How do you cook for your family?

RyLaneB

I make one meal and we all eat the same thing. My kids are 8 and almost 4, they are fairly healthy eaters...both love fruits and veggies and have only ever eaten wheat bread. There are times that they do not care for something in the meal, but usually they happily demolish whatever we put in front of them and we are hoping that it stays that way! My husband and I are doing this together, and we are praying everyday that we are teaching them habits that will prevent them from having to struggle with their weight later.

Lorleee

My husband eats the same healthy dinner as me. We each grab our own breakfast in the morning. For lunch, sometimes he makes one for himself and other times he gets fast food.:grumble:

yentess

Thanks everyone for your insights! I should clarify that I do feed my family healthy food. My 3 childrens are all tall for their age and slim. They get plenty of outside play time and we don't keep junk food or soda in the house. They occasionally get to eat fun stuff like mac n cheese, hot dogs and pizza, but I mostly make nutritious food for them. I was just curious how everyone else with families ate as dinner here tonight was a bust. I made fish tacos with baked cod, corn tortillas, black beans, avocado and salsa. My hubby and I both enjoyed it, my 10 year old would only eat the fish, my 8 year old would eat none of it and my 3 year old picked at it but didn't eat much. I am trying to avoid eating pasta, red meat and cheese(my weakness) which isn't bad for the kiddos, but not so good for me. I like the ideas of making one main dish for everyone and serving different sides or finding ways to tweak the meals to serve everyones needs.

mumof5

I hav 5kids and hubby, I do not run a cafe, if you don't like what I served then leave it and hope that you like the next meal! I do make some adjustments, I'm not all witch! ie if we hav spag Bol, I just leave the spag off mine, if we hav sausages on bread for a Saturday BBQ I just hav salad, if I make a cake I just lick the beaters....woops don't think I was supposed to share that one!!!

ZombieSlayer

I cook one meal.

http://www.hdmb.net/

ncqueenbee

Just me and my hubby- he can eat what I eat or starve. LOL

I also have an 8yr old son, and that saying goes for both of them! My son usually complains, but he eats it anyway because he knows he can't have a dessert if he doesn't.

garnet1483

DH and I usually eat different things, though sometimes it's variations on a theme. I like to cook ahead and portion out meals for the week, so I don't have to really "cook" after work. I've actually just started making my own healthier versions of the same old convenience food. Burritos, pot pie, soups, stews, fried rice, chicken+some sort of sauce+some sort of side or wrap (chicken with marinara and cheese with pasta, teriyaki chicken with rice and broccoli, chicken with salsa and cheese and rice or beans, etc.)

NatashaK29

The only time I cook separate meals is when we have pork ( I can't eat pork) and sometimes I'll just pass on a meat that night. I have converted them to turkey sausage and bacon, but I'm not gonna make.them give up ham or pork chops (I even ate one with them last week because it looked sooo good but my stomach payed for it later). Eating like I do has helped my 10 year old with ADHD gain weight, which is good and my 11 son lose weight, he's kind of a gamer but getting more active with us.

raisingbabyk

My husband eats whatever I eat, and is totally on board with being healthy. He will sometimes add extra sauces/cheese etc, and have bigger portions. Our son is only a small baby just starting to try foods but we want him to grow up with healthy parents and have a healthy lifestyle.

pg1girl

It is important to me for myself to be healthy but to also teach my kids the importance of being healthy. Silly to cook fattening things for them when I can cook healthily for all of us! Just make a great dessert or treat once in a while too.

caehudson

My Husband and I share the cooking. We only fix one meal for everyone to eat. I have finally got him on board to cooking more healthy meals. He loves watching the cooking channel and the food network so he gets alot of new ideas for meals some are healthy and some not so much. On the nights that are going to be a lot of calories I just cut my portion size down. My husband needs to be on this weight loss program too and he will say that he is but his portions are really huge sometimes. Now our son he is just the opposite he needs to gain weight hes 6 ft and only weighs 139lbs and is 16 years old . You would think at his age he would be a bottomless pit but hes not. Our Daughter when shes home from college is very picky eater so alot of the times she fixes her own meals. Good luck to everyone on this weight loss journey.

neti_call

They eat what I eat, and I may make them a starch like rice and potatoes, which I will pass on or measure. The only exception is fish, my hubby and I eat and my daughter eats chicken. If we want to have pizza, I plan my day accordingly.

I was going to type this answer almost verbatim. So yeah, what she said.

deniserenee_02

We all eat the same foods I just don't over eat anymore. We try and stay away from processed foods as much as possible.

goodmonster

Every time I cook a meal or anything I always always pair salad with it (even if there are already veggies on the menu) and I eat my salad first to fill me up.... husband can eat his salad if he wants first or last (or sometimes he never even eats it...whatever.)

stuffinmuffin

I cook one meal, and where it might be a higher cal meal I'll have a smaller portion and bulk my plate out with salad! xx

Amy_B

i'm doing this not only for myself but for them also! i want my kids to eat healthy. i want my husband to eat healthy. cooking a lean protein, a whole grain carb, and a veg for dinner every night is balanced. you can take short cuts and use frozen veggies (and even frozen brown rice!!) to make dinner more quickly. kids learn to LIKE dinners that don't include mac and cheese every night. i don't worry about their portion size (just mine.) it's waaaaay too much work to make more than one meal for your family. and they will be healthy right along with you!!

