Help! Very fussy eater DGSs staying

I certainly hope to have a fun weekend. Today is my last chance to shop. Looking back to the last time eldest DGS stayed, he suddenly loved spring rolls of all things. We were having some and he asked to try one. He ate the lot!
I'm sure the weekend will go well and the boys definitely won't starve.

Peanut butter has protein and carbs, Nutella the same with some iron and sugars , they won’t starve , just let the children have a fun weekend and don’t stress over their diet

Aveline

Gagajo yes I think I might be quite tough. If they're hungry enough they'll eat. I've got all sorts of things ready. If the worst comes to the worst they won't starve in two days.

My DGS would rather go to bed with no food than eat something he doesn't like. His choice. Doesn't keep him awake, either!

The one food my 4 GC (2 different households) haven’t taken to is potatoes. My Irish Mum would be baffled if she was still with us. As a child we had potatoes with every dinner. Even when we had newfangled meals like spaghetti bolognese arriving on the scene in the 70s. My lovely Mum would still cook a pot of spuds and insist we had one on the side!

My 4 GC enjoy roast beef, stew, roast chicken etc but they have it with rice or pasta instead of potatoes.

My son was a fussy eater. Dh and I left him and dds with the grandparents whilst we went on a weekend holiday I won. He was 3 and mil was convinced she could do what I couldn’t and get him to eat different things. She failed miserably! Are you sure you aren’t wanting to do a similar thing to score one over your dd?

Grannynannywanny you're describing a nutritionally balanced meal with all food groups covered ?
My own granddaughter (4) would add hummous, red peppers and twiglets.

As for my own children, the older two would eat what they wanted off their plate of a "proper" meal.
I'd then swap their plates over and they'd each finish what the other had left ?

The youngest would eat nothing but marmalade sandwiches for breakfast and lunch for several years, and even once asked me what time of day it was as he didn't know what meal it was ?
I'd binged on marmalade sandwiches when I had pregnancy hunger pangs while expecting him. He won't touch it now!

Why do you feel the need to add anything else?

They will be fine with that food for the weekend.

Don’t stress over it. Have a variety of stuff in the fridge that won’t go to waste and you’ll use up yourself if they don’t. My 2 youngest GC age 7 and 6 love nothing more than what they call a snack plate. A selection of ham, cheese, raisins, strawberries etc with a wrap on the side which they enjoy filling. Then a yoghurt to finish off.

Hope you enjoy your weekend.

How about hotdogs? Mine always ate those. Finger rolls, sausages and ketchup.

Coolgran65 thank you but every single one of your very sensible suggestions have been refused by one or the other boy in the past. They really are very awkward. I don't know why they are so difficult to feed. My own children just ate what they were given.
Maybe my DD is trying to compensate for being brought up like that by letting her own boys eat whatever they like.

When stuck I’d go for spaghetti hoops with toast, fish finger sandwiches with a ketchup dip. Beans and toast. A cheesy toasted sandwich. Eggy bread. Sausage finger roll. One loved just mashed potatoes with gravy.
Also baked beans mixed into the mash shaped into a mountain with a well at the top for a little butter, their very own volcano.

My son wouldn't eat cabbage at home, but when he was staying at Grandma's house she served him some with his dinner. Being a good boy, he ate it, and found he enjoyed it.
I would try giving them what you want to eat. If they really don't like it, you always have peanut butter sandwiches as a substitute.

Two of my grandsons don't like tomato so that instantly rules out a lot of the pizza/pasta recipes. The third one has a reputation for eating anything, except that he eats very little meat. One gets hungry but likes very little actual food, the other one doesn't often get hungry and happily misses meals. The oldest one is nearly 15 and is beginning to get slightly more adventurous.

Thanks. Can't go out right now. They're supposed to be 'helping' Gran after her hip replacement.
Burgers are a no-no, only one likes pizza. I'll get the porridge and honey requested and make up 'picky plates' as suggested.

I would go down the route of preparing a recipe and getting them to help. Perhaps look through some cook books and seeing what they’d like to make.
I agree most kids like sausages perhaps if they wanted to help you could make batter for toad in the hole. Also I think most kids like baked beans even if it was just with toast they are getting protein and one of the five a day.
Would they eat burgers? You could make you’re own together and they would go well with potato wedges.
I’d second making pizzas too and they can put own toppings on.
Failing that eat out so they can choose from a menu ?
Good luck and enjoy the time with them.

I've just WhatsApped the eldest and asked what he fancied for Sunday lunch. He replied 'Porridge and honey'. Oh well that's a start. The younger one won't touch either of those.

My GS is also a fussy eater and I get around it by asking him what he wants to eat and then saying that he'll have to help me prepare and cook it, so that I get it right. Because he's been involved in making the meal, he never fails to eat the lot.

Gagajo yes I think I might be quite tough. If they're hungry enough they'll eat. I've got all sorts of things ready. If the worst comes to the worst they won't starve in two days.

Call your DD and make a list of what they will eat. My DGS is very picky but I just rotate the things he will eat in different variations.

Also making sure he is VERY hungry increases the chances he will eat well. At times, he eats no dinner and goes to bed without. Wakes up the next day and is far less fussy about what he'll eat for breakfast.

My son was the same until he was 5, then he tried a garlic naan bread. At 23 he loves cooking and especially Japanese food. It makes me laugh when he still sniffs something new, he always did that as a child. Just give them what they want. You don’t want a stressful time x

If only their Mum and I knew what that was! It seems to change from day to day.

Aveline

greenlady102 of course I asked their mother what they'd eat! She struggles too to find things they'd eat. I thought that as they were in a different environment they might just try something different.
I like the idea of the 'snacky treaty' plate. I can mix and match a bit as one wont eat ham and the other wont eat cheese! Crudites is also a good suggestion. I'll add in some carrot sticks and maybe even go wild and have a go at celery sticks. (Wont be wasted, I love celery soup)
I'll have beans in reserve. They used to eat them then seemed to stop. I suppose there's always boiled eggs and soldiers -if they'll eat eggs!
The trials of being a Gran. I must admit I'm looking forward to it!

if they are only there for a weekend, then I'd go with the flow and give them what they normally eat!

Pizzas are theoretically a good idea but one wont eat them! Potato wedges sound like a good idea. I'll make up a bowl of strawberries. I'm sure they'll manage that.
One of the bonuses of DH is that he'll finish up anything.

greenlady102 of course I asked their mother what they'd eat! She struggles too to find things they'd eat. I thought that as they were in a different environment they might just try something different.
I like the idea of the 'snacky treaty' plate. I can mix and match a bit as one wont eat ham and the other wont eat cheese! Crudites is also a good suggestion. I'll add in some carrot sticks and maybe even go wild and have a go at celery sticks. (Wont be wasted, I love celery soup)
I'll have beans in reserve. They used to eat them then seemed to stop. I suppose there's always boiled eggs and soldiers -if they'll eat eggs!
The trials of being a Gran. I must admit I'm looking forward to it!

I think there are lots of good suggestions here. I wouldn't force new food on them. Offer it but be prepared for refusal! Don't take offence if they don't want it. Ask what they fancy. If they don't fancy anything then leave it. As a feeder of family I am learning the hard way that dgs will eat or not. I no longer offer multiple choice as it was stressful for us both.