Family cooking - Tips and tricks

cflaate

How do you make small healthier food changes for the rest of the family?

I am the main cook in the family, and have started to only use oil when cooking and always adding the vegetables the kids like for dinner. I also taught my eldest child to make his own overnight oats.

Any other "tricks" to make regular food healthier?

ashleybrown39

The only thing I'm doing differently in relation to regular foods is decreasing the portions. For example, I like Hamburger Helper's Cheeseburger Macaroni. So instead of filling half my plate with it. I now take a measuring cup (1 cup) and measure out 1 cup and put that on my plate. I then fill up the other side with non-starchy veggies like green beans. Therefore, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything and I still get full because I can fill up the other side with veggies.

sexynurse801ms

I am the main cook for my family as well. I like to cut calories by baking our food and avoiding oil and other added calories when possible. For example I'm going to make baked garlic chicken, wild rice, and steamed spinach for dinner. Hubby likes dark meat with the skin, but I will throw in some boneless skinless breast for myself. I don't add butter to the spinach, and I will use just a touch of olive oil to make the Rice a Roni. Other than that I watch my portion sizes and make sure I get most of my calories from the protein and spinach. Hubby will eat dinner rolls with his meal but I'm not a fan of bread. This method has worked great so far and I've lost 33 lbs since June 20th.

missysippy930

Teach portion control and moderation of all foods. Don’t demonize any food. Children are never too young to learn about amounts of food required to fuel their bodies.
Healthier is a relative term, and certainly open to interpretation.

cflaate

missysippy930 wrote: »

Don’t demonize any food. Children are never too young to learn about amounts of food required to fuel their bodies.

I absolutely agree. I am looking to add and alternate, not cut.

melking1969

I have started canning again (my grandma taught me when I was younger). My hubby and I both work in a very busy career. I found over the last year or so we have gravitated towards the quick premade (not healthy) meals. Not fast food but quick easy frozen or pre packaged things. I found i was putting on weight and in general getting tired.
I decided to start canning our favourites and it is making a difference (I love to cook anyhow)
I found that I am now in charge of what our quick meals are made of. Even making soups for my parents and son. Its a great hobby and now I found I look forward to making our meals. Hubby loves it

Keliz1173

Also the main cook for my family.
I don't think this is revolutionary but I'm on a baking sheet kick. I cover the baking sheets with parchment and have one with whatever meat or fish I'm cooking and the other with whatever veggies I have on hand. Takes very little oil and you can change up the seasonings for variety. I do this with chicken, fish, pork. It's colourful, tasty and easy to clean up. Roasting brings out such nice flavours in the veggies - my son will eat these more readily than steamed. Sometimes I'll add feta or parmesan cheese to the meat or a few chopped nuts to the veggies.

hesn92

Maybe we just have different ideas of "regular food" but I think most of the things I make for dinner are healthy already. Maybe some are higher calorie, like last nights alfredo. But I don't do anything different. My kids tend to pick at their food anyway, so it's not calories I'm worried about. I think adding vegetables goes a long way. Eating a lot of them myself shows my kids a good example.