How to cook regular food for family, but low calorie replacements for myself?

endermako
endermako Posts: 785 Member
edited November 13 in Recipes
I'm struggling with dinner. . My partner and my son do not need to lose weight, they actually need high calorie food to keep them going. I'm trying to figure out how I can still cook for them but make a lighter version for myself without spending hours in the kitchen. Any ideas would be helpful.

Replies

  • The_Weaze
    The_Weaze Posts: 511 Member
    I usually make one protein source and then the side dishes are what varies between myself and my boys. I'll usually have a side salad or smaller version of the side dish (depending on my needs for the day) whereas they will have pasta or something else as well.
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
    A good strategy is to provide a healthy balanced (carbs, proteins, fats) diet for everyone and let them add extra calories with things like condiments (mayonnaise, butter), snacks (that's where you can provide something different for yourself more easily), and desserts (which you can skip or limit, depending on your approach to your own diet). Thinking that you'll be able to sustain double menus is pretty optimistic and may give you an excuse later to throw in the towel. Good luck!
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    Make lean steak and chicken--you can all eat a large portion of that. Bake large potatoes for them, load them up with cheese and sour cream and bacon and broccoli and butter and chives. Bake a smaller potato for yourself, add modest quantities of the above, except for the broccoli and chives, which you can double. When I make quiche lorraine, it is 450 calories for 1/8 of the pie--I will supplement it with a chopped romaine salad drizzled with a scant amount of vinaigrette, and a bunch of veggies. Theirs could be supplemented with generous slices of baguettes and butter, or olive oil for dipping. If you are making a noodle-based dish, well, then you just have to take less and again, supplement with salad and steamed or roasted or sauteed veg. If you are doing the cooking, you are in control and it is possible to be creative and flexible without too much hassle, keeping everyone happy (unless you are making lasagna or chicken parm or some such, in which case, you can either eat a sad, sad little piece of deliciousness, or blow your calorie budget on awesomeness).
  • AndOne8675
    AndOne8675 Posts: 151 Member
    We do alot of build your own...build your own potato with lots of toppings, tacos etc. Then a person can make it calorific or not. I serve the casseroles, pizza and noodly favorites with large sides of steamed veg or salad. I do more of the veg less of the casserole. My family enjoys all kinds of soups, stews and beans, we eat this a lot for dinner.

    Breakfast and lunch, I stock the standard options and they pick and choose during the week.
  • siraphine
    siraphine Posts: 185 Member
    Find a mid-point between what you need and what they like, and take smaller portions. Maybe make some small-portioned replacement sides, or cook extra veggies for yourself. You don't need to eat steamed chicken with no sauce and plain kale to lose weight. It's just as much *how much* you eat as it is *what* you eat.
  • TerryMyfitbitsnbobs
    TerryMyfitbitsnbobs Posts: 238 Member
    edited December 2016
    TerryMyfitbitsnbobs wrote: »
    TERRY'S HEALTHY BURGERS.
    The whole family will enjoy these at 90 calories each.

    INGREDIENTS:
    500g Turkey Breast Mince
    125g Chestnut Mushrooms
    1 Medium Red Onion
    4 Large Cloves Of Garlic
    4 Teaspoons Cinnamon Powder
    2 Beef Stock Cubes
    4 Teaspoons Black Pepper
    3 Teaspoons Thyme Dry
    3 Teaspoons Sage Dry

    METHOD:
    Step 1 Clean mushrooms and chop very finely. (Including stalks as they contain most nutrients)
    Step 2 Finely chop 1 medium to large onion.
    Step 3 Peel and crush 4 large cloves of garlic.
    Step 4 Crumble the stock cubes into mince.
    Step 5 Add the pepper, thyme, cinnamon and sage.
    Step 6 Mix all the ingredients until evenly blended.
    Step 7 Pull out a snooker ball sized sphere and squash into a good quality non-stick pan. Tuck in any cracks on the edge.
    Step 8 Fry really slow and low at a gentle temperature. Remember the mushrooms and onions are the moisture here, (NOT FAT) and they will gently steam the meat whilst frying it in the tiny amount of its own fat.
    Step 9 Turn after 3 minutes or longer if not browned.
    Step 10 Serve how you like. Remember though that a burger bun is very heavy on carbs at around 44.9g/100g or approx 27g per bun. Wrapping them well in lettuce with a tomato is a passable alternative without adding any carbs. In fact that will water down the carbs and fat further still.
    CHOW DOWN AND SMILE :)

    NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: (per burger)
    Calories 90
    Fat 1.8g
    Saturated 1.6g
    Polyunsaturated 0.0g
    Monounsaturated 0.0g
    Trans 0.0g
    Cholesterol 0.0g
    Sodium 238.3mg
    Potassium 36.0mg
    Carbs 3.7g
    Fibre 1.8g
    Sugars 0.6g
    Protein 15.1g
    Vitamin A 0.8%
    Vitamin C 0.6%
    Calcium 2.1%
    Iron 4.9%

    Oh and REALLY chop everything ULTRA-FINE.
    And cook ULTRA-SLOW.
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 785 Member
    Thank you for the ideas, I like the build your own options and taking smaller portions. That seems like the best idea for what budget I have to work with. Once the new year starts I can start purchasing healthier options for all of us.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    Like others have said, I eat smaller portions of the same foods that I make for my 6'3 husband and kids.

