Last night I made "Keralan Coconut Curry" from a meal kit and some chicken thigh meat.
And I made sweet and sour chicken from a jar with some thigh meat.
Both were better than expected - better than one would expect from an average take-away.
My son ate a small bowl of curry. My daughter was already full of chocolate.
Even seeing someone trying to make a kid eat something they don't want to eat triggers flashbacks for me, so my kids have always been pretty much free range when it comes to food. My son eats a lot of cookies and my daughter eats a lot of chocolate. Both of them can go most of the day without eating if they are doing something more interesting.
There have never been "special foods", like candy etc., that are rationed or given as rewards or only allowed if they eat a proper meal first.
As a result I think they have a far more healthy attitude towards food than I and a lot of people I know grew up with. My kids NEVER eat candy, if we buy candy it sits in a jar for a year and gets thrown out unless the neighbours' kids come over and eat it.
Mostly I ask them what they want to eat, give them a few options. They like rice porridge and nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice) and my wife puts lots of vegetables in those. Anything I give to my son to eat gets shared 50/50 between him and the dog.