This!

Amy_B

I make a game of taking a not-so-healthy meal and making it more healthy. Not too much is off limits that way. For instance, if I want spaghetti and meatballs, I use whole wheat spaghetti and lean beef to make my meatballs. Easy!

MinnieInMaine

I don't have kids but am the main cook in our house and I REFUSE to cook two meals. I'm also a foodie and from day one decided that deprivation was not going to be part of the plan. So I mostly make the same meals I always have, just made some minor changes (decrease the pasta/rice and red meat in casseroles and upped the veggies) and watch my portion sizes.. I also try to burn plenty of calories in the gym and/or save most of my daily calories for dinner so that I can have a 500-700 calorie meal and not worry about it fitting in to my day.

melsinct

One meal and one meal only. If it is a more caloric dish, I eat less. If it is a lighter dish, my husband will probably eat a bigger portion. There is no need to be a short order cook in your own house!

sassyshook

I cook one meal, but I have found a few veggies that I know my son likes and I will cook them most of the time which is green beans. I am not cooking 2 meals, that is ridiculous!! I want my hole family to be healthy, so i cook one if they eat it or dont thats their problem. I am not trying to be mean but, that is just how it is in my house!

♥Amy♥

I make one meal, but with different alternatives (usually for me) unless I specifically know it's something my boys won't eat or that I don't want. My DH will eat pretty much anything.

Like, when I make chicken fajitas that I LOVE, I feed them leftovers from another night or a sandwich, etc.

When they all want frozen pizza, then I just eat a salad instead.

However on most nights we all eat the same foods, but just different amounts. Like last night was tacos. The boys and DH have them on shells with cheese, sour cream & salsa. I just make myself a salad and put the taco meat and shredded cheese on the salad. (I don't ever use salad dressing anyways).

I'd just do whatever works best for you and your family

Punkedpoetess

I cook the same food for both my husband and I. It helps that we both are eating mostly healthy food. If he wants something I don't want like boxed macaroni and cheese for the side dish or I am wanting a veggie he doesn't like, I simply make an extra side dish or vegetable and keep everything else the same.

bcattoes

One healthy meal for everyone. Why would I want my family to eat unhealthy food? I love them.

Erica002

I make one meal and I just make sure I portion myself, small portions especially if I make spaghetti lol.

amy22076

I make one meal for all of us and if it is something not so healthy make sure I either make me something different or watch how much I eat. My kids and hubby dont really care if it's Healthy as long as they eat

jhartram

I generally make one meal, then pick and chose what I want to eat out of it and supplement the rest with more salad... Everyone gets healthy foods, but my diet is pretty restrictive and my kids incinerate calories just sitting there doing homework, so they get a lot more of a lot of the things I watch so closely.

mgmlap

I cook only 1 meal. If I make something I shouldn't eat..I usually always have salad, tuna fish, and home made mayo just in case...I only allow about 2 cheat meals a week... (theoretically speaking..)

GNBC

i'm doing this not only for myself but for them also! i want my kids to eat healthy. i want my husband to eat healthy. cooking a lean protein, a whole grain carb, and a veg for dinner every night is balanced. you can take short cuts and use frozen veggies (and even frozen brown rice!!) to make dinner more quickly. kids learn to LIKE dinners that don't include mac and cheese every night. i don't worry about their portion size (just mine.) it's waaaaay too much work to make more than one meal for your family. and they will be healthy right along with you!!

Agree 100%!

sweetendeavor

Since it's just me and my husband, I cook one big meal that we eat one night, for lunch and the next day, and sometimes dinner the next night. I get a lot of recipes from fitness blogs and make them.

Karmynzahringer

I totally agree with you. You'll burn out trying to cook separate meals. Your family's health is too important to serve them inferior food. My husband has come around and now prefers whole grain bread after eating white bread for 55 years! Thank goodness my mother was ahead of her time. She always served salads, lots of vegetables, bean dishes. We weren't allowed to drink soft drinks...maybe one a year. Do your kids a favor and save them from a lifetime of poor health. They will then pass on healthy cooking to your grandchildren!

My grandma was the same way. When I was a kid I never understood why we had to have turkey burgers instead of hamburgers, turkey ham instead of real ham, lots of chicken, and rarely ever saw her eat red meat or pork (honestly maybe never) she also had a huge garden and orchard and all of their fruits and veggies came from it, and for dessert we always whined that it was frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, or sugar free jello with fruit in it. But NOW looking back, my grandma had the right idea, she was totally on track, and I appreciate it because some of those things I did learn to love while spending time at her house. If I did not love it she used to say "eat it often enough and you will learn to like it" So funny! The thing is, she lived to be 97 years old and was still really healthy, took daily swims, and exercised until around 90 or so, says alot to me!!!