kid-friendly (and picky husband) low carb dinner recipes

lilred806

Steak or salmon with asparagus is my sons favorite. We put Montreal seasoning on the steak and use Tony's Cajun seasoning for the salmon. The asparagus has oil, salt, pepper and then we play around with other spices like paprika, lawrys, and garlic. I do tacos without the shell but with tons of spinach, or fajitas without the tortilla. I am not low carb but find that I would rather eat my calories in meat than in tortillas and shells.

TaurusV

You could make chili with cheese and not eat the tortillas and kid and husband can have them separated.

Or chicken skewers and you can have salad or grilled veggies and make fries/baked potatoes for kids and husband. I usually have half baked potato and husband have big one or 2 with butter and cheddar. So mine is more light but half a medium potato with skin is not so huge in carb.

Pasta is tricky because you cant run away from it, but you can make pasta with grilled shrimps for them and have the grilled shrimps for you with some salad or veggies or baked potato, quinoa, so on. You can make quinoa for 3 days (put in fridge in an air sealed container).

Another easy good thing is stuffed red bell peppers with minced meat. Is low carb and most people like it

Thats what we do with my family. Keep the meat veggies the same for you but create a way of vary the side dish for husband and you. I think that is the easiest I found.

k8eekins

Does anyone have kid friendly/picky husband friendly low carb recipes? My husband will not eat eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, or olives. My child doesn't like tomato sauce. Any suggestions? I'm tired of making two seperate dinners every night!

Why force your restrictive diet on them?

Steak and fried sprouts

Larb

Tacos

Burgers

It's the only meal we all eat together. I'm assuming you've never worked full time and had to create meals for your family everynight. I am not "forcing my restrictive diet" on them, i'm simply looking for ways to incorporate my food choices with family friendly meals so that I am not having to do twice the work every night.

I do indeed work full time and cook nearly every night. Anyways, I'm assuming they don't cook their own meals for dinner, thus "'m simply looking for ways to incorporate my food choices with family friendly meals" is indeed forcing your diet choices upon them

MelRC117 Joined Jan 2013 November 04, 2013 8:20 am
Both of your posts have been snarky and rude. Why bother taking the time to read a post if you have no real intrest in being helpful?

Acg67 is plenty helpful. I am proof of his intentions, always within the confines of ridding one's life of restrictions, tantamount to harbouring food fear mongering outside the parameters of those who should for health reasons. *SideSteel and sarauk4sf inc*

bcattoes Joined Mar 2011November 04, 2013 8:15 am
Why not just make carbs on the side for your husband and children? Make a side of brown rice, quinoa, pasta or serve wholemeal bread with the meal for them and you can skip that item?

I'm not sure low carb is a good idea for most children. I would discuss it with their pediatrician. Children need a lot of engery.

In this open forum, regular veteran posters will highlight and will advocate their concerns for the sake of the children.

777Gemma888

Does anyone have kid friendly/picky husband friendly low carb recipes? My husband will not eat eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, or olives. My child doesn't like tomato sauce. Any suggestions? I'm tired of making two seperate dinners every night!

What are your macro splits and calorie limits for dinner? Would be easier to suggest dishes with recipes that way .... Low carb usually means a higher protein to carb ratio. Is that the direction you've decided on, for you and your family?

Sarahcuda

I need some of these for me! I need more variety!

duckiec

Pretty much anything my husband and I make for dinner ends up on/with a salad for me, but with carbs/extras for them/kids.

Chicken/shrimp stir-fry with veggies - they get rice, I just eat more of the veggies.

Tacos/fajitas, like someone else mentioned- chicken, turkey, etc - I get meat, salsa, veggies, maybe some fat free cheese- they get the full works with tortillas/chips. I often sub sour cream for whipped cottage cheese, too.

Fish- I bake mine with little seasonings, but will make them home-made fish sticks with panko or bread crumbs. Ditto for chicken sometimes.

Breakfast-for-dinner: I get egg white omelets (maybe one yolk) they get full eggs (and pancakes!)

Pasta is always served with a protein now, and I just skip the pasta. We've been doing a lot with chicken/turkey sausages- there are a lot of flavors out there for mixing with rice or pasta.

Soups- we often choose a lower-calorie soup, but they get crackers, cheese, bread, I don't.

We also sometimes make the Stauffers frozen mac-and-cheese meals along with dinners and use those a side dish for the kiddos. They're in the micro while other stuff is cooking, and are sort of a fall-back if they might not be interested the entree.

