NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 15:22:22 GMT -5
As a result there are a lot of sandwiches
Check out the Sandwich King on foodnetwork. I find the host obnoxious but he's really expanded my notions of what can go in-between two pieces of bread or on a bun. You're pretty much limited to your imagination.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Feb 24, 2014 15:31:06 GMT -5
One that's been a hit with DD and is heavy on the veggies is yellow squash (zucchini) "pizza". Slice the squash in thin, lengthwise slices. Place on a greased cookie sheet & top with sauce (I use whatever leftover tomato sauce we have in the fridge) and pizza toppings. Bake like you would a frozen pizza - 450 for 16 minutes or so. It's delicious and DD is always asking for more. We could do this once a week and she would be happy. And I like that it takes 5 minutes to put together, if that. I am done prepping before the oven is done pre-heating so I usually toss it in a bit early (once the temp is past 350) to start cooking while the oven heats. We put cheese on ours but you could use cheese substitute or omit it.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Feb 24, 2014 15:33:08 GMT -5
In addition to the above suggestions, I'd also recommend working on redefining what exactly 'cooked' veggies are and what kinds of 'meat' are fast and convenient.
I, too, abhor smushy veggies. The trick often times is to simply cook them less. I like to 'steam' veggies in the microwave. I use to generically give everything 3-5 minutes... resulting in smushy veggies. I just started cutting down the cook time - started at 1 minute and worked up from there. I also re-evaluated WHAT I cooking my veggies in (a microwave safe bowl that heated unevenly.) and switched to some Tupperware made for steaming stuff in the microwave. I also use really old covered pyrex/corningware dishes in the microwave (they have longer cook times). Figure out what cooking vessels work for you and which ones don't.
Making those two changes (cooking time and what I was cooking in) made for wonderful microwaved 'al dente' broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, beets, and easy peasy sweet corn on the cob.
The things your are feeding your family aren't that bad - they probably aren't 'filling' though so there might be the tendency to eat more of it than you all should. Sorry, 'filling' is a weight watcher concept - one that I've found to be true for me. something like a hotdog just leaves me unsatisfied and cranky after have one (with other stuff) as a meal. So, then I head over for 'snacks'.
Why not start by swapping out the sandwich bread(s) for products that say "whole wheat" - ignore the All Natural and "Multi Grain" on bread labels. you want "whole wheat". You're gonna have to spend time reading labels. Which is time consuming the first two or three times out. Instead of chips with the sandwiches (you didn't mention that but they are popular) do a raw veggie side (or even pickles).
it's easy to switch to whole wheat pasta and brown rice. I actually like the texture, taste of these guys better (cause they have a texture AND a taste.)
Definitely attack this ONE thing at a time. Instead of thinking of this as something you will do once over the weekend and then be done... view it as a longer project - maybe 6 months or a year.
Not to be depressing or anything but it's a never ending processing - because the manufacturers of food keep changing things up - so you do need to read labels every now and again to make sure that the products you already KNOW are acceptable still are that way.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Feb 24, 2014 15:35:01 GMT -5
Oh, and I saw a "recipe" for pizza dough mix - 1C self-rising flour + 1 container plain greek yogurt. Mix and knead well. It came off a pic floating around FB but when I googled to see if it was legit the recipe was on a Rachel Ray site and overall had good reviews Emeals is good if you don't have a lot of diet restrictions. Not sure if they have a dairy-free one. I like the variety and the meals are really easy. I am NOT a cook!
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Feb 24, 2014 15:38:02 GMT -5
One that's been a hit with DD and is heavy on the veggies is yellow squash (zucchini) "pizza". Slice the squash in thin, lengthwise slices. Place on a greased cookie sheet & top with sauce (I use whatever leftover tomato sauce we have in the fridge) and pizza toppings. Bake like you would a frozen pizza - 450 for 16 minutes or so. It's delicious and DD is always asking for more. We could do this once a week and she would be happy. And I like that it takes 5 minutes to put together, if that. I am done prepping before the oven is done pre-heating so I usually toss it in a bit early (once the temp is past 350) to start cooking while the oven heats. We put cheese on ours but you could use cheese substitute or omit it. That sounds SO good! I might have to make this tonight...
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Feb 24, 2014 15:38:11 GMT -5
One of the things that I did when I was working was clean all of the veggies and prep them or cooking and salad when I got home from the store. That way, they were immediately available and I just needed to throw a handful into a pan.
