Please help me...I am determined to lose weight this year and want some advice on making healthy meals for my family. My children are somewhat picky eaters--not big veggie fans, but love fruits. They definately aren't good at trying new things, unless it looks somewhat familiar and if a veggie is involved, they rarely try it. My husband is proably even worse--he only likes red meat, some chicken, no seafood, no veggies and ocassional fruits. He thinks yogurt counts as a fruit. Everytime I try to make a healthy meal--stir fry, homemade soups with beans/veggies, etc., no one will eat anything and complains about it. I'm ready to start making the unhealthy meals for all of them, then a healthy meal for myself (which is a big pain to make 2 meals a night). I would love to have them all eat healthier meals. I tried making just the healthy meals and told them to make their own dinner if they didn't like it---we went 3 weeks and all they ate for dinner was chicken nuggets (which we ran out of and I didn't buy anymore), quessadillas, chips and salsa and peanut butter sandwiches. How do other families handle this?? What are some good kid-friendly healthy meals (I have a child with a milk allergy, so we can't do cheese or creamy sauces). Any thoughts?
This has an easy solution - don't buy the junk and keep it in the house! They'll get hungry and they'll eat. Let them complain. If they do, they can make their own meals with the healthy ingredients you have available in the house.
If they are that picky, and the 'big' kid is making it worse, then try the book, "Deceptively Delicious." It has recipes where you 'hide' the veggies, and I have heard many success stories for women getting their husbands to eat veggies.
As for some simple meal plans, get a George Foreman grill. I find that fat free zesty italian marinades almost any meat nicely. I cook all my meat this way, and it is always a hit. Throw a side of brown rice, or homemade mashed potatoes with a nice salad, steamed green beans, or broccoli and we usually have a hit.
Only buy organic fat free milk, (for the ones that can drink milk, it is as good as the 'regular' whole milk and all I use for cooking). Don't buy the junk, period. If it is not there, they can't eat it. They will go hungry or learn to eat well, in my house anyway, that is what I did. Eat it, or go without. Snacks are fruit, raw veggies, whole grain crackers, yogurt, etc. Buy only whole grain breads, no ice cream, (unless it is an occasional treat. Otherwise, sherbert is OK sometimes.), no little debbie.
It is about getting the processed JUNK out if you want to teach your family. They won't even know what they were missing in a month IF you follow through and don't give in to their demands. NO sodas!!!
IF you want to treat them, make it homemade. It makes a difference. But, not all the time. You can also learn ways to make healthier versions of your favorite treats. Like using applesauce instead of oil for brownies, for example.
No way would I make two meals. No way. They obviously are in need for a lifestyle change. Maybe start with the cookbook, then once they learn they have been eating veggies, introduce the 'real' versions of them, slowly. But, first you got to get the junk out of the house. Out of sight, out of mind.
Really though, you can't screw up anything on the George Foreman. Just marinade in the day, pop it on a few minutes, and it comes out de-lish!
Good luck!
Keep with it, buy only healthy food and they will catch on, it is too important not to, I really believe kids who are picky eaters can be trained not to be :)
Lately I have been buying a lot of nuts and seeds from our local Sprouts store and the kids have been snacking on them rather than chips etc We have apples with no sugar carmel dip for dessert now instead of ice cream etc It takes time but good eating becomes a habit just like anything else. Now my kids are asking for the healthier options. If they love chicken nuggets you can also make healthier chicken nuggets from organic chicken, olive oil, and crushed nuts(many recipes online) and put them over salad for dinner :) Good Luck :)
Have you heard of the book Deceptively Delicious? Look it up! I don't have it but I've heard it has recipes that contain "hidden" vegetables. Just don't let your husband or kids know that you've snuck some in and that way you're giving them the nutrition that they need to grow and start eating healthier.
I'm sure it'll work out!
And if worse comes to worse and you start making 2 meals I reccomend Hungry girls 200 meals under 200 calories! It's amazing! One of the great things about it is that it usually only makes a couple servings and they don't take too long to make:) It's also got some amazing deserts that you could probably share with the family that are low in fats and calories;) hope this helps! Good luck!
Is there anything that you can make where the veggies are more "hidden"? Like spaghetti sauce, where you can blend the veggies in, and make it with ground turkey without them knowing it's ground turkey?
You can also try having them make their own quesadillas, pizzas, etc. and offer a variety of healthy toppings - tomatoes, etc.
