Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 11:06:27 GMT -5
I decided recently that I should learn to cook over the next few years so DH and I can teach Babybird when she gets a little older and cooking can be a family activity for us. I don't want her to grow up like me not knowing how to feed herself Also, I'd like for us to start eating healthier and obviously home cooking is the surest path to achieving that. Unfortunately, I'm kind of like doxieluvr. I don't enjoy cooking for the most part. Very occasionally, I like to spend some time making one of approximately three dishes I can cook. But in general, I don't get a lot of pleasure out of the prospect or the preparation, especially on weeknights. So. For those of you out there who do like cooking, I'd love to get your thoughts on any or all of the following: 1. How much time do you spend cooking on average? On what days of the week do you devote the most time to it? 2. How many "staple dishes" can you make and how much do you experiment with them? In other words, do you have a bunch of standbys that your family enjoys and will eat consistently or do you have to be creative about it and come up with new stuff all the time? 3. How much do you consider health when selecting dishes or ingredients? 4. Does anyone else in your family cook, e.g. partner or kids? Is it something of a family activity? (That's what I'm hoping to achieve in our house.)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:13:29 GMT -5
I cook dinner just about every night and I spend about an hour on it. I get the kids involved by washing and cutting salad (I have a plastic lettuce knife). DD will help me bake and I have her measure out ingredients. I have a staple dish for every kind of meat out there, plus pasta dishes. I really like experimenting and will try something new at least once a week if I have the ingredients on hand (thank you allrecipes!). I don't really think "healthy" when I cook, but I cook from scratch so it should be healthier than something out of a box. DH knows how to cook, but if we wait for him to get home we'd be eating at bedtime most days.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 20, 2013 11:16:41 GMT -5
1. Nowadays about 25-30 minutes including prep. When I first started cooking, freaking forever. The smoke alarm was my timer. 2. I have quite a few staple recipes that I have built up over the years. DH would be very happy if I stuck only to those things but I get bored and want to branch out. I tend to compromise by doing something familar in a different way. 3. I don't really consider health because I'm an experienced enough cook now that I can alter a recipe anyway I please to make it better for us. If we had dietary restrictions I'd probably pay more attention. 4. DH occassionally helps. Gwen helps me A LOT. She helps me crack eggs, measure, stir, season (that's her favorite thing to do). DH would kill me if I knew but the other day I let her help me cut tortillas into triangles using a steak knife. If you are just starting out cooking a great cookbook to start with is Joy of Cooking. Not only does it have tons of easy recipes it also contains a wealth of practical information on cooking. Food Network's How to Boil Water is also a really good very basic cookbook. I started with Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals. Some of her newer cookbooks get kinda weird, so if you want to try her stick with one of the original 30 minute meal cookbooks. I had 30 Minute Meals 2.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Mar 20, 2013 11:17:02 GMT -5
1. Most weekday dinners when we are both working can be done in 30-60 minutes. Sometimes do longer things on the weekend. We eat out at least twice a week. 2. We have a huge number of "staple" dishes that we like and can be cooked quickly. I tend to get in a rut and not try new things. 3. We eat pretty healthy, but nothing extreme. 4. DH and I both cook, about the same amount. Usually together. When the kids were in high school, we tried to make them responsible for cooking one night a week.
We plan out all of our meals on the weekend and shop for what we need on Sunday. The list of meals is posted on the fridge so we can just check it an not think or plan durring the week.
Our meal planning goes something like this: Do we have plans for any night of the week that we will be eating out or cooking something quick? Then we usually plan a salad night, a mexican night, a meat and starch night, a vegetarian night etc, and a soup night in the winter. More grilling in the summer.
And try to vary meats we are eating during each week.