    If I am making chilli for the family, I brown ground beef, remove and measure my portion, then add chilli ingredients for everyone else. That way I can do something else with my serving of meat (I generally use siracha on it). I also tend to eat twice as many servings of veggies as my husband.
  • TerryMyfitbitsnbobs
    TerryMyfitbitsnbobs Posts: 238 Member
    MASH FAUXTATOES.
    INGREDIENTS:
    Cauliflower.

    METHOD:
    Microwave the fluffy cloud bits until hot and steamy.
    Blend the until mash like. (I use a cheap hand blender)
    Serve.
    The strange thing is, if you add salt or butter etc you immediately realise it's not potato.
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
    I make things that I can eat, that I know my husband will love. He loved my Keto Chicken and cabbage stew last night...he hates cabbage, but I made it so he wouldn't know that's what it was.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    I do all the cooking, so my family eats what I eat. I focus on things that fit my calories that I know hubby and kiddo will like. If they don't like it, they can cook their own dinner. So far so good, though. I like to try one new recipe a week. Sometimes it's a keeper and sometimes...not so much. I know I measure my portions to what I can eat, and they can eat however much they like.
  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Cook without fats and just have them add some butter or oil or avocado etc when you serve the food?
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    You have smaller portions of the higher calorie stuff and add more vegetables on your plate. They can have bigger portions and add more cheese, sour cream, butter, bread, rice, pasta, etc to their meals.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Give them bigger portions with butter and olive oil added.
  • courtcassiefit
    courtcassiefit Posts: 76 Member
    My boyfriend just has double what I have. I always make a lean protein, some sort of pasta/potato and loads of vegetables! You could always have some bread/rolls on hand for them as well x
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited December 2016
    My relative has a teenage son who is underweight, but the mom is controlling her weight (not losing, just trying not to gain). What she does is cook what they've always cooked, then make higher calorie side dishes and snacks. Her meals are also "modular", in that you can mix and match your plate any way you like. For example if there is broccoli and french fries + a main, her son would load up on the french fries and she would load up on the broccoli, then everyone would just have an appropriate portion of the main dish and any condiments to fit their needs/hunger.
  • mhuntrn4
    mhuntrn4 Posts: 8 Member
    teach them to eat healthy, fresh, seasonal food--same as you! Control calories by controlling portions. You'll be doing your child(ren) a big favor and they are much less likely to end up with a weight problem later in life themselves. Short-order cooking leads to picky eaters--that is my opinion.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,164 Member
    mhuntrn4 wrote: »
    teach them to eat healthy, fresh, seasonal food--same as you! Control calories by controlling portions. You'll be doing your child(ren) a big favor and they are much less likely to end up with a weight problem later in life themselves. Short-order cooking leads to picky eaters--that is my opinion.

    I have the opposite opinion. My MIL always made my husband eat whatever she cooked when he was growing up. She never took into account what he liked. He is the pickiest eater in my family. Now that he is an adult he refuses to eat foods he doesn't like just because someone prepared them.
  • Karb_Kween
    Karb_Kween Posts: 2,681 Member
    They eat what I make
  • nikkishea3
    nikkishea3 Posts: 906 Member
    .
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    firecat1987 wrote: »
    I'm struggling with dinner. . My partner and my son do not need to lose weight, they actually need high calorie food to keep them going. I'm trying to figure out how I can still cook for them but make a lighter version for myself without spending hours in the kitchen. Any ideas would be helpful.

    I already posted up thread, but I'm just going to give you an example of what we're doing tonight...it's unusually warm for mid December so I'm grilling some sirloin steaks and I'm serving them with sauteed asparagus. In addition, I will be having mashed potatoes, and so will my boys...my wife will forgo those and likely have a smaller steak.

    This is pretty much how we do it...I'll have a 6 oz piece of meat or whatever...my wife will have 4 oz...I usually have a grain or starch with dinner...she does not and doubles up on veggies, etc, etc. If we're doing soups or stews or casseroles, same things apply...she has a smaller portion of whatever than I do.

    Beyond that, she can control what she's taking in during the day as she makes her own breakfast and lunch. She might have a 3 or 4 egg white omelette for breakfast whereas I usually have a two egg and two egg white omelette with toast or oats or something. She often eats salads for lunch with some kind of protein...I'm not a big salad guy except as a side dish.

    Basically it comes down to learning what portions are appropriate which I think can be hard for some women as they have become accustomed to serving themselves the same portions that they serve their husbands even though they don't need that much food.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    firecat1987 wrote: »
    I'm struggling with dinner. . My partner and my son do not need to lose weight, they actually need high calorie food to keep them going. I'm trying to figure out how I can still cook for them but make a lighter version for myself without spending hours in the kitchen. Any ideas would be helpful.

    I eat a smaller breakfast and more of my calories later in the day. A 500-600 calorie dinner is pretty common and doesn't require me to eat much differently than my family for dinner.
  • tmontgomery2142
    tmontgomery2142 Posts: 1 Member
    TerryMyfitbitsnbobs wrote: »
    MASH FAUXTATOES.
    INGREDIENTS:
    Cauliflower.

    METHOD:
    Microwave the fluffy cloud bits until hot and steamy.
    Blend the until mash like. (I use a cheap hand blender)
    Serve.
    The strange thing is, if you add salt or butter etc you immediately realise it's not potato.


    So do you recommend not adding the butter and salt?
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