healthier eating

[Sheherezade]

I try to include two or three veggies at every meal. My kids like veggies and fruit so I've never had an issue with it. Sometimes, I'll have to remind them to finish there veggies if I've paired them with something junky like take out pizza. (Two nights ago: Donatos pepperoni slices with cut up red peppers, snap peas and cucumbers on the side. For me, that's compromise!) We drink a lot of water because I don't buy other things to drink. My son gets a pack of soda a week - which he shares with friends when they come over and his sister if he's feeling giving. It's his treat. I try to steer him away from caffeine though and try to buy sodas that have real sugar instead of HFCS. I don't do dairy, so I worry about their calcium intake. We don't do much milk. They do have cheese occasionally.

I struggle with the healthy foods because I have an 11 year old girl that basically filled out to woman sized this year. She is awkward in her new body and a little on the chunky side. *sigh* Just like mom. I remember being extremely awkward in MS and doing better in HS/college once I got to a "normal" shape. Anyway, she is an extremely efficient machine and could run on 1000 calories a day - whereas her brother (14) can easily scarf down 5000 and he's a beanpole. It makes the food planning thing hard. We cook simply and have a small rotation of meals that work. We probably only have about 10-12. I get bored. Still, they work - so we just do them over and over. We have a standard Sunday night supper and a standard sandwich night menu. I scatter the other family friendly simple meals around. I wish they'd be more open to new things...but so far...not so much.

But - we've been watching Top Chef as a family and....IT'S WORKING SOME MAGIC. Both kids are asking for meals like on Top Chef. I may just convince them to try some different dishes. It's a lot easier to be healthy if you have kids that are open to new things.

[alison]

Jane has gotten me jump-started on coming up with a weekly menu, and shopping ahead in a more organized way. This has helped getting us to eat more healthily, and I find that it curbs the spontaneous meals out and throwing of Pringles, Milanos, chocolate into our grocery cart.

I spent a good part of Sunday cutting up veggies for meals through Wednesday, and yesterday, prepped everything for the rest of the week's meals.

If you cut things into bite-sized snacks, I think you're more likely to reach for them than junk food.

[migirl]

Wow, good for you! You make me proud!!!

[scarlett09]

I never efficiently shopped for groceries until I moved in with my DH nearly 6 years ago. My MIL formatted an Excel spreadsheet as a grocery list. She took each aisle and only listed those things she bought on a regular basis, and grouped those items together. There are also slots to write in things she didn't buy on a regular basis. We took her list, reformatted it to match the aisles in our local grocery store (as well as our product preferences) and have been using it ever since. It is great for jogging our memories about needing dishwashing soap or sugar for coffee. We might have remembered we needed it on Tuesday, but without seeing it again on the list, we might not remember on Sunday.

We also use the list to make our dinner menu for the week. We talk about what our schedules are like for the upcoming week. If someone is going to be away or working, the other person will just need to subsist on leftovers or frozen dinners. Then we plan out the rest of the meals for the week. We use a lot of different food magazines (love Everyday Food), as well as cookbooks and recipes I find online. I try to keep red meat, dairy and processed foods to a minimum. I love dairy (cheese and sour cream especially), but I don't think it loves me back. I also try to have a variety of things on the menu each week - don't want to eat chicken every night! For example, three of our meals this week were chicken parm w/pasta, tilapia w/rice & beans, and turkey meatloaf w/roasted potatoes. The meatloaf was awesome - it had bacon, butternut squash, sage, red pepper flakes and Parmesan in it, soooo tasty, even if we didn't eat it until after 9PM.

I love veggies and fruit, but I struggle with eating it before it goes bad! I like most veggies and fruits. I do a pretty good job of including veggies in what I eat every day, but I struggle with fruit. Not sure why. I will say that DH has introduced me to so many different types of food and I feel what I eat is more healthy and diversified than it ever has been. I hope that our kids will have a more diverse palate than I had as a kid. Or at least the ability to try stuff. I know a couple of people who literally eat NO vegetables or fruit. I have a grad school friend who I've never seen eat anything but chicken fingers, french fries, and bread. DH and I used to joke that one of his roommates from college was eventually going to develop scurvy because he never ate anything green (he would subsist on bacon and ribs if he was allowed to). These diets can't be good for one's digestive system/balance and overall health.