ETA I would not start with Joy of Cooking, but with a more basic Betty Crocker or simialr cookbook. With pictures.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:20:03 GMT -5
I'm the only one that cooks. DH has dietary restraints. I'm not so sure I love cooking but I do like the results. I usually spend 1-2 hours a day cooking/prepping because I'm also making lunches and breakfasts. I try to experiment with at least one dish a week. One of the ways I cut down on cooking time is by preparing one or two dishes a week that hold well - like enchiladas or lasagna. Add a salad and that's four meals out of the week right there. I buy in bulk at costco and then prep multiple meals - like I'll put six bags of teriyaki marinated chicken together and freeze it. The same for butter chicken or maple/soy pork tenderloin. Then I just add a quick cooking starch (quinoa, rice, couscous) and a vegetable or salad. Buying a roasted chicken is also an awesome way to be really flexible - I'll make asian chicken salad, chicken tacos, chicken enchiladas, chicken a la king, etc. I also make big batches of soup and freeze (current favorite is butternut but also split pea, beef & barley) to use as a side with paninis. DH won't eat sandwiches for dinner but apparently paninis aren't sandwiches. I consider health but also flavor because DH is apt to get fast food if the meal isn't satisfying. One of the things I've learned to live with is not trying to keep my grocery bill at the absolute minimum - that buying a premade sauce is cheaper than eating out.
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milee
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Post by milee on Mar 20, 2013 11:20:50 GMT -5
I like to cook and involve my boys often. They love to cook with me, but especially baking.
Why not start out small? Once a week, pick 3 dishes you will make that week. If you're starting out without a repertoire, pick 3 categories and then each week just pick a dish in that category - will help jog your thinking and memory. For healthy eating, I'd suggest the categories be: Main dish salad, main dish with beans and a chicken dish. So a couple weeks' menu plan might be:
Week 1: Buffalo chicken salad (can be made from roast chicken leftovers); black bean chili; roast chicken Week 2: Healthy taco salad (can be made with chili leftovers); hummus w/carrots, celery, pita; mustard chicken breast over cheese grits Week 3: Spinach and strawberry salad, posole, apricot chicken thighs
BTW, all those recipes can be found on Cooking Light. In fact, it might help if you get a subscription to Cooking Light. Each time mine comes, the boys and I go through and tear out the recipes we want to try - gives us ideas. We like variety.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Mar 20, 2013 11:21:09 GMT -5
My advice is start slow. If you have 3 recipes you know and like, plug in 2 a week and try only 1 new recipe a week. Fill in the rest of dinners with leftovers, sandwiches, etc.
I can't tell you how many times I've committed myself to all home cooking, buying ingredients and prepping and by the 2nd dish that I didn't love, I ditch the whole project.
And as far as getting babybird involved-ds loves to help us cook all kinds of things. That doesn't mean he actually eats much of it. I'm hoping that gets better as he gets older.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 11:25:13 GMT -5
Great thoughts so far. Thanks, guys.
My idea is to start out cooking on weekends when I have more time. I'll try one new dish per week - preferably something that I can eat for lunch during the week so it lasts longer. That way I won't overwhelm myself.
My weeknights are consumed with caring for Babybird from when I get home at 7:00 until she goes to bed around 9:00 and I'm usually not far behind her. I don't intend to set myself up for failure by planning on adding anything to my usual weekday agenda, at least not right now.
(I'm looking for a job closer to home, so hopefully I'll have more time at home in the evenings in the not-too-distant future.)
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 20, 2013 11:25:24 GMT -5
I would not start with Joy of Cooking, but with a more basic Betty Crocker or simialr cookbook. With pictures
Betty Crocker's web site is a good place to play. They have a recipe finder where you plug in what ingredients you have and what meal this is for and it'll pull up recipes. They also have a recipe box where you can save ones you want to try and a grocery list maker that will take the recipe and make a shopping list for you.
They also have a lot of video tutorials.
