Where do I begin??

Setof2Keys

Hello MFP Friends,

I know that most of you Pro's on here have more experience than some professional that has 4.5 minutes to spend with me and not tell me much so here it goes...

I grew up on an all american food stamp diet. I have cut many things from the diets of my children; but many things still remain. I watched Jamie Oliver last night and wanted to cry about the ground beef and the chocolate milk. Since I am not that educated and it is more work to eat healthier (stop pretending it isn't) but I'm willing to do the work. I just don't know where to start. I do not cook that often but obviously need to start. I can't afford to keep buying produce for it to go bad. I'm out of ideas for what to do with the food once I get it. I have like the same 15 meals (I swear) and that doesn't keep anyone interested.

Im moving next month and will be planting a smaller garden so that will help, but how do I just make the whole switch? There is a wealth of info out there but not sure who or what to believe. PS I am a very very busy Mom and sometimes don't have even a half an hour to cook...Im in desperate need of guidance. This is not an excuse, that's why I'm looking for ways around it. Let me note that there is not anything in my life I am able to cut out due to the fact that I'm a Proud Mother of 2 special needs children.

Help!!!

Walt75

I grew up on Macn'Cheese and Hamburger Helper cause it was cheap and didn't take my mom long to make it since she worked. Oh I'm a mess!! lol!

JJeMitchell

It is great that you are asking for help and want to make a change!!!

Do you like salads? My husband and I started having a salad before our meal about a year ago, and it has worked great! We have romaine or baby spinach and then add other veggies, like carrots, celery, red pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes...and we use fat free or low calorie dressings like vinegarettes

Do you like omelets? We have omelets for dinner with eggs, and then we add mushrooms, spinach, red pepper, tomatoes, olives, it's completely up to you what you put in your omelet!!! That might be fun for the kids...to pick their own ingredients!

For fruit: fruit in their oatmeal, or on whole grain waffles. Fruit salad. Strawberries or other berries with light cool whip or a tiny drizzle of chocolate for dessert

I like taking baby carrots or celery and dipping it into hummus!

You could do a stir fry where you have lean beef or chicken and mix in any vegetables you like. You can add some fresh garlic and low sodium soy sauce to give it a wonderful flavor!

akaMrsmojo

Wow, incredible post. I think you start with a crock pot. I cook a lot in that and it is super healthy. My mom was a terrible cook and she made fried foods for me my whole life. Now I cannot eat any sort of bread, wheat, or flour. It has been a learning experience. I think you are on the right track.

Good luck and welcome.

blynnarnold

BUMP

melsinct

I would start off with going to your local library and checking out a cookbook or two for ideas, especially one focused on making meals fast. Or do a web search. This is a link to the 15 minute recipe collection of my favorite site to grab healthy recipes from:
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/15_minute_dinner_recipes

Start off with small goals, like "This week I will cook two dinners from scratch." Also, I can't praise meal planning enough. Plan what you will be eating for the week, shop for it, and stick to it. That way you are not wasting food.

sunshine79

Wow! Sounds like you have your hands full so well done on choosing to educate yourself about leading a healthier lifestyle.

It can be complicated or it can be simple - I choose to keep things as simple as possible.

How about focusing on one meal at a time? e.g - you could focus on ensuring you make simple healthy dinners then once you have that down you could then focus on breakfasts too.

Some ideas: try to stay away from simple carbs (white bread, white rice, what pasta etc) and opt for the brown varieties and even with these try to limit the amount of these you have. Also be sure to include 2 servings of veg with each meal.

This would be a great starting point for you.

Feel free to inbox if you need more info - I'd be happy to help you along the way

GinaSmash

Welcome to MFP. I know what you mean about the amount of information out there.

The Cooking Channel is a great place to start. Hungry Girl comes on the Cooking Channel Every Saturday. She makes low calorie versions of lots of common meals. I have also looked up Dr. Ian Smith's books, Fat Smash, Extreme Fat Smash, & 4 Day Diet. His books have a lot of great information on how to get your mind and body ready for this journey. I have been on MFP since January and the simple act of logging my meals and exercise are a huge factor in the weight that I have lost so far.

