When your kids don't want chicken every night!

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cbgmamma
cbgmamma Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi! I just started my journey and I find it difficult to make everyone happy at dinner time. My hubby is picky, my kids don't want to eat quinoa and chicken, and I love everything (hints why I'm trying to get the excess off lol) Help me with your healthy meal ideas for the entire family! I would love more "buddies" to motivate me as well! Thanks!!!
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Make what they like and you can eat it too. Figure out the calorie content of your portion and your golden.
  • rpachigo
    rpachigo Posts: 96 Member
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    Homemade pizza with chia seeds in puzza sauce
  • Linzon
    Linzon Posts: 294 Member
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    The vast majority of nights I cook the same kinds of things I always have and tailor my own plate to suit my caloric needs. For example, tonight was taco night and I had a nice big taco salad with the shell crumbled on top.
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
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    Try cooking other meats. Beef really isn't that much higher in calories than chicken when you're preparing chicken in a way that actually tastes good (sautéed, served with skin, stewed..). Plus, beef has iron, and CLA, and all kinds of other things about it that earn it a tasty and beneficial spot on your plate. Or you could cook eggs. As long as you don't overcooked them, nothing made with eggs ever tastes bad.

    Alternatively, you could tell them that they could cook their own dinners if they don't like what you're serving.
  • Mentali
    Mentali Posts: 352 Member
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    Lately I've been on a kick of Googling "healthy _____" (fill in whatever delicious food you want) and using those recipes. I made turkey tacos with greek yogurt instead of sour cream, tomatoes and lettuce and a bit of guacamole, and they were amazing. Then turkey chili that doesn't taste low-calorie at all, mac n cheese, linguini, basically anything you can make a "healthy" version of it.

    There are so many more options too, even for health food! Fish, turkey, vegetarian dishes, soups, quiches, pot roast....
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Black bean tacos:
    http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2014/12/50-awesome-vegan-black-bean-recipes.html

    Crustless pizza (cuts down a little on the calories):
    http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/how-to-make-crustless-pizza/

    Oven "Fried" Chicken Strips:
    https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/oven-fried-chicken-strips-video/
  • mochapygmy
    mochapygmy Posts: 2,123 Member
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    I have chicken a lot but I change the spices sauce all the time. And the side veggies always change.

    Greek style chicken
    BBQ chicken
    Chicken in Enchilada Sauce
    Chicken tacos
    Chicken in a mango curry sauce
    In a tikka masala sauce
    In a stew
    Parmesan baked
    With berbere spices
    In a spicy ginger sauce
    In teriyaki

    When I get chickened out, I use turkey ground or a roasted breast, fish and occasionally lean beef.
  • OyGeeBiv
    OyGeeBiv Posts: 733 Member
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    Do YOU want to eat chicken and quinoa every night?

    If you love everything, eat everything. Just don't eat all of it, all at once! Watch your calories, eat appropriate amounts.

    You didn't say how old your kids are, but chances are they're still growing. Their nutritional needs are not the same as yours. Check with their pediatrician if you're not sure how to proceed.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    cbgmamma wrote: »
    Hi! I just started my journey and I find it difficult to make everyone happy at dinner time. My hubby is picky, my kids don't want to eat quinoa and chicken, and I love everything (hints why I'm trying to get the excess off lol) Help me with your healthy meal ideas for the entire family! I would love more "buddies" to motivate me as well! Thanks!!!

    Is there a reason you need to eat chicken and quinoa every night, especially since you say you love everything?
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    When your kids dont want chicken every night.... Dont. Give. Them. Chicken.
  • sourcandies
    sourcandies Posts: 42 Member
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    We try to mix it up over here as well, stepson can be picky.
    Honestly, you don't need to eat chicken every night, but if you want to (we don't eat pork and have mostly cut out beef), I would mix up your sides, and try to flavour the chicken.

    We try different pasta salads(veggie pasta or smart pasta) over here with veg (baby tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, carrot, romaine lettuce) and chicken pieces throughout (more veg and chicken than pasta to keep low cal, usually use chicken breast for this). We love roasted veggies as well (potatoes, carrots, turnip roasted together) as a side.

    If you check out "The Domestic Geek" on Youtube, she has some neat recipes. I like her lemon chicken recipe.

    Hope this helps with some ideas!
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
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    I wish my kids didn't want chicken every night. I know I would get super bored with it if I ate it every day.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    We have chicken maybe once a week and we change the way we cook it. Tons of other protein options out there... chicken sausage, ground beef or turkey, beef, pork, ham, fish...

    Check skinnytaste.com for ideas.
  • catlynjacobs
    catlynjacobs Posts: 2 Member
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    I try to meal prep for myself as much as possible. That way when dinner time comes im actually only making dinner for my kids and then i warm my meal up for myself. when i dont have anything prepped for myself i just have a smaller portion of whatever my kids and husband are eatting. I always am fuller when I go with the prepped meals ;)
  • catlynjacobs
    catlynjacobs Posts: 2 Member
    edited March 2016
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    90% of the recipes I use came off pintrest btw and also female fitness modles off of youtube like jen heward and ashley Nocera.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    I wouldn't want to eat chicken every night either.....


  • AigreDoux
    AigreDoux Posts: 594 Member
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    Ah, my kids would eat chicken every single night if I let them!

    We mix it up with ground turkey (tacos, meatballs, spaghetti sauce, chili), chicken/turkey sausage, fish (salmon or cod), and occasional pork tenderloin. Not much beef.

    If I make a pasta dish and my kids don't like the sauce, I mix a bit of egg and cheese in with their serving so they get some protein.

    What do your kids like to eat? I would work on finding ways to make those in healthier forms which will benefit you and your family. We do homemade pizza sometimes and I use less cheese and the kids still love it.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    try recipes from cooking light or skinny taste
    there is no reason just to eat chicken as your meat protien
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Yes, like others have said, why not eat a variety of foods. There are lots of good protein sources besides chicken, and I certainly would not eat quinoa every night.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
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    Make a list of foods everyone likes and plug those into your plan.
    Not everyone is going to love dinner every night in my house. I try to plan things so if I know someone isn't going to like the main thing then they can eat the side dish. Ultimately though they are not toddlers and if they can't bring themselves to eat it they can eat leftovers, yogurt, cereal or a sandwich. I post the meal plan in the kitchen so it isn't a surprise.
    We don't eat chicken every night but there are a lot of ways to have chicken so it isn't boring. Change up how you cook it.
    I get food ideas from pinterest, skinnytaste, budget bytes, food.com, all recipes.com.

    My current meal plan for dinners- https://lounmoun.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/meal-plan-end-of-feb-end-of-march/

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