I have 75 recipes in my box right now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:25:36 GMT -5
I have use a crock pot and also have stand-bys meals. The stand-by/guaranteed "hits" are usually things like spaghetti and either turkey or beef meat sauce. For that I'll add whatever veggies are in the fridge - last night I cooked ground turkey (heavily seasoned since ground turkey is pretty bland) with cut up carrots and green peppers and had them simmer in Ragu pasta sauce while I cooked the pasta. Pretty easy, tasty, and filling.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:27:05 GMT -5
I highly recommend allrecipes.com - I can't begin to tell you about all the fantastic recipes I got from that site.
also, for healthier crock pot recipes, try paleopot.com. Their cilantro lime chicken was melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 11:27:52 GMT -5
DH and I are planning to get a Crock Pot. That was one of the first things he said when I indicated my desire to learn how to cook. DH is a great cook so I'm hoping he can teach me a little bit. But whether this plan will help or hinder my progress is as yet undetermined
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 20, 2013 11:28:47 GMT -5
We eat a home cooked meal 6 nights a week (on average.) The meals I make take between 30 and 60 minutes, with a few that have a longer bake time. I always consider health, and plan my vegetables as rigorously as I plan our main dishes. I believe strongly in the 3-part meal, protein (usually meat), starch and vegetables. When I worked a lot, I used a lot of short-cuts, and I still use enough of them today. As a beginner cook, I relied heavily on store bought sauces, but did the rest myself. To this day, I find a jar of sauce an easy time saver.
My go-to's are broken down into meat and category types, and I put them in a grid. I try to keep 2 items in each grid box, and they are things I can make on any weeknight - most of them without a recipe, or at least the recipe is pretty easy. I pick one from each meat/protein type and one from each category. That way I don't have ground beef 5 nights in a row, and I don't have pasta 5 nights in a row. It keeps the variety going.
My meat breakdowns are: - ground beef - steak - chicken/turkey/poultry - pork products - fish - cheese/vegetarian/vegan
My category breakdowns are: - Italian / pasta - Asian (ish) - Mexican - Traditional American dishes - Other
Then I started filling them in: For Italian, I make spaghetti (with ground beef, a jar of prego and store bought pasta), I also make Meatball Stroganoff (is that italian?) with frozen meatballs, sour cream and egg noodles. There are my two entries into the ground beef/Italian box.
I also make turkey meatballs with a piece of mozzarella in the middle. I don't serve them with pasta, just bread, salad and vegetables. We do dip them in spaghetti sauce - so I still consider it Italian. I also have a chicken alfredo recipe I like.
For pork/italian, I make an Italian sausage with peppers and potatoes.
For the asian category - I make terriaki beef, which no asian person on the planet would think tastes authentic, but whatever. I buy a terriaki sauce, stir fry the veges, make some brown rice - done. Easy peasy. I also make a sweet and sour chicken, but I pan fry the chicken, not bread it and deep fry like restaurants. We always have that with veges and Edamane. I have a pork recipe that uses the canton noodles. Easy to make, but has a lot of ingredients.
For Mexican, we make tacos and fajitas, and I also have several other "southwestern" recipes - like a pork tenderloin that you wrap in a corn husk. It takes a while to cook, but it is easy to put together.
For "traditional" I make things like a roasted chicken (or just the legs or whatever I've got) or meatloaf, etc. I also have a steak sandwich that I love, and a steak salad that we love.
And the "other" category usually holds the things that I don't put elsewhere, like breakfast for dinner (eggs) and pigs in a blanket (hot dogs wrapped in cresent rolls.) These things are either very, very easy, or harder than I normally pull out on a weekday.
I'm sure there are 20 people out there judging my go-to list because it isn't "clean" and I eat processed foods. But, overall, the diet I give my family is very balanced and healthy. We are all healthy, no allergies, in our target weight range, etc. I don't have to go too far out of my way to accommodate health needs, and 80% of our food is not processed. That 20% saves me a lot of time, and even some money, and it works for us. If you don't know how to cook at all, going to a 100% no-processed foods, cooking everything from scratch diet might be a huge leap. You should consider taking a longer journey by getting comfortable with some short-cuts and then deciding if you need to go farther.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:29:22 GMT -5
I love Cooking Light too.
I think it was Thyme that had a great chart with protein (beans, fish, chicken, pork, beef) on one axis and flavor (american, asian, mexican, etc) on the other and in each box she had options for meals.
edited: oops. Posted simultaneously.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Mar 20, 2013 11:31:03 GMT -5
I'm sure there are 20 people out there judging my go-to list because it isn't "clean" and I eat processed foods
I bet you don't use coupons either. I've been flamed for it but I like the Sneaky Chef cookbooks. Great for getting ideas on how to make recipes better for us. Also since most of her books are geared towards kids the recipes are very straightforward. I've also found them to be fairly universally appealing (Gwen and DH will both eat it). .
