Dinner for you and your family?

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Hello MFP'ers,

Okay so when it comes to cooking and making dinner ideas Im not to great at.
I can never think of something all of us would like ( me my husband and our 5 yr old and 16 month old)

Right now I eat only lunch at work and then a snack or 2 when I get home but never really a whole meal, I know thats bad but how shld I do this?
How do you all do it? make a good dinner/snack/ for yourself and your family?

Replies

  • 2bfit4fun
    2bfit4fun Posts: 12
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    My kids don't have many options. They eat what we eat or they don't eat... I know it sounds harsh, but my kids eat salad, veggies and all kinds of clean and healthy meals. The key was to cut out the snack type foods that diminish their tast for good healthful foods. Example, if a child eats a bag of cheetos before dinner as a snack, they aren't likely to enjoy the tast of carrots. If they are hungry, carrots will taste super yummy. Stop giving kids choices and just feed them healthy stuff. They will kick and scream at first, but they won't starve and they will develop their palets and aquire taste for food that will sustain them.

    As for the hubby, it is always tricky to get them on board. I just live by the whole if I am cooking, this is what you get. If you want to cook, then eat what you want. I also try to make the healthful food he likes. He switched from white rice to brown no problem and decided salads were great with a little feta or gorgonzola and balsamic vinegar dressing (homemade without sugar or salt). As he watched me lose, he wanted it for himself too. Sometimes being an example is the most powerful influence. Then maybe a good sit down to discuss your need for his support and being on the same page would be helpful. It is extremly difficult to eat healthy in a family situation when a spouse is not supportive.
  • FoodieGal09
    FoodieGal09 Posts: 198 Member
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    That's hard to answer, I have a 3 year old so she pretty much eats whatever we eat now. When she was smaller, I would end up making a slight variation of meals for her.

    Tonight we had homemade pizza. My DD helped me tear up the mozzarella and put the cheese and tomatoes on the base. It's one of our favourite go to recipes.
    I make a meal plan at the beginning of the week. SO looks over it before we go shopping and lets me know if he wants something in particular that week.
    The best thing for you to do is take 20 mins to sit down with your husband and write out a meal plan. We normally manage to compromise: SO hates pasta bolognese, so if I want that during the week, then he might counter demand tacos. It all gets written on the list and everybody is happy.
    I know tiny kiddo's can't always eat exactly what you're eating, but my DD used to eat her bolognese sauce mixed with a pureed vegetable etc, so there are usually some variations you can do without having to go to too much trouble.

    You can figure it out, it just means being a bit more organised and being strict about it.