Healthy Dinner Ideas

I use turkey sausage (like Hillshire Farms) in my stir fry and soups. The kids think they're hot dogs Making gyros out of pita, deli roast beef, and homemade tzatziki topped with tomatoes and red onion is quick, easy, and delicious. Quesadillas with low fat cheeses and other add-ins the kiddos would approve of are a good stand-by. Otherwise, we grill meats (pork tenderloin, lean steak, turkey burgers, chicken) and let the kids choose the sides (brown rice, couscous, wheat pasta, fruit, veggies). I just made a really great zucchini recipe that my 3 year old loved last night (it was really saucy, and I used 4 C of zucchini instead of 3C.: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-in-Sour-Cream-Sauce/Detail.aspx

I don't really have any specific ideas for you. Except keep your foods simple. And use fresh seasonings garlic, onions, herbs. Try and stay way from boxed stuff. I have 4 children all with different likes and dislikes and I know planning a menu can be a huge challenge. We just have rules the kids have to follow. No one at the table is allowed to make a big fuse if they don't like something. They just say no thank you and move on to the next item on the table. We always let the kids serve themselves. We always have some form of safe food on the table that we know is a hit. Weather it be berries or whole wheat bread something like that. They say it takes most children 20 times to see a food to get comfortable to try. We try to have zero pressure atmosphere during dinner when it comes to food. We focus more on talking to each other and things like that.

If you haven't already do simple changes. Switch to whole wheat pasta instead of white. Try brown rice instead of white. Get lean cuts of meat. And if the kidos like chicken nuggets make home made ones instead with crushed corn flakes and real chicken. Have the kids help prepare the foods. Tell them all the health facts of their veggie and fruit choices. It's interesting what interests them to make them more conscious of eating healthier. Like maybe make a fruit and veggie chart so they can fill their five a day or something like that. Homemade mac and cheese is a big fav in my house. I've cut down on making to once every couple of weeks. We used to it at least every week. I also changed it to whole wheat pasta instead of white and the kids actually like it better. I have also switched from regular cheddar cheese to light cheddar cheese when I make it. I've also decreased the amount I make. And only eat a serving and then fill the rest of my plate with veggies. Oh and one more, more recent change I have made to it is I add flax meal into it. It adds some fiber and omegas to it. And you can't taste the difference.

Hope some of those ideas help.

Another one I thought of that kids will love is pita pizza, whole wheat pitas, sauce and light cheese (bonus if you can sneak veggies on there, or you could puree some and put them in the sauce!)

I made a dish called Tallarini the other night, it was quick, easy and the kids enjoyed it too! Here it is:

1 lb lean ground beef (you can use turkey too, I used ground sirloin)
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 c tomato soup
1 1/2 c water
2 cups uncooked wide noodles
2 c whole kernel corn
1 c chopped ripe olives (yeah, I skipped this, don't like olives lol)
1 c grated cheddar cheese (I used low fat)
seasonings to taste

Brown the onion & meat. Add soup, water, seasonings, & dry noodles. Mix well and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. add corn and olives pour into 9 x 13 baking pan coated with cooking spray sprinkle with heese cover and bake for 45 minutes at 250. Serve with green salad and garlic bread.

Makes 6 to 8 servings
each serving 375 calories
12 g fat

sorry thats all the info that came with the recipe but it was pretty good!

This sounds yummy!

-Quinoa with black beans (recipe on www.allrecipes.com)

Mmm, I bought some quinoa a while ago and wasn't sure what to do with it, I think I will try this recipe!! Thanks!

i have a 7, 6, and 3 year old (and a very picky 30yr old husband) and they all really like the things i make from the biggest loser family cookbook (it's green just in case i got the name wrong) Tonight I made sweet and sour chicken stir fry from that book. 200 something calories. and delicious!!!!!!! who needs to order chinese food??? not me!