Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Feb 24, 2014 11:44:09 GMT -5
I want to eat & feed my family healthier foods. I feel stupid, but I honestly don't know how. I suck at cooking & don't like cooking, which doesn't help the situation. So here is the situation:
- Time is limited on weekdays. I try to cook & have leftovers available, but I have not been doing good at this. As a result there are a lot of sandwiches, cereal, spaghettios, chicken nuggests, & hot dogs when I get home from work & it is too late too cook a real meal - I use a lot of meat when I cook. I have realized that we probably eat an unhealthy amount of meat, but this is the main ingredient in most things I make. - DS has a soy intolerance, so the obvious answer of just using fake meat to make the meals healthier does not work for us. - We do eat a ton of fruit, the kids love it. - Veggies are my problem, I don't know what to buy & what to do with it. And really I dislike most cooked veggies. When I make stuff like stir fry or fajitas I throw all the veggies in at the very end so they get hot, but stay crispy. I prefer a raw carrot to a cooked carrot any day, same with celery, peas, onions. I just hate mushy veggies. - I also have a dairy allergy. Which isn't really a problem, but thought I would mention it because certain dishes just don't work for us.
So I have to fix - Too much processed food, too much meat, not enough veggies. Suggestions?
And I don't like what I have said above because it feels like I am saying I need to do A, but can't possibly do X, Y, or Z to fix it. Like I am looking for a magic answer to solve all my problems. Maybe I just need more quick, easy, but still healthy meal ideas. And ideas for meatless meals.
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milee
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Post by milee on Feb 24, 2014 11:49:51 GMT -5
With as busy as you are and some of the diet requirements, making a total diet overhaul seems like it might be too much - too much time, too complicated, too weird.
Maybe start slow. If you want to add more veggies, focus on that. For the next month or so, just see if you can start to make sure each meal has at least 2-3 veggies. If your kids behave and it's not too much extra work for you, bring them to the grocery store and let them choose the veggies. For some odd reason, lots of kids will eat stuff if they helped choose and/or prepare it.
Also, if you plan meals for the week, maybe start slow and make a goal of planning at least one night per week where you make a salad and one night per week when the main dish is bean based. That alone will add to the veggie intake and also decrease the meats. Plus, it's easier to get your hands around. You could search for good salad or bean recipes versus just casting about for "non-meat", which is a big category.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 24, 2014 11:54:48 GMT -5
As someone's who trying to overhaul my diet as well I agree with milee. Start small or you'll drive yourself crazy. If you and the kids prefer raw veggies I don't see the problem with serving them raw. Less prep work!
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Feb 24, 2014 11:56:54 GMT -5
If you hate soft/mushy veggies, I'd say leave them out of a crockpot. Doesn't mean you cannot use a crockpot for cooking things like meats, just add the veggies separately. Do you like chicken, turkey, fish? Those are all quick fixes. And you can buy them in portioned sizes, either in the grocery store, a butcher or a fishmonger. In your case, I'd pay the extra to have all the proteins precut and prepacked in sized portions. It will make the job of cooking them less of a chore. How about steamed veggies - cooked, but not mushy. And nothing wrong with a stir-fry- just make up a lot of it, eat some and bag the rest for later use. Will you eat soups with veggies, or do those come under the mushy veggies category? Is your dairy allergy a lactose issue, or are there some products you can use? Veggies and fruits are best bought seasonally. Find a regional chart like this one for your area (this one is from CUESA in San Francisco): www.cuesa.org/eat-seasonally/charts/vegetablesThis one is from about.com and it shows the most affordable produce nationally by month: frugalliving.about.com/od/foodsavings/tp/Cheapest_Produce.htm
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 12:02:03 GMT -5
I know I'm going to get crap for saying it but I will anyhow. Sneaky Chef! All her meals are kid friendly and super easy. I found it a great starting base for revamping DH's diet, which was pretty much Hot Pockets and canned corn/peas when we met. He didn't like ANYTHING. Revamping his diet was going over like a lead balloon. Sneaky Chef kept me from beating my his head into the wall. I still use a lot of her techniques when cooking other stuff. Jerry Seinfield's wife has similar cookbooks out. She also has the The Can't Cookbook which is for beginner's. It's full of very simple, very quick meals that are extremely easy to prep. The internet is a great source for recipes for vegetables. I'll randomly pick stuff when the Farmer's Market is in season. Worst comes to worst I'm out a few bucks if we hate it, but it's worth it to try something new. DH and I discovered roasted brussel sprouts thanks to this board. We now have a new favorite veggie. I also stick beans into a lot of meat dishes. It's a great way to stretch smaller amounts of meat. It also "hides" them if you're not a huge bean fan till you train your brain to like them.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 24, 2014 12:16:40 GMT -5
My diet requires me to have 4 cups of veggies every day. It's been a struggle to get my 4 cups in every day (to be honest some days I'm lucky to get half a cup of veggies). Especially since I can't have potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, or peas.
