eating healthy for me VS cooking for my family of 6

my husband eats what I eat, just more of it.
I have been cooking two meals for years because my kids are very plain-vanilla types and I try not to eat too much meat/chicken/dairy.
my big challenge is to not eat twice, I will usually have a snack before I serve the kids dinner so I'm not hungry. then I eat later with hubby.
my kids are skinny too. I cook big hot breakfasts for them most days. I'm not a breakfast person so I'm not tempted by their french toast or pancakes. great way to add calories to their diets but not mine.
since we are early risers, our family meal is usually breakfast, so this works well for us. evenings get hectic with everyone coming home at different times and the younger ones needing earlier bedtimes.
also, if you really need to add calories for your kids, you can always serve lots of desserts or afterschool snacks.

I struggle with this and I just have a husband and a 9 month old. My husband is a fit and healthy guy, but god he just eats constantly. I can tell he is not satisfied with one of my low calorie meals, so I add some extras to his plate. For example, tonight we had shrimp tacos. I had two tacos with spinach leaves, shrimp, avocado and pico de gallo and no sides. I made him a side of Mexican rice, put cheese on his tacos and made him a salad with spinach leaves and ranch. If we have burgers or sandwiches - he gets cheese, mayo, bacon etc. and I just have veggies. He gets a bun, I may eat a pita pocket or low cal tortilla. If we are doing something like meatloaf or pot pie (comfort food), he gets a side of mac and cheese or mashed potatoes, I eat fresh veggies or fruit. So when it comes down to it, we basically eat the same main course, I just switch out sides and toppings.

one word....slowcooker!

I cook one meal that everyone eats. If it's a lower calorie option then hubby eats more, if it's a higher calorie option then I eat less what I normally would. My boys (who are 5 and 3) eat the same amount no matter what it is, they are both in a bit of a picky stage. I will not do two meals, my time is limited as it is and who wants to do dishes for two meals at once?

It really about portion control.

IMO healthy eating is a good habit to give your kids, so I wouldn't make different meals. They might need to gain weight now, but down the road they'll be glad they learned how to eat healthy. You can give them snacks with more calories, or give them more of what you're serving.

We all eat the same at dinner here. But they sometimes get dessert (even if it's one cookie) too.

Does anyone else out there have to make separate meals for yourself?

Basically never.

Your subject line confused me - eating healthy vs cooking for my family? Why are those at odds? If you're eating healthy, that's awesome, and a great way to set your family up for healthy habits too.

My husband can eat bigger portions. He might have more pasta or add a slice of bread to dinner. He might use more salad dressing than me, or add butter to a dish, or put syrup on his pancakes (I like mine plain). He'll sometimes have a beer while I drink water. He eats more snacks than I do. My son is a toddler and obviously not on a calorie-restricted diet. He also eats what we eat with few exceptions. We don't do separate meals.

i think one problem with just eating less of the same thing... is that you may not feel satisfied with smaller portions. Some alternate options are to cook an extra, more calorie dense side dish for them that you can skip or just have a little of. You can create sauces or toppings, but have them on the side, so you can manage your specific portion of that while the rest of your family slathers their food in sauce. You can also cook your protein separately, so maybe you are all having chicken but you grill or bake yours instead of covering yours with bread crumbs and frying it.

Hi, I only cook one meal, i may have a smaller portion (weighed!) than my other half and my son but we do all eat the same. If something doesnt fit my macros then I may make a small significant change for me, such as no pasta with a bolognaise sause, I may put my sauce in a grilled pepper, same with chilli if I cant have the rice I will have something else. I don't want to make more than one meal at night, its too time consuming after working all day! I also see myself as a role model for my teenage son. I make healthy home made meals, we all sit and eat together. They tend to have higher calorie lunches than I do and may have an extra snack along the way but we all eat the same evening meal or they starve! I do not encourage finicky eating, lol. My diary is open if you want any tips or recipe ideas (don't judge the slip ups though!!)

Portions. You can also provide higher calorie/bigger portion lunches and snacks for the kiddos.