food help

adams4101

I have been looking at other people's diary's that are my same weight or were my same weight to see what they are eating, and I can't eat like they do. I have a family of 6. Most of our food comes from food stamps and wic. I have to be on a budget, so I try to buy healthy stuff from the grocery store, but also stuff that my kids will eat. I have a 9, 7, and a 4 year old. My 9 year old is very picky. I was a picky eater as a child and am still some what, so I understand and I am not going to just make him eat whatever. I have switched to wheat rice. I tried wheat pasta and it was horrible, so I'm not sure what to do about that. We grill out a lot, but I'm not sure what else to change or what else to do. Everyones says you need to eat healthy calories, and I'm not sure if I am or not. I know fried foods and sugar is out of the question, but I also eat out sometimes especially when we are on the go. I eat a lot of grilled chicken, but not sure what else. I can't afford to make my own personal meals???? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

savvynurse

What do you mean you can't afford to make your own meals??? If you eat a lot of chicken thats great... get boneless breasts cook them up chop them and add to lettuce with tomato... instant chicken salad. Buy yourself a loaf of light bread and if you eat luncheon meats viola a sandwich. All you have to do is read the calories and input it into your log. I too am on a very tight budget however I am able to make healthy choices. and I don't fix myself different meals from my family. I eat the same things... maybe a little less but still eat the same things. If your eating out try Hardees low carb burger or their new turkey burger they taste great. If its chicken go to KFC and get their grilled chicken meals. You can have green beans as your side give or take the biscuit... all depends on how much cals you have to use. Go to Subway check the database a lot of their meals are under 500 cals. You can do it on a TIGHT budget... you just have to get creative

humblemonkey

im confsed by the inability to make you own meals due to cost??? it costs WAY less to make your own and take with you... I know that for SURE because I work on an ambulance and used to eat out a lot and then started bringing my meals in a lunchbox in the rig....easy things...yogurt (very cheap--- buy a big tub of it and a little tuperware container instead of paying extra for the individual cups).... PB is cheap and very good for protein...but it does add a lot of calories so make sure u dont overdo it!....nutella is the same way. I cut out jelly and just eat PB sandwiches...but sugarfree jelly tastes the same on a PB sandwich.
ummm....switch to fat free americna cheese slices and theyre the same cost.... same thing with "light" bread of at least whole grain bread. wonder bread makes a smart white...which is whole grain white bread but tastes the same.
if you dont like whole wheat pasta maybe try ronzoni's garden delight (i think thats what its called) pasta or whacky mac....both the same cost as regular pastas....and a little bit better than plain old white pasta.
you can do SO MUCH with plain old chicken....add spices...add dressing...cook it, grill it... whatever. salsa is relatively cheap and u can add that to chicken too....make a salad and put some grilled or baked chicken on it.... hardboil some eggs and put that in a salad...

hopefully these are some ideas for you... i too am on a tight budget due to going back to school and only working part-time....so these are things i do.

concordancia

I think she meant she can't make her own meals separate from what her family will eat.

With the limitations set by a picky eater, you need to make sure your family is eating healthy, as well. A lot of WIC approved foods are not particularly healthy, but you can make good choices within those limitations. One cost effective, diet effective food that often gets overlooked is beans - pinto beans, black beans, lentils, pretty much anything except baked beans or pork and beans, both of which have tons of sugar and pork fat. Beans are high in protein and fiber and fill you up.

adams4101

Yea, I meant I can't make my own personal meals. I have to make 1 meal for the whole family.

adams4101

I do eat Pb and Jelly sandwiches. I buy organic peanut butter. Bi-lo has a store brand now which isn't too much. I eat that and my kids still eat the regular Jif we get on wic, and I use the less sugar or all natural jelly. I eat a lot of chicken, usually grilled just tired of eating the same old things. I get field peas on wic and we eat those sometimes with rice too. I appreciate all of the advice. I am going to see what I can do. Thanks.