Cooking for others who aren't on a diet.
Hey, anyone else have to cook for others in there home who aren't watching their weight? If so please share recipes that can easily be altered to avoid cooking two dinners.
Above is a picture of some fresh tomato, red bean and Chinese cabbage brown rice with broccoli and a boiled egg for my meal. Fried egg and chicken tenders for the other.
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Replies
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Sometimes you should be able to cook the same food for everyone, but just be more conscious of portion sizes for your own plate. The My Fitness Pal concept is not really about depriving yourself of foods you love, but about adjusting the amounts you eat and perhaps increasing the amount of exercise you do.4
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I pretty much eat what my family eats. I take smaller portions of some foods, tend to put more vegetables on my plate, have a salad with vinaigrette dressing and maybe skip the rice, bread or cheese sometimes.
I eat more of my calories at our shared evening meal and eat a smaller breakfast... leaving usually about 500-600 calories for dinner. It isn't hard to find foods/recipes that fit that amount in my experience.
Alter how you cook slightly. Use less butter or oil. Use milk instead of cream. Use more herbs and spices. Grill meats or vegetables. Try bean and lentil dishes. Serve food that can be adjusted to suit each person like tacos with different toppings instead of mixed dishes.
Some of my meal plans recently have included these foods:
chili, tomato soup, fassolatha soup, cheese soup
beans & rice, broccoli cheese rice casserole, tator tot casserole, chicken pot pie with biscuit top
French toast, breakfast sandwiches, eggs, oatmeal
chicken gyro, batsaria, Greek potatoes & chicken, falafel
fish & mac & cheese, spaghetti, chicken yakisoba, turkey frosted meatloaf
hot dogs, veggie burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken sandwich
quesadilla, tacos, burritos, salsa chicken rice casserole
stir fry, general tso's chicken, kung pao chicken copped salad, fried rice
Potato soup, black bean soup, lentil soup, ramen
Tacos, quesadilla, black bean potato nachos, Mexican manicotti
Tandoori chicken, Chicken legs, chicken paprikash
Burgers, stuffed bread, French Dip sandwiches
breakfast casserole, pancakes
Pizza, ravioli, Italian stuffed cabbage
I find food ideas on Pinterest a lot.
Some other sites I find food ideas:
http://www.budgetbytes.com
http://www.skinnytaste.com
http://www.allrecipes.com
http://www.ohsheglows.com
http://www.kalynskitchen.com/4 -
Everyone is on their own for breakfast and lunch, and I make one dinner. If they don't want it, they can have a sandwich and I'll have lunch leftovers the next day.4
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I cook the same meal for my husband and for me for lunch and dinner, and there is not much difference in the portions size because my husband is a “snacker” and he can pack extra calories on his own.
My husband cooks breakfast and I eat whatever he prepares; if the portion is too big, then I cut down on my other two meals.
I understand that if you have youngsters or picky eaters at home it may be a little tricky; however, you can still make things work by reducing your portion of the more fattening foods and increasing your vegetables. You got good recommendations so far.
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I tweaked my Chicken Fried Rice recipe last night and subbed quinoa. It. Was. Amazing. I brought leftovers for lunch today and my coworker asked for the recipe...and she hates healthy food.
Chicken Fried Quinoa
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 clove(s), medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 cup frozen mixed peas & carrots
3/4 cup frozen snow peas
1 can water chestnuts
1/2 cup(s) uncooked scallion(s), chopped, green and white parts
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 egg whites
2 ½ cups cooked quinoa (I cook it in chicken broth to add flavor)
1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat oil in skillet over medium to med high heat. Cook chicken 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute
3. Add peas & carrots, snow peas, water chestnuts, scallions and soy sauce. Cover and lower heat to medium low. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. If using eggs or egg whites, this is when you can add them. You can scramble them in another pan, or what I do is push all the veggies to the outside and scramble in the middle of the pan.
5. Add quinoa and stir to combine.
*I love this recipe because it is so flexible. You can do with or without eggs, you can switch up the veggies. I have used onions, sliced carrots, celery, peppers…the possibilities are endless! You could also top it with cashews or almonds or peanuts. Or use shrimp instead of chicken! I have also subbed teriyaki sauce for the soy sauce for something a little different. If you sub rice for quinoa, cut it down to 2 cups.
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In general, I eat what my husband eats, but he'll have a bigger portion of meat and bread, and I will have more veggies.1
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Why not add a dish or desert that's higher calorie and exclusive to them, if they don't want to just eat more of what you are eating.0
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I usually make a "normal" meal but make sure to use really lean meat and just watch portions and toppings. Tacos and spaghetti are really awesome ways to please all.
Use ground chicken or turkey instead of ground beef and add half a can of fat free refried beans to the meat, soft corn tortillas instead of flour (I will fake crunchy taco shells by draping a corn tortilla over 2 slats in my oven rack and baking until crispy), and some sliced avocado and Cholula instead of salsa/guac/sour cream. I also make a slaw with cabbage, red and green onion, cilantro, lime juice, and some salt and pepper for the tacos. For spaghetti you can find some great crockpot sauce recipes and make a big batch and just serve yours over whole wheat noodles, zoodles, or spaghetti squash instead of regular white pasta. I've also made a lasagna with those no-boil noodles but only used those in half the pan and my half had sliced zucchini and eggplant. I used turkey sausage and mushrooms for the meat filling, lowfat ricotta (and there are a lot of recipes where you can use half ricotta and half cottage cheese), and fresh mozzarella instead of shredded. Another thing I do is homemade pizza instead of takeout. They get a Boboli (or whatever brand you prefer) and I use a whole grain Flatout Flatbread and pick lots of veggies for topping.
Really I would do half and half - half the meals you prepare fit your goals and half please them. On the days of "their" meals adjust your earlier calories and exercise to compensate for the additional calories and fat. Pinterest has a lot of clean eating recipes that could please both groups.0
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