No more fish fingers!!

Thank you for all your ideas. Some of your grandchildren sound amazing with the range of foods that they eat. I will persevere!!!

We have been on a bit of a journey with GS. He has been a faddy eater from the start - no potatoes (not even chips!), no butter or spread on his bread, nothing with a sauce and definitely no pizza or anything with tomatoes. He always adored plain pasta and any kind of vegetable (except tomatoes and cabbage). Now, after much persuading and skullduggery, he will eat potatoes in any form, chicken pie, mild curry, risotto (as long as you leave the onions out!), sweet and sour chicken, and salmon. A roast dinner is always welcome and good sausages with Grandad’s mash has him drooling. They get better as they get older.

Baked potatoes
Risotto, with any combination of meat, veg or cheese.

Large Yorkshire pudding filled with veg/meat/chicken/gravy etc or filled with sausage and gravy/carrots.

Roast chicken dinner is the most requested meal by GC here, followed by chicken casserole or fish pie and vegetables.

dahlia I agree, nice colourful food like strips of pepper, cucumber, carrots, cherry tomatoes cut in half always go down well.
Houmous as a dip goes down well for lunch with the above.

DGD's favourite meal is steak with all the trimmings
(Expensive tastes at 9!)

When our granddaughters (now in their 20's) came to stay for their summer holidays, they loved lunch: I would put small amounts of various things around a plate, designed to look colourful and enticing, and they could eat what they wanted. I do think half the pleasure of eating is the appearance of the meal - and they still talk about "Nana's plates" to this day!

You are welcome to fish finger butties lemongrove and Urmstongran
I prefer a more upmarket chip buttie myself

Our DC and DGC have always eaten what we eat, except perhaps more spicy dishes, although they have tried dishes with some chilli.

Your meal times around a table sound wonderfully relaxed grannyactivist I like the idea of children helping themselves to food.

My own boys and all their friends used to love shepherd's pie. You can smuggle loads of veg into the mincemeat.

My DGD eats everything, so it's no good asking her. DGS has all sorts of exotic things to eat as they live in California. Like many children, he will eat one thing one day and turn his nose up at it the next and do the opposite with something else.

They do both love a piece of cucumber, though.

I cook as normal and they eat it or they don't. I do insist they have to try a taste of everything and at 9 and 6 years of age they understand that this is helpful because their tastes have already changed and things that once they didn't like, they now do.
I think our children/grandchildren have benefited from having their food served from dishes and not plated. It means they have more control over portion sizes and which elements of a meal they have more or less of. Also, because we have so many guests at meal times the focus is often more on the conversation than the food and the youngsters get distracted into eating a range of foods.

It is indeed lemongrove but it has to be on thick sliced white bread! (Tartare sauce optional).
?

I looked after my GC a lot when he was small and he ate everything. Not now though. How does that happen?
I used to give him hummus with veggie sticks and he still loves those. Thank goodness.

My three little grandchildren are not fussy at all, and will eat all the vegetables I give them. When my four children were small I would put everything on their plates and they could eat what they wanted. They got a serving of pudding after, but no extras. Three of them ate most things, but one was very fussy. She’s now a really good cook! I would cook what you want and give them small portions: after all, they don’t know if they will like it until they try it. You could try omelettes with salad and a very small portion of chips, for instance, or beef casserole with mash or baked potatoes with bread on the side.

Nina mine also love sprouts, and cabbage!

The teenage DGS will eat most meals, but the younger ones
Have very restricted tastes, mainly revolving around sausages, peas, mash, pizza, fries, etc.
Usually gets better as they get older though.

Jalima ! How very dare you diss ( even politely) a fish finger sarnie.....it’s ambrosia, food of the gods indeed.

They are all so different are they not. Ours are 7 (next week) and nearly 10
No need to hide veg they both love carrots, broccoli, mushrooms and even sprouts.
They have been eating korma and sweet 'n' sour since they were 2.5-3 yrs.

I assume by 'we' you mean you and DH, and that you want meals that you can all enjoy without cooking separately for the GC. Mine eat all the above.

You don't say how old they are but how about:

Burgers, brioche buns, coleslaw & potato wedges
Pulled pork, brioche buns, coleslaw etc.
Home made 'Kentucky Fried chicken'
Fajitas

My two are good eaters (13 & 9) but I do make a point of letting them help themselves to salad, potatoes, fillings, etc, rather than piling-up their plates.

Mine love salmon with peas, mashed potatoes and parsley sauce. All good stuff inside them!

Cottage pie ....I sneak in carrots, broccoli etc in it and they enjoy it.

Blimey it's years since I had fish fingers. When I have a fish buttie, it's the whole fish, hahahaha.

Jalima I draw the line at fish finger butties but I would eat fish fingers on their own or with chips and vegetables.

Maybe it depends how young the grandchildren are? Ours are only 2y and 6y. A bit faddy still. Paella and sweet and sour chicken would be left on their plates!

Any good ideas for this age group? They like chicken nuggets, ketchup with most foods (the baby calls it dip-dip), basic pizza, sausage but ideas would be welcome!

Last time my DGS came to stay all he wanted was the pastry from the outside of a spring roll. Needless to say he didn't get it. It's safe to say that he's a ridiculously picky water.