A little over a week ago

I asked my lovely friends on Instagram

To help me with my beautiful children

Who are becoming increasingly fussy about food

And whose diet is becoming worse and worse

For ages David has been saying we should give them meals

Say they can eat it or leave it

But this is it

This is their food and there are no alternatives available

I thought that sounded a bit hard

But when I talked to friends online

I found out that LOADS of people are doing it

And I learned a few key things to implement at home

With our fussy eaters

Meal times with these two are becoming more and more excruciating. I feel like I have to bully them into eating. Esther will not eat chips, pasta, rice, jacket potatoes. Neither eat veg they agonise over every piece of corn. David thinks we should make a meal and if they eat it fine if not fine but they get nothing else. I don't know what to do at all. How do you deal with fussy eaters? The twins will be 7 next month. #fussyeaters #fussyeater #kidsmeals #food #familymeals #twins #twinstagram #parenting #family

A post shared by Jennie Edspire (@edspire) on Jun 2, 2017 at 6:04am PDT

The main tips being

Include one thing you know they will eat in each meal

Put the food in the centre of the table and allow the children to help themselves

Eat as a family

Insist all stay at the table until everyone has finished eating

Try not to use pudding as reward or punishment

Use just 6 words instead of fighting about food ‘You don’t have to eat it’

Make food fun

A few days later

I started meal planning for our family

And we started having lunch and tea together

All eating the same thing

Following the tips above

And it was a success!

So today operation #fussyeaters began. At lunch we had make your own wraps with chicken, ham, cheese and cucumber. For tea we had gammon, jacket potatoes, pineapple, baby corn, grated cheese and mange tout. They all ate well both meal times. Not eating loads but trying new things. I put all the food in the centre of the table and they served themselves and I ate with them. For the first day of our new regime I think it went well and I am motivated to really give this a try. I am going to start meal planning so am asking my insta village for help once again. What is your favourite family meal? What meal do your #fussyeaters love? #food #dinnerideas #familydinner #fussyeater #mealplan #ittakesavillage Thank you x

A post shared by Jennie Edspire (@edspire) on Jun 10, 2017 at 3:17pm PDT

So much so

That we are about to start our second week

Of our new family meals regime

To celebrate the children’s efforts

I decided to take them all out for lunch

With their Godmother

My best friend

And the help of Brit Mums

We visited our local Prezzo restaurant

In Maidstone

To experience their family favourites

La Famiglia Pasta Sharing Bowls

We had a ball

The children loved the experience

And it has boosted my confidence so much

That I may well take them all out to eat again

And we may just return to Prezzo

Prezzo Maidstone
This is a beautiful restaurant

In an old building on Earl Street

The entrance is stepped

But we were able to get the pram inside

And encouraged to keep the pram with us at our table

Other tables hosted families

Also with prams

This is a family friendly restaurant

The staff were so cheerful

They focused very much on the children

Service was quick

And the menu activities were fantastic

There was something to suit each of our children

From drawing and colouring

To wordsearches, anagrams and Sudoku

The restaurant was spotlessly clean

And the design of the interior was stunning

This is a nice place to meet and eat

As nice for a date night as for a family lunch

Food and Drink

Before choosing our food

We ordered some drinks

Apple juice for the children

Which came in plastic beakers with straws

We also had tap water for the table

The children loved that their drinks came with straws

It is the little things

When dining with little ones

That make a huge difference

We were very impressed

With the smaller children’s cutlery

Perfect for little hands

Though of course Bea refused to use hers

Stabbing her pasta with a grown up fork

The food we were invited to review

Was the Prezzo La Famiglia Pasta Dish

This is a large sharing bowl of pasta

And it really is big

It would easily feed two adults and two teens

Or 1 adult and 3 teenagers

There is a lot of pasta provided

And the pasta that we chose

Tasted divine

We chose Penne Alla Rusticana

Which is pasta with chicken, pancetta and peppers

In a creamy Pomodoro sauce

It was absolutely delicious

Full of flavour

And enjoyed by all

William was absolutely delighted when our waiter

Showered the pasta in parmesan shavings

It was like snow falling on a mountain

The children thought it was magic

As the flakes melted away before their eyes

Food should be fun

And this meal was fun

With a hint of theatre

And a real sensory experience

For my fussy eaters and my fabulous friend

To complement our pasta

We were given two large garlic breads

With mozzarella and caramelised onion

To convince my fussy eaters to eat it

We told them it was garlic bread and jam

And it worked

Particularly with Esther

She ate loads of it

And I was so proud

That with a little persuasion

They all tried it

As we shared the huge bowl of pasta

We talked and laughed and smiled

There was such a lovely atmosphere in the restaurant

That it rubbed off on all of us and we really relaxed

We really enjoyed each other’s company

Very much

We loved the food

The taste

The presentation

The joy of sharing

It was a truly lovely lunch

Helped by the fact that Edie slept through the whole thing

I loved watching my children try new things

Esther sucked up a rogue strand of spaghetti

I found nestled among the pasta

My best friend searched the sea of pasta

For all the pancetta pieces

Because the children loved that bit the most

Bea just loved the whole experience

Especially dessert

And William as always was very enthusiastic

About everything

Ice Cream

After our main course we all chose ice cream

Chocolate and sea salt gelato for me

Strawberry ice cream for Bea

Chocolate for the twins

And a refreshing fruit sorbet for Michele

The table was silent as we all tucked in

We loved our lunch at Prezzo Maidstone

Here are our Top 10 thoughts from our Prezzo La Famiglia Taste Test

1. The Maidstone restaurant is clean and welcoming. The staff are friendly and we immediately felt relaxed.

2. The service was quick and the children’s activity sheet was suitable for a range of ages.

3. The children’s and tots’ menus looked great value for money with a good range of options.

4. La Famiglia is such a great idea for feeding families. It is super value for money, providing large portions for a family of four with food enough to take home.

5. The garlic bread was delicious and there are a range of toppings to choose from.

6. Family sharing of a large bowl of pasta is a tradition in many homes, it is lovely to have it available and affordable in a restaurant.

7. The food was good, full of flavour. The pasta got a thumbs up from our fussiest of eaters. The Penne Alla Rusticana had huge chunks of chicken in it and the chicken was beautifully cooked.

8. The meal was not only a success because of the taste but because of the shared experience. We loved having a big bowl of pasta to share, we loved talking about the tastes and the textures, the ingredients. We loved the physical act of breaking bread together and the meaning of doing that together. We made some wonderful family memories.

9. The ice cream was divine. DELICIOUS! Not the best table manners I realise but all three children licked their bowls and did not want their pudding to end.

(Even Edie woke up for ice cream!)

10. The La Famiglia deal is just too good to miss.

For £30 you get for 4 people

STARTERS

Garlic bread with or without mozzarella

MAINS

La Famiglia sharing bowl: Penne Arrabiata, Spaghetti Bolognese, Spaghetti Carbonara or Penne Alla Rusticana

SIDES

Fries, Truffle Oil Infused Fries, Mixed Salad or Rocket Salad

DESSERTS

Gelato, Ice Cream or Sorbet

Thank you Prezzo Maidstone

A true feast for a family

Even a family of fussy eaters

What William calls

A lovely lunch!

We will definitely be back

To make more memories

And to fill this little belly

This post is an entry for the BritMums #PrezzoLaFamiglia Challenge, sponsored by Prezzo. https://www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk/LaFamiglia/