How do you cook for your family?

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13

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  • caehudson
    caehudson Posts: 27 Member
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    My Husband and I share the cooking. We only fix one meal for everyone to eat. I have finally got him on board to cooking more healthy meals. He loves watching the cooking channel and the food network so he gets alot of new ideas for meals some are healthy and some not so much. On the nights that are going to be a lot of calories I just cut my portion size down. My husband needs to be on this weight loss program too and he will say that he is but his portions are really huge sometimes. Now our son he is just the opposite he needs to gain weight hes 6 ft and only weighs 139lbs and is 16 years old . You would think at his age he would be a bottomless pit but hes not. Our Daughter when shes home from college is very picky eater so alot of the times she fixes her own meals. Good luck to everyone on this weight loss journey.
  • neti_call
    neti_call Posts: 81 Member
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    They eat what I eat, and I may make them a starch like rice and potatoes, which I will pass on or measure. The only exception is fish, my hubby and I eat and my daughter eats chicken. If we want to have pizza, I plan my day accordingly.


    I was going to type this answer almost verbatim. So yeah, what she said.:wink:
  • deniserenee_02
    deniserenee_02 Posts: 158 Member
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    We all eat the same foods I just don't over eat anymore. We try and stay away from processed foods as much as possible.
  • goodmonster
    goodmonster Posts: 165
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    Every time I cook a meal or anything I always always pair salad with it (even if there are already veggies on the menu) and I eat my salad first to fill me up.... husband can eat his salad if he wants first or last (or sometimes he never even eats it...whatever.)
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    I cook one meal, and where it might be a higher cal meal I'll have a smaller portion and bulk my plate out with salad! xx
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,323 Member
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    i'm doing this not only for myself but for them also! i want my kids to eat healthy. i want my husband to eat healthy. cooking a lean protein, a whole grain carb, and a veg for dinner every night is balanced. you can take short cuts and use frozen veggies (and even frozen brown rice!!) to make dinner more quickly. kids learn to LIKE dinners that don't include mac and cheese every night. i don't worry about their portion size (just mine.) it's waaaaay too much work to make more than one meal for your family. and they will be healthy right along with you!!
    This!
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,323 Member
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    I make a game of taking a not-so-healthy meal and making it more healthy. Not too much is off limits that way. For instance, if I want spaghetti and meatballs, I use whole wheat spaghetti and lean beef to make my meatballs. Easy!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I don't have kids but am the main cook in our house and I REFUSE to cook two meals. I'm also a foodie and from day one decided that deprivation was not going to be part of the plan. So I mostly make the same meals I always have, just made some minor changes (decrease the pasta/rice and red meat in casseroles and upped the veggies) and watch my portion sizes.. I also try to burn plenty of calories in the gym and/or save most of my daily calories for dinner so that I can have a 500-700 calorie meal and not worry about it fitting in to my day.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    One meal and one meal only. If it is a more caloric dish, I eat less. If it is a lighter dish, my husband will probably eat a bigger portion. There is no need to be a short order cook in your own house!
  • sassyshook
    sassyshook Posts: 213 Member
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    I cook one meal, but I have found a few veggies that I know my son likes and I will cook them most of the time which is green beans. I am not cooking 2 meals, that is ridiculous!! I want my hole family to be healthy, so i cook one if they eat it or dont thats their problem. I am not trying to be mean but, that is just how it is in my house!
  • ♥Amy♥
    ♥Amy♥ Posts: 714 Member
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    I make one meal, but with different alternatives (usually for me) unless I specifically know it's something my boys won't eat or that I don't want. My DH will eat pretty much anything.

    Like, when I make chicken fajitas that I LOVE, I feed them leftovers from another night or a sandwich, etc.

    When they all want frozen pizza, then I just eat a salad instead.

    However on most nights we all eat the same foods, but just different amounts. Like last night was tacos. The boys and DH have them on shells with cheese, sour cream & salsa. I just make myself a salad and put the taco meat and shredded cheese on the salad. (I don't ever use salad dressing anyways).

    I'd just do whatever works best for you and your family :)
  • Punkedpoetess
    Punkedpoetess Posts: 633 Member
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    I cook the same food for both my husband and I. It helps that we both are eating mostly healthy food. If he wants something I don't want like boxed macaroni and cheese for the side dish or I am wanting a veggie he doesn't like, I simply make an extra side dish or vegetable and keep everything else the same.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    One healthy meal for everyone. Why would I want my family to eat unhealthy food? I love them.
  • Erica002
    Erica002 Posts: 293 Member
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    I make one meal and I just make sure I portion myself, small portions especially if I make spaghetti lol.
  • amy22076
    amy22076 Posts: 16 Member
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    I make one meal for all of us and if it is something not so healthy make sure I either make me something different or watch how much I eat. My kids and hubby dont really care if it's Healthy as long as they eat
  • jhartram
    jhartram Posts: 165
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    I generally make one meal, then pick and chose what I want to eat out of it and supplement the rest with more salad... Everyone gets healthy foods, but my diet is pretty restrictive and my kids incinerate calories just sitting there doing homework, so they get a lot more of a lot of the things I watch so closely.
  • mgmlap
    mgmlap Posts: 1,377 Member
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    I cook only 1 meal. If I make something I shouldn't eat..I usually always have salad, tuna fish, and home made mayo just in case...I only allow about 2 cheat meals a week... (theoretically speaking..)
  • GNBC
    GNBC Posts: 9
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    i'm doing this not only for myself but for them also! i want my kids to eat healthy. i want my husband to eat healthy. cooking a lean protein, a whole grain carb, and a veg for dinner every night is balanced. you can take short cuts and use frozen veggies (and even frozen brown rice!!) to make dinner more quickly. kids learn to LIKE dinners that don't include mac and cheese every night. i don't worry about their portion size (just mine.) it's waaaaay too much work to make more than one meal for your family. and they will be healthy right along with you!!
    Agree 100%!
  • sweetendeavor
    sweetendeavor Posts: 72 Member
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    Since it's just me and my husband, I cook one big meal that we eat one night, for lunch and the next day, and sometimes dinner the next night. I get a lot of recipes from fitness blogs and make them.
  • Karmynzahringer
    Karmynzahringer Posts: 192 Member
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    I totally agree with you. You'll burn out trying to cook separate meals. Your family's health is too important to serve them inferior food. My husband has come around and now prefers whole grain bread after eating white bread for 55 years! Thank goodness my mother was ahead of her time. She always served salads, lots of vegetables, bean dishes. We weren't allowed to drink soft drinks...maybe one a year. Do your kids a favor and save them from a lifetime of poor health. They will then pass on healthy cooking to your grandchildren!

    My grandma was the same way. When I was a kid I never understood why we had to have turkey burgers instead of hamburgers, turkey ham instead of real ham, lots of chicken, and rarely ever saw her eat red meat or pork (honestly maybe never) she also had a huge garden and orchard and all of their fruits and veggies came from it, and for dessert we always whined that it was frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, or sugar free jello with fruit in it. But NOW looking back, my grandma had the right idea, she was totally on track, and I appreciate it because some of those things I did learn to love while spending time at her house. If I did not love it she used to say "eat it often enough and you will learn to like it" So funny! The thing is, she lived to be 97 years old and was still really healthy, took daily swims, and exercised until around 90 or so, says alot to me!!!

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