This is SO hard! Need some help with meals pls!

majigurl

I'm trying so hard to keep my meals clean and fresh and healthy!
but my gawd I'm not finding it easy! Grocery stores sell so much HORRIBLE foods! I'm an avid pinterest addict and all the foods there always seem to be full of sugar. When you look up healthy recipes you find avocados ( which I just don't like ) and other foods i'm not a fan of. ( brusel sprouts, asparagus etc )
We are taking out most gluten's also. I have noticed that me and my eldest daughter seem to be affected by it ( bloating, bad skin etch). Pasta is something else I'm trying to cut out.
I have a few meals that I currently make that are super yummy and healthy. But I can count them on one hand! I have bought a bunch of healthy cookbooks, but the meals seem silly and too weird. Same thing with recipes online. I can spend HOURS ( wish this was an exaggeration ) on searching for a recipe for that night with no luck.

What am I doing wrong Why does it seem to hard?

What are some of your staple healthy, low calorie no gluten meals? and not pasta?

Things I have done to change our eating:

-Taken away white instant rice - We are slowly adding quinoa instead but the family isn't enjoying it.
-Taken away anything breaded
- Have added salad to almost all our suppers
- Always lots of steamed from fresh or frozen veggies
- No more pop drinks
- always lots of fresh fruits and veggies cut up for easy snacks.

I know I'm doing good, I just struggle so much with suppers! I'm used to making a new recipe almost nightly for my family! that is what they are used to.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

paulstephenmarshall

I don't understand adding quinoa if your family just don't like it.maybe switch to wholemeal rice if they like that. I just don't think its a great idea to force the family to eat things they dislike.

paulstephenmarshall

just playing devils advocate but it seems you don't use asparagus avocados or sprouts as you don't like them, what if the family do like those things?its hard to keep all the family happy I fully understand that but whats so awfull about rice or pasta if eaten in moderation?

cranshinibon

I eat chicken broccoli and brown rice almost every day, and I can cook an unsurmountable variety of foods, it's just easier and I don't have to log extra things.

Otherwise I just look up the foods I really want to eat and just make them myself and be smart about ratios / substituting to better fit my macros.

Staple gluten free:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast / Chicken Thighs / Broccoli or Spinach / Sweet Potato. If I'm feeling really frisky sometimes I'll throw in some avocado or nuts.

If you need help with recipes just shoot me a message and I'd be happy to help you out.

majigurl

I don't understand adding quinoa if your family just don't like it.maybe switch to wholemeal rice if they like that. I just don't think its a great idea to force the family to eat things they dislike.

They don't like any rice other than white instant rice. They dislike brown rice as much as quinoa. quinoa is an acquired taste. they each get a tblsp of it lol. not much. and they get LOTS of other stuff to eat on their plates that are good for them I'm not a mean mom but I do expect them to try everything. trying to find the lesser of evils that are healthy that they will learn to like. they all HATED salads a few months back. Now they get upset if a meal doesn't include it. Hoping this will happen slowly with quinoa.

majigurl

just playing devils advocate but it seems you don't use asparagus avocados or sprouts as you don't like them, what if the family do like those things?its hard to keep all the family happy I fully understand that but whats so awfull about rice or pasta if eaten in moderation?

My husband hates pasta, my eldest hates aparagus I hate avocados and everyone hates brusel sprouts lol. we each got to vedo one food. My husband will tolerate some pasta's now and then. He has to because it really brought down what we could eat. But I don't think removing 3 items is really that bad? lol. we eat all sorts of fish and meats. We have started a once a week fish and a once a week vegetarian. ( which has been also hard to find recipes for! )

I'm not looking for people to judge us here. I'm sure there are foods you don't eat also I know lots of people who refuse to eat any fish and so don't cook it all all for their family. Their choice, their family.

ninyagwa

Just a few ideas, there is a 90 second uncle ben's brown rice and quinao with Garlic that I think tastes great, and it's super easy. You can also use spaghetti squash as a kind of pasta substitute, and it tends to have a bit of a sweet flavor so that's nice, also super easy to cook, cut it in half, remove the seeds, then place it opened side down (one half at a time) in a dish with about a quarter inch of water and microwave for about 10 minutes, caution it will be super hot, and just scrape out the deliciousness!

majigurl

I eat chicken broccoli and brown rice almost every day, and I can cook an unsurmountable variety of foods, it's just easier and I don't have to log extra things.