[scrub-jay]

Jane has gotten me jump-started on coming up with a weekly menu, and shopping ahead in a more organized way. This has helped getting us to eat more healthily, and I find that it curbs the spontaneous meals out and throwing of Pringles, Milanos, chocolate into our grocery cart.

OMG! Teach me what you know!! I am the worst impulse shopper.

[SoonerTexan]

I've started taping a blank sheet of paper to the wall of the kitchen and writing stuff down as I remember it during the week--helps a lot. I'm in awe of all of you who cook nightly for children. Impressive. I don't cook more than 3x a week...DH is learning to live with leftovers.

[MrsK]

Regarding healthier eating, convenience foods, guilt, and being good enough. I cook most nights and send leftovers (if there are any) to work with DrK for lunch the following day. My husband and baby both eat like starving men and behave as if they'll just die if they are not fed within 15 minutes of coming home. I also work full time and feel tired/pregnant/lousy many evenings. I'm not superwoman. And I do use convenience foods but I do my best to make them healthier.

For instance, I use sloppy joe sauce from the can. Instead of ground beef, I use ground turkey and I serve it on whole wheat rolls with a salad or steamed greenbeans and we drink milk. I use Ragu spaghetti sauce but I add ground turkey and chopped veggies and I serve it over whole grain pasta. I make tacos with cubed turkey or chicken, spinich, salsa, and avacados. Even grilled cheese sandwiches on whole grain bread with chicken, tomatoes or chopped veggies in the sandwich served with a bowl of soup and carrot sticks makes a quick and reasonably healthy dinner. I use a lot of frozen veggies and bagged spinich. They are pre-chopped, pre-washed, and can easily be steamed, tossed into pasta, added to sauces, added to stir fry or to frozen pizzas, etc. Most dinners take me 30 minutes or less. Otherwise, I use the slow cooker or I make simple meals like roasted chicken and veggies. Desserts are things like break and bake oatmeal cookies (keep them in a ziplock in the freezer and make just a couple at a time) or greek yogert with frozen berries (microwave the berries until they are warm. This is so yummy.) Again, this is not about being perfect. It's about living healthier and doing better.

Also, my family is not allowed to complain about their meals. I've told DrK that if he doesn't like the meals, he can do some grocery shopping and cooking. If BabyK fusses or won't eat (which is rare), he can have crackers or cereal for dinner. We are all eating the same meal and I'm not going to make myself into a short order cook.

Regarding menu planning. I was really intimidated by that especially because I try to plan meals around grocery store discounts. But, I have found that it helps to just make a quick list of meals when I plan my grocery trip. It's really simple. The list may be "spaghetti, stir fry, pizza, roasted chicken, sloppy joes." (This week's sales included ground turkey, turkey sausage, chicken thighs, and frozen veggies.) That way, I know what I have and what I need to buy. I also know if I need to defrost meat or remember to buy something at the store. It just helps me to keep my bearings when I'm rushed to put dinner on the table and I'm less likely to go to a drive-through for a last minute fast food meal.

[corn poffi]

MsK, that's how I was fed growing up, and it's how I cook now. Sometimes all it takes is the littlest substitution to make a meal much healthier. I use ground turkey or chicken for EVERYTHING. I actually don't even like the taste of ground beef anymore!

Eating healthy is not about being perfect, but about making a consistent effort and not driving yourself crazy over it!

(Given, I do not have kids, so I'm only speaking for myself)

[DCJenn]

Frozen fruits and veggies are often healthier than fresh- they're frozen at the peak of freshness and who knows how long that broccoli has been sitting there?!

When I was cooking for 'the family', I used www.bustameal.com because they help you plan the menu, including recipes and then you get your shopping list at the end. You can add stuff to the shopping list, as well. As soon as my husband gets home, I'll go back to that.

Jenn