Meal ideas - adaptable meals

[Mrs Mungo]

I need to lose a bit of weight. I am over 40 and exercise alone does not do the trick any more. I need to cut down on the calories. However, my children need high calorie meals. Trust me when I say this. Saying I should cook the same way for them would not be helpful at all. They will not eventually need to eat leaner foods. Okay? :)

 

So, I need some ideas on meals that are adaptable.

 

Examples:

I have a baked chicken parm recipe that is pretty healthy without the sauce and such (which I don't really need, I am fine without it). I figure I can serve it with salad and fettuccine Alfredo and I can skip the latter or have a tiny baby portion. I can add sauce and cheese to the kids' portion of the chicken.

 

I can make tacos and let them load up with guac, sour cream, etc and I can skip those things.

 

But, a lot of things I make right now are inherently high calorie due to feeding my kids this way for so long. I don't have the time or energy to cook and clean up for two separate meals.

 

I need some more ideas of meals that can easily be adapted to suit both needs. I am headed to bed, but will check for replies in the morning.

 

Thanks!

[linders]

I feel your pain. My DC are competitive swimmers and need tons of high-calorie food, DH and I need to cut back (he for gall bladder issues, me for weight).

 

Right now, I rely mostly on carbs and cheese to differentiate. Everyone loves pot roast, I make it but don't take much of the potatoes or gravy. All my pasta dishes? Well, I have a little, then load my plate with steamed vegies and salad. Speaking of vegies, I allow the DC to put bacon and butter on their vegies, I don't. They want enchiladas, I make the filling and keep some separate to eat while theirs is stuffed into tortillas and covered with sauce.

 

What favorite meals does your family like? Maybe we can help with ideas on keeping a healthier serving out for you.

[Twolittleboys]

I don't have any meal recommendations per se but two possibilities would be to either:

 

Make a meal that does not have a ton of calories and supplement it with a high calorie dessert for the kids (you skip dessert or just eat a small amount) or high calorie side dishes (mashed potatoes with cream cheese/butter etc.)

 

or

 

Make one (or more) healthy sides (veggies, salad, etc.) with a high calorie meal and you eat mostly side dishes

 

Obviously, that alone won't be enough but it might help. What dishes do you prepare now? It might be easier to think of adjusting those than finding completely new ones. 

[Laura Corin]

I make a lot of meals with a separate carbohydrate, and make that good and high fat for the boys.  Then I eat the lean protein and steamed veggies, with a smaller portion of the carbohydrate.

 

ETA: for example, tonight we are having a meal made from leftover pork roast.  I'll be making pork in a tomato and red pepper sauce, made with very little oil and a moderate amount of pork.  It will come to about 200 calories per portion.  I'll serve it with lots of steamed veg plus oiled pasta, so I can decide for myself how much of the pasta to eat.  Today is a '2' day (I eat 5:2) so it will just be the pork and veg tonight.

 

L

[Joyofsixreboot]

I keep individual portions of fish and chicken cooked for me to have with veg when the kids are having high calorie things.

I serve anything mexicanish over lettuce vs shells or tortillas

I serve anything oreintalish over a bed of broccoli

I serve anything italinish over steamed zucchini vs pasta

 

 

I serve lots of veggies.  The kids get a portion and I get a plateful with just a bite or two of lasagna or beef & noodles or whatever.

[Amira]

For dinner I generally make a healthy protein, a vegetable (lots of it), and a grain, so tonight we're having fish, rice, and stir-fried greens.  Everyone in the family chooses how much and which types of food they eat and how much.  It keeps things easy for me.  I found that portion control makes a bigger difference than what I eat or how much I exercise. I get rid of my plate when I've had enough.

[KungFuPanda]

The easiest thing might be to just serve a salad with everything you make and keep some of the meat plain for you to put on your salad.

[LostSurprise]

We have individual breakfasts and lunches, so I can make healthier choices there. I allow myself family dinner, but I eat a small portion and I fill in with salad, raw veggies, fruit, or something whole grain. 

 

 

[texasmama]

I feel your pain.

 

I like burrito bowls because everyone can make their own, and I can opt out of rice or go lightly on it.

