Suggestions for family meals - I'm stuck

[quixoticgeek]

Psychological trauma from being forced to eat broccoli? Blimey. It's like the middle-class apocalypse, aka Olivia won't eat olives.

Are you trying to be obnoxiously ignorant, or is this something that has happened naturally?

The way in which a person in authority behaves towards a minor can have a life long effect that causes real genuine trauma.

Forcing someone to eat, is and has been used as torture. There's a reason that a court order is needed in order to force feed someone.

J

[ian]

An adult telling a child what to do, you mean? Last I checked, it was called parenting.

[citoyen]

What fboab was talking about earlier was clearly at the "parenting" end of the spectrum. Force-feeding would be very much at the other end. Best not to conflate the two.

Anyway, eating disorders don't stem solely from being compelled to eat certain things as a child - that may be a factor, but never in isolation. It may also be entirely irrelevant. (Thinking of someone I know who developed severe anorexia in her teens, for example, I'm pretty sure she had a fairly normal relationship with food up to that point.)

[MikeFromLFE]

Son (who is now 37)was always a picky eater, and as a baby could not keep certain foods down, and some (notably cheese) caused vomiting.
He had various investigations but we were generally sent away with a shrug and 'he'll grow out of it'.
As an adult he was diagnosed with Chrons Disease, and is on perpetual medication, but actually very well.

I'm not saying  children who are finicky eaters will have a problem (physical or mental) - just to go with the flow and not to turn little things into dramas, just in case. There are bigger things in parenting than mealtimes.

[quixoticgeek]

An adult telling a child what to do, you mean? Last I checked, it was called parenting.

Two different individuals have posted to this thread outlining that they have been victims of persons in a position of power using food as a tool of abuse. To belittle that the way you do is gaslighting. Stop it.

J

[ian]

I think you should chill a little. Firstly, you're yelling at strangers, and you know what, if you're not willing to do that outside Sainsbury's, don't do it on the internet, because people will think you're a nutter. It's also somewhat rude.

Absolutely one is saying that children should be force-fed pulverized broccoli through a tube. That is in your mind. Conflating having an argument with your kids about what they eat with torture is a bit strong.

Besides, I only fucking wanted an excuse to write Olivia won't eat olives because it tickled me. I don't have kids so I don't have to worry about what they eat, and I get to spectate on friends managing their own – of whom an extraordinary proportion seem to be called Olivia. I'm sure there's a constantly shifting middle ground between persuasion, negotiation and coercion with any aspect of parenting and I'm sure I'd probably fuck it up, but hey, no kids. It's a bit of a middle-class problem though, if you grow up poor, you get to eat what you're fed or be hungry. I think we should sometimes reflect on that and the privilege we have.

[jsabine]

I'm inclined to agree that sometimes people should chill a little because essentially this whole forum is people being dicks and chatting shit on the internet, but fuck me, you're achieving transcendental dickishness with this post.

Absolutely one is saying that children should be force-fed pulverized broccoli through a tube. That is in your mind. Conflating having an argument with your kids about what they eat with torture is a bit strong.

You're right, no-one is saying that broccoli-boarding is a thing, so it's a straw man to suggest that QG believes they have.

What has been said is that food control can be a tool of, an element in, abuse.

I've never experienced that, so when someone who has talks about it, I accept what they've said, and shut the fuck up.

[ian]

Alright, I'm done then. Have a nice day.

[quixoticgeek]

I've never experienced that, so when someone who has talks about it, I accept what they've said, and shut the fuck up.

Thank you. When someone is gaslighting you, it means a lot when someone else is willing to defend you.

J

[Legs]

My suggestion would be a savoury rice.  I do mine with fried onions, red peppers, a bit of chicken and chorizo, a tin of tomatoes and a squirt of puree, long-grain rice, and chicken or veg stock.  Bring it to a simmer and stick it in the oven for 30-40 mins, occasionally stirring and topping up the liquids.  If the paprika in the chorizo is too much, you could swap it out for something like bacon.  Serve with a green salad or a splat of guacamole or sour cream.

[rafletcher]

My suggestion would be a savoury rice.  I do mine with fried onions, red peppers, a bit of chicken and chorizo, a tin of tomatoes and a squirt of puree, long-grain rice, and chicken or veg stock.  Bring it to a simmer and stick it in the oven for 30-40 mins, occasionally stirring and topping up the liquids.  If the paprika in the chorizo is too much, you could swap it out for something like bacon.  Serve with a green salad or a splat of guacamole or sour cream.

See also paella.

[hellymedic]

Late to this.
I am so glad we were just offered whatever Mum had cooked. We would either help ourselves or tell Mum how much we wanted.
Rejecting any option was not a problem.
Leaving uneaten food on our plate was generally Not Allowed.

We're not TOO picky. We neither starved nor ballooned. One sibling won't touch fish. Sister went off chicken after a surfeit during one of her innumerable pregnancies. (She might have been the most picky as a kid.)

We only had fresh fruit between meals.

Meals had a definite start and end.

I can't recall many 'scenes' at meal times.

[Mrs Pingu]

How is the sauce rejecting child with soup?

[Pingu]

Delicious.

[jsabine]

Had you two rehearsed those lines before unleashing them in public?

[nuttycyclist]

Sauce rejecting child - don't mention soup. 

His evening meal tonight was a boiled egg as he rejected everything else.  He has now been sent to bed in disgrace, with toys confiscated, not due to eating but for vandalising sister's doll -> https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=119911

Other child is ok with soup as long as it's a specific brand/tin (although my home mades have been sometimes tolerated).