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Mar 20, 2013 11:32:47 GMT -5
One of my best purchases was my Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer. I now bake bread , pizza, cookies, etc on a routine basis. DD LOVES to cook and especially is a baker. It has now become our 'thing'. I use my KA for all kinds of things and keep it out on the counter year round. As for cooking, start watching the Food Channel. We love food shows, they are clean so you can watch them with your kids and they inspire you to want to try new things. Just start trying and experimenting. Make it fun.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 20, 2013 11:35:59 GMT -5
Also, when it comes to teaching your kid to cook, I am having a great time with my kids. They "cook" once a week. I bought a knife (which is called "My first knife") and they cut vegetables, potatoes, etc. They get to pick what they cook for the most part, but I get to blackball when they both want to make tacos every night, every week. Ugh! They are old enough to stand at the stove and saute stuff. They take great pride in it, and I hope it will help them at least be proficient in the kitchen when they grow up.
The first dinner they made was meatloaf. They loved mixing the meat by hand, and helping me whip the mashed potatoes. They also love helping make meatballs - same deal, raw meat, rolling it into balls. No knives, no fire. Good stuff. My husband has taught them to flip hamburgers on the grill, so they think they own that process. It's all good!
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 20, 2013 11:37:10 GMT -5
Ah - and homemade pizza, kids love to make homemade pizza. You roll out the dough, put on the sauce, put on the cheese, put on the toppings. It is a friggin' mess, but they love it!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:37:30 GMT -5
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 11:38:45 GMT -5
thyme4change, your chart is super helpful. I'm going to print that. I'm really appreciating everyone's posts! This thread will be an awesome reference point for me. Thank you! I saw a recipe for a broccoli casserole in my parenting magazine yesterday and ripped it out. It looks super easy and very tasty. Going to try that one this weekend. I'm actually kind of excited about this.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:42:42 GMT -5
when I cook I try to cook for 2 or 3 days at a time; helps to save time
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Mar 20, 2013 11:44:03 GMT -5
1. How much time do you spend cooking on average? On what days of the week do you devote the most time to it? I'm single. I spend about 2 - 3 hours on Sunday's cooking a couple of 4 serving recipes for lunches and dinners during the week. FWIW: I'm usually also doing luandry or some other 'couple minute here and there' kinda chores while cooking (prep the recipe - switch out washer loads - put the dish together and into the oven - while it cooks start next batch of recipe prep or make sides or whatever for example). If you are just starting out you'll want to plan what you are going to make ahead of time and do your grocery shopping (from a list with coupons!) BEFORE you get to the day you will actually cook.
2. How many "staple dishes" can you make and how much do you experiment with them? In other words, do you have a bunch of standbys that your family enjoys and will eat consistently or do you have to be creative about it and come up with new stuff all the time? I seem to have settled into a 'seasonal' rotation of menus. That said I have 2 or 3 recipe 'staples' for each season -- spring is usually based around the ham/ham bone from New Years and then the Ham/Ham bone from Easter and "lent' kinda foods. Nov/Dec is Turkey and holiday kinda meals. June/july/august is usually 'BBQ/Cookout kinda meals. I have my old standbys (like meat loaf, pasta and sauce/veggies, tacos, roast chicken) but I also cycle in something different - assorted meatless meals for instance.
3. How much do you consider health when selecting dishes or ingredients? In order to maintain my weight I've accepted the fact that I need to eat less (a 1/2 a chicken is NOT a serving) and that I need to not eat alot of processed foods (a tube of Cresent Rolls is NOT food). Since I don't eat alot of prepackaged stuff I'm forced to eat 'healthier' stuff.