Try Skinnytaste.com too- lots of great recipes, and ones that can be "deconstructed" a bit to be interchangable. Instead of rolling up chicken with zuccini, use broccoli or spinach.

ramsx1991

I am in the exact same situation as you, my hubby doesn't eat anything you listed either. I just substitute one food for me. For example... I will make pasta for them and squash for me. Rice for them, quinoa/beans for me. Wraps for them/lettuce for me. Bread for them/lettuce for me... etc. etc.

This way I am not making an entirely separate meal, just one different ingredient pretty much. Salads and soups are also good. I will put potato and pasta in theirs but not mine. Salads, I will put dressing on theirs and just lemon juice on mine... Those kind of things.

phoebejeeby

My go-to meals are:

1. Tacos with extra lean ground chicken. (or chicken breast) I don't eat the cheese or taco shell. I add spinach and diced tomatoes, salsa, avocado....and have a taco salad. Very tasty.

2. Homemade Chili with garlic bread ( i skip the garlic bread) You can squeeze lots of veggies into chili

3. Any broth based soup with toast ( no noodles. Stick with meat, veggies. I add a bit of potatoes to make it more hearty) again, I skip the bread.

4. Spaghetti. Homemade sauce with lean ground chicken, portabella mushrooms, sweet onions. (You said they won't eat tomatoes, but a lot of people will eat tomato sauce). I skip the pasta and replace with lentils....its really good! Or add spinach.

5. Ground chicken burgers. My boyfriend and son actually prefer these to ground beef burger. I add ground mustard, montreal steak spice and 2 tbsp ketchup. Dice up the burger pattie (I eat two, 1/4 patties) add diced tomatoes, salsa, spinach, mustard.....whatever you like. Its a burger salad.

hope that helps. you can adapt lots of meals. get creative!

bettb1

I've used quite a few low carb recipes from this site:

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/recipereview/

trimminit

I understand the difficulty trying to make two separate meals. And after a day of work you don't need to have to use extra brain power to figure it out!

I like to make homemade spicy spinach dip (not really a meal, and I usually serve it with zucchini chips which I know your husband won't eat, but I thought I'd throw it out there - I often make it as a side to go along with chicken or fish), chili with French style green beans, chicken and cauliflower soup (the chicken is shredded and tender, and the soup is made with Laughing Cow wedges-you don't really taste the cauliflower), chicken and chorizo "stuffing", stir fry with bean sprouts as the noodles. Of course, there's always cauli pizzas, but they're kind of a pain sometimes. You could make the crusts on the weekend and freeze them.
Most of the meals above are ideas I've come up with messing around in the kitchen. Hopefully you'll get some good ideas here and maybe create some by accident in your kitchen!

I know it's tough to work full-time, and then come home and cook, let alone cook two meals.

trimminit

I also make gumbo. I use smoked sausage, shrimp, chicken, tomato juice, beef or chicken broth, okra (that might be a no-no in your house, but you can leave it out or use a different veggie instead), onion and cauli for the rice (optional) and seasonings.
If you need to, the veggies can be bought frozen, along with the shrimp, and smoked sausage is pretty easy.

fionarama

I'm horrified at the idea of having a child on a low carb diet.

777Gemma888

I'm horrified at the idea of having a child on a low carb diet.

Agree Fiona. Hopefully, the OP is planning on providing her child with his/her bulk carbs outside her dinner prep. Children source their energy from Carbs@around 55 to 60% of their daily needs. They NEED carbs ... Unless children are diabetic and need close carbs monitoring. Still ... Not enough information is provided to adequately assist her. Then again, children should NEVER be placed on diets ~ they have healthy eating plans.

ETA: correct children to child

bsteves06

For dinner if I do stiry fry's. I give my husband rice and I serve mine on julienned zucchini. i bought a cheap julienne tool on ebay and use it on zucchini, you can substitute it for any pasta or rice. You can also take cauliflower and put it on the food processor to make "rice" You can also cook cauliflower and then mash it, with butter and garlic, to make fake potatoes.

I usually do a protein like steak, pork chops or chicken, then veggies and a side carb like rice or potatoes for my husband, and I just take the veggies. Mark's Daily Apple is a website with a lot of good recipes on it.

