Anybody else cooking multiple meals bc of your diet?

his_kid1
his_kid1 Posts: 177 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I don't really want to debate the specifics of WHAT I am doing. It is not super low calorie, and it is approved by my Dr., and it is working.

That being said, as much as I think that it is a good idea for ME right now, it is not fair to saddle the entire family with all of my restrictions. Most of the time I try to make the same main for all of us, and sides that the kids/dh can eat, as well as some that they sample that are ones that I can eat. It is definitely extra work (and dishes) but beyond that, it can be a struggle sometimes when I am cooking for them, because I WANT what they have.

Does anyone else deal with this, and if so, what are your strategies for maintaining success without making the entire family follow your exact diet, etc. Thanks!

Replies

  • TLTucker80
    TLTucker80 Posts: 123 Member
    I deal with that. I usually make 2 different meals for supper one for the family and one for me. I don't always have the time for that so sometimes I'm stuck eating what I cook for them. So I'm looking for suggestions too......sorry I couldn't help you
  • aqualeo1
    aqualeo1 Posts: 331 Member
    I pretty much do what you're doing. Making a semi healthy main dish, making my boyfriend his sides and doing healthy sides for me. It's the best thing I can come up with. If I just eat whatever he's having I have to do such small portions that I'm still hungry after.

    Also I'm a firm believer that no one else has to change anything they're doing because I have/had food issues so I'm not gonna force him to eat my "rabbit food"! He 'a 6'2 and works a physical job.
  • kelleybean1
    kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
    Not me. I cook and you can eat it or fix something yourself. I want for my family to eat just as healthy as I am, and for my kids to develop healthy eating habits. Are you planning to cook separate meals for the rest of your life? If you revert back to eating the way you did before you are doomed to regain after you reach your goal.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I live by myself at the moment and this weekend I cooked up 9.5 pounds of chicken, bean and spinach curry to eat throughout the week. I know a lot of people require variety in their meals day to day but I just happen to be the kind of person who can enjoy having the same meal for lunch every day for a week so I take advantage of that. Figure I eat a pound and half of that a day and I'm good for my hot home-cooked food and on top of that I can just have some veg, fruit, nuts, toritllas and a shake.

    I know that is a different situation than what you describe but if I had a family to cook for I might do the same thing, cook all the meals for myself in one go and then cook independently other meals for others during the week.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Not me. I cook and you can eat it or fix something yourself. I want for my family to eat just as healthy as I am, and for my kids to develop healthy eating habits. Are you planning to cook separate meals for the rest of your life? If you revert back to eating the way you did before you are doomed to regain after you reach your goal.

    This.

    But I do sometimes, typically we all eat the same thing though.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Not totally, but sometimes will make extra sides. Mainly I adjust portions though.
  • his_kid1
    his_kid1 Posts: 177 Member
    Not me. I cook and you can eat it or fix something yourself. I want for my family to eat just as healthy as I am, and for my kids to develop healthy eating habits. Are you planning to cook separate meals for the rest of your life? If you revert back to eating the way you did before you are doomed to regain after you reach your goal.

    This.

    But I do sometimes, typically we all eat the same thing though.

    I'm not talking about them eating unhealthy things and only I eat healthy things. I am trying to sort of isolate different foods in my diet to see if they are affecting certain health issues, so I am on a food (not calorie) restrictive diet right now, and may add some foods back in. Their food may not be whole 30 healthy, but it is still pretty decent, with occasional splurges.
  • his_kid1
    his_kid1 Posts: 177 Member
    I live by myself at the moment and this weekend I cooked up 9.5 pounds of chicken, bean and spinach curry to eat throughout the week. I know a lot of people require variety in their meals day to day but I just happen to be the kind of person who can enjoy having the same meal for lunch every day for a week so I take advantage of that. Figure I eat a pound and half of that a day and I'm good for my hot home-cooked food and on top of that I can just have some veg, fruit, nuts, toritllas and a shake.

    I know that is a different situation than what you describe but if I had a family to cook for I might do the same thing, cook all the meals for myself in one go and then cook independently other meals for others during the week.

    I wish I could eat the same thing, but it is so hard for me to do that. I have identified that as a trigger for me to go OFF my diet, when I feel like I am just eating the same thing all of the time. I really need to figure out what I can make in advance and just reheat for myself. Or conversely, what I can make and easily heat up for them, and then make something right then for myself.

    What do you put in that curry dish? I can't have the beans, but chicken and spinach curry (maybe over steamed cauliflower?) sounds pretty good.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    I don't know how old your kids are - but if this process is wearing on you & they're old enough to do some things in the kitchen: have foods on hand they can make. Some days I'll say everyone is on their own. Granted, my kids are 12, 14 and 15. If yours are small that might not work as well.

    If you need to avoid foods, can they still eat what you're eating? And just add more variety for them?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I live by myself at the moment and this weekend I cooked up 9.5 pounds of chicken, bean and spinach curry to eat throughout the week. I know a lot of people require variety in their meals day to day but I just happen to be the kind of person who can enjoy having the same meal for lunch every day for a week so I take advantage of that. Figure I eat a pound and half of that a day and I'm good for my hot home-cooked food and on top of that I can just have some veg, fruit, nuts, toritllas and a shake.

