My family is picky and doesn’t like casseroles. I can get them to eat the occasional mainstream pasta dish like spaghetti or lasagna, but beyond that their preference is mostly meat, starch, veggies/fruit meals. I even have challenges getting them to eat tacos or stir fry.
Hit me with your most affordable meal ideas for picky eaters. I’m starting to get desperate.
Frugal meals for picky eaters who don’t like casseroles
byu/Freedom_Fighter_04 inFrugal
Posted by Freedom_Fighter_04
14 Comments
Chicken and vegetables, chili, grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup
Oof that’s hard. I am AuDHD so I struggle with this myself. How do they feel about soups or chili? Goulash? My mom used to get those Augratin or Scalloped boxed potatoes and mix in hamburger or ham. We also used to do stuff like beanie weenies or breakfast for any meal. Biscuits and gravy or Shit on a shingle (chipped beef on toast). We also used to do this Uncle Ben’s mushroom rice and mix in chunks of cube steak or other cheap steaks. Egg rolls! You can put darn near anything in an egg roll. My old restaurant used to make Southwest Chicken egg rolls. Eggs done various ways. Huge pickled egg fan. Most people really enjoy deviled eggs. Buffalo chicken dip. That’s all I got right now lol. I’m eating chili so that’s all I can smell and think about.
Do they eat stroganoff or American goulash type skillet meals? Those tend to be very frugal-friendly.
What if you gradually move down the pasta size with spaghetti sauce so you eventually get orzo. Then you can replace the spaghetti sauce with vodka sauce or another sauce. And eventually replace the orzo with rice.
Rotisserie chickens are $5 at Sam’s. Shred and freeze. Use it to combine with pasta for pasta salad. Combine with onions and peppers for Mexican stir fry. Combine with snow peas and broccoli for Asian stir fry.
We do a lot of meat with cookied veggie over fresh veggie + carb of choice. So ground turkey + onion over lettuce with tortilla chips for a sort of nacho. Or serve over rice. Or serve over a tortilla. Options.
Another favorite: petite crustless quiche in muffin tins. Egg whites + eggs + filler + milk + flour + cheese. So eggs + egg whites + veggie mix (spinach, garlic, onion, pepper) + meat of choice (e.g., bacon, sausage) + shredded cheese + milk + flour. We bake and then freeze in servings for easier meals.
Another favorite: Burger bites. Ground meat + bacon + mustard + diced pickles + crushed onion (zest it to make it creamy) + onion powder + oats to firm it up. Air fry. Serve over lettuce.
Our issue isn’t just picky eaters. I can’t eat tomato and eat lower carb/lower calorie. My daughter is a picky eater needing a higher carb/higher calorie diet. My husband doesn’t drink milk and tries to stay lower calorie. It’s like juggling while herding cats.
“Hunger is the best seasoning.”
Not what you are looking for, but just a thought: my parents and grandmothers solved picky eating by only serving the meal they planned to. Picky eaters could chose what/if and how much they wanted from said meal and then were served that. You ate that or you didn’t eat. They won’t starve.
A more involved and positive approach that would bolster kids’ learning while spending quality time with you would be to have them help make meals. Kids are more likely to eat what they help prepare and food prep and cooking are lifelong valuable skills.
Edit: if you take them grocery shopping you can have each kid pick a vegetable, bean, or meat to include in a specific meal, then work with them to prepare that item. Helping with shopping and learning about foods and buying food is another learning experience. You could even rope in some math by having them weigh produce or bulk items and work out the cost, give them a budget when selecting meats, or have them build social skills by interacting with the cashier and making a payment.
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Jk honestly they will have to adapt, sandwiches, salads is a good one because its so basic.
Sheet pan meals. Salads or grain bowls.
Also, skin in the game – if they’re going to reject what is most doable for you, they need to do for themselves (assuming everyone is old enough to safely do so).
Pasta primavera is pretty easy to do and just top with some grilled chicken breast. Idk is that frugal? $5-6 for veggies, $2 for a lb of pasta, $8 for ~1.5lbs of chicken breast. Pretty healthy hearty meal under $20 bucks.
Another one we do a lot is Japanese curry and rice with chicken thighs. We get those golden curry brand and basically just boil some carrots, onions, potato. I like to cook the meat seperately to give it more flavor, i season with salt pepper and garlic powder.
Have you tried liquid casseroles AKA stews?
Slow cooker beer chicken. It makes a ton if you have a large one. Then you can make burritos, quesadillas or just bowls with rice and beans. When they get home and smell it they won’t be able to resist.
4 to 6 chicken breasts
1 can Salsa
1 beer
a bunch of taco seasoning (I buy the can because the packets are expensive)
Cook slow for 6 hours. Fork to shred, then another hour or two.
My husband is ridiculously picky — there are seriously only about a dozen things he will eat. Pasta and rice are not among them. However, he likes sheet pan dinners: seasoned chicken drumsticks baked on a pan with carrots cut in diagonal slices, peeled potato cut into fingers, and some onion sprinkled over it. I rub some vegetable oil on the carrots and potato so they brown up nicely.
He also likes a faux Asian dish of cubed pork, which is cheap right now, sautéed with celery, onion, sweet pepper, and frozen peas and carrots. I add some garlic and a spicy Schezuan sauce from the international aisle at the grocery store. I cook some rice as a side dish.
Meatloaf also is good. If ground turkey goes on sale, you can mix that with some ground beef. As a binder, a handful of crackers crushed up or breadcrumbs mixed with a beaten egg and a splash of milk help hold the loaf together. Add a splash of Worchestershire sauce to boost the beefy flavor.
Shepard’s pie with lamb or beef, mashed potato and veg. Meatloaf. American chop suey.