Cooking a healthy meal that the whole family will eat

SkinnyFranchini

I enjoy cooking when I know that I am not going to be the only person eating it. I enjoy plenty of healthy foods such as fish and vegetables, but I am the only person that would eat them and I will not cook 2 meals for dinner.

Does anyone have any suggestions of healthy recipes that everyone can enjoy or small portion meals that I can make for myself (and let everyone else fend for themselves)?

My 3 year old is a very picky eater and my 1 year old will try just about anything.

busyPK

I have a 2 year old and his favorite is roast. I put a roast in the crockpot with some red potatos and a bunch of carrots a little water with some spices (my favorite is 1/2 dry packet of ranch, Italian and brown gravy) and cook until it's tender. My son loves the carrots with the roast flavor in them and loves the roast (he passes on the potatos).

SkinnyFranchini

That sounds good and easy enough. I have tried making a roast in the crock pot before and it lacked a little on flavor. I will try your suggestions on spices.

Thanks!

pdworkman

Eat the same things, but in different proportions. If I prepare, say, (our vegetarian and allergy free version of) taco salad, then for myself I will dish up:

lots of green salad
a cup of bean chili
onion, salsa, wee bit of guacamole
a few chips on the side (terra chips for me, because I can't have corn)

my son will dish up
lots of rice
chips, salsa, guacamole
a bit of bean chili

my husband will dish up
some rice
some bean chili
some salad
chips, salsa

So all three of us have different preferences. I have kept my meal lower calorie, and the others have focused on the foods that they like, and I have not made two separate meals. Most of our dinners are a main dish, salad, and side veggie. So my plate is half salad, a cup or so of veggies, and a cup or so of the main dish. The others dish up as they please. Sometimes my son will have only rice. Sometimes my husband can't tolerate beans. They'll just adjust their portions accordingly.

You might want to think in terms of a buffet-style "make your own" dish like tacos, haystacks, baked potatoes, salad, etc. where everyone assembles their own masterpiece. It's fun, and not a lot of work, you just leave the ingredients separate instead of mixing them together.

Pam

Jamie2007

If anyone is interested in an awesome tuna steak recipe I made this week message me!

shreyaj

This is one of my favorite recipes kind of high on the calories but everyone loves it at my house, you can maybe serve yourself less if you can't fit the calories in and have some more veggie with it, it comes out great! It is Baked Macaroni & Cheese with spinach.

4 servings

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes
Nutrition Profile

3 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs, (see Tip)
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 16-ounce or 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
1 3/4 cups low-fat milk, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 ounces (2 cups) whole-wheat elbow macaroni, or penne



Preparation

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat an 8-inch-square (2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
Mix breadcrumbs, oil and paprika in a small bowl. Place spinach in a fine-mesh strainer and press out excess moisture.
Heat 1 1/2 cups milk in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth; add to the hot milk and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce simmers and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar until melted. Stir in cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Cook pasta for 4 minutes, or until not quite tender. (It will continue to cook during baking.) Drain and add to the cheese sauce; mix well. Spread half the pasta mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the spinach on top. Top with the remaining pasta; sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture.
Bake the casserole until bubbly and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 4. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, if necessary, then bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Tip: To make fresh breadcrumbs, trim crusts from whole-wheat bread. Tear bread into pieces and process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. One slice of bread makes about 1/2 cup fresh crumbs. For dry breadcrumbs, spread the fresh crumbs on a baking sheet and bake at 250°F until crispy, about 15 minutes. One slice of fresh bread makes about 1/3 cup dry crumbs. Or use prepared coarse dry breadcrumbs. We like Ian's brand labeled “Panko breadcrumbs.” Find them in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets.

Nutrition

Per serving: 576 calories; 22 g fat ( 11 g sat , 2 g mono ); 69 mg cholesterol; 63 g carbohydrates; 37 g protein; 9 g fiber; 917 mg sodium; 403 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (290% daily value), Calcium (70% dv), Folate (37% dv), Iron (15% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 3 1/2

Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 3 1/2 medium-fat meat

NicolePatriot

Try skinnytaste.com

The owner of that blog has a little girl, and tries a lot of the recipes out on the kid(s) and hubby. Everything I've made from there, my boyfriends 4 year old has gobbled up. The healthy baked chicken nuggets, etc.

MissMouse85

One of my favorite new websites for healthy, tasty recipes is www.skinnytaste.com

My husband is a super picky eater but he has loved literally EVERYTHING I've made from this website! And the author lists both WW points and Nutritional information for her recipes, so it's easy to track in MFP.

Good luck!

PlanetVelma

I love skinnytaste!

You can also create your own "recipe box" on that site, and create a grocery shopping list based on the recipes you selected. Very cool stuff!

erika010

I don't have kids but my taco pasta recipe is kid friendly! I got it from emily bites

1 lb lean ground beef (I use 97/3)
2 cups reduced fat sharp cheddar
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1 packet low sodium taco seasoning
1.5 cups chunky salsa
8 oz. whole wheat medium shell pasta

1) Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside
2) In a large skillet brown ground beef and break up with cooking spoon. Add taco seasoning and salsa. Add back in noodles, cheese and sour cream. Serve warm. 1.5 cups is about 350 calories. Enjoy!

knapowell

For the pot roast recipe another poster was talking about, search for "3 envelope pot roast." It really is good.

SkinnyFranchini

Thanks for all the great responses. I will definitely look into Skinny Taste.