Meal planning for picky kids

Write down eight to ten dinners everyone eats without a fight, and the sides your picky eater will always take: plain rice, cucumbers, bread, fruit, whatever it is in your house. That list is your rotation. It is fine for it to be boring.

Dinners that come apart are easier for picky eaters: tacos, rice bowls, pasta with the sauce on the side, sheet-pan chicken with vegetables kept separate. Everyone eats the same meal, and each kid builds a plate they will eat.

Put a small portion of something new next to foods your child already eats, and don't push. Kids often need to see a food many times before they try it. Many pediatric feeding specialists suggest the parent decides what is served and when, and the child decides whether to eat and how much.

• Pick five dinners for the week in one sitting. Sunday is popular.
• Check who is home which night. A practice night needs a quick meal.
• Write the grocery list straight from the plan so you only shop once.
• Leave one night for leftovers or something easy.

Fambee plans the week's dinners around who is home and what your family actually eats, and builds the grocery list from the plan. Tell it your kids' favorites, foods they won't touch and any allergies in plain language, and it remembers. It also asks a few questions about your household's food preferences over time so the plan keeps getting closer to what you'd pick.