Another thing that I did (and still do) is cook ahead for the rest of the week. If I was grilling a steak for dinner, I threw 2 on the grill. That additional steak would show up as a stir fry, in quesadillas, in a sandwich later.in the week.
I did all of my shopping/prep/cooking on Sunday. Winters there was usually a pot of soup made as well, and this showed up during the week, normally for lunches. If I was making something with noodles r rice, I doomed these separately so they didn't turn to mush. Potatoes make a great thickener in a blended soup. This way, you can add only a little cream (or not) only about 1/4 c and still get the mouth feel.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 24, 2014 15:43:05 GMT -5
Oh and Angel, my kids love, love LOVE couscous and quinoa. My son had 3 helpings of couscous on Sat. I can't cook rice worth a damn but I can do couscous and quinoa.
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milee
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Post by milee on Feb 24, 2014 15:46:10 GMT -5
Oh and Angel, my kids love, love LOVE couscous and quinoa. My son had 3 helpings of couscous on Sat. I can't cook rice worth a damn but I can do couscous and quinoa. Those are a good example, though of really healthy food and a "meh" food that look similar and are easy to confuse. Quinoa is super healthy - grain with protein. Cous cous is basically white pasta, not much different nutritionally than white bread.
(Not saying your kids will die if you feed them cous cous, just pointing out it's sometimes tricky to know the difference and make good choices. That's part of why it can be overwhelming and might be good to make slow, gradual changes.)
Quinoa keeps well in the 'fridge if you want to cook up a batch on Sunday and then you'd have it for a side dish for the rest of the week or even to use as an add-in for soups, salads or casseroles.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 24, 2014 15:48:23 GMT -5
DH found brown rice couscous. Admittedly, the stuff Cabe ate was tricolor and not the healthier option.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Feb 24, 2014 15:50:36 GMT -5
Oh and Angel, my kids love, love LOVE couscous and quinoa. My son had 3 helpings of couscous on Sat. I can't cook rice worth a damn but I can do couscous and quinoa. I made couscous for dinner the other night. DD declared it the "best dinner ever!" I had to re-think that though when trying to clean up the mess she had made. milee - I saw that couscous was a pasta product, but it had a lot of protein in it. Not the normal amount for pasta. I wonder what all's in it. I will have to look at my box again.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 15:54:09 GMT -5
We do tend to do pizza at least once a week. We just eat a salad on the side, and we'll give DS a fruit & veggie pouch with whole grain cereal instead of salad. I agree with those who said to stretch your meat (tee hee) with things like beans. Soooo easy to do that with tacos. I'm actually doing tacos this week - pork loin with chipotle sauce and green chiles in the crock pot; shred that; serve with taco shells and fixins.... easy peasy.
For DS I usually do provide him with an alternative dinner that's one of three things: a) veggie pasta tossed with olive oil and seasoning, and a fruit/veg b) a scrambled egg, multigrain crackers, and a fruit/veg c)wheat toast with cream cheese (I blame MIL for that), almonds, and a fruit/veg
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michelyn8
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Post by michelyn8 on Feb 24, 2014 15:55:00 GMT -5
I'm working on improving my diet and my first step was to start reading labels. The fewer ingredients the better and if I can't pronounce most of them, I skip it. I was reading labels on Teriyaki (sp?) sauce the other day and kept seeing chemicals and high fructose corn syrup. I was about to give up when I came across a brand with actual sugar and half the ingredients as the others. I feel the same as you with the veggies - I like crisp/firm, not mushy - and from what I understand that's actually better for you. The more you cook a veggie, the more nutrients you lose. I've also been searching for recipes for things I use in dishes like casseroles so I can make them from scratch and not have to use the processed, canned versions. May not be 100% healthier but has got to be better than the chemical laced foods in the stores. My latest project is to try to duplicate sandwich I've bought at Starbuck's when in a rush. I've got homemade pesto made, and the fresh mozzarella and the spinach bought. Now I just need tomatoes and bread. And what's even better is I can use the pesto to try and recreate a Stouffer's dish I like to buy for lunch now and then (chicken, pasta, and pesto sauce).
