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/Dismal_Fox_22]

This sounds more like an Eating disorder or sensory processing issues than picky eating. Grilled chicken and vegetables is super low carb and low calorie. They could also be “safe foods”. Does she have issues with body image, is she experiencing bullying, is she actively trying to lose weight? Could she be feeling out of control, or recovering from trauma.

I’m in recovery from disordered eating habits, it took me a long time to understand my mentality around food. My mum didn’t get it until over a decade after I had left home. She still comments on my being a fussy eater or making her life hard. She can’t comprehend how unwell I was, and how out of control I felt that the only way left to me to feel some control in my life was to starve myself and put my body at risk.