Cooking for a family
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Usually, I will eat the same thing as husband (I do the cooking), but when something has sauce that needs to go over rice or pasta or whatnot, I have a carb substitute pasta that is low cal and low in carbs (only 2 servings in a package will get you 30 cals if you eat the whole 2 serving with 6 total grams of carbs and 2 grams protein). It is either made from mushrooms or tofu and depends on what brand the store has. Both are good and low in carb/calories.0
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I cook for my wife and 2 kids and I just weigh out my own smaller portions. Really you don't have to eat 'diet' food. You can eat the same food that you always have, just eat less of it.0
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I will echo the I do most of the cooking for an active husband and 20 yo son...I eat the same thing just smaller portions.
I always make "extra" as they might be hungrier than normal and to have lunch the next day as well.
Nothing in my house is "diet" anything...those boys need their calories.0 -
I do the cooking about 50% of the time, hubby does the other half, all based on who gets home from work first and can start cooking. But I do all the food shopping and meal planning for the week so I make all the choices on what's on the menu. Hubby and I and my 5 yr old and 10 yr old for the most part eat the same thing at dinner. My kids do have their staple veggie sides like raw carrots or cucumbers which are easy to put out. I just portion mine out smaller than hubby's and I measure and weigh everything for myself. But hubby is eating healthy just like me so it makes it easy to cook healthy meals.0
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I look for my partner and two sons, who all eat like horses!! We have sausages and mash and veg, pie, mash and veg, curries, fish & chips from the chip shop on Fridays. I cook the same for everyone but have smaller portions of the sausages and pies and load up on veg and have a tiny bit of mash. I use cauliflower rice for me and normal for them. I stick to about 1350 a day and we all eat the same thing together... It can be done but you have to plan and eat lots of veg...0
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I've found that my favorite casseroles, curries, stews, and other mult-ingredient foods are tough to deal with. That's why I gained back 7 lbs. over the winter!!
As a result I'm trying to keep meals simpler (grilled/broiled proteins w/ lots of veggies on the side, skip the starches I cook for the hubs & kid). When I do cook the multi-ingredient meals I'll pick out & weigh the meat/fish/chicken and not worry too much about the other ingredients (unless they're *very* calorie dense). 0 -
No need for special foods, as everyone's mentioned. I fix all the same things I made before, modify where I can, and enter my recipes under the recipe tab to get an accurate count on calories and see what a reasonable serving should be. I tend to only cook a main course- whether that be a meat, casserole, or whatever- and serve a simple veggie and fruit with it (I'm lazy too
) I also am constantly on the lookout for, and have a large collection of, fast, easy recipes since I don't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It can totally be done! 0 -
Thanks again all. I guess I just need better control and portion measurement at dinner time.0
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I lost weight 3 years ago by eating differently than my now-husband. But of course that got old, I fell into old habits and gained it back. Now that I've lost the weight again I make the same meal for both of us, and I take a smaller portion.
One thing that has helped me is not letting myself be starving when I get home. Have a snack an hour before you leave work so that you aren't looking for the quickest/easiest option all the time. I used to snack on chips or crackers while cooking. Foolishness.
I also eat less than half my calories for the day while at work, and save the other half (or more) for supper/dessert/night time snack. Usually I've eaten around 700 calories when I leave work, and eat 800-1000 calories while at home. This way I don't have to worry as much about calorie content. If I happen to eat 700+ calories for supper I just won't have a snack later, or I'll skip dessert.0 -
I lost weight 3 years ago by eating differently than my now-husband. But of course that got old, I fell into old habits and gained it back. Now that I've lost the weight again I make the same meal for both of us, and I take a smaller portion.
One thing that has helped me is not letting myself be starving when I get home. Have a snack an hour before you leave work so that you aren't looking for the quickest/easiest option all the time. I used to snack on chips or crackers while cooking. Foolishness.
