Tuesday Tip: Picky Eaters — Try a Choose Your Own Meal Night
Tuesday tip: picky eaters — I have five kids, and I know exactly what it feels like to stand in the kitchen wondering how to get everyone to eat the same meal. One won’t eat cheese, one hates sauce, one wants sauce on everything — it’s a lot. Here’s what works for me: once a week, I make a choose your own meal night. Tacos, nacho bars, potato bars, burrito bowls, pick your own pizza toppings — all easy wins for a busy family. Let everyone build their own plate and suddenly everyone is happy. Including mama.
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Taco bars are my personal favorite choose your own option — they are fast, easy, and everyone can load up their plate exactly the way they like it. Nacho bars and potato bars are great too. Burrito bowls are another crowd pleaser, and pick your own pizza toppings is always a hit with kids.
If you want something a little heartier, try a pasta night with a few different sauces — an Alfredo and a marinara are a great starting point. Add some different proteins like grilled chicken, meatballs, or sausage, throw out a couple of cheese options, and let everyone customize their bowl. It’s a little more labor intensive than a taco bar, so I wouldn’t do this one every week, but it is absolutely worth it on a night when you have a little more time.
The goal is simple: set it all out, step back, and let your people build their own plates. No more short order cook. No more dinner drama. Just a table full of happy eaters — and one very happy mama.
This tip works for families of any size, but if you’re feeding a crowd like I am, choose your own meal nights are a lifesaver. Keep this one in your back pocket. You’re going to use it more than you think.
More Tuesday Tips You’ll Love
- Tuesday Tip: Frozen Pizza Night Is a Perfectly Acceptable Dinner — permission to press the nope-not-tonight button, from one busy mom to another
- Tuesday Tip: Forgot to Thaw the Meat? 3 Quick Dinner Ideas — three no-thaw dinners for the night you forgot to plan ahead
- Tuesday Tip: Weekly Menu — Pasta, Potatoes, Rice — my simple trick for never staring into the fridge at 5 o’clock again
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Tuesday Tip: Picky Eaters — About Tuesday Tips
Tuesday Tips is Stephanie’s weekly series where she shares practical cooking tips, kitchen tricks, and hard-earned wisdom from years of feeding a crowd. Every Tuesday Stephanie brings you a new tip to help you cook smarter, faster, and better — whether you’re feeding a family of four or a crowd of forty. Simple advice, real kitchen experience, straight from Stephanie’s table to yours.