And if you sign up at http://www.hungry-girl.com/ you can find tons of great meal ideas emailed to you. I love her "slaw and order" recipe.

I hope this helps.

missbp

I am a busy mom as well. When I come home from the food store I try to wash and prep all of my fruits and vegetables. I find that if they are clean and ready to eat, my family is more inclined to eat them. You can actually freeze lots of fruits and veggies so they keep longer. Defrost when needed. You can also grill up chicken or shrimp and keep them in the fridge for up to 4 days. Both are good on top of salad, pasta, rice and in a sandwich. A roast chicken can give you several meals. Another idea is to make larger quantities of healty foods your family likes. Left overs aren't so bad when it's something they like.

Hope some of this helps!

KickassYas

are you trying to go organic? do you have a trader joe's near you? or a whole foods? possibly some kind of organic store? yeah its more expensive but it cuts out the hormones and antibiotics that are fed into the meat we eat every day.

think fresh. i would make a promise to try a new recipe at least once a week. or once a month. whatever your schedule allows. look for old weight watchers cook books or healthy living cook books.

things that are good to plant:

all kinds of herbs! herbs help cut the salt. fresh herbs are the best.
tomaotoes
cucumbers
squash(or zuccini)
fruit is the best sweet snack out there!

sometimes you have to sit down write the list of what you like and what you can sub with healthy alts.

oh! and finally chocolate milk... look for a brand called Trumoo its healthy organic chocolate milk.

i hope this helps girl. i am in the same boat but i asked around to the health nuts i know and those were their suggestions

Marcus_E

It's hard to know where to start, but asking is the first step. In terms of having 15 meals - that's actually not too bad - I think I've got 4 that I do And by the way - it's nothing about whether you are educated or not - that's the great thing about places like MFP There's resources to help everyone...

But as you mentioned Jamie, here's a great link: http://www.jamieoliver.com/jamies-30-minutes-meals/ - its a great book as well... But there's plenty of stuff online as well for so many different meals, food types etc etc..

One thing I try and do is only buy what I need for that day, admittedly it is only for me, but it's not always easy, especially when it comes to veg etc, but it may help.. Or another idea is to plan your week and pick two or three 'other' meals from online recipes that you wouldn't normally cook and when you do your weekly shop - make sure you prepare for them.

I don't have kids, so unfortunately can't empathize when it comes to the time aspect, but would cooking up some meals and freezing them for the odd days help at all?

Either way, I hope it may help, others I know will probably have some additional great and probably better advice But good luck with the upcoming move and all the best wishes to you and your kids.

casey12105

I'm constantly searching on the internet for new healthy recipes. Some end up being duds, true, but I've found a lot of really good ones as well. If you dont have a lot of time, you can find a lot of really good crock pot recipes. You can get everything ready at night, set it in the fridge, then pop it in the crockpot in the morning before work and it'll be ready by the time you get home. As for the produce going bad, we're on a very strict budget as well and I had that same issue. I basically just had to start buying my produce for the short term (just a few days), which is a pain having to keep running to the store but saves you money without having to throw anything out. I also chop up my onions and bell peppers and freeze them, I tend to use them in about everything I cook.

LadyNeon

I think we all deal with this to some extent! I have found that if I do marathon cooking on the weekends and refrigerate or freeze meals for the week that I can make it work. I also try to do extra prep work when I have time. Pre-cook chicken breasts, pre-chop your vegetables...things like that. Also, pick a few of your absolute favorite foods, regardless of the nutritional value. Then figure out ways to make the same thing healthier. Almost anything can be lightened up to fit better into your dietary needs. "Fried" chicken is great when instead of frying you dip boneless/skinless chicken breasts in buttermilk, then roll in crushed cornflakes and bake. Or substitute honey mustard instead of buttermilk. If you absolutely must have a "real" hamburger, make sure you make them in accurately measured sizes, then serve bunless or on those new 100-calorie extra thin buns (I can't remember what they're called). When I do buy pre made snacks, I make sure to measure them out into individual servings as soon as I get home. That way I can just grab one and go, without grazing on an entire box of something.

