I know I sit pretty high on my horse about not making kids different meals, but I guess that’s not always completely true. I tend to alter some meals slightly to adapt them to different taste preferences. I guess since I use all the same main components, I wasn’t considering it different meals, but I make some adjustments with almost every meal because…
Hailey doesn’t like spicy foods.
David prefers some sort of carb/bread.
I prefer things on the lighter side and the more veggies, the better.
Kaitlyn only has 6 teeth.
Now, I’m definitely not a short order cook, but I’ll cook eggs in different styles if that’s what is for breakfast (fried for David and me, scrambled with veggies and salsa for the girls). When we have dinner all together I leave a little room in there to wiggle too.
Take last night for example. The menu (scribbled in my planner) simply said gyro burgers, but this is how dinner actually turned out for everyone…
For the lady…
Zoodles (a spiralized zucchini) sauteed with red onion and grape tomatoes, topped with gyro balls, feta, sliced kalamatas and a similar dressing to this simple Greek one.
For the husband…
A gyro burger on a toasted bun with spinach hummus, red onion and feta with a side of Greek chopped salad, again, with this dressing. I made extra of the side salad and I’m already giddy about downing it for lunch!
For the preschooler…
Mini gyro meatballs, sliced grape tomatoes, feta cubes and kalamata olives with sliced cucumber. She tried it all but wasn’t feeling the olives so I told her to just leave them. Oh, and you know how she hates cucumber? Last night she chomped into them and declared them delicious. Guess it takes cutting them into sticks instead of half moons. Sigh, threenagers…
For the baby (10 months)…
Quartered grape tomatoes, mini gyro balls, sliced kalamatas, feta cubes and cucumber sticks. Ate it all, though the feta made for some awesome facial expressions and the cucumber ended up only partially down the hatch and partially chewed up and spit back out.
Do you adjust meals according to taste preferences of your family members?
PS- tomorrow is Munchkin Meals if you are interested in linking up!
Brynn says
I usually make one meal and then my husband and I eat them differently. For example, last night we had turkey burgers; mine was plain with some mashed avocado, his had cheese and a bun. That way I’m cooking once but we’re all happy!
Heather@hungryforbalance says
I am totally with you here! I usually adapt our meals (slightly) 3 different ways: lots of veggies for me, fewer veggies more carbs for the hubs, and a simplified version of mine for my daughter. She, like your girls, eats pretty much what we are eating with some exceptions. Right now, she LOVES roasted carrot spears with cinnamon.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I’ve never thought to combo carrots and cinnamon! I’ll definitely be trying that one out soon. Thanks!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I do something similar. Taco night, for example: sometimes mine is a taco salad (or Mexican pile-on if I want rice). My husband eats the tacos and a side of rice. My son eats separate piles of meat, cheese, rice, tomatoes. Like you I *technically* only cooked one thing, but we may end up eating it different ways.
Erica { EricaDHouse.com } says
My husband and I cook separately. I’m a vegetarian, and he’s a ‘meat at every meal’ carnivore. I don’t even know how to cook meat anymore (it’s been 10 years!) and he doesn’t like a lot of veggies, so his meals are pretty meat + carb centric. He also doesn’t eat onions or tomatoes. You have NO IDEA how many recipes include one or both of those ingredients until you try to cook without them!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my gosh, I think every meal I eat, breakfast included, uses onions and tomatoes. That has got to be tough!!
Lindsey @ Simply Lindsey says
This looks absolutely delicious! I adjust recipes to suit my husband’s taste all the time! I LOVE spicy food, and I mean LOVE. I typically go through a bottle of hot sauce after 4 taco meals. My husband hates anything spicy, so if I make a curry or chili, I wait to add the spice to my bowl so he doesn’t suffer. 😉
Brittany Dixon says
We would eat well together- ALL the hot sauce please 😉
Liv @ Healthy Liv says
When I’m at home, my family is the same way for certain meals. If we’re having fajitas, for example, my mom, sister, and I usually make a fajita salad, while my dad and brother use a tortilla…but basically the same thing! But when we have something like lasagna, we all eat the same thing 🙂
carol says
Wow…gone are the days, when Mom had 8 kids. You ate what was on the table or went to bed hungry! But she did ask us what she should make for dinner, so we had some input.
Now, I’m gluten free, can eat a variety of salads, hubby is a good cook. When he cooks gluten free I eat if not, back to my salads/veggies.
Brittany says
Such a great post! Can’t wait to try this with some of my gluten free family!
Elizabeth Evans says
This looks very similar to what I do in our house. Cooking and eating one family meal is high up on my priority list. My husband & I eat the same thing & then I make a modified version for our 1 & 2yr old.
I wish my kids would eat eggs. I think it’s a texture thing because they just aren’t having it.
Brittany Dixon says
Have you tried deviled eggs? H will straight up DEVOUR some deviled eggs!… if I don’t eat them all first 😉
Parita @ myinnershakti says
I can see myself doing just this when our family eventually grows. But right now, Vishnu and I pretty much eats the same dinners. I tell him the weekly menu on Sunday, so if he wants something different (i.e. an actual bun vs. a lettuce wrap), we have enough time to stop by the grocery store beforehand!
Katie says
Love the term “threenagers”! I’m pining this for some day in the far far future when I want an idea to please a mixed aged crowd.
Kristine @ Kristine's Kitchen says
Your meal looks delicious with all of those veggies! I’ve got to get myself a spiralizer! I try to feed my kids the same thing that we eat, but will modify a little sometimes, especially if the dinner is really spicy. I’m hoping with time and being served foods over and over some of their pickiness will go away!
Tamara says
Love this post! I find my hubby and I eat pretty much the same thing but love the idea of altering the recipe slightly for little ones. This meal is going on the meal plan for next week! My son loves spaghetti so will try giving him some zoodles too!
Lauren says
i do this a lot when I cook! I haven’t had a ton of time lately, but it’s my preferred way of plating our meals.
When hubby cooks, I’m just thankful! Typically I’ll add some extra veggies, like serving his homemade American chop suey (with a thrown together sauce from scratch) on top of some frozen spinach for me and our 20month old. But I don’t stress it.
Pre-kid I had a lot more time to tweak meals to our tastes, now we try to meet in the middle a bit more. It’s good though, he definitely eats more veggies now.
…It’s funny you mentioned cucumber sticks. My son ate 1/4 of a cucumber in stick form this am because he saw me making my lunch and he “needed” it.
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says
You are amazing to do that for your family! I love how each meal still looks equally delicious!
Julie says
Yes, there are def a few dishes I do this for. I make a cheeseburger macaroni casserole that only gets chopped pickles topped on one side. 😉 And when I make mini meatloaves, I make a couple for my daughter before mixing in the sauteed onions. Then I make a couple for myself before adding in the chunks of cheese. I label them w/ dif colored toothpicks so I know what’s what after baking. 😛 Otherwise I pretty much leave it to them to pick out stuff they don’t like if need be – they are teenagers so they’re perfectly capable of doing that.
Jessica @Myhealthypassion.com says
Hi! This might be a silly question…How do you make gyro “balls” or “burgers”….They sound yummmy!!! Would love a recipe!
Brittany Dixon says
Hey Jessica! I linked to the recipe I use in the post, but sometimes the light green is hard to see. Here it is!
http://www.ahealthysliceoflife.com/lamb-gyro-burgers/
Sam@PursuitofHealthyHappiness.com says
I love this recipe. I just got a spiralizer and have been looking for some great recipes. Your version looks absolutely delish!
Vivian says
Looks yummy! I serve the same thing to everyone: husband, myself and two kids (3.5 and 1.5). Presentation doesn’t change either. My kids don’t know any different, so they always happily dig in. The only exception is for sandwiches, which the kids can’t bite into easily and we don’t have more than once a month anyway.
Brittany Dixon says
That’s awesome! I hope to shift to presentation being the same too as the girls get a little older. Love it!
Jen says
I can relate! On Mexican night the husband has a stuffed tortilla full of the good stuff, while I’m more likely to be eating a big Mexican bowl with just the beans and veggies and avocado, and I’m spoon feeding the baby some avocado and chopped up red peppers. Same meal, kinda, but three different ways!
Christine says
Question: How do you handle the extra hamburger rolls? When I make burgers, my husband loves the roll and sometimes I prefer no roll. But at my grocery store they only sell them 8 to a package. Do you buy just one roll or a whole package and freeze the rest? Just curious how others handle this? #mommyissues
Brittany Dixon says
Great question! It’s either the only bread I buy for the week (I’ll make H sandwiches on buns or use them for toast with breakfast) or I freeze them. They last for a long time in the freezer!
Laura @FitMamaLove says
And now you have me wanting this for dinner! Our dinner would have looked similar to yours, except I would’ve had my burger on a salad instead of zoodles. I just feel the buns are unnecessary and since my kids don’t eat too much of them either, I would’ve had them skip the bun too and just cut their burgers up into pieces. I actually likely would’ve given my hubby a burger salad too because otherwise it’s a lot of buns to buy for just one person having them!
Marnie @ SuperSmartMama says
Thanks for sharing another real life moment. Fortunately, my husband and I mostly eat the same thing (with the exception of salmon — he refuses to eat it) so the toddler gets his own meal. I’m sure once his little sister is a bit older and is eating food, too, that will have to change. I’ll have to give your adaptation approach a try when the time is necessary!
Heather says
I love how you’ve taken basically one meal and managed to do so much with it so that everyone is happy. I think this is an area where I need to be a tad more creative so that way our kiddos will maybe try new things. I do cut things in different ways now since each of our kids like it different, and a lot of the time if I make burrito fixings we might all eat it slightly different – I’ll have everything in a bowl with extra spicy sauce, my husband will make giant burritos, the kids might have everything separate or as a quesadilla.