Green beans: Easy to make. We throw fresh green beans in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes (less if you prefer them crisper). Drain them and toss them in a sauté pan with dressing of your choice. Non-creamy cesaer is a good one. We have a shitake mushroom flavored sauce we sauté them it. Add a bit of salt and you are good to go.
zucchini: we have zucchini several times a week. 1. One easy way is to make noodles out of it and have zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti noodles. I have a spiral cutter thing I got on Amazon for like $10 that works super slick. Throw them in a skillet with some olive oil for a few minutes (I usually do this for around 8 minutes). Add spaghetti sauce and you can barely notice a difference between the zucchini and traditional noodles.
Others: We make "everything" veggies. I'll chop up mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, onion, bell peppers, etc. toss in a bit of olive oil, add some seasoning and toss it in the oven. 8 to 10 minutes at 425 and you are good to go. Less time with give you crispier veggies. I like my veggies hot.
I can't have potatoes but when I could we used to make a stir fry of sorts with just veggies and split open some baked potatoes and cover the (cooked) baked potatoes with the stir fry.
Meatloaf: So I'm gluten and dairy free as well. I make meatloaf with ground turkey, diced mushrooms, diced zucchini and diced bell peppers. Very yummy and full of veggies.
Because of the stupid no potatoes thing I've had turnips and rutabaga. Rutabaga is currently our favorite vegetable. We have it at least once a week. Dice it and toss in olive oil. Cook on the top rack at 425 for an hour. Parchment paper is your friend. It's a long time to cook but it's worth it. We had mashed rutabaga last night.
Cauliflower is your friend- you can make pizza crusts with it (pinterest). We make Indian food at least once a week. Store bought sauce, chicken, and veggies. We usually throw cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms in with our sauce while it's simmering.
Hope that helps.
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milee
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Post by milee on Feb 24, 2014 12:16:50 GMT -5
I also stick beans into a lot of meat dishes. It's a great way to stretch smaller amounts of meat. It also "hides" them if you're not a huge bean fan till you train your brain to like them. Mushrooms work for that, too. Like if you make sloppy joes, use 1/2 lb of super lean ground beef and a pound of mushrooms (mushrooms cook down so it's not a 1 to 1 substitution) instead of the pound of beef called for. Just chop the mushrooms a bit and toss them in when you add the beef.
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Malarky
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Post by Malarky on Feb 24, 2014 12:18:10 GMT -5
My kids would never eat cooked veggies so I would often feed them raw veggies while I cooked the main portion of dinner. Or I would slip a bowl of veggies next to them while they watched tv. Most of the broccoli consumed in this house when they were really young was munched mindlessly while watching SpongeBob. As teenagers, they'll throw together a salad to eat if they're starving and dinner isn't ready. It was most likely what I was going to serve anyway.