 

I made chicken fried rice in the crockpot this weekend because it is easy and filling for my kids.  I gained weight this weekend eating chicken fried rice, and I didn't even eat that much!  (Too many carbs and too much sodium in the soy sauce.) 

 

Sometimes I make food for the kids and just completely opt out of it myself, making something else entirely.  Dh likes to eat salads with chicken in the evenings and has gotten into a habit of going to the store and buying his own ingredients and then making it whenever he wants to eat.  He keeps a bit of a weird schedule.   This means that we rarely end up eating "as a family", but with homeschooling and dh working out of our house running a business, we see each other plenty at other times.

 

The older I get, the more I realize that carbs are not my friend.

[Mrs Mungo]

Thanks, everyone, this does give me a few ideas.

 

I make a lot of meals with a separate carbohydrate, and make that good and high fat for the boys. Then I eat the lean protein and steamed veggies, with a smaller portion of the carbohydrate.

 

ETA: for example, tonight we are having a meal made from leftover pork roast. I'll be making pork in a tomato and red pepper sauce, made with very little oil and a moderate amount of pork. It will come to about 200 calories per portion. I'll serve it with lots of steamed veg plus oiled pasta, so I can decide for myself how much of the pasta to eat. Today is a '2' day (I eat 5:2) so it will just be the pork and veg tonight.

 

L

 

I think this is the direction that I will probably go in. It seems like the easiest way to adapt.

 

I like salad, but not necessarily mostly salad every night. But, it would definitely work at least some of the time.

 

I'm not a sweet girl, so I don't typically make dessert.

 

For dinner I generally make a healthy protein, a vegetable (lots of it), and a grain, so tonight we're having fish, rice, and stir-fried greens. Everyone in the family chooses how much and which types of food they eat and how much. It keeps things easy for me. I found that portion control makes a bigger difference than what I eat or how much I exercise. I get rid of my plate when I've had enough.

This would not work. These types of foods are not calorically dense enough to keep weight on my kids (especially my son). He can't physically eat enough of that type of food to take in the number of calories that are appropriate for him. It isn't possible. That is exactly what makes it so tricky.

[Laura Corin]

This would not work. These types of foods are not calorically dense enough to keep weight on my kids (especially my son). He can't physically eat enough of that type of food to take in the number of calories that are appropriate for him. It isn't possible. That is exactly what makes it so tricky.

I can understand the issue. Calvin has only just crept onto the bottom of the BMI chart. At nearly 5'11" he weighs 110 pounds. I am a healthy weight at 5'4" and 132 pounds but I put on weight easily these days. Our needs are very different.

[Mrs Mungo]

I can understand the issue. Calvin has only just crept onto the bottom of the BMI chart. At nearly 5'11" he weighs 110 pounds. I am a healthy weight at 5'4" and 132 pounds but I put on weight easily these days. Our needs are very different.

Bleh, things were easier when I could eat whatever I wanted and just run a bit extra, if I needed to. Those days are long gone, lol.

[Pam in CT]

I feel your pain.  Once upon a time, I could eat anything even if I didn't formally exercise (though I was always *active*).  Then I turned 30, and I could eat anything as long as I regularly exercised.  Then I turned 40 and I had to pay attention to what I ate, but was ok as long as I was *active* -- but walking the dog / gardening / 2x /week on a treadmill generally held things together.  Then I turned 50 and I have to pay attention and exercise... it is the.worst.

 

 

I do a version of Laura's and Amira's portion plan-

For dinner I generally make a healthy protein, a vegetable (lots of it), and a grain, so tonight we're having fish, rice, and stir-fried greens.  Everyone in the family chooses how much and which types of food they eat and how much.  It keeps things easy for me.  I found that portion control makes a bigger difference than what I eat or how much I exercise. I get rid of my plate when I've had enough.

 

I have a son the height/weight of Laura's who like your kids *needs* high-fat/high calorie food, and the additional challenge of a vegetarian daughter.  (Thankfully not vegan -- I think I'd explode with multiple dietary needs if she were.) 

 

I make a lot of big quantities of fairly unadorned animal protein: whole roasted chicken, double portions of steak, double portions of lamb shank, salmon, etc.

