Do you eat...

[ProudGrandma]

a starch (like potatoes, pasta or rice) with all of your meat dishes like meatloaf, pork chops, or roast beef?

 

If not, give me some examples of the menus you prepare for just a basic meat dish...please.

[Parrothead]

When I cooked meatloaf or roast inevitably there was a type of potato. Pork chops not so much. Then we usually had rice.

 

Do you want non-potato menus or non-starchy food menus?

[marbel]

We used to eat a starch with every meat meal. Not anymore, though.

 

So I just make the meat, and either one non-starchy vegetable and a salad, or two non-starchy vegetables. I try to have some berries for after, too. Is this what you're asking for?

 

Sometimes I will do a small amount of potatoes or buttered pasta for the kids.

 

Instead of tacos, my husband and I eat taco salad (kids do use tortillas) and we skip the rice and beans.

 

It's hard for me to come up with ideas, so I'm :bigear: too. I don't miss eating pasta and potatoes and such, but it's easier to plan meals with them. The plate looks very empty now. ;)

[ProudGrandma]

When I cooked meatloaf or roast inevitably there was a type of potato. Pork chops not so much. Then we usually had rice.

 

Do you want non-potato menus or non-starchy food menus?

 

I guess I was just wanting to know if you don't serve starchy foods with every meal (most meals...not with tacos or hamburgers), what do you serve. I feel like I am in a meat and potato rut (only to step out a little to change it to meat and rice or meat and pasta)...but maybe that is the way most people eat, I don't know. We don't have a weight issue in our family and we don't eat out and we try to eat non-processed foods as much as possible.

 

So I am feeling sort of "stuck in the muck"

[redsquirrel]

Salad? Steamed broccoli?

 

The only meat we ever eat in this house is fish, and I always just serve vegetables on the side. I never make a starchy side dish. If we are eating potato or pasta it is part of the entree.

[Parrothead]

I guess I was just wanting to know if you don't serve starchy foods with every meal (most meals...not with tacos or hamburgers), what do you serve. I feel like I am in a meat and potato rut (only to step out a little to change it to meat and rice or meat and pasta)...but maybe that is the way most people eat, I don't know. We don't have a weight issue in our family and we don't eat out and we try to eat non-processed foods as much as possible.

 

So I am feeling sort of "stuck in the muck"

Well, a meat and a couple/3 veggie sides should be plenty. I'd just make sure to get one green and then something of another color so as to not make the plate unappealing.

[hsingscrapper]

I do love potatoes!

 

That being said, my guys aren't as enamoured of them as I am. I often fix frozen mixed veggies like a carribean or riviera blend, not your typical mire poix style mix.

[Murphy101]

We eat a starch with every meal, period.

 

Pasta, rice, breads...

[DawnM]

I typically do. I may not eat them, but my kids do.

 

Hamburgers- the bun is a starch

Meatloaf- the oats or bread crumbs are a starch

Steak- I make potatoes

Turkey- I often make stuffing or mashed potatoes

 

Most other meals get rice. We almost always have a pot of rice either cooking or left over in the fridge. We eat a LOT of rice. I make a mix of brown and white as the kids don't care for pure brown as much as DH does.

 

So, we typically have a grain, a vegetable, and a protein.

 

Dawn

[Mom-ninja.]

We eat little starch for dinner. I do this for my dh.

 

Instead of mashed potatoes make mashed cauliflower. Steam the veggie and then make as you would mashed potatoes. I actually add cream cheese to make it thicker/creamer. It's good. My kids and dh love it.

 

Instead of potato fries make turnip or rutabaga fries. My kids prefer rutabaga.

 

Sweet potato is not as high glycemic as white flesh potatoes so you can use those too. My kids love baked sweet potato.

 

Think of squash. You can do a lot with squash to replace potatoes.

 

You can also make "rice" or "couscous" from cauliflower. Steam it and then break it into tiny pieces. Serve as you would rice with the meal.

 

Spaghetti squash can be used in place of noodles. My kids and dh didn't like it at first but now they do. It's just a matter of repeated exposure.

 

Instead of thinking of a bed of rice think a bed of baby spinach.