Otherwise I just look up the foods I really want to eat and just make them myself and be smart about ratios / substituting to better fit my macros.

Staple gluten free:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast / Chicken Thighs / Broccoli or Spinach / Sweet Potato. If I'm feeling really frisky sometimes I'll throw in some avocado or nuts.

If you need help with recipes just shoot me a message and I'd be happy to help you out.

I'm working really hard on learning about substitutes also. Broccoli and green beans have been a house fav.! From a family that ate out often and mc donalds was a staple food ( which we don't eat at all anymore) I think we are on the right path. Once I find a good amount of recipes that I can jump to I think we will do even better!
It's finding those recipes and making them a good enough of a variety so that we don't get bored. I hardly ever did one recipe twice before. I love cooking and pinterest was my hero! from cookies to meals, my family was well fed. Maybe too much. so now I have to rethink all my recipes and foods. I have a small start, and I have done LOADS of research. Just trying to find "normal" meals that are super healthy seems harder than it should lol

ksolksol

they all HATED salads a few months back. Now they get upset if a meal doesn't include it. Hoping this will happen slowly with quinoa.

I've read a lot of things that say you end up liking what you eat, rather than eating what you like, if that makes sense. Over time, if it's what's on the table, it's what your taste buds get used to. I do like your idea of getting to veto one food, although I think pickled herring and sardines should count as one food for me. ;-)

If you can't do gluten, have you tried brown rice pasta? It's not bad.

Do you have a grill? We've done eggplant parmesan by grilling the eggplant slices instead of breading them. Throw some spaghetti sauce and a reasonable amount of part-skim mozz and parmesan on the top a reasonable number of calories. We like it, anyway. I've also seen people make lasagna with zucchini strips instead of noodles.

jstewa40

Fish, shrimp, crab legs, chicken breast, 95% lean (or more) ground beef, ground turkey, ground turkey breast, even other meats like pork chops and steak if you keep your portions at about 3 ounces. 4 ounces of seafood and chicken. I don't care for lettuce in salads much without dressing, so I cut up tomatoes and sometimes cucumbers and make salads out of those type things without the lettuce. There is also a low fat/low cal homemade "RANCH" salad dressing that I make and do put on top of lettuce or use as a veggie dip sometimes. I also have a recipe for a low cal/low fat taco salad. Whole wheat brown rice is good and I cannot even really tell the difference in whole wheat pasta and reg. pasta once it is cooked. Make sure the ingredients do not say enriched flour or high fructose corn syrup though.. Nature Valley crunchy honey and oats granola bars are also good to eat when trying to lose weight, (or anytime). Nuts are great too! Low fat string cheese and yogurt make great snacks, as well.

tessiebear40

I have gotten alot of great recipes from the following site: http://www.skinnytaste.com/ I hope this helps Bon Appetit

ksolksol

Broccoli and green beans have been a house fav.! From a family that ate out often and mc donalds was a staple food ( which we don't eat at all anymore) I think we are on the right path. Once I find a good amount of recipes that I can jump to I think we will do even better!

Will they eat sauteed onions? Green beans sauteed with onions (doesn't take a whole lot of oil) are good. You can also make them with tomatoes and/or mushrooms.

majigurl

Just a few ideas, there is a 90 second uncle ben's brown rice and quinao with Garlic that I think tastes great, and it's super easy. You can also use spaghetti squash as a kind of pasta substitute, and it tends to have a bit of a sweet flavor so that's nice, also super easy to cook, cut it in half, remove the seeds, then place it opened side down (one half at a time) in a dish with about a quarter inch of water and microwave for about 10 minutes, caution it will be super hot, and just scrape out the deliciousness!

Spaghetti squash is my next big try! I have only really seen oven instructions, but might try this microwave one. I had almost forgotten about that! Might try and find a good recipe to go along with this ty ty!

FX it goes well with the family tonight lol

cwolfman13

"Healthy" is often a matter of context and dosage. I don't use "healthy" specific cook books...I just use cook books. I make my meals from healthful, whole, scratch ingredients. What's really important here is serving sizes and portions.

There's nothing inherently wrong with pasta...i eat it regularly...I am very healthy and fit. There is nothing wrong with white rice...there is nothing wrong with potatoes...there is nothing wrong with bread...etc, etc, etc, etc.

Most people have issues here because they have an extremely narrow view of what constitutes "healthy" and healthful eating/living. Reality is that if people took a step back and looked at their diet as a whole they would realize that most things are perfectly fine and healthful given proper context and dosage.

