Items to get

Where to start! Well, just shop the outer ring of the grocery store, stay away from the deli processed meats, and don't buy those salads from the deli either. Eating healthfully doesn't always equate with convenience, so plan ahead. Recipes on cookinglight.com are great, do some internet searching for fast kid friendly healthy recipes and you should be okay.

I have found the most important thing is two-fold - planning, like they said, and keeping the healthy foods that you LIKE readily available.

I buy all the fixin's for a salad and make a big bowl once a week. Then every day I can just dip a portion out, put it in a ziploc and take it to work for lunch. Also, frozen turkey burgers are definitely a must-have - the Jenni O kind are relatively low cal AND low sodium. One of my favorite snacks is the Yoplait Greek Yogurt (Honey Vanilla) with one serving of thawed frozen fruit mixed in. With peaches it tastes to me like peaches-n-cream! Who doesn't want dessert for a mid-morning snack?!?

With kids - I don't have kids but my husband is incredibly picky and I have often had to prepare my own food separate from his. Be prepared and willing to do that - you are worth it and your efforts are important! Sometimes its as simple as I'll make him a quesadilla and I have a taco salad - so some of the ingredients are the same, but mine is full of lettuce and his is just full of cheese.

ALSO - my biggest tip, get a water bottle you can carry around with you and really do work on drinking a TON. As you exercise, it helps to keep you hydrated and it helps to keep you from snacking!! And use MFP - it really does work to keep you on track and focused on your goals!

Good luck!

Yup planning is a big deal. I know the weeks I slack on the planning are the weeks I eat out and don't do as well. Also, the suggestion of staying the grocery perimeter is good. The middle is where all the processed junk is (and where your kids will be more apt to be like "MOM! I WANT THIS!" and it's just a shiny box of sugar).

I've found there are healthy convenience items, however. The produce area most likely will already have bags/packs of cut up veggies & fruits if you are in a pinch, but you'll definitely $pay$ for it! The grocers near me also have rotisserie chickens which I have found are great last minute (rip off the skin and you're good). But that's just if you don't have what you need or are running late.

I try to keep good stuff on hand: whole wheat pasta (for the bf, I can't eat wheat, so quinoa pasta for me), wild or brown rice, fresh veggies (romaine lettuce or spinach, carrots, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash), and I'll stock up on good meats n freeze them. I've kept some of the Morning Star Farms soy crumbles in the freezer too for a super quick protein boost to things like pasta. The veggies can be cooked quickly by steaming or doing a stir fry (spaghetti squash you just roast in oven so that doesn't require a lot of attention). Make extra and freeze it so you can just grab it out when you go to work or for another night when you don't have time. Also, you can get the kids in on things if they are old enough so you don't have the whole burden, and they learn healthy eating! If you want more things to get, just search some recipes or look in the recipe section on here for good things to have. Basically, if it looks like real food from the earth, you're prolly good.

It's a lifestyle change we all have to get used to, but it is soooo worth it.

Bumpity Bump Bump ...saw someone ask this very thing the other day...hope it helps someone! :flowerforyou:

In an effort to plan ahead, I let each of my children have 1 night a week that they can choose dinner. Each month I sit down and fill out a calendar with our dinner plans, then I look and try to see how I can make them healthier (at least for me). For example: When my daughter wanted burritos, I made sure we had low-fat beans and wheat tortilla. Another tip that I use is: if sugar is higher than # 5 on the list of ingredients, don't eat it.