 

A lot is mind set. :)

[justLisa]

I make them sometimes but do not eat them because I am hard core low carbin it to take off a few.

 

My kids and DH eat a small portion. They like more meat and veggies. And bacon, duh.

 

My new crack is roasted brussell sprouts wrapped in bacon :drool:

[Karen in CO]

The problem most have with removing the starch is that it leaves everyone feeling like they're still hungry until they adjust to filling up on other things. It is one of the more difficult things to adjust to. My sister had good luck with her family by quitting serving things that were white. No white potatoes, no white rice, no pasta, no bread. She will serve roasted butternut squash or sweet potatoes instead of white ones. She used to serve a meat, a starch and a veggie. Now she serves a meat and 2 or three veggies and maybe a salad too. The meat portions grew too, but everyone in her family actually shrank.

 

When I serve dinner which might include a meat, a small portion of a starch (brown rice, sweet potato, rice &flax pasta, wild rice) and a couple of veggies of different colors, I make sure everyone finishes their meat and veggies before they can get a second portion of the starch. I also typically include a selection of raw veggies, cheese and fruit at the table. I never serve bread with meals.

[Greta Lea]

-Fried cubed steak w/homemade baked beans

-Oven "fried" chicken legs w/creole seasoned red beans

-baked chicken thighs w/oven roasted garlic green beans & cinnamon carrots

-homemade sloppy joe meatballs (made with ground turkey) with either sweet potatoes or sauted black beans, onions, bell peppers, garlic and seeded tomatoes with a spicy seasoning.

[Greta Lea]

My family almost always has fruit for desert OR for a snack an hour or so later (lunch and supper both).

[happypamama]

We usually have a salad with our meal, plus a green veggie.

 

I occasionally serve a starchy veg like sweet potatoes, but most often, I do not. For things that really go well with a starch, like meatloaf, I often serve mashed cauliflower, which has a similar mouth feel to mashed potatoes.

[Robin M]

I used to think I had to have a starch with every dinner, but now have limited to a couple times a week. Mashed potatoes is a must with meatloaf but otherwise try have fresh steamed vegetables or sauted veggies with salad for most meals.

[ProudGrandma]

-Fried cubed steak w/homemade baked beans

-Oven "fried" chicken legs w/creole seasoned red beans

-baked chicken thighs w/oven roasted garlic green beans & cinnamon carrots

-homemade sloppy joe meatballs (made with ground turkey) with either sweet potatoes or sauted black beans, onions, bell peppers, garlic and seeded tomatoes with a spicy seasoning.

 

I would love your baked bean and sloppy joe meatball recipes...will you plese share??

[Pawz4me]

We eat a starch with every meal, period.

 

Pasta, rice, breads...

 

:iagree:

[TranquilMind]

a starch (like potatoes, pasta or rice) with all of your meat dishes like meatloaf, pork chops, or roast beef?

 

If not, give me some examples of the menus you prepare for just a basic meat dish...please.

Not anymore. I try to avoid them altogether (though I did just have two yummy homemade blueberry pancakes my husband whipped up).

 

My abdomen swells when I eat carbs. I feel best if I eat mostly protein and vegetables/fruit/smoothies. I'm not always successful but I feel best when I do.

[stripe]

We eat a starch with every meal, period.

 

Pasta, rice, breads...

 

Me too.

 

There are a variety of wholesome grains one could also select from, in order to avoid refined grains and potatoes. However, in my family, starch rules. But we aren't a meat-and-potatoes family, either.

[Shellydon]

We have fresh cut fruit, a green salad and usually a cooked vegetable like broccoli, asparagus etc on the table at each meal.

[rjand6more]

We have pasta, rice, bread, or potatoes with each meal. I would starve without carbs.

[ScoutTN]

Sometimes, though generally for the kids. I eat low carb and DH does sometimes.

 

I just make meat and 3 veggies, one of which is usually a salad. I try to always have one veggie that my kids really enjoy. We eat almost every veggie and I try to vary my "salad" element. Lately we've had zillions of small tomatoes, so I make a warm tomato salad. Just heat them in a skillet with some EVOO until they begin to burst. Add a splash of red wine vinegar, some chopped parsley and S&P to taste. Add feta cheese if you like.

