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Do you find yourself in the situation of cooking different meals for different members of your family? One of your kids doesn’t eat anything but pasta and the other is a meat lover. Your husband is on a diet and has restricted all carbohydrates. Plus there are all those different schedules to coordinate. It sure makes pulling out a frozen dinner or going out to eat that much more attractive. But you don’t have to cook separate meals or go out to eat for dinner constantly to satisfy all the members of your family.
Turn your family mealtime into an opportunity to explore different types of cooking and appreciate everyone’s preferences. You can alternate each family member's favorite types of food so everyone gets to eat what they want some of the time (Of course if you have a family member on a restricted diet you may have to accommodate those needs as well). If everyone feels like they have a say in what they get to eat some nights, they may be more cheerful about eating something that is not on their preferred list on the other nights.
Here in my house, I know our diet has changed drastically since children have entered the picture, and I was getting stuck in the exhausting habit of cooking one meal for my son, and then later cooking a separate meal for my husband and myself. Eating out used to be an adventure involving various types of cuisines such as Thai or Mexican. Now our criteria have changed to whether the restaurant will have crayons and coloring books and how fast we can be served. I’ve also toned down the spice quite a bit in my home cooking and we often turn to family favorites like Chicken and Dumplings and Spaghetti and Meatballs. These and other comfort foods can form the basis for a rotating repertoire of family pleasing meals.
We’ve also incorporated a bigger variety of fruits and vegetables to our diet. My son has opened my eyes to vegetables like lima beans (I still don’t love them but he does) and fruits such as papaya. We continue to offer a variety of vegetables, even if he will hardly touch some of them. As the old wisdom goes, “if they’re hungry enough, they’ll eat it!” and I’m hoping that will happen someday. You can also offer bread with most meals so if your kids don’t love what you have cooked, at least there’ll be something they will eat.
In the meantime, nothing is more satisfying to me than cooking a meal that everyone enjoys. Lately that meal has been Turkey Meatloaf with Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries. This is an updated version of the comfort food classic my family enjoyed weekly when I was a child. We would have traditional meatloaf made from a mixture of beef, pork, and veal, accompanied by baked potatoes and a green veggie. Instead of the red meat, I use ground turkey now to make it a bit healthier with less saturated fat. I still use my mom’s traditional meatloaf recipe, seasoning with a mixture of half ketchup and half barbecue sauce. I make enough for leftovers, which are great in sandwiches!
I also swap out the white potatoes for more nutritious sweet potatoes, and make a healthy version of French fries by oven baking them. These can be offered with a dipping sauce of your choice, but they are so good they don’t need one. I add a green veggie or salad (which may or may not get eaten) to round out the meal. This is one meal I know everyone will enjoy, so we’ve been making it almost weekly.
I am always looking for new recipes to try that will please my whole family so please share any recipes that your whole family loves!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1004-whole-family-meals/
Amazing Meals the Whole Family Will Eat
Do you find yourself in the situation of cooking different meals for different members of your family? One of your kids doesn’t eat anything but pasta and the other is a meat lover. Your husband is on a diet and has restricted all carbohydrates. Plus there are all those different schedules to coordinate. It sure makes pulling out a frozen dinner or going out to eat that much more attractive. But you don’t have to cook separate meals or go out to eat for dinner constantly to satisfy all the members of your family.
Turn your family mealtime into an opportunity to explore different types of cooking and appreciate everyone’s preferences. You can alternate each family member's favorite types of food so everyone gets to eat what they want some of the time (Of course if you have a family member on a restricted diet you may have to accommodate those needs as well). If everyone feels like they have a say in what they get to eat some nights, they may be more cheerful about eating something that is not on their preferred list on the other nights.
Here in my house, I know our diet has changed drastically since children have entered the picture, and I was getting stuck in the exhausting habit of cooking one meal for my son, and then later cooking a separate meal for my husband and myself. Eating out used to be an adventure involving various types of cuisines such as Thai or Mexican. Now our criteria have changed to whether the restaurant will have crayons and coloring books and how fast we can be served. I’ve also toned down the spice quite a bit in my home cooking and we often turn to family favorites like Chicken and Dumplings and Spaghetti and Meatballs. These and other comfort foods can form the basis for a rotating repertoire of family pleasing meals.
We’ve also incorporated a bigger variety of fruits and vegetables to our diet. My son has opened my eyes to vegetables like lima beans (I still don’t love them but he does) and fruits such as papaya. We continue to offer a variety of vegetables, even if he will hardly touch some of them. As the old wisdom goes, “if they’re hungry enough, they’ll eat it!” and I’m hoping that will happen someday. You can also offer bread with most meals so if your kids don’t love what you have cooked, at least there’ll be something they will eat.
In the meantime, nothing is more satisfying to me than cooking a meal that everyone enjoys. Lately that meal has been Turkey Meatloaf with Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries. This is an updated version of the comfort food classic my family enjoyed weekly when I was a child. We would have traditional meatloaf made from a mixture of beef, pork, and veal, accompanied by baked potatoes and a green veggie. Instead of the red meat, I use ground turkey now to make it a bit healthier with less saturated fat. I still use my mom’s traditional meatloaf recipe, seasoning with a mixture of half ketchup and half barbecue sauce. I make enough for leftovers, which are great in sandwiches!
I also swap out the white potatoes for more nutritious sweet potatoes, and make a healthy version of French fries by oven baking them. These can be offered with a dipping sauce of your choice, but they are so good they don’t need one. I add a green veggie or salad (which may or may not get eaten) to round out the meal. This is one meal I know everyone will enjoy, so we’ve been making it almost weekly.
I am always looking for new recipes to try that will please my whole family so please share any recipes that your whole family loves!
Basic Turkey Meatloaf
Made with salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ground turkey, onion, dry onion soup mix, garlic, ketchup, egg, breadcrumbs
Made with salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ground turkey, onion, dry onion soup mix, garlic, ketchup, egg, breadcrumbs
Serves/Makes: 6
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 1 small onion minced
- OR
- 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons ketchup (or you can use chili sauce, salsa, tomato sauce or paste)
- 1/2 cup dry seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper as desired
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- paprika, as desired
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the turkey, onion (or soup mix), garlic, egg, ketchup, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overwork the meatloaf.
Pack the meatloaf mixture into a 9x5-inch loaf pan or meatloaf pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the meatloaf is cooked through.
Drain off any excess grease and let the meatloaf stand for a few minutes.
Sprinkle the top of the meatloaf with paprika then slice and serve.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1004-whole-family-meals/