We eat salads nearly every night, even though we all like different things on them. Part of my mindset for putting away groceries involves chopping up the veggies for salad so they'll actually get eaten. We usually have spring mix, baby spinach, peppers, cucumbers, scallions, broccoli, and grape tomatoes. I also keep walnuts, almonds and pecans, feta cheese, and craisins as well as raspberry vinegarette. It all goes out on the counter and everyone picks the ingredients they like for the salad.
When chicken goes on sale I buy four of the family packs of breasts. One pack goes in the crockpot with stock to make shredded chicken. Good for soups, stews and pot pies. Another gets baked plain and then frozen. Good to pull out for chicken salad or casseroles or if you're DS, sliced for sandwiches. The third gets marinated and frozen. Sometimes as whole breasts, sometimes sliced for quicker cooking. The last gets broken into single serve packages to be cooked as needed. I do similar things with pork and beef.
It requires a bit of planning, but once the initial work is done, the weeknight meals are easy.
I do a fair amount of crockpot cooking, but always add veggies just before serving.
DH actually likes cooked vegetables, but we tell him that's what restaurants are for.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Feb 24, 2014 12:19:18 GMT -5
I agree about small steps. Try going meatless 1 night a week, then 2, etc. Build up to it. I use a lot of beans and legumes instead of meat because they are fast, cheap, and easy to cook.
Here's a few ideas for some dinners:
Taco Salad Romaine lettuce A LITTLE ground beef or turkey sauteed with onions and seasoning (takes 10 minutes). Maybe 1 lb or less for 4. While the beef is cooking chop: peppers avocado tomatoes green onion/cilantro add corn black beans sprinkle with cheese salsa skip the corn chips unless you have to get low fat/cal catalina dressing if you don't like salsa.
I usually put everything in its own little cups so people can add whatever they want (or not =-whatever they are allergic to)
Lentil Soup This is super easy, takes less than 30 min. I just add whatever veggies are in the fridge. Saute onion and garlic, then peppers, carrots, celery. Add 1-1.5 cups of lentils and maybe 8 cups of broth/liquid. Add some seasonings like herbs, or cumin and a dash of cinammon. Finish with a TBS of lemon juice. You can also add a can of diced tomatoes, or skip the tomatoes and add curry powder.
Last night we had veggie burgers, green beans, and sweet potato fries (not the healthiest, but oh well).
I cook almost every night despite working FT and having a 2 year old. So I feel your pain. But you have to make it a priority and do the planning. If I think of more I'll post again if these sound up your alley.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 12:20:53 GMT -5
I also stick beans into a lot of meat dishes. It's a great way to stretch smaller amounts of meat. It also "hides" them if you're not a huge bean fan till you train your brain to like them. Mushrooms work for that, too. Like if you make sloppy joes, use 1/2 lb of super lean ground beef and a pound of mushrooms (mushrooms cook down so it's not a 1 to 1 substitution) instead of the pound of beef called for. Just chop the mushrooms a bit and toss them in when you add the beef. Lentils work great in sloppy joes too. I've done that a couple of times. You can mash them up and add them to meatloaf too.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 12:36:09 GMT -5
so the first easy thing is - put out baby carrots and some dip (if the kids will eat more carrots that way) with dinner.....add in some cucumbers or broccoli....voila - more veggies....make your own chicken nuggets on the weekends....cook up a bunch of chicken breasts on the weekend and then serve through out the week - salad, tacos, shredded....if the kids like yogurt, give them some with dinner.....there is no rule that dinner must be a meat, a veggie and a starch. how about baked potatoes - 6 minutes in the microwave and give everyone different toppings....make your own pizza - I use flatout flatbread, cheese, tomato and broccoli.....you can also use frozen veggies in bags with the sauce.
don't overcomplicate it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 12:37:50 GMT -5
You could try pureed veggie soup, either with an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor. It seems to sort of side-step the veggie texture thing. They're gone, turned to uniform creamy. Add some potato chunks, corn, crispy meat bits, nuts, whatever at the end for texture. Basically any pot of stock and whatever veggies tossed in to simmer can be whirled into delicious tastiness, it's super forgiving. Heavy on carrots, heavy on broccoli, spinach, it doesn't matter, just cook until tender, then puree and maybe add chunks. It was one of the first ways I got DH to eat vegetables, with things like a cauliflower cheddar soup all whirred up. I agree too, if you guys like veggies raw, maybe you could also just serve those often, and maybe find a few dip recipes that you guys like a lot. Bean dips, olive oil dips, homemade ranch dips, etc, there's a ton of dip recipes out there to eat with raw veggies A lot of those are just stir-n-serve recipes.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 12:42:11 GMT -5
I kind of zoned in on your DS having a soy intolerance. My DD also has a soy intolerance and she is telling me that it's a GMO product and is in so many of our foods. It's gotten to the point where all she can eat is whole foods. Is your son showing any discomfort to processed foods containing soy?
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MarionTh230
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Post by MarionTh230 on Feb 24, 2014 12:57:06 GMT -5
Frozen veggies. In the steamable bags. Birds Eye is my fave but every brand makes them (Green Giant, Pictsweet). Out of freezer - into microwave - onto plate. As long as you follow the directions on the bag I've never had any come out mushy. Sugar snap peas are my favorite in the steamables.
The other things will take more work. I agree with everybody else and start small.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 24, 2014 12:59:56 GMT -5
I had a get together with some girl friends this weekend- one of them made a salad that was pretty good- all raw vegetables:
Broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, and green olives. Tossed in a couple of tablespoons of ranch dressing and she sprinkled cheese on top. I prefer my veggies cooked but it was a decent salad. She makes up a big batch of it and says it keeps for most of the week in the fridge. He husband will bring a Tupperware of it to work with him every day to have with his lunch.
DS prefers raw zucchini to cooked. We always save a few slices for him and put them on his dinner plate along with the cooked version.
Hummus- my guys (DH and DS) love hummus. They eat that with sliced bell peppers as a snack pretty regularly.
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cktc
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Post by cktc on Feb 24, 2014 13:03:16 GMT -5
Pulverize veggies and sneak them in. Finely chopped onion, carrot, spinach, and mushrooms can taste great in a spaghetti sauce, soup, or smoothie without the texture issues.
To cut back on meat without feeling deprived, shred it. One little chicken tender can cover a plate of rice, salad, fill a couple wraps, etc...
Find a few easy, slightly-healthier substitutes for nights when you don't want to bother. It doesn't have to be perfect, but maybe ground turkey sloppy joes instead of hot dogs. Also check labels on canned goods; often times store bought has less sodium and extra additives than the name brand.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Feb 24, 2014 13:32:23 GMT -5
Ok, these are some fantastic ideas. Thank you! I will have to make a list for myself with all this.
To answer some questions: - I do like chicken & turkey, I have recently been trying to replace ground meat in a few dishes with ground turkey. I have heard this is healthier. I have no problems with fish, but honestly was not raised eating it & have no idea what to buy or how to cook it.
- Dairy allergy is truly an allergy. I read ingredients on everything & can't eat products with even whey or casein.
- With the soy intolerance, my son can tolerate some without problems. When he was younger he couldn't tolerate any & had to be really careful with even breads and cereals. But, now as long as we avoid large amounts (no soy ice cream, soy milk, very limited soy sauce, etc) he does ok. He will have a breakout of eczema if we push it though.
I think that was all the questions I saw, let me know if I missed something. Let me know if you have more ideas also. I am seriously psyched about this right now because this is all stuff I had never considered.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 13:34:51 GMT -5
I have recently been trying to replace ground meat in a few dishes with ground turkey. I have heard this is healthier.
Meh, it depends. If you're not buying 100% breast meat, ground turkey isn't that much more healthy than buying 90% lean ground chuck. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 13:36:18 GMT -5
Ok, these are some fantastic ideas. Thank you! I will have to make a list for myself with all this. To answer some questions: - I do like chicken & turkey, I have recently been trying to replace ground meat in a few dishes with ground turkey. I have heard this is healthier. I have no problems with fish, but honestly was not raised eating it & have no idea what to buy or how to cook it. - Dairy allergy is truly an allergy. I read ingredients on everything & can't eat products with even whey or casein. - With the soy intolerance, my son can tolerate some without problems. When he was younger he couldn't tolerate any & had to be really careful with even breads and cereals. But, now as long as we avoid large amounts (no soy ice cream, soy milk, very limited soy sauce, etc) he does ok. He will have a breakout of eczema if we push it though. I think that was all the questions I saw, let me know if I missed something. Let me know if you have more ideas also. I am seriously psyched about this right now because this is all stuff I had never considered. be careful with the ground beef/ground turkey substitution....not all ground turkey is healthier than ground beef....if you buy 93% fat free ground beef and your turkey is not just ground turkey breast, the beef is healthier.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Feb 24, 2014 13:40:21 GMT -5
I have recently been trying to replace ground meat in a few dishes with ground turkey. I have heard this is healthier. Meh, it depends. If you're not buying 100% breast meat, ground turkey isn't that much more healthy than buying 90% lean ground chuck. I wouldn't worry too much about it. And here I thought I was eating healthier.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 24, 2014 13:41:02 GMT -5
Ok, we've got one of the zuchini noodles cutter things. Haven't used it in a while but liked it when we did.
And Rudy's makes a gluten and dairy free stuffing. It's pretty crumbly and I use it for bread crumbs in meatloaf, etc. I think it's soy free because DH tries to limit his soy but I'm not 100% on that.
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milee
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Post by milee on Feb 24, 2014 13:49:01 GMT -5
As some of the others have mentioned, ground turkey isn't necessarily any healthier than beef unless it's certain types, but turkey breast sure is. If you get those cut turkey breast halves - most will still have the bone in but it's no biggie to cut that off later - they're reasonably economical. Roast a turkey breast on Sunday and you can make easy, healthy meals from that for at least 2-3 days. Day 1 - slices of roast turkey and veggies. Day 2 - chopped turkey salad or tacos made with turkey. Day 3 - Turkey sandwiches. Lots of things you can do with turkey breast and if you make it yourself then it's super healthy.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 13:51:08 GMT -5
And here I thought I was eating healthier.
If you were buying really fatty ground meat before it's a step up. If you weren't then you're not making that big of a switch unless you are using 100% ground turkey breast.
Lots of people switch to turkey products automatically thinking it's healthier, they have a great marketing lobby. However most ground turkey is a mix of dark/breast. Dark meat has more fat, so you start getting on par with beef depending on the percentages of the turkey you're buying.
If you like it by all means keep using it. I'm just saying don't sweat switching all your ground meat to turkey.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Feb 24, 2014 13:51:19 GMT -5
Ok, these are some fantastic ideas. Thank you! I will have to make a list for myself with all this. To answer some questions: - I do like chicken & turkey, I have recently been trying to replace ground meat in a few dishes with ground turkey. I have heard this is healthier. I have no problems with fish, but honestly was not raised eating it & have no idea what to buy or how to cook it. - Dairy allergy is truly an allergy. I read ingredients on everything & can't eat products with even whey or casein. - With the soy intolerance, my son can tolerate some without problems. When he was younger he couldn't tolerate any & had to be really careful with even breads and cereals. But, now as long as we avoid large amounts (no soy ice cream, soy milk, very limited soy sauce, etc) he does ok. He will have a breakout of eczema if we push it though. I think that was all the questions I saw, let me know if I missed something. Let me know if you have more ideas also. I am seriously psyched about this right now because this is all stuff I had never considered. Ground turkey is only healthier if you watch the labels. Some ground turkey (the dark and white meat mix) can have just as much, if not more fat, than ground beef. Ditto for ground chicken. Buy fish that is sustainable, and use the Canadian Fisheries Council method of cooking fillets: figure 10 minutes (total) per inch of thickness, or five minutes per side. For sustainable fish types, as well as what NOT to buy: www.seafoodwatch.org/cr/seafoodwatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx
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milee
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Post by milee on Feb 24, 2014 13:57:51 GMT -5
One more thought, but you mentioned cereal for dinner. Would you consider substituting oatmeal for dinner instead? It's much more healthy than most regular cereal. If that's a possibility, here is a recipe I use to make up my own healthy quick oatmeal packets. My one son eats this for breakfast almost every day. On a weekend, you could make up 10-15 of these in baggies and then all you need to do is add hot water for a quick, healthy meal.