Also, I know exactly what you mean about not knowing which information to believe. I have found that I have to pick the dietary concerns that are most important to me and stick with it. Right now it's calories. Eventually your body (or your brain) starts to catch on that if it wants more food, the only way to get it is by making healthier choices with less calories. You can drive yourself crazy trying to watch carbs, fats, sugars, proteins, sodium...or by avoiding certain foods for certain reasons. Pick one or two top priority concerns and address those. With patience and persistence it starts to fall into place. Good luck!

DeniseGdz

I know your busy with 2 full hands but how about prepping in advance. When you think you can multi task a bit, make some homemade marinara sauce and freeze it. Pinto beans and freeze it. I bag up a lot of my snacks and throw them in a large tupperware container. that way I can just grab and go & I always keep the fruit basket full and handy for hte same reason.

I read somewhere that it only takes you 2 ADDITIONAL seconds to do something if you really want to do it. It takes you twice as long to argue with yourself.

I live by that rule and it keeps me moving!

OH and park far out at the grocery store, school parking lots, anywhere you go. it's an extra step you can get in without taking anymore time!

zeeeb

i do simple things like when the kids want a snack i say you can have fruit or carrot and thats it. if the answer is no, then obviously they aren't hungry. it's a bit nazi, but the will accept it now.

often when they say they are starving and i'm cooking tea, they'll now ask for frozen peas and corn (yep, go figure) so i give them a handful in a cup to eat while i'm cooking, and it's vegies instead of a biscuit or a piece of bread. now, they just ask for peas and corn while they are waiting, because they know they aren't getting anything else to eat while i'm cooking tea.

i make my own hommus, it takes about 2 minutes and it tastes so much better than store bought hommus. my kids go crazy on it, and lick the bowl when they've finished dipping their carrots in it.

it's hard, and you have to be a nazi about it, and tell them they aren't having anything if it's not healthy, but if you are consistent, they realise what is healthy, and what is not, and they start asking for the healthy things knowing that they will be met with a brick wall if they want rubbish.

my girls also prefer natural yoghurt with a bit of honey to all the sweet yoghurts. they still ask for them, every single time i'm in the supermarket they want the dora yoghurt, or the thomas yoghurt, but i refuse to buy it, because they never eat it (they actually don't like it, but they still want it because it has the pictures). it drives me mental when their grandparents and dad buy it, after i tell them a thousand times that the girls won't eat it, but they still ask for it every single time.

i keep on reinforcing that anything that has cartoon characters on it, is pretty much rubbish, and that just because it has a pretty picture, doesn't mean it's good. they haven't clicked on this yet, but they will if i keep on going on like a broken record about it.

small differences make massive changes. also having them help grow some vegies in the garden is great, and talking about healthy choices and what is good and what is rubbish.

Tree72

It's great that you're here and asking for advice. Don't feel bad about not knowing things you were never taught. We all have those areas in our lives. Now that you've realized you're missing some knowledge that you need, you can take the steps to learn it.

I'd second the ideas to go to the library and check out a couple of cookbooks. Or maybe find a used book store and pick one up to keep. One I have on hand and have lent to several friends who are just learning to cook is the Betty Crocker cookbook. Everything is divided up into sections and it has helpful information like where the different cuts of meat are on an animal and how to prepare them. You can also find many great recipes online these days.

One idea for veggies is to buy some frozen ones. They are usually inexpensive and can be easily prepared by steaming on the stove or in the microwave. They keep for a long time and have virtually the same nutrients as fresh. (I would avoid cans if possible though, they are stored in water which can leach nutrients, and often have added salt.)

A crock pot is also a great idea. It's so nice to come home and have dinner ready and waiting. Also with the lower temperatures and longer cooking times you can make the cheaper cuts of meat tender and tasty.

Feel free to add me or ask any questions. I love it when people get excited about trying new things and learning to cook.