Get out of the food rut with your kids

James Weiselman Schulman CHEF DADDY

Tired of the same old four dishes every week? Do you feel like the limited number of meals you prepare isn’t helping your achieve your goal of getting the kids excited about eating healthy (or eating at all)? Is it chicken then pasta then chicken then pasta week after week…?

Ok, it’s not an infommercial and no magical chopping tool is going to help make everything taste great. Breaking the cycle is hard, and as busy parents, the last thing we want to do is slave away in the kitchen only to have the kids reject the food. It just becomes another waste of time and money or a frustrating headache.

On the other hand, not being in touch with your audience when trying something new can backfire too. I remember once as a kid, my mom spent hours on a dinner and none of us would even touch it (though stuffed cabbage is kind of gross.) But she tried…

So how do we break out of the same old, same old, while introducing new things that will appeal to your family? Here are some strategies that have worked for me (yes, even I fall into a food rut sometimes):

Challenge yourself: I have several times in the past created a food challenge for myself. For example, I will for a month make nothing but new recipes. (You can read about it here.) For most people, this may be over the top, but what about making something new once a week. As always, have the kids join in the fun. Let them help pick the challenge.

Change roles: I have talked in the past about having your kids and spouse get involved in the process. What about challenging them to find a new recipe. Or what about rotating the role of sous chef – one week one of the kids, the next your spouse, mixing it up so everyone gets involved.

Take outside cues: how many magazines do you get with recipes in them that you read and think “that looks great” but never get around to making? Force yourself to make at least one recipe from each issue. An added bonus is that you will decide that the subscription is more worthwhile or you will cancel it. Hey, you may even make two or three new dishes.

Try and try again: I have often said that it takes three times to understand any recipe. The first is usually a bust. The second you get a feel for the dish, and the third you begin to understand how to make it better. Too often we give up after making a dish once. Sometimes it takes messing things up a few times to take a dish from ho-hum to family favorite.

Learn a new dish or cuisine: take on a favorite dish that you don’t normally make at home, and take the time to learn how to make it well. Read several recipes, take a stab and go for it! Try it again in a couple of weeks with a new recipe and see if it’s better. Eventually you’ll get the hang of it and be able to incorporate it into your growing repertoire.

Ask around: find out what your friends and family are making on a regular basis, check Facebook. There might be some hidden gems out there. Most likely they will have tested the recipe and perfected it. Nothing wrong with asking for a few tips and then stealing it.

Sometimes changing things up takes an extra bit of preparation, but the payoff can be great if you find a new recipe that’s a big hit.

For more from James, check out his own blog at: www.jamesschulman.blogspot.com, follow him on twitter @jamesschulman, and find his other Chef Daddy posts at www.BlackBerryMom.com