4. Does anyone else in your family cook, e.g. partner or kids? Is it something of a family activity? (That's what I'm hoping to achieve in our house.) I'm single but I do enjoy cooking with friends (we try new recipes OR make something special like a Duck or something else gourmet-y)
| My advice would be to start by coming up with at least one or two meal ideas that are quick and easy to make to help keep yourself from ordering take out:
My two fall back "omg I've got nothing for dinner" meals:
quick pantry dinners - stuff you can put together with canned goods and/or something out of your freezer in about 20 minutes. examples: corn tortillas from the freezer, a can of nonfat refried beans, a jar of salsa or can of low salt diced tomatos - so you can make quick 'tacos'. If you have some veggies (peppers and onions fresh or frozen) or cheese - even better.
A jar of pasta sauce, pasta, maybe some fresh or frozen veggies, and then some frozen chicken breasts (you can quick thaw packaged chicken in a bowl of cold water while you prep the rest of dinner. It's OK to cut up the still kinda cold chicken and saute it in a pan).
I can create either of the above dinners in 30 minutes or less and I always have the fixings for those two meals on hand.
Once you have some 'fall back' menu plans/meals in mind, I'd work on trying some recipes that have a few ingredients that are common or 'staples'. Go for a simple meatloaf (versus one that calls for truffles and ground lamb).
I'd also make a deal with everyone involved in eating your cooked food: It's an adventure, you don't have to like it - but you have to try it. Also, think of each new food as an experiment - allow your self (and your fellow diners) to dritic the meal or offer suggestions. It's OK to 'fail' - you are trying to perfect your skills or your dinners and you can't do that without having some meals come out only so-so.
Someone saying the Meatloaf "needs more spices" is NOT a personal attack. Make it clear for certain meals you DO want feedback and then make the effort to NOT punish the people who say they didn't like it. ... just in case you grew up like I did where your best interest was in only saying good stuff and not ever saying you didn't care for something.
2.)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:46:36 GMT -5
when I cook I try to cook for 2 or 3 days at a time; helps to save time I love your dance!
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Mar 20, 2013 11:48:07 GMT -5
Someone saying the Meatloaf "needs more spices" is NOT a personal attack. Make it clear for certain meals you DO want feedback and then make the effort to NOT punish the people who say they didn't like it. ... just in case you grew up like I did where your best interest was in only saying good stuff and not ever saying you didn't care for something.
Oh, I'd never take that personally. I do want feedback. It's actually very important to me that we never force Babybird to "clean her plate." I HATE that. I'm fine with saying "this is all you get to eat for the night - either eat it or be hungry," and she absolutely will not be allowed to be rude about food that someone else made her, but I'm not going to force her to eat something she doesn't like.
Hopefully she has her daddy's palate. It's true that he's a more adventurous eater than me.
But anyway, at least at first I wouldn't expect DH to like everything I make. He should tell me when he doesn't so I can avoid that dish. I don't mind that at all, provided he's not a jerk about it. Which he won't be.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:48:47 GMT -5
We had lasagne soup last night. Friggen good.
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milee
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Post by milee on Mar 20, 2013 11:49:01 GMT -5
That suggestion on watching Food Channel shows is spot on. My kids discovered Iron Chef and since they've been watching it are much more adventurous eaters. If all your kids see are picky kids eating macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets, that's what they're likely to do too. If your kids are watching Iron Chef, they might try a bite of your catfish ice cream. Firebird, what types of food do you like to eat? What is yummy to you?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2013 11:49:22 GMT -5