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 15:55:17 GMT -5
I consider cous cous to be a "good enough" food. I suppose it depends on what you're going for. I was trying to get DH to not eat so many heavily processed foods. He wouldn't have touched Qunioa with a ten foot pole, but he was willing to eat cous cous. Course anything's a step up from a Hot Pocket. You can get whole wheat cous cous. I think I messed it up somehow because it came out the color and consistency of wet dog food.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Feb 24, 2014 15:55:30 GMT -5
We do homemade pizza fairly often. Pillsbury has pizza dough in rolls. It is one of my easy meals, but probably not healthy since the kids don't want to top it with anything but sausage & pepperoni. It is one of their favorites though since I always let them do the toppings. Trying that with yellow squash is a good idea. I had to look up what an immersion blender is. So I think it is obvious I do not have one. Zuchinni pasta sounds awesome, especially if it isn't that different & I can get the kids to eat it. I like the idea of chopping veggies for a salad when putting away groceries. Don't the veggies go bad quicker doing this? I actually like the idea of doing a lot of advance prepping & frozen meals. Just grabbing a rotteserie chicken once a week is a good idea. So many fantastic ideas! And I know I am busy with young kids & should give myself a break for at least trying. But, I do want to do better because I was horrible when I was pregnant. I gave myself a break for that & now want to do better. It was so bad that there were a lot of nights kids got to eat almost whatever they wanted because I didn't have the energy to cook or to argue. Things are a step up from that in that I am picking dinner & making sure there is a fruit & vegatable on their plate almost every night. But I don't know how much that counts when the main dish is hotdogs or chicken nuggets far too often. I am just stuck in a rut & didn't know where to go to make more improvements.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 15:59:40 GMT -5
Zuchinni pasta sounds awesome, especially if it isn't that different & I can get the kids to eat it
Spaghetti Squash is another pasta sub you can try. You roast it and shread it with a fork, the strands look just like spaghetti and have a netural flavor, so very popular with kids.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 16:00:01 GMT -5
I consider cous cous to be a "good enough" food. I suppose it depends on what you're going for. I was trying to get DH to not eat so many heavily processed foods. He wouldn't have touched Qunioa with a ten foot pole, but he was willing to eat cous cous. Course anything's a step up from a Hot Pocket. You can get whole wheat cous cous. I think I messed it up somehow because it came out the color and consistency of wet dog food. I think you can argue which foods are healthy and which aren't for days, but IMO if you were eating fast food every day and are now eating it twice a week and making some stir-fry with sauce/homemade pizzas in between, that's still progress you should be proud of.
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Malarky
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Post by Malarky on Feb 24, 2014 16:01:47 GMT -5
I store all my chopped veggies in mason jars so we can see them and know how much is left. When my kids were younger, I used plastic.
Another thing I do...when ground beef and/or turkey are on sale I make a big batch of meatloaf and freeze them as burgers. Lots of flavor with very little cook time. I take them straight from the freezer to the grill or the pan.
ETA: Each veggie gets its own jar. They keep much better than mixed.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 16:02:55 GMT -5
I think you can argue which foods are healthy and which aren't for days, but IMO if you were eating fast food every day and are now eating it twice a week and making some stir-fry with sauce/homemade pizzas in between, that's still progress you should be proud of
Exactly. ANYTHING that didn't come out of a Hot Pocket, Banquet or Stover's box was a huge improvement to DH's diet. The amount of sodium I cut out alone was staggering.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Feb 24, 2014 16:03:09 GMT -5
I consider cous cous to be a "good enough" food. I suppose it depends on what you're going for. It is probably a step up from ramen, so it is getting my family in the right direction. I tried to make quinoa the other night. I read it was super healthy & found a recipe that made a fruit salad with it. The kids thought it was the yuckiest thing ever. I had never even heard of quinoa before, so I don't know if that was actually a good use of it or if there are better things to make with it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 16:05:37 GMT -5
I consider cous cous to be a "good enough" food. I suppose it depends on what you're going for. It is probably a step up from ramen, so it is getting my family in the right direction. I tried to make quinoa the other night. I read it was super healthy & found a recipe that made a fruit salad with it. The kids thought it was the yuckiest thing ever. I had never even heard of quinoa before, so I don't know if that was actually a good use of it or if there are better things to make with it. What is wrong with cous cous I'll be damned if I let anyone bad talk cous cous.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2014 16:08:04 GMT -5
Oh man, I could have wrote this OP so I'll be reading over these ideas when I have more time. I have the added fun of one kid that's exceedingly picky. We eat way too many fish sticks, chicken nuggets and pre-made frozen lasagna!
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 16:08:25 GMT -5
It is probably a step up from ramen, so it is getting my family in the right direction.