Offer raw carrots and celery with some ranch dip before dinner - when they are more hungry and are more apt to fill up on them.
Otherwise, you can again try the "Like it or lump it" approach. And just stop buying the chicken nuggets and chips and other processed junk, so they really don't have any other options. If they go hungry - tough! Our DD is 3 and starting to get more picky about dinner but we don't cave. We don't make separate meals or give her the option of a PB sandwich. She has her choices when it comes to breakfast, dinner and snack, but dinner is what I make and if she turns her nose up, she goes to bed without dinner. She won't starve, and neither will they.
I think you really need to get DH on board if you expect your children to follow your example. I honestly don't think there is any such thing as 'kid-friendly' food. Kids can (and should) eat whatever healthy foods you are eating. If you think about it - in some culture whatever you are eating is the regular kid friendly stuff. Best of luck.
I think you were on the right track when you made them take care of the meals but you did the shopping. You are not a short order cook and your home is not a restaurant where people and pick and choose what they want. I believe you can have the healthy foods you are wanting. Just keep the healthy foods coming. Your family isn't going to let themselves starve to death. Perhaps in time they will get curious about the healthy foods you are cooking.
I would suggest getting some cooking tips and hints from chefs and a nutritionists too. Your health insurance may even cover the costs of seeking the professional help of a nutritionists.
In my house I try all kinds of different fruit and vegetables and cook them different ways or just serve them raw on a platter. Food for my family is about taste, texture and presentation.
For the veggie timid, I love to mince the veggies into a kind of paste which I put in everything. It is kind of funny to watch the family eating things they never thought they would ground up and hiding in food.
As for the cheese thing, put it to the side. I have some in the family that are allergic to tomatos so I have a alfredo sauce for them and tomato sauce for the rest of us and the meat base is kept seasoned and separate. I dish out the portions because my meat lovers know no restraint.
Slowing the family is learning to like new things and broadening their personal horizons. I hope this helps. Stay on track don't let the inmates run the asylum. You are the one buying the food so you really do have the power so use it for your own good. My question to them would be, Why they don't love you enough to help you with eating healthy after all you do for them?
The biggest thing that comes to my mind that you can change is the ground beef. Just get ground turkey. In anything, but burgers, you can't tell the difference. Meatballs, meatloaf, tacos, etc, I use ground turkey for it all. Then when we do have ground beef burgers, its ok, cause its a rare thing. A great resource is EatingWell. There is a website and magazine. They have all sorts of healthy recipes, and quick ones too. That are good, incorporate veggies and you can still have things that you don't realize are healthy. Good luck and good for you for making a change.
if no one wants to eat what you need to eat to lose weight, I would make a full dinner that is suitable for your dieting, then divide it up into 4 or 5 "tv dinner plates" & freeze them. Then just cook what you would normally feed hubby & kids & heat up your own special meal. I think it would be easier to stick to in the long run & you would have better success. If thats too much work, buy a few lean cuisines for you, they have similar calorie content to nutrisystem. Im dieting, but have no desire to have to change a bunch of foods, or add stuff (I eat pretty healthy, just too much) so Im using an online calorie counter that gives info based on all sorts of measurments, like 1/2 cup etc, and listing all the food I eat, so I know how much to eat of each thing, have a look, its a good reference and gives weightwatchers point values too.
http://www.calobonga.com/
I was offered a "Sweet Deal" from Mamapedia two weeks ago for www.relishrelish.com It is a website that offers easy to use recipes that are kid friendly, lower calorie, crockpot, and simple gourmet. They offer several recipes each week that you choose from. Once you choose the recipes you want, you choose how many servings you need (2,4, 6, 8), and print off the recipes AND the shopping list that is well organized by catagories.
We chose the lower calorie meals and have lost about 10 pounds each by counting our calories and writing them down in a little notebook. We used www.livestrong.com to figure out how many calories we needed each day based on our weight and height to lose 2 pounds a week. They also have a place to enter in daily foods and calories. We chose to use our notepad instead.
I need about 1700 calories a day (since I'm breastfeeding). I can eat Twinkies and cookies at one sitting or I can eat lots of lower calorie things all day and not be hungry. I can eat chocolate or drink a pop if I want, but I just can't eat a ton of it and only have one pop that I've counted into my daily calories.
As far as kid friendly options, have you tried whole grain pastas? And, to be honest, you are giving them too much power over their meals. You are the mom and it is your job to teach them to eat healthy. What will happen if you don't?? Are you willing to let them become obese?
