Those of you one low carb diets...

[Just Kate]

What does the rest of your family eat? I am struggling with dinners for my family now that I'm attempting to eat a low carb diet. My dh is out of town most of the time, so it is just ds8, dd5, and me. My kiddos are soooo picky and they don't want what I'm eating. But I find that if I make myself one dish and make them another, they are basically eating junk food (which, of course, is what they'd prefer). I would love, love, love it if my kiddos ate the same food as me, but I don't really know if that is practical. I also don't know if there are any health reasons why my kiddos should not eat low carb (although I have read up quite a bit on lc/hf and it seems to be much healthier than the standard American diet).

 

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Just Kate]

Bumping :)

[Parrothead]

Are you working on expanding their food choices? If it were me, I'd stop bringing junk in the house. No reason they shouldn't be eating a healthy diet- or at least learning to eat a healthy diet. And get them involved in picking healthy foods. Explain about chemical preservatives, filler, etc., so they know you are not just arbitrarily taking away their food. Have them pick a new fruit/veggie to try. Let them search through whole foods cookbooks to find new recipes the family can try.

 

I think a lot of resentment is built when a parent takes away the pop tart and replaces it with an apple with no more than a "it's good for you" or an "because I said so". To a kid the pop tart has not hurt them yet so they don't see the big deal. But as grown ups we can see the long term consequences of the chicken nugget-pop tart diet.

 

Oh, and there are a few documentaries out there. Perhaps you can get a couple so they know it isn't just you saying the pop tarts are not healthy. Let the " experts" speak to them.

[Ellie]

I prepare food for them, and I don't eat the carbs. For example, if I make meatloaf and mashed potatoes and a veggie, I make a lower-carb veggie, the meatloaf without high-carb binders (such as oatmeal or crackers), and I don't eat the potatoes. We can all eat eggs for breakfast, tuna sandwiches for lunch (I just put my tuna on a plate), and so on.

 

I don't see any reason that your dc can't eat low carb, although I would not have a problem with fixing them a carb-ful breakfast while making a carb-less breakfast for myself.

 

I've never had picky eaters, so I'm not very sympathetic, lol.

[AdventureMoms]

My kids mostly eat what I eat with extra fruit and an occasional piece of bread or tortilla or cracker. I don't restrict my kids carb intake, but do restrict grains. If they want more carbs they can have as much fruit and veggie as they want.

 

DD is a picky one - she often eats just meat and fruit with bread, but that's better than processed junk . We're working constantly on the veggies.

[sassenach]

They eat what I eat (meat, cooked veggie, salad), plus sometimes rice or pasta. Example: I made chicken cacciatore last night. I cooked up pasta separately and served theirs mixed w pasta while mine was just the chicken and veggie mix.

 

Lunch and breakfast can look much differently. They almost always have toast (w eggs) or oatmeal in the morning. Sandwiches and quesadillas are lunch staples for them.

[CupOCoffee]

Yep, basically what the others have said. Breakfasts and lunches, I eat at work -- egg salad or some other form of eggs, tuna, veggies. They have their meals at home -- DS eats cereal, DD typically toast with something on it. Dinner I make a meat, starch and veggie -- I leave the starch off of my plate. Some dishes I make for them I don't make a veggie to go with, but I will for myself. My kids like all kinds of browned meat + sauce added, served over either pasta or rice. I just don't give myself the rice.

 

It's not that hard to stay LC for yourself, plus make good healthy meals for yourself.

[nono]

We are similar here to what everyone else does. The children eat the same as I do, with some occasional modifications. For instance, I can eat salad as a side every meal. Them -- not so much. So, sometimes, they'll have rice or soup as a side, while I still have salad. Or we have sweet potatoes all together. Every other week, I have a pasta meal with them. Mine just has more meat/cheese ratio than theirs. That type of thing. Generally, it's a ratio change of me v. the children.

[Mnemosyne]

My son eats what I eat - but I do usually add a carb to the side. This tends to be sweet potato, a starchy vegetable or rice most the time, occasionally regular potatoes. I still keep him gluten/corn-free when I can, but when we're out I don't enforce this at all.

[Χά�ων]

We are not low carb but I limit processed foods.

 

Ds eats what I eat. I do not eat meat but he wll have meat once a day. We each like a few fruits and veggies the other does not care for. I still buy and fix them and just freeze what the other doesn't eat. I found not having unhealthy food realy helps. If DS does not like something he is allowed to pick something else. Since there is nothing in the house that I would not consider healthy I have no problem with anything he picks. He knows this and rarely refuses to eat. He may not eat everything on his plate, but he eats enough to get to the next meal.