The thing to remember is it isn't an overnight process. And also no matter what you do SOMEBODY will be able to pick apart your diet and find something they consider "unhealthy". I got ragged on a lot on old MSN about how I use frozen vegetables. Meh, research shows they're just as healthy as fresh, if not more so when you consider how far some foods are shipped. But to some people only 100% fresh produce is "healthy". If you looked at DH's diet 10 years vs today it's unrecognizable. We're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but his former diet had him on the fast track to heart attack ville. It took a VERY long time with a lot of steps backwards, resistance and compromise. But we got there.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Feb 24, 2014 16:09:53 GMT -5
We eat a lot of broccoli. Do you guys like that? DD loves broccoli. DD is a lot less picky than DS. DS's attitude is part of the reason I realized I need to change what I am doing now when he is young & before the other kids become like him. He basically hates all veggies - even kid stuff like baby carrots & corn & peas. He has started complaining about everything I cook. He doesn't even like spaghetti if it has a different shape of pasta in it. Maybe it is just his age because he is rebelling against stuff he use to eat without a problem.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Feb 24, 2014 16:12:21 GMT -5
Do you and the kids like southwest flavors? I have an excellent quinoa recipe with black beans, corn, red peppers, avacado, and a cilantro lime dressing. I would try it. Because now I have a whole bag of quinoa & have no idea what to do with it.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Feb 24, 2014 16:14:52 GMT -5
Do you and the kids like southwest flavors? I have an excellent quinoa recipe with black beans, corn, red peppers, avacado, and a cilantro lime dressing. Can you please post this? Thanks
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Feb 24, 2014 16:14:50 GMT -5
I consider cous cous to be a "good enough" food. I suppose it depends on what you're going for. It is probably a step up from ramen, so it is getting my family in the right direction. I tried to make quinoa the other night. I read it was super healthy & found a recipe that made a fruit salad with it. The kids thought it was the yuckiest thing ever. I had never even heard of quinoa before, so I don't know if that was actually a good use of it or if there are better things to make with it. I substitute it for dishes that would be served over rice (which I can't make to save my life) or pasta. We cook it in veggie broth and the kids will eat it just like that. But as someone pointed out - it and couscous is messy. The grains are tiny and my kids slobber it all over the living room floor (I've got carpet in the kitchen, easier to eat in the living room in front of the tv and sweep) I think quinoa is a 20 minute cook but couscous is bring to a boil, in, cover and ignore.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 16:17:41 GMT -5
He basically hates all veggies - even kid stuff like baby carrots & corn & peas
You'll find something. I thought my kid was doomed to eating corn forever. . then she downed aspargus the other night. Go figure. How you prepare them can help too. DH had the epiphany that he doesn't hate a lot of the stuff he claims he did, in reality he hates his mom's cooking.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Feb 24, 2014 16:18:28 GMT -5
One bag of frozen veggies + 3 tilapia fillets (baked with lemon pepper) + couscous/rice/potatoes sides is our quick go-to dinner. I try to make sure we fill our plates 1/2 with veggies and then 1/4 with the other things.
I've heard the broccoli slaw mix can be cooked & used in place of pasta. Still haven't tried that one yet but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Feb 24, 2014 16:20:25 GMT -5
I've heard the broccoli slaw mix can be cooked & used in place of pasta
The one actual useful tip I got from Hungry Girl (otherwise I don't touch her stuff with a ten foot pole. Holy sodium count batman!) is chop up broccoli slaw in your food processor and add it to your meatloaf. It's a great way to hide vegetables and add moisture to the dish.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Feb 24, 2014 16:20:48 GMT -5
DD loves broccoli. DD is a lot less picky than DS. DS's attitude is part of the reason I realized I need to change what I am doing now when he is young & before the other kids become like him. He basically hates all veggies - even kid stuff like baby carrots & corn & peas. He has started complaining about everything I cook. He doesn't even like spaghetti if it has a different shape of pasta in it. Maybe it is just his age because he is rebelling against stuff he use to eat without a problem. How old is he? Does he snack a lot? My great grandpa used to say something like "if it ain't good, you're not hungry". I would try cutting out afternoon snacks and possibly pushing back dinner time. When the kids start swarming because they're hungry, put out the salad and watch them gobble it up. He is 5. It might have to do with not being hungry enough because I think he gets an after school snack every day around 4:00. We usually eat around 6 or 6:30.
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