 

Each night I make a large salad, a vegetable, and a protein-supplemented carb (rice with a handful of lentils thrown in, pasta with mozzarella chunks, baked potato with beans and cheese, quinoa with nuts, etc).  

 

And then I rotate: One night we have a "new" animal protein, and the vegetarian makes do with the loaded carb, or sometimes I grill her up a veggie sausage or throw her an egg or something simple... my son and husband eat a LOT of the animal protein, while I have a small portion of it, often atop a lot of salad...

 

... and then the next night our main course is vegetarian (tonight we had felafel), and I put out a leftover animal protein for the carnivore boys (tonight they had cold sliced chicken) and we all adjust portions according to our respective profiles.

 

Lots of planned leftovers, lots of "stuff on top of salad," and a rotation of protein-pumped carbs (this is mostly for the vegetarian's sake, though it also boosts the calories for my son).

 

I don't do desserts except on Fridays, but that's mostly because of willpower constraints on the part of the adults; if the two of us were better, that'd be a good way to direct calories to the kids.

 

 

 

[Twolittleboys]

Hm, you said you don't care much for sweets so don't make dessert (totally understand as I don't like preparing food I won't eat either). But do the kids like dessert/sweets? If yes you might consider making some occasionally (or just serving ice cream). Pudding, bread pudding, cheese cake etc. would be an easy way to serve extra calories - and if you don't much care for it anyway it won't be so hard to say no/you won't feel deprived.

[Deb in NZ]

I follow 5:2, like Laura.  At first I was making 2 meals on my fasting days, but everyone seemed to want a big dinner salad like mine, so now I make salad plates for everyone on those nights.  Dh & ds#1 are tradesmen & ds#2 is an elite level hockey player, so they all need a lot more calories than I need.  I add cold potatoes, more cheese, more meats, etc. to their plates.  Sometimes the boys opt to put their salads into tortillas to make wraps.  The boys also make milkshakes or smoothies to have with their meals.  This adds the extra calories & protein they need.  On my fasting days I don't eat breakfast or lunch, but they do.  This is an easy way to cut calories without changing how I cook for the family.  On my "eating" days I eat what everyone else is eating, but use a smaller plate to help control portion size.  I, also, avoid snacking & that has helped to cut out unnecessary calories for me.  

 

Active teens do need more calories than middle age adults, but those calories are spread out throughout the day, not limited to what is eaten at dinner.  My boys have good breakfasts & large healthy lunches.  If they have salad plates for dinner a few nights a week, they will be fine.  If they are still hungry, they have a snack before bed (usually a big bowl of porridge.)  

 

What helped me lose over 46 lbs in the past 18 months was no snacking, no sweets (except at VERY special occasions), no second helpings, salad for dinner every second night, use a smaller plate on "eating" days, no soda (don't drink your calories), drink tons of water.  I haven't added in an exercise program yet, so my weight loss is purely due to changes I have made in what I eat. By following 5:2 I gradually made those 7 things habits without feeling deprived & now it's a way of life for me.  I feel so much healthier at 122# than I did at 168#.  

[stripe]

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Edited October 8, 2014 by stripe

[Desert Strawberry]

I'm vegan, my family isn't.

 

I usually cook something in a big pot-casserole, stew, soup, chowder, curry, beans- and serve it with rice, potato, bread, and a salad and cooked veg on the side. 
My family finds meals with lots of parts more satisfying. I like a simple, single dish, maybe with a salad. They eat everything, and I stick to just the main. 

 

I find it easier to fill my kids up with foods I don't eat at other meals, or with snacks. I never eat their carb and fat laden breakfasts. I don't eat PB for lunch. They will eat a huge pot of oatmeal with coconut cream and a loaf of bread and a pound of pb. I just let them have at it and I have coffee a bowl of soup. 

[Desert Strawberry]

Also, I do sometimes make them meals that I don't eat. So if i'm making spaghetti, I will eat something else-soup and salad, probably. Or if I serve nachos, I might just have chips and salsa, or a taco salad. 

[hornblower]

I pretty much either have teeny tiny portions of what everyone is having or nothing at all.
Salad, soups or green smoothies are my dinner. Helps that I'm not really hungry by dinner anyway.

The thing is that since I rarely actually eat dinner & I've always hated cooking, making meals that I'm not even going to eat got very annