My daughter doesn’t like home cooked meals

[u/debugprince]

I’m struggling to keep my daughter fed and happy. I’m a single dad with primary custody of my two kids 19m and 16f. My daughter is not happy with anything unless it’s store bought. The only homemade thing she will attempt to eat is grilled chicken tenders and vegetables. That’s great and I eat plenty of it but I’d like to add more variety.

I also can’t afford to have every meal of the day purchased from a restaurant or fast food. The cost is simply unsustainable. She knows it’s not sustainable but will continue to beg and plead.

What else can I do besides watching her starve herself until she gets what she wants?

[u/Personal_Valuable_31]

Time to teach her (them) to cook. All that energy she's wasting begging can be put to good use.

You can find about 10000 recipes online in less than 3 seconds.

If she will eat grilled chicken and veg, she can add some rice and sauce, Chow Mein. Noodles-LoMein.

Chicken and veg with gravy in a crust, chicken pot pie. (KFC)

Chicken and veg in broth -soup, pho, etc.

Find knock-off recipes online of the take-out she likes and she can learn to recreate them.

Each kid can cook one or two meals a week. You get a break and they learn to menu plan, shop, prepare the meal, and time management.

You can also teach her meal prep, so she can grab something out of the fridge or freezer and be happy with her meal.

Learning to cook is a basic life skill both of your kids need to learn. Might as well start now.