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.

I have to speak to this because I struggled with it myself, feeling like I was "punishing" my 4 year old with turkey burgers and stuff like that until I realized, I'm starting him off where I should have been all along. We do portion control, he eats smart ones and lean cuisines...he knows water is the best drink for him, he uses milk to fill up the spaces in his belly inside of seconds. Now his favorite snack is an apple sliced with Cinnemon.
I think you have to look at it as an investment in their life, and forget about the society norms. If they don't like it right away, eventually they will or they will find something else that is healthy to enjoy. If you don't buy junk, they won't eat it, at least not at home!

Feed your family what you eat. The whole reason I am changing my lifestyle is to be a good role model for my daughter so that when she grows up, she won't face the same struggles I had when it came to food. My daughter is 2 so feeding her what I am eating is not that hard but I can only imagine with older children and a husband it would be harder since their tastes have already been determined. It make take a while for them to get used to it but start feeding them what you eat and they will succumb. Some ideas to try might be to switch from regular bacon to turkey bacon, instead of ground beef in spaghetti sauce use ground turkey, whole wheat breads and pastas instead of white pastas and breads.

I have made lasagna and meat loaf this week and both were served with side dishes and water - both meals under 700 calories.

I urge you to remember that a BIG reason we (as moms) want to become healthy is to set a good example for our families. My kids are 8 & 6 and are enjoying the home cooked meals. Play with your recipes and substitue regular cheese for low fat, whole milk for skim, white bread for wheat, ect. They might object at first, but after awhile they wont realize the difference anymore.

I grew up without a good example of what "healthy cooking" looked like, so I was pretty lost when I had to start figuring it out myself. Give your kids the advantage by introducing them to a healthy lifestyle. Heck, make it fun by letting them help you cook it! I bet it tastes better to them when THEY've cooked it!

Good luck!

It's easy to say that the kids will eat what you make but what if they don't? The old saying of they'll eat it if they're hungry, doesn't always work on every kid. It worked on my oldest when she was little but does NOTHING for my middle two kids. It sounds like this person wants some real ideas for real change. I'm in a similar situation with my kids. My middle kids (5 year old girl and 7 year old boy) would literally eat a peanut butter sandwich every day rather than eat the healthier food we try to make if we gave them that option and yes, my kids would go without dinner rather then eat something they don't like. I think what parents of picky eaters really need are ideas for kid-friendly, healthy food and healthy stuff you can sneak in without them realizing it. If anyone has ideas along those lines, that would be great.

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.

I really like this! I try to put fresh fruit and veggies on the table when I know the meal is going to be challenging to get my little kids to eat...but I really really like this idea. It's the battle at the dinner table I'm weary of - and I don't, and never have made two meals except when I KNOW it's something my children genuinely don't like but I want to make for my husband and myself, usually a treat, and not too often. It all passes, and they grow out of it, my older two eat whatever I make pretty much, and if it's something they don't like they get to have leftovers or something else - we all have things we don't like. But it's the little ones right now who can really make meal times difficult.

I agree with most others, give the kids what you're eating, and just add some other things to the table that you know they'll eat, like grapes, sliced apples, carrot/celery sticks, I'll even add some whole grain bread if I think they're unlikely to eat anything other than the fruits/veggies...

Good Luck...meal times can be so frustrating sometimes! But they will learn to eat what you make, and you'll be happier for not having to prepare two meals every night.