How can I feed my family without going over my calories and

I don't mean to come across as rude, but fix one dinner and that is that.

With 6 kids, I would go crazy fixing a dinner that everyone would like. I make dinner for the family, I work hard on making something nutrtious and delcious.. My children have been told from the time they could understand, that this is dinner. They have to take a "no thank you bite" That is where they politelyy take a bite of food, and if they don't like it, no comments about it, they can then say, "no thank you". They are then able to go get a bowl of cereal to eat for their dinner, bring it to the table and eat with the rest of us.

Make dinner, serve it to them...have them try it...you will be surprised to what they will soon like.

Most meals I make sure I measure my portion out...tonights dinner was whole wheat spaghetti with turkey and beef meetballs, in a semi-homemade sauce. They all enjoyed it and I just made sure I ate a proper portion....

Good luck with the chnage...the kids will probably resist it at first...but in the long run they will enjoy it.

I agree... I only make one meal also... I also have that policy but I have never called it that... that is cute name... The no thank you policy...

How about your kids eat what you and your husband eat and if they don't like it they can fix their own stuff.

My mom went by that policy -- if I didn't like what she made, I could make myself a PBJ, grilled cheese, or cereal after I tried what she cooked. I am a very healthy eater now because I tried a lot of things when I was younger.

Just like it takes adults time to adjust to healthier eating, it takes the kids time too. Start with little changes, less sodium, less processed food, less sugar & gradually get your family onto a cleaner diet. I eat very clean, my kids eat pretty clean but still get treats, they are healthier choices tho. That being said there are some things that kids are just not going to eat! Sometimes the kids have a fresh veggies plate when I'm eating cabbage, mushrooms, eggplant.... Lol you aren't going to win them all! Good luck!

I don' t mind eating less and looking for good foods but I find that I'm making two meals every night. One for my husband and I that are supposed to be healthy, and high sodium junk for my kids. I am having a hard time coming up with things that the whole family can eat and I can still stay in my calorie and fat levels. I want to reach my goals and still be able to sit down as a family to a meal. Any good ideas on what I can make without feeding my kids separately? Mostly healthy for you foods are not very kid friendly.

I don't believe in "kid friendly" vs "not kid friendly". I have 5 kids. The oldest will be 18 in July and the youngest is 7. I have never given into the 'chicken nugget/corn dog' mentality when feeding them. They have always eaten what I eat-including tons of veggies, salads and fruit, whole grain breads, baked, grilled, or broiled meats, etc. It's how I raised them-on whole foods. They love eating healthy-my littlest 3 thought mushrooms were called 'marshmallows' until they were like 3 or 4, and begged constantly to have "marshmallows" while I was making salads-my friends who had kids always thought my kids were really odd in their affection for veggies and salads. If you act like the food is "yucky", or that healthy food is "different food", it won't go a long way to help them learn to enjoy eating healthfully. It may take some time for your kids to get used to, but have them try one new food each time you make it : i.e."if you think you don't like it, take at least x amount of bites to see if you like it". I always make my kids take bites according to age. i.e. my 7 yr old has to take 7 bites-she's pretty little, so one serving of a side dish is pretty small-sometimes 7 bites and she's done. My kids rarely complain about food, but when they do, this is how I handle it. Now, some foods people really, really don't like-if it is a food that we have seriously established a dislike for (none of my littles are very fond of stuffing at Thanksgiving, for example) I try to be reasonable and give the kids a small portion of it, and a larger portion of the rest of the meal. They don't complain, they eat their small portion because they know it's the rules. It's going to take time to establish some healthier choices for your family, but it is really imperative that you do. You don't want your children growing up and struggling with an unhealthy lifestyle when you can teach them from a young age how to care properly for their bodies. It's part of our duty as a parent, to teach our children healthy lifestyle habits

I don' t mind eating less and looking for good foods but I find that I'm making two meals every night. One for my husband and I that are supposed to be healthy, and high sodium junk for my kids. I am having a hard time coming up with things that the whole family can eat and I can still stay in my calorie and fat levels. I want to reach my goals and still be able to sit down as a family to a meal. Any good ideas on what I can make without feeding my kids separately? Mostly healthy for you foods are not very kid friendly.

Cook 1 meal and everyone eats the same thing. You are the parent. They eat what you put in front on them. Plain, simple, Period.

I have to do the same thing.....I will cussed out by my husband if I give him only a salad!!!!!! LMAO!!!!:ohwell:

Wow, if you are the primary cook in the household - then the same rules should apply to the spouse as well as the kids.

Whomever does the cooking dictates.

That is very ungrateful of him to cuss you out for fixing a salad for supper. My husband eats what I fix or if I get takeout even, he eats what I cook or what I bring home. No being upset, just a Thank You Baby for taking care of me.

OP, i'd hate to see you not want to post in the forums because of the response you got. I really don't think anyone was trying to attack you...I think your wording in the original post was a bit...awkward, saying you feed your children "high sodium junk". I think people just kind of didn't know how to react to that. I didn't post in judgement, I was trying to give you some ideas, as a mother of several children myself, on what I do if my children don't want to eat something. It will get easier for both you and your family and you keep on keepin' on. I hope you can glean this thread and take what you can use, and leave the rest behind.

Thanks to those who truely read this message as a person trying to change the way I do things for the better. So some of you, thanks for the judgements, I'm glad you are all so perfect. This is really hard to break and it's not gonna happen over night, I'm not stupid. I wanted ideas to break the cycle not be condenmed for things I've done. This is only the beginning of my road.

I can understand kids can be difficult but I think the idea that you should cook one meal is a good one, if the kids don't like it they can go without, they won't starve. Your kids need to break their high salt/sugar/fat stuff as well for their long term health. You can make plenty of tasty stuff that kids like as well. Bolognese for example, you can pack full of veggies, blend it up and it is super duper tasty.

after four pages of advice.....i am sure you got the idea! Let me tell you as a provider in a busy ER i can assure you if you do not take the "bull by the horns" now, it will never get any easier and you will live to regret it.