    I know that is a different situation than what you describe but if I had a family to cook for I might do the same thing, cook all the meals for myself in one go and then cook independently other meals for others during the week.

    I wish I could eat the same thing, but it is so hard for me to do that. I have identified that as a trigger for me to go OFF my diet, when I feel like I am just eating the same thing all of the time. I really need to figure out what I can make in advance and just reheat for myself. Or conversely, what I can make and easily heat up for them, and then make something right then for myself.

    What do you put in that curry dish? I can't have the beans, but chicken and spinach curry (maybe over steamed cauliflower?) sounds pretty good.

    The idea of my dish was to have about 1:1 ratio of carbs to protein to be very satiating while keeping the fat low. Beans for me were the source of the carbs without being as carb heavy as rice. I could see substituting lentils for eve more protein (but that might be too bean-like for you) or maybe quinoa for something that is a little closer to rice.

    The rest of the dish was very simple. Chicken breast (lots of it), spinach, chopped onion, mushrooms, skim milk and tomato sauce spiced with curry powder and cayenne pepper to taste. I added black beans and garbonzo beans but if you don't add that I think it would still be a great topper for something like lentils, rice or quinoa. It ended up being about 9.5 pounds of food with the amount I cooked and I started with 4.5 pounds of chicken so I made it very chicken-heavy. Of course you could add whatever veggies you want to it as well, cauliflower would be good...zucchini perhaps. Its really easy. I just poached the chicken, cut it up and tossed it in a pot.

    I had some today, my diary is open and "1 serving" is 16 oz of it so you can see the breakdown.
  • KristenMarieRuffles
    KristenMarieRuffles Posts: 25 Member
    I do my research and look up recipes that the whole family can enjoy but a single serving of it is low calorie...some recipes I just substitute some ingredients for heallthier choices or lower calorie option and make the same thing for everyone sometimes weighing and measuring out my portions first then adding something or taking something away from the rest for my husband and kids....for example...tonight we made skinny pizza rolls....i changed out some of the ingredients and added some lean ground beef to them etc and worked them out to 57 calories per roll made mine first then the remainder of the mixture for them i added more beef for my husband as hes a huge meat eater and then made a couple with just meat and cheese for my oldest and some with just cheese for my youngest plus i added some light shredded cheese on top of all theirs...my husband had the same southwest salad on the side as me and then I took leftover corn on the cob from last night and gave a piece to each of my kids as they dont like the salad and needed a vegetable and then gave my husband a piece as well, as he likes a lot of food at one sitting (his requirement is appox 3000 calories a day as hes excessively active at work for over 12 hours a day so i load him up lol) it is doable just have to look for things everyone can enjoy and tweak things....im getting my family to eat healthy with me without them even realizing it technically ( but they do know about it...my husband fully supports me and my 5 year old knows all about healthy foods and vitamins and minerals and such and eating properly to be strong and healthy) we have done skinny enchiladas, chicken tortilla soup, broccoli and cheese chicken roll ups, skinny pizza rolls, shredded chicken and veggie wraps etc etc its doable, get creative :D hope this helps a little!
  • KristenMarieRuffles
    KristenMarieRuffles Posts: 25 Member
    also for those nights when you dont have a lot of time and just need to toss something frozen in the oven or microwave for the kids or whatever right quick...i make low cal soups and such in the slow cooker to have multiple servings stocked up so i can cook theirs real quick and just heat up a serving for me...works out great!
  • sremboske
    sremboske Posts: 3
    My whole family eats the same things the majority of the time, however I don't eat red meats very often and my family does love them. So if I know they want cheeseburgers or meatloaf or steaks, I always have a yummy salad with egg ready to go but allow myself a treat so I don't feel like I am missing out on something. I also don't eat bread. If we have sandwiches or grilled cheese and soups, I just sub my whole wheat tortilla. I also keep a stash of boxes of sugar free puddings and use unsweetend almond milk to make the mixes so I can have treats when they have theirs! I know it can be hard but just think of the long term goals! Keep it up!! And good luck!:flowerforyou:
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    Not me. I cook and you can eat it or fix something yourself. I want for my family to eat just as healthy as I am, and for my kids to develop healthy eating habits. Are you planning to cook separate meals for the rest of your life? If you revert back to eating the way you did before you are doomed to regain after you reach your goal.
    I pretty much do this as well. Hubby is a dear and eats whatever I put in front of him. I want him to be healthy and grow old with me, and he has become much healthier eating my cooking. If hubby wants something different, he fixes it himself. We don't keep junk food in the house at all. I feed the grandkids "modified healthy" stuff when they're here; that is, I fix some things they're familiar with, but I make it healthier and stuff them with raw veggies and whole fruits.
    I don't eat meat, but once a week I do fix hubby a carnivore dish, a crockpot dish that's minimal fuss. It doesn't tempt me at all. I do fix meat dishes for the occasional company. I love my crockpot and cook all sorts of meals in it. Easy, quick, simple and healthy (well, except the meat dishes) and I have a good repertoire of dishes I can make for any occasion. Keep it simple!
  • reneejoy67
    reneejoy67 Posts: 1 Member
    I have been slowly training my family to eat the same as me. Sometimes I'll add a side of noodles or another starch for them that I don't eat. But I try to make enough for leftovers and then I'll make something for them and eat my healthier leftovers.

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