We eat a home cooked meal 6 nights a week (on average.) The meals I make take between 30 and 60 minutes, with a few that have a longer bake time. I always consider health, and plan my vegetables as rigorously as I plan our main dishes. I believe strongly in the 3-part meal, protein (usually meat), starch and vegetables. When I worked a lot, I used a lot of short-cuts, and I still use enough of them today. As a beginner cook, I relied heavily on store bought sauces, but did the rest myself. To this day, I find a jar of sauce an easy time saver. My go-to's are broken down into meat and category types, and I put them in a grid. I try to keep 2 items in each grid box, and they are things I can make on any weeknight - most of them without a recipe, or at least the recipe is pretty easy. I pick one from each meat/protein type and one from each category. That way I don't have ground beef 5 nights in a row, and I don't have pasta 5 nights in a row. It keeps the variety going. My meat breakdowns are: - ground beef - steak - chicken/turkey/poultry - pork products - fish - cheese/vegetarian/vegan My category breakdowns are: - Italian / pasta - Asian (ish) - Mexican - Traditional American dishes - Other Then I started filling them in: For Italian, I make spaghetti (with ground beef, a jar of prego and store bought pasta), I also make Meatball Stroganoff (is that italian?) with frozen meatballs, sour cream and egg noodles. There are my two entries into the ground beef/Italian box. I also make turkey meatballs with a piece of mozzarella in the middle. I don't serve them with pasta, just bread, salad and vegetables. We do dip them in spaghetti sauce - so I still consider it Italian. I also have a chicken alfredo recipe I like. For pork/italian, I make an Italian sausage with peppers and potatoes. For the asian category - I make terriaki beef, which no asian person on the planet would think tastes authentic, but whatever. I buy a terriaki sauce, stir fry the veges, make some brown rice - done. Easy peasy. I also make a sweet and sour chicken, but I pan fry the chicken, not bread it and deep fry like restaurants. We always have that with veges and Edamane. I have a pork recipe that uses the canton noodles. Easy to make, but has a lot of ingredients. For Mexican, we make tacos and fajitas, and I also have several other "southwestern" recipes - like a pork tenderloin that you wrap in a corn husk. It takes a while to cook, but it is easy to put together. For "traditional" I make things like a roasted chicken (or just the legs or whatever I've got) or meatloaf, etc. I also have a steak sandwich that I love, and a steak salad that we love. And the "other" category usually holds the things that I don't put elsewhere, like breakfast for dinner (eggs) and pigs in a blanket (hot dogs wrapped in cresent rolls.) These things are either very, very easy, or harder than I normally pull out on a weekday. I'm sure there are 20 people out there judging my go-to list because it isn't "clean" and I eat processed foods. But, overall, the diet I give my family is very balanced and healthy. We are all healthy, no allergies, in our target weight range, etc. I don't have to go too far out of my way to accommodate health needs, and 80% of our food is not processed. That 20% saves me a lot of time, and even some money, and it works for us. If you don't know how to cook at all, going to a 100% no-processed foods, cooking everything from scratch diet might be a huge leap. You should consider taking a longer journey by getting comfortable with some short-cuts and then deciding if you need to go farther. Hey, now....when I said "scratch" I meant that I don't use Hamburger Helper or other boxed meals. I don't make my own noodles or anything like that. Sorry if I mislead anyone.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 20, 2013 11:50:23 GMT -5
Don't worry. You will know if your kid likes something or not.[/span]
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Mar 20, 2013 11:53:59 GMT -5
LOL - I don't use hamburger helper either. We have a few here that are very anti-processed foods (ahem...)
Well, I eat cresent rolls. My kids love them. I would say once every 6-8 weeks we have pigs in a blanket using the cresent rolls. It is what it is. I understand why I wouldn't eat that every day, but that is a key meal for us - quick, easy, cheap, the kids can make it. Without it and other meals like that, I'm not sure what I would do.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Mar 20, 2013 11:55:29 GMT -5
I do most of the cooking in our house. Since DS needs to start heading to bed a little after 7 and I don't get home from work until 5:45 or 6, supper basically needs to be done by the time i get home. I do the vast majority of my cooking on the weekends. I'm a casserole type person and I usually do 1 casserole dish on the weekends and then one other meal and both of those will give us leftovers. Then I try to have one meal for the crockpot for either Tuesday or Wednesday. We spend the rest of the nights eating leftovers or just making a sandwhich, but it works for us. I try to experiment once a month. I also have some casseroles that freeze really well. So, if I make one, I make 2 and put the second one in the freezer. Then hubby just has to take it out of the freezer and put it in the oven. Hubby and DS aren't real big on leftovers, so I'm currently trying to just do make half and freeze half of the dishes I make. That helps out as well.
The hardest thing for me is actually meal planning. Keeping a list of meals that my family likes has helped tremendously on that end.
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