Healthy family dinners

mommanurse33

HI!! I need some advise!!! I am trying to move to healthier eating, but I have a hard time to do it most of the time. I have two kids and a husband who can all be picky eaters. I can't afford to cook separate meals for myself and them. I am looking for some yummy, healthy, family/kid friendly meals. Any suggestions?

StrawberrySt

There are some great websites out there that you wouldn't even know are healthy foods and taste great! You can still eat your family favorites, just lightened up!

My pick is http://www.skinnytaste.com/

Emily Bites is another good one and also Hungry Girl.

One thing I have found is it's not hard to make yummy dinners healthy if you use fresh foods and add herbs for flavour. Avoid anything in a box or packet!

Good luck :flowerforyou:

Raddichio

Have you used the recipe section of MFP? I'm talking about the area where you can enter your recipe and calculate the nutritional information. I was surprised to learn that I could make chicken pot pie (one of my child's favorites) and eat it, too. Of course, my piece is about half the size of others' and I have more salad with it than others do. But I don't feel deprived that way, and I don't have to make different meals. When entering recipes, you might also see ways you could make the same thing a bit lighter. I've done that with some old favorites. But, again, there's always the choice of having a much smaller portion and supplementing with extra steamed veggies, salad, etc. Some things have add-ons that really add calories, too. For example, melting cheese on top. Either eliminate the cheese all together on your portion, or sprinkle a very little bit on your portion. I eat the same sandwiches my child eats, but I make half a sandwich instead. I'm totally satisfied with that, because I use a whole grain, deliciously satisfying bread (each slice is good sized, too). When I made cheeseburgers the other night, my burger had only half a slice of cheese and I ate it on that good bread (one slice), instead of an entire hamburger bun.

These ideas may or may not work for you---we all have different taste. But, for me, I'm not just satisfied with those adjustments---I really like what I'm eating. However, perhaps these examples will give you ideas on modifying the foods you normally serve. Very few of the things I ate before I began being more mindful of what and how much I was eating are forbidden foods now---it's just a matter of portion control and, sometimes, a bit of adjusting in how things are prepared.