 

Some of our other recent favorites include:

ratatouille - uses load of veggies and is yummy with beef or lamb

fried okra

pickled beets (I don't like these but my family does!)

warm wilted green with garlic

kale chips

mashed caulifower with cheese!

grilled veggies - zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and onions

carrots cooked with oj and a touch of brown sugar or maple syrup.

jalapeno poppers - halved, seeds and ribs removed, stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon!

fresh salsa! at any meal! we love it with scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese!

 

 

This time of year we do more starchy veggies than grains. Esp sweet potatoes and winter squash from our CSA. Later parsnips and carrots from our garden. We do some brown rice and some quinoa. Pasta maybe 2x a month. Rice with Asian dishes. We eat sweet corn in the late summer, when it is fabulous and local.

Edited September 16, 2012 by ScoutTN

[justLisa]

Same here. I won't say I never have carbs, but they really don't agree with me. My weakness is anything with potatoes. I don't like rice or bird seed type grains so I never miss that stuff. But potatoes....*sigh* I could live on those alone.

 

 

:lol:

 

Potatoes. I could LIVE on anything potatoes. And gravy. Although I do like kasha. That's about the only grain I love

[wintermom]

a starch (like potatoes, pasta or rice) with all of your meat dishes like meatloaf, pork chops, or roast beef?

 

If not, give me some examples of the menus you prepare for just a basic meat dish...please.

 

There is nothing wrong with eating potatoes, pasta and rice. Most people in the world eat these as their main staple. In North American, we have problems because we eat too much of these and they are often processed or cooked in less-healthy ways. Not to mention the sedentary life-style of the "western" world adding to health problems in general.

 

You can modify the above mentioned to more healthy options like sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta and brown rice. Our bodies need these foods because they are the main quick energy source for our muscles. If you and your family are physically active, they are essential in the diet.

[Mom in High Heels]

Almost never. The only time I make rice is if we're having chicken broccoli casserole and I can't remember the last time we had potatoes.

 

I usually make a mean (for us it's chicken or fish) and a vegetable, maybe 2 vegetables. We do have pasta about every other week (sometimes weekly), but unless I'm using the pasta I get from the local Italian store (I ♥ squid ink pasta!), it's usually quinoi pasta. We do have bread with pasta and caprese salad. Yum!!!

 

Tonight we had bread and brie for dinner, with grapes, baby carrots and humus, and pickles. Yum. Normally though it's just a protein and veggie.

 

It took a long time for James Bond to get used to this as he was strictly a meat and potatoes guy. I grew up having a starch at every meal, but I didn't always eat it. It always made me feel...blech afterward.

[reign]

None of us eat potatoes and only my husband eats rice. We just have lots of veggies and fruits. So veggies steamed, raw, or grilled. Fruit raw, sauced, or cooked with some cinnamon.

[LucyStoner]

No. I do a couple of vegetables and garlic butter mushrooms fairly often. Veggie ideas:

 

 

Brussels sprouts

Greens- collard or kale or chard, either sweet or savory

Roasted broccoli with garlic

Onions and peppers

Curried roasted cauliflower

Wilted spinach

roasted asparagus

Herbed green beans

Dry fried green beans with chili sauce

Red cabbage and apples (fave with pork dishes)

[Jpoy85]

I do try to have a least a slice of bread with dinner if i dont have a starch side (rice/potatoes/noodles/etc)

[AdventureMoms]

We don't serve starches at meals at all. With meatloaf we usually have peas and a salad. Pork chops are good with mashed cauliflower and cabbage. Roast beef is super with sauteed mushrooms and onions and a salad or veggie.

 

And we are quite active - our muscles seem to do just fine getting energy on fats, veggies, and proteins!

[In the Rain]

We sometimes have brown rice or roasted potatoes. I serve a reasonable portion to the kids, and let them get more when they have eaten their protein and veggies. We usually have at least 2 or 3 veggie sides with a meal. I find that serving a wider variety of veggies increases my kids' overall consumption of them.