TE76RA

bump to read later. My daughters paed has recommended I lower her carb intake

cadajo

bump

cadajo

bump

keem88

you shouldn't have to make separate dinners. mom made one thing, and if we didn't like it then we ate bread and butter. i am not a picky eater other than not eating meat or fish but if it isn't an animal i will eat it. no need for them to get their way, that wouldn't fly in my household.

try and make soups, or sneak the foods they don't like in (like the veggies puree into a spaghetti sauce or a soup)

justheretocountcals

I made "chicken meatloaf" for my only red meat husband and he LOVEDDDD it.
1lb ground chicken
2 diff colored bell peppers minced very small
about 3 tbsp. red onion also minced
2-3 cloves of garlic
about 1 cup parm cheese (just put as much as you like)
1 egg white
and I shred carrots and slice mushrooms, but just hide any veggie you think you can in there!!
1 packet dry ranch dressing
bake at 350 for about 30 min-ish. (I have to check mine to make sure its done. lol

but yea, this is def a hit. I gave the recipe to a few friends and their families devoured it! good luck

justheretocountcals

[/quote]
Thank you! This is helpful! We get tired of the same old "chicken breast with veggies, steak with veggies, pork chops with veggies". I do allow my family rolls/bread with meals should they choose it, it's just nice to not have to cook a million different things after working all day if I can avoid it!
[/quote]

the best thing is to keep experimenting. I just started throwing different things together and sometimes its great and sometimes a bust. trial and error. but sneaking in veggies works for husbands as well as children. also, "low carb" and NO CARB are 2 totally different things. so play around with sweet potatoes. my husband kicked and screamed until I made him try some things. And there are plentyyyyyyy of people on this site with plenty of opinions. ignore them. YOU know whats right for you and your family. like most people here said, making a carb for them and not eating it isn't the worst thing in the world. and as it is a dinner recipe, carbs are not the most important part of the meal. (carbs are energy and people do not need energy at the end of the night to sleep on lol) so just take it all with a grain of salt.

oh. and lime is a FANTASTIC WAY to spice things up. and I used mrs. dash on almost everything. lol. they have so many different flavors its ridiculous.

LydiaThatcher

eatingwell.com has a TON of recipes that are great for the family

luvmydoggies

Lots of great ideas here I will be trying.

I am also a single mom. My oldest daughter is 21 and is doing this with me but I have a 12 yr old daughter and she is the thin one in the family so I really don't restrict what she eats.
She gets plenty of carbs in daily: bread, milk, yogurt, orange juice, whole grain waffles, fruit etc (stuff we can't eat yet), but at dinner she eats what I make. She is a little picky though at times when it comes to veggies so if its a veggie she don't like I will make her some rice or put a potato in the oven while I'm cooking. She loves to eat salads though so that is good.
Overall we are all learning to eat better....cutting out all the fast food except when she goes with her dad but like I said I am not restricting her diet just healthier choices at home now for her which will benefit us all

sistermarla

Try this site:
http://www.sandyskitchenadventures.com/

I found it while doing Medifast. There are lots of low carb recipes that are great for family dinners. I tend to cook low carb (meat & veggies) then make a side with carbs. The microwavable rice option is a great time saver. I have also updated many of my recipes to be low carb friendly. So far so good! And I must say my family are pretty good sports about trying new things! Another thing I do is keep some Atkins products on hand just in case I need a quick snack or meal. Good luck!

Four_Leaf_Clover

I understand your dillema - I work full time and cook for 7 people every night! I make one meal. I plan meals for the whole month with input from the family (but I am the cook, so I make the final decisions). Kids get to pick on Tuesdays (they love this).

We do a lot of meat, starch, veggie combos and I just have a smaller portion of the starch. Or if I serve something with rice, I might put it over lettuce as a salad instead.

Here are a few recipes that I make that would fit low carb or could be modified (and things my kids and picky Mom will eat)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/barbecued-chinese-chicken-lettuce-wraps-recipe/index.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/10/garlic-lovers-roast-beef.html served with http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/creamy-cauliflower-puree.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/slow-cooked-sweet-barbacoa-pork.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/balsamic-roast-pork-tenderloins-recipe/index.html

Plus we love chicken breast marinated in italian dressing, sirloin steak, salmon with lemon pepper seasoning

RPM2014

I know this is an old conversation but since I also have a picky husband AND children. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in November 2013 and cannot tolerate many carbs AT ALL. I found that the easiest way to eat dinner is make some kind of meat and veggie so that I am covered and throw in a starch on the side for my family to have with their meal.