What do you eat?

You can take your favorite foods, and make a healthier version of them. Since you don't know how to cook, you would need to start with simple recipes that you can probably find on-line. Just google whatever it is you want to make. For example if you want to make mashed potatoes, google lowfat or healthy mashed potato recipe and something should pop up. Then, just follow the recipe. Anyone can learn to cook. It's just practice and time. If you don't have time, you can buy healthy frozen meals for meal time. Your 17 month old is still young enough so that you can gradually introduce healthier options, too. Just don't give up on him/her or yourself!

I enjoy healthy food, so it makes things easier. I love fresh fruit for breakfast, with yoghurt, dried fruit... sometimes a banana smoothie (2 bananas, scoop of soy ice cream, bit of splenda and some instant coffee blended ice and a bit of fat free soy milk - delicious and super healthy). Wholegrain toast with some avocado and tomato is a wonderful breakfast. Nothing wrong with a tuna sandwich for lunch, just watch the mayo/butter and try a less refined grain bread.

Try fruit or low fat yoghurts for snacks. Crispbread with some tofutti, also carrot sticks with some salsa is great if you're super hungry but already used a lot of calories. Pre packaged snacks aren't as good as they're not as filling and expensive. There is also the good old sugar free jello, too if you've got a sweet tooth.

A lot of things are healthy, but I think we just don't know it. A wholemeal pita bread with some tomato pasta, veg, some lean meat and a bit of low fat cheese. Poached eggs on toast. Stir fries with brown rice. Poached meats with vegetables and some low GI veg.

I'm trying to teach my little brother to cook, so I bought him Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food. I'd suggest that, although it's not a weight loss book, it has everything you'd need to learn if you're starting out in the kitchen. Just play around with fruits, veg and good grains and find ways that you enjoy cooking them and that taste good.

For kids, food needs to be fun. And getting them involved is also important. Starting to introduce healthy and nutritious food at a young age sets up good life skills, and you're also being a good role model.

As much as I like eating healthy, I do like junk food. I enjoy Starbursts, some chocolate and chips... but I make sure it's only one day a week I eat them, and in moderation combined with exercise. So it's a reward that isn't working against my efforts to be healthy. Low fat food can be boring and bland, and yes, nachos is super yummy - but the thing is that sometimes we have to put things into perspective. And I sort of think I have healthy versions for pretty much every food/meal, so just ask me if you'd like some advice.

I hope this helps!

I know what you mean with the meals. I don't like cooking. Healthy snacks are easy to make. Like cottage cheese with a little oatmeal and blueberries or tortiall with hummus etc. When it comes to lunch I usually just throw a frozen dinner (lean cuisine, smart ones...) in the microwave and a jell-o pudding or something as a dessert. I know, we shouldn't eat so much processed food, but those frozen dinners are really not so bad. They come in so many choices and I know exactly how many calories I eat. I do cook healthy in the evening (hate it) for my family often recipes I find in the internet.

My personal experience—having been raised on delicious, but not healthy foods, and married to a very picky eater—you can learn to eat anything. You just have to be willing. My momma was a fabulous cook but we ate a high fat diet with very few vegetables (things I still love, but eat once in a while): fried chicken, fried pork chops, fried fish, white rice with butter and sugar, bacon every morning, sugar cereal, Kool-Aid, Coke, homemade macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables (if we had any). Everything was seasoned with Lawry’s and better with butter. We ate cans and cans of Pillsbury biscuits. And nothing was ever in moderation—we ate as much as we wanted, and were expected to do so. We ordered and ate two large pizzas with pepperoni, sausage, & extra cheese every single Friday.

All that to say, if you look through my diary now you will see things that I did not grow up eating. You will see things that I have taught myself to eat, because the diet I grew up eating might taste good, but there is little goodness in it. Things still have to be well seasoned and full of flavor for me, or I won’t eat it. But I have taught myself to eat vegetables, to fill up on salads, and to try things like quinoa or arugula. The only fish I had before I was in my 20’s were deep fried catfish and canned tuna. I never knew fish could be grilled, baked, or cooked another way.

Unfortunately, though, eating well means cooking. And the only way to learn how to cook, is to cook, make mistakes, and learn form them. I recommend Everyday Food Magazine because the recipes are simple, use in season ingredients, and are usually healthy. Another great choice is picking up Mark Bittman’s book, “How to Cook Everything” or Alton Brown’s “I’m Just Here for the Food”. These books teach cooking technique as well as basic recipes and are great for the person just starting out learning how to feed themselves.