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

Go onto all recipes and find some delicious ideas with five star reviews. That's what I do and it always works. They're five star for a reason.

You can also buy corn or rice pasta that is gluten free and apart from the slight difference in texture you can't taste a difference. There's nothing wrong with eating a little pasta every now and again in moderation.

My husband only likes quinoa with a spicy sauce drizzled over it, maybe try that? I buy Diana Marinade Spicy Southwest Chipotle and we love it! Very low cal as well. I should also add that he hates rice, but he actually will suggest eating quinoa now.

Remember that you do still need to have fun with food and it's totally okay to eat some "bad" food every now and again as long as that's not all you're eating.

ETA: On allrecipes.com you can search by ingredient and can also search by low calorie recipes.

majigurl

they all HATED salads a few months back. Now they get upset if a meal doesn't include it. Hoping this will happen slowly with quinoa.

I've read a lot of things that say you end up liking what you eat, rather than eating what you like, if that makes sense. Over time, if it's what's on the table, it's what your taste buds get used to. I do like your idea of getting to veto one food, although I think pickled herring and sardines should count as one food for me. ;-)

If you can't do gluten, have you tried brown rice pasta? It's not bad.

Do you have a grill? We've done eggplant parmesan by grilling the eggplant slices instead of breading them. Throw some spaghetti sauce and a reasonable amount of part-skim mozz and parmesan on the top a reasonable number of calories. We like it, anyway. I've also seen people make lasagna with zucchini strips instead of noodles.

Oh! that sounds lovely! I might give that a try. I like eggplant and it will be good for them to try it I always make a back up meal ( so it gets to be a lot ) when I try something this drastically new. Side dishes, if they don't like it they can fill up on salad, but when it is the main part of the meal I try and be prepared. Everyone has to try it and has to try a few bites though.
zucchini instead of pasta, love these substitutions! ty!

gotonenerveleft

I second the skinnytaste website. Skinny kitchen is good too. They have been a huge help to me along with the Taste of Home Diet cookbooks. Through them I've learned that I can lighten up foods that we want to eat. We don't have to eat bland boring diet food. They show me that this can definetly be a lifestyle change and not a diet.

paulstephenmarshall

wasn't intending to sound judgemental at all , fair enough if none of you like those foods it would be pointless cooking them.i actually cook more than my wife but ill cook different things sometimes, i.e I don't really like suasages but my family do , I like liver and they don't so we have the same veg, spuds but I have liver they have bangers, loads of meals I do similar things , tonight my daughter has veggie options

JustinAnimal

Baked sweet potato rounds (EVOO misted on, salt, cayenne pepper) with ketchup... sort of like oven fries

Boneless skinless chicken breast (oil mis, seasoning, baked)

Ground turkey

Eggs!

baked tilapia

brown rice

quinoa

I am an onion-lover and this is what got me to eat green veggies. So I'd start by caramelizing onions in EVOO, salt and pepper, then add to

steamed broccoli
spinach
kale
chard
asparagus
diced brussels sprouts

almost all of those veggies spent some time in the pan with the leftover olive oil, so got fried / crisped a little bit, too

Awesomers

You have to find food that you like. If you're not an avocado fan, don't eat it. I try to keep it as simple as possible. My family generally eats lean proteins for dinner and I dump massive amounts of veggies on everyone's plates. While I understand that your goal is to cut out gluten due to possible intolerance, I have to say that limiting foods is like setting myself up for failure. I quit drinking soda every single day. I may drink 3-4 cans a month. I quit drinking a pot of coffee every day. Now I drink 1 cup a day, on average. Start slow and don't get upset if you or your family don't follow the rules that y'all set all of the time. That's where a lot of people derail because it's too restrictive. If you have a farmer's market, try shopping there for produce or try growing your own veggies to help you feel more connected to healthy foods.

jasonmh630

If you're family doesn't like sprouts or asparagus, try roasting one or the other with some EVOO, garlic, salt, pepper. Then sprinkle a little FRESH grated parmesan cheese over them. I used to hate both, but enjoy them now simply because I cook them like that.

dubird

Cooks Illustrated has some great recipies that aren't diet, but do good in the calorie department. Some of them sound odd, but so far, everything we've tried from them is tasty.