Oatmeal Instant Packets - one serving each
1/3 c. rolled oats (Regular makes it chewy but takes 5 min to prep. Use instant or quick cooking for a creamier texture and quick prep.) 1 tbl Chia 2-3 tbl powdered milk (optional. Makes it creamy. If not using milk, consider adding peanut butter to make it creamy.) ½ - 1 tbl brown sugar, sugar or some sweetener (I like 1 tsp, the boys want closer to 1 tbl/3 tsp) ¼ tsp cinnamon Pinch of salt
Combine in baggie. When ready, add hot water. If using regular oats, let sit 5 minutes before eating.
To add some protein, add a big spoonful of peanut butter. One son likes his with a big spoonful of peanut butter and also a heaping scoop of cocoa powder for chocolate peanut butter flavor.
Mango Macadamia Oatmeal: To basic mix, add 3 slices mango – finely chopped and 3 tbl finely chopped macadamias
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Pants
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Post by Pants on Feb 24, 2014 14:03:20 GMT -5
Angel - here's my suggestion. You're a single mom - with 3 kids, one of whom is a 3-month old. Cut yourself some slack.
Salad on the table, yummy dressing options - easy veggies.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 24, 2014 14:04:00 GMT -5
Angel, here for about $6, I can get a roasted chicken in the store, still hot. I don't roast whole chicken personally (yeah, yeah, I suck at cooking) and even my DH can eat them. We usually get 2 meals for 4 out of it.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Feb 24, 2014 15:07:48 GMT -5
Angel - here's my suggestion. You're a single mom - with 3 kids, one of whom is a 3-month old. Cut yourself some slack. Salad on the table, yummy dressing options - easy veggies. Oh my gosh, I didn't realize. Hot dogs for everyone!!! Seriously. Kudos to Angel for trying to eat healthier but yeah- that has GOT to be tough. Other ideas: veggies chopped with hummus (or babaganouj) is good protein. And kids like to 'dip' stuff. I buy the big containers of low fat greek yogurt (plain so less sugar) then add fresh fruit and a squirt of honey or some jam. Then I can control the sugar content. Soup is seriously the easiest thing ever. Do you have an immersion blender? Saute a ton of veggies then blend. Add some cooked pasta and a can of garbanzo beans, and a can of diced tomatoes. Healthy and easy.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 15:17:57 GMT -5
you can also make ranch dip with greek yogurt and the hidden valley ranch dip mix - healthier than ranch dip. I think you need to focus on easy and convenient and healthy enough. even a frozen pizza with salad and fruit on the side isn't that bad....if you have time, you can make pizza from 'scratch' - both wegmans and trader joe's have dough balls in the refrigerated section.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Feb 24, 2014 15:18:02 GMT -5
This link has dh excited about helping me meal plan. experts.sheknows.com/post/parenting/how-i-plan-meals-for-the-week . I think it looks like a great idea and I've been doing something similar in Cozi which is a phone app that he and I use. With the kids though we are embracing the fact that everything must be plain. Plain tuna fish, plain ground beef, even plain toast or pasta lately. Homemade soup with just pasta in vegetable stock served with a side of peas and a side of garbanzo beans and is eaten like crazy--ds might even throw the veggies and beans in the soup and eat it. If we have the audacity to mix it all together before serving it nothing will be touched and he acts like we're poisoning him.
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