Ahhh….My Daughter does not even try my cooking

Talk about frustration. I have two children a 9 year old son and a 6 year old daughter.

My son does not have a problem trying healthy meals. He does not like everything, but he tries it all. He also does not like eating lots of veggies, but he eats what I give him.

Since I stopped eating animal products, he quit eating meat, chicken and fish, but he still eats cheese, and vegan butter.

He switched from cow milk to oat milk and he is proud of it . But he cannot give up cheese. And from time to time he will eat a greasy, cheesy pizza. I only buy it once in a while for them.

Funny, I was addicted to cheese for a long time, but I cannot even imagine eating cheese now.

My daughter, on the other hand, thinks that eating meat is great. She will eat if I cook meat. The problem is that I do not cook it. I never liked cooking meat or hamburgers at home. I hate how the house smells after cooking it. But in the past, I sometimes cooked some hamburgers for her.

When we go to an event, like a soccer match, my daughter asks for a sausage. And I buy it for her.

She reluctantly changed from cow milk to chocolate soy milk. I still need to work on that, since the soy milk has vegetable oil and I am not happy about that.
But whenever I cook she will not eat it. She only eats when I prepare noodles, which ends up being almost every day for her. She just eats plain noodles with tomato sauce.

She has a plain vegan butter sandwich at school made with pita bread.

She has tried my brown rice risotto with peas, carrots, and corn, but she will not eat it without added cheese.

Other than that I cannot make her eat anything.

The other day, I prepared some stir fry with tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, onions and red bell pepper. She would not try it. I had to get upset for her to agree to try something. And she liked the red bell pepper. She disliked the carrots, which she normally eats.

Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating: A Step-by-Step Guide for Overcoming Selective Eating, Food Aversion, and Feeding DisordersRaising a Healthy, Happy Eater: A Parent’s Handbook: A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting Your Child on the Path to Adventurous EatingThe Picky Eater Project: 6 Weeks to Happier, Healthier, Family MealtimesFrom Picky to Powerful: The Mindset, Strategies and Know-How You Need to Empower Your Picky Eater

 

It is not about liking or disliking the meal. It is about power control. If she goes to a friend’s house, she will eat. She is showing me that she wants to be the boss. I never so such a stubborn girl.

“Would you please try that?”, I ask.

She will stare at me and say “No.”
“well then you will have to sit at the table till you try it.”

An hour later we are still at the table and I end up giving in. So she knows. She has timed me already.

It is quite frustrating. Why spend my time cooking for nothing.

I can eat potatoes all day. I do not need variety. But I love cooking different things for my kids. But they should try it at least.

I have found some good resources for plant based meals for kids, but to be honest I have not tried them yet. I feel I am waiting for a change in her attitude to start trying them.

Engine 2 Diet 

Kid Tested Fire Fighter Approved. 

 

My daughter loves animals, but she has not made the connection that the meat she eats comes from animals. Well, she knows, but she tells me they are dead.

Last week she told me she will sop eating meat. But I do not think this is about meat or no meat. It is a power struggle. She will not eat anything I cook for her.

Of course, she loves chocolate, but she does not like the healthy chocolate cakes I make.

Do your kids follow a plant based diet. What are your challenges?
I would love to hear how your kids have transitioned.