Francl27

1) you don't have to cut anything out. Just have less of it. I still have instant rice and fit it in my daily calories just fine. I bought Quinoa but I'm the only one who eats it.
2) Check skinnytaste.com for delicious, healthy recipes
3) You don't have to have salad every day... besides, if you count dressing, you're often better off just having veggies
4) you don't have to make something fancy every night. Very often we just grill some meat or bake some fish, and have it with frozen veggies and sometimes some potatoes or rice. It's easy and healthy.

I get in a rut a lot though... Meal planning sucks.

lindaloup37

I understand, suppers are really tough to make both healthy and pleasing to everyone. I don't have pasta much, the tiny serving size is disappointing to me. I will usually have sweet potatoes, roasted butternut squash, red potatoes, or brown rice as my "starch". Have you tried farro? I was sure it would be too healthy tasting, but it's nutty and delicious, and has fiber and protein. I also do flatbread or pita pizzas, which everyone seems to like, or soft tacos or quesadillas with leftover meat, beans or veggies.

kikityme

This is my absolute favorite side, I usually just add some LaGrille Vegetable seasoning if it's a side. If I do it as a main I'll add cherry tomatoes, onion and garlic. I even eat it for breakfast with a little cinnamon and sugar, it's pretty dang versatile.

This has a little bit of wheat in it, but it doesn't seem to bug me. Might be worth a shot, it's in with the rice at Loblaws, Zehrs or whatever Ottawa has.


Meh, can't get the size right, but it's PC 5 grain blend. http://www.loblaws.ca/en_CA/products/productlisting/pc_5_grain_blendprod1730005.html

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Snip8241

One thing weight watchers has are very good cookbooks. One I use a lot and my family likes is
The weight watchers Powerfoods Cookbook. You can get it on amazon.

Most of the weight watchers cookbooks have really good recipes. This may give you ideas as to what to cook. My family gets bored unless I use recipes like these sometimes.
Good luck to you. :flowerforyou:

Juniper1221

I did a chicken stirfry last night that my family loved. Just use chicken tenders or breasts cut up veggies of your choice. Maybe you could do half and half with the rice...half brown half white I've done that before and it tastes better than just plain brown rice. You're doing fantastic so far, lots of good changes, try not to get discouraged.

LifeWithPie

"Healthy" is often a matter of context and dosage. I don't use "healthy" specific cook books...I just use cook books. I make my meals from healthful, whole, scratch ingredients. What's really important here is serving sizes and portions.

There's nothing inherently wrong with pasta...i eat it regularly...I am very healthy and fit. There is nothing wrong with white rice...there is nothing wrong with potatoes...there is nothing wrong with bread...etc, etc, etc, etc.

Most people have issues here because they have an extremely narrow view of what constitutes "healthy" and healthful eating/living. Reality is that if people took a step back and looked at their diet as a whole they would realize that most things are perfectly fine and healthful given proper context and dosage.

Best answer in this thread! :drinker:

joe_piercey

If you're family doesn't like sprouts or asparagus, try roasting one or the other with some EVOO, garlic, salt, pepper. Then sprinkle a little FRESH grated parmesan cheese over them. I used to hate both, but enjoy them now simply because I cook them like that.

I'm with this guy. Love both after doing this!

jodeswood007

This is my first post but I really wanted to share my diner adventures with you.

For me, I believe all things in moderation. I realized this one day making a family favorite quiche recipe. In an attempt to lower the calories, I replaced 1/3 cup of mayo with 1 avocado (my husband hates avocado too but mush it up enough you cannot taste it) to maintain the fatty consistency and used low fat cheeses. I kept the crust, cause it taste great with crust. Full egg, milk, ham and broccoli. Divided by 4 servings and it was still too many calories, I'd have no room for my glass of wine. So I divided each in half to give 8 servings and added a side of garden salad. YAY! Room for wine

So I started looking more into serving sizes. If a recipe is too many calories, I add another serving. My meatball sub casserole is amazing! But it had to go from 4 to 5 servings, saving me 200 calories. I also added chopped spinach too it because it was a veggiless recipe (if that is a word?). I add a side of salad or raw veggies to keep me full. The extra servings go in the freezer for a day when I don't make enough for lunch leftovers.

I've also started using our crock pot a lot, especially for chicken recipes. Some recipes can be made and will serve 8 or more, break down the calories and one serving is under 200 calories. Then go ahead and add your rice or pasta.

Take advantage of using items with a small amount of calories, Spices, Franks Red Hot, Soya Sauce, Chicken Stock ect..
Best of luck, just remember if you deprive yourself it will be harder to stick with it long term.