Healthy Cooking for picky kids!

Does anyone have any kid friendly ideas or recipes? How about a suggestion for a cookbook? I have been trying, every meal I make, to incorporate whole grains instead of simple starches. I use whole wheat pasta, brown rice and if I'm in a bind and in a hurry, I make sure the boxed pasta or rice says whole grain. I'm running out of ideas though! The kids are getting sick of the same old...every few days or so.

I need things that are fairly quick and good! Not only am I trying to lose a few pounds, but I want my girls and my son to have healthy eating habits. I didn't have this growing up and as a result, crave and want bad things! I hope that by cooking healthier and providing more healthy options for snacks and meals that I am helping them make healthier choices as they get older and saving them from being overweight and unhealthy!

I need to figure out what to make for dinner tonight. I'm thinking taco salad. Had green beans sauteed with just a small amount of butter and almonds slices, whole grain garlic rice and salmon with fresh lemon and dill for seasoning. This is all of our favorite! For lunch I had a turkey asparagus whole wheat wrap and strawberries. I'm running out of healthy ideas and variety!

[1nana]

Here's a recipe that most kids love.

Taco Ring   http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/542810

[jenstam]

Ooh, that sounds yummy! I will have to try that. Thanks!

[swampcritter]

You have a pretty wide age range of kids there...aside from all the normal yucky foods, are there ingredients that your kids particularly like or don't like?

[jenstam]

Haha...it depends on the kid! But actually, they will eat pretty much anything. I shouldn't have said they were picky. My 14 month old is picky but my daughters are all good eaters. They will try anything at least once and most times twice and again.

Tonight, I wasn't in the mood nor did I really have the time to cook a big meal, so I set out  ham, turkey and roast beef, two different kinds of cheeses, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes, spring lettuce, spinach, avocado (sliced up), onion and light mayo. I had whole grain wraps or said they could make a salad. Each of them put everything on theirs and had wraps. They were so good!

[peekawho]

Jen, browse the recipes a bit.  There are some simple ideas ( a healthier Mac N Cheese, for example) that kids might like.