feeding the family

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wishnik77
wishnik77 Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I really struggle to find healthy meals that will please all my family. Does anyone have family favourites?

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  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    Chicken fajitas - Chicken, peppers, and onions.

    Stir-fry - I like chicken, but you can use beef too. They have pre-made vegetable stir fry mixes in the freezer section usually.

    Tacos - I sub ground turkey breast meat for beef and no one can taste the difference with the seasoning.

    Chili - I use exactly 5 ingredients - Ground turkey breast meat, onions, tomatoes, kidney beans and chili powder

    Burgers and baked beans

    Chicken wings - bake them "naked"

    Shrimp po'boys

    Chicken/shrimp pasta

    Really, you can make anything "healthy." Cook it so you know what's in it, use portion control and enjoy what you eat.
  • Ashleigh0124
    Ashleigh0124 Posts: 41
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    I like to do spaghetti bolognase - I make my own pasta sauce with tomoatoes, onion, peppers, garlic and oregano. I then use extra lean mince. I give the boys pasta and whatever cheese they like, but on my plate I substitute quinoa for pasta, one half to one whole slice of reduced fat Bega cheese and have a nice big salad to accompany it. Everybody wins :D

    Stir fries are always a super easy option, or a chicken salad - I serve it with crusty bread for the boys and they turn it into a chicken sandwich, while I have just the salad.

    Good luck! The internet is great for finding a tonne of healthy meal ideas.
  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
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    Finding substitutes helped...like quinoa pasta.

    This is my fams favorite: http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=109311
  • Cheeky_0102
    Cheeky_0102 Posts: 408 Member
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    I make whatever I want with a side of shut up and eat it

    lol

    we do a fair amount of vegetarian meals, somehow, my whole family (boys and husband) are all ok with it... quinoa and black bean burgers are a hit, I can sub turkey in anything beef related, chick peas work into most chicken-centric dishes... I will sometimes offer an alternate like chicken nuggets, but on;y if I feel like my food is out to lunch.
    My husband didn't fit his swim shorts from last summer when we went to the pool, so we are winning!
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
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    Make the same foods you always made for them using "healthier" ingredients!
  • Shellsmiley
    Shellsmiley Posts: 323 Member
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    I grew up in a house where the rule was "Eat what's put on your plate or go hungry" and trust me, I learned the hard way. It's not cruel, it's actually a good thing, for me it was anyways.

    Usually when cooking for a group of people, including my SUPER DUPER picky friends, I ask if anyone has any allergies and if they don't, I go ahead and cook whatever. Usually it's Indian Curry, Chili (have some wraps? Make chili burritos), Stir Fry or something that I can make a lot of in one go. Even my pickiest friends leave satisfied because I make them eat it lol. And guess what? They usually like it.

    I normally don't make special meals for people, or less healthy meals for kids than what I eat (when I babysit). I would make the same thing for the kids that I eat (mine with extra hot spices though) and they eat it if they know they go hungry LOL.

    ANYHOW, way off topic here. Here are some good, wholesome healthy sites to check out I've recently discovered:

    http://www.macheesmo.com/

    http://thebitehouse.com/

    Of course desserts aren't always the healthiest but generally the main dishes are fabulous!! Check em out, way tooooo many to post here for you! :bigsmile:
  • Shellsmiley
    Shellsmiley Posts: 323 Member
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    I make whatever I want with a side of shut up and eat it

    LOL same here. Hahahha:drinker:
  • wishnik77
    wishnik77 Posts: 5 Member
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    I make whatever I want with a side of shut up and eat it

    LOL yeah thats what they usually get anyway. One of my kids has an autistic disorder and wont eat much . The other two are just whiny teenage girls :P. I do home made spag bog all the time and make an awesome chicken saag. Just after some new ideas bit sick of the same old . Im in Australia and our summer just finished so we pretty much had salad most of the time.
  • ZombieSlayer
    ZombieSlayer Posts: 369 Member
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    You eat what is cooked or go hungry.

    Worked for my mom. Works for me.
  • pumpkinspice84
    pumpkinspice84 Posts: 160 Member
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    My husband will eat pretty much whatever I make. My kids are picky so here is the list of what my kids will eat.

    Homemade chicken nuggets
    Homemade mac and cheese or boxed
    Tacos I make many different types of tacos that they love.
    Speghetti
    Raviolis or tortellis
    Couscous
    Turkey burgers with sweet potato fries
    Turkey sloppy joes
  • BlackEyedPanda
    BlackEyedPanda Posts: 86 Member
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    If you are in Australia then maybe consider offering a lot of fruit for your family to snack on. Teenage girls may be tricky but with kids it generally helps to include them in the process of chopping veg and cooking. Also, it is good to let them have a say in what they eat as well - I am not saying you should approve of Macca Dees or KFC but try to find out what healthy meals the kids would also enjoy. The biggest reason why it is important to let your kids have a say is that more often than not kids who were never involved in planning meals and cooking grow up into adults who don't know how to plan meals or cook. You can also think of different ways to reward your kids for sticking to healthy eating - getting a cinema night in town or something - but remember to be careful about rewarding them with food. That doesn't create a healthy relationship with food for most people.

    Teenage kids may not care about the health aspects that much because at that age they tend to think it doesn't really affect them but you might want to have a good talk with them about the reasons why your family is going through a lifestyle change.

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