I also eat less than half my calories for the day while at work, and save the other half (or more) for supper/dessert/night time snack. Usually I've eaten around 700 calories when I leave work, and eat 800-1000 calories while at home. This way I don't have to worry as much about calorie content. If I happen to eat 700+ calories for supper I just won't have a snack later, or I'll skip dessert.0 -
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We do a lot of meat on the grill. While my husband is grilling the meat, I'll usually throw together a salad or some sauteed vegetables and make wild rice or quinoa as our side. We don't get fancy during the week. Keep your meals as simple as possible. Also, I try to use our slow cooker often, which really cuts down on my time in the evenings.0
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... I find I'm eating my portion, plus what the kids didn't eat, plus the burned bits I can scrape out of the pan. I kinda degenerate at dinner.
Good insight. Here's something I do when I'm cooking which puts a stop to the grazing. I fill the sink with soapy water, and dip my dirty dishes in to it right away. Soapy scrapings don't taste nearly as good.
And oh yeah, hubby is in charge of packaging the leftovers.
And oh yeah, I'm always cooking too much for two. So if it is slow cooker night I call my daughter and ask if she wants my spare dinner? She's still puzzled by this because she can't imagine why we can't eat it but really; one stew would take us months to finish off. I give it away instead.
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Part of my problem is that I'm home all day, and indiscriminate munching happens. But on days when I've been good, I usually have enough calories left to have a sensible dinner. Putting sauces that might go over pasta or rice over spinach instead is an excellent idea, and I've thought maybe I should start eating a few sticks of celery and big glass of water somewhere around 4 or 5. There's usually just enough left overs for the husband to take to work the next day, and getting him to do the dishes would be a dream. Maybe I'll work on that. He can clean up and I'll take the kids upstairs. I LOVE the slow cooker. And really, I just have to practice portion control. One serving, maybe even half a serving, and that's it. My issue isn't really about time, or prepping, or planning. It's what I put in my mouth. The family (social) dinner is my downfall. I did good with dinner tonight. (But I didn't do good the rest of the day). So, I'll keep at this. Thanks all.
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I generally have a snack like a piece of fruit or carrots around 4pm. It helps.
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I had an issue with this at first. It's my fiancé, my 7 year old son and me and are all picky in different ways so it's hard to make things everyone will like. We grill often and usually I will eat whatever meat is grilled or sometimes I'll have chicken instead if it's not a lean meat. I also make vegetables to go with it and if others will eat it, great but if not then that's too bad for them. If we aren't grilling then I will make something and my son and I will eat it but of its something my fiancé doesn't want then he's more than capable of making his own food.
Some times it's easy to find ways to modify what is for dinner that make it a little healthier for me like I no longer put cheese on my burgers, I found whole wheat buns and chicken brats for when my son really wants his favorite food which is hot dogs. They both love pizza so sometimes they will get a pizza and I will only have one piece and have a healthy side or I'll just make my own dinner.0 -
Sadly I wish I could make one dinner and satisfy myself, my husband and my 16 yr old. What I tell people is that the Navy killed my Retired Chief's taste buds. I am completely content with a some grilled chicken, whole wheat pasta, and some grilled veggies in there. My son has always been a picky eater, and economically it doesn't make sense to me to fix a meal that I know he won't eat. I normally fix their's and then fix my own. Sometimes I fix mine and say "wait I will get to you two!" I don't do this all the time mind you. I would say 4 meals are together, and 3 meals are "fix your own" nights. The important thing is we have sit down meals and I make them spill all their deep darkest secrets...hahaha...0
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We are a family of six. I make one meal for everyone and then weigh out my portions. I may have more or less of something depending on calories. I'm trying to teach my children better eating habits, so this works for us. Though there are days that I'll just have salad or a frozen dinner instead.0
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My hubby and kids are picky *****. Dunno if it's genetic or something went wrong with them.. we'll all eat for example healthy chicken breast cooked low cal, then I'll have a veggie dish and I'll just make extra (they never really eat it anyway) so I can have extra helpings of veg rather than the other side of rice,pasta type of thing. I know it can be hard with different palates. We all eat the same thing with exception to them wanting something bad. Then I'll just have a bit of the bad so I'm not deprived then make a little something else for myself.0
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