done washing and drying those thangs lol. then you have a clean kitchen, and you guys get to enjoy some quality time together even if it's at the sink, and if one of you gets bored with either the washing or drying or putting up, just switch tasks with each other! i clean all the dishes and cook at my house, but i don't have a job and i genuinely love to cook lol. i have been letting them pile up though.... i'm actually putting off doing them right now! lol

Edited February 21 by Gambit

[CherryBlossomTea]

I can relate in a way. I love to cook for my little but we definitely have different tastes. My little struggles with ARFID so their food choices are limited. I've been talking with them about their specific dislikes which have a lot to do with texture. We've talked about trying to experiment with new foods to add more variety for health reasons. There's a couple dishes such as spaghetti or baked ziti that we can both enjoy and sometimes my little will cook the dish so it's made in a way they enjoy. I've been asking a lot of questions about what foods they might be okay with or how I can change it (like blending ingredients into a sauce to avoid the textures) so we can add more variety and nutrients. It's something my little and I are working on together and I'm always plotting on ways I can sneak in "secret veggies" even though I ask my little first, so not a secret ha. 

Also, I might try suggesting a different brand of pre-made food that might have more nutrients, fiber, etc. for them to try out. I try not to pressure them but keep encouraging more variety. 

[CherryBlossomTea]

Oh! I forgot to suggest maybe try cooking together with your little? Often times my little and I eat different things but we cook together or we share a main dish but have different sides. I try to make sure there's fresh fruit available as well since it's something that is generally a safe food for my little. Any little bit helps in my opinion. Good luck! 🌸

[KingVyn]

Thankyou everyone for your inputs. It means a lot to me 

[shadowrider]

Some good advice given as usual. 

 I kinda feel them on the burger to a small extent. I have yet to make a burger as good as my favorite greasy spoon does. 

 Maybe ask your little what it is about the home burger that fails compared to the restaurant version. It could be the ingredients or the preparation. See what they like about the bought one and try and mimic that. Maybe try serving yours on a coloring page with a couple crayons to add that restaurant flair.

 I would also suggest getting some dino cookie cutters and some chicken breasts and making dino nuggies together at home, yours can have added adult seasonings. Cheaper, healthier, and time spent together making memories is priceless. The cutters also work on bread, toast, pancakes, and waffles so they're a not a 1 trick pony. You can even use them on watermelon to make dino snacks. I guess you could even make cookies and snack cakes with them if you wanted.

 And as stated above try different seasoning blends. But I recommend making your own. No sense buying a $6 jar only to find out neither of you like it. You can find recipes for anything online nowadays. Also maybe search kid friendly meals to make together. Sometimes they are more likely to try things if they helped make them. 

 To cut down on dishes I'd do a picnic night where everything was served on paper plates and we ate on a blanket on the floor. You can even bring everything in a basket. Pull up some nature videos on youtube with birds or waterfalls and pretend you're outside having a picnic. When you're done chunk it all in the garbage. 

Good luck and happy cooking.

 

[DaddysMonkey]

You suck at cooking. 
 

Bahahaha 👹 just kidding bro. 
 

I would ask her tho , like just be up front and ask if she doesn’t like your cooking. That could be part of the issue. 
 

As above stated - there’s a number of other things that could be going on. Food avoidance and fears , eating disorders , trying to find a way to get your attention , being downright picky and unwilling to try new things. The list goes on and on. 
 

Dad , Brother and myself make a menu every week. We are blessed enough to make enough money to eat out once a week. We consider it a treat since we all work so hard during the week and eat very clean and healthy and make our own meals every other day. That leaves 6 days of dinners to plan. 
 

There are three of us so we each get to pick two meals we want that week. Each night we pick a meal off the menu ensuring that we all get to eat things we like while also having things the other two people enjoy - even if we might not like it as much. Making a menu and only getting the things needed to make those meals helps alleviate indecision in our house. It might sound harsh - but I grew up in a house where you starved that night if you didn’t like the meal. If you’re hungry you will eat. Maybe introducing an actual menu to follow can help with that. Obviously don’t follow my childhood household rules - but sometimes you gotta be able to put your food down. As also stated above - she’s still an adult and you cannot physically force her to eat or make choices like eating dinners that you cook. When it comes down to it - she might have to just cook her own meals if she’s going to be that rebellious and refuse to try anything else. 
 

We also make it a household activity. Not one person does allll of the cooking and absolutely all of the cleaning. If you’re feeling like you’re beating a dead horse - ask her to make a meal that she would enjoy eating and help her make it. Find healthier alternatives to switch out if you can. 
 

This one is tough cause of course you want her to eat / but as someone with an eating disorder it makes me curious if she’s only relying on her “safe foods” if she also has an eating disorder. Even if they aren’t healthy - safe foods are kind of like a cushion. You know you like them - they have good memories tied to them and you know it will make your heart feel good even if you have slight (or a lot) of regret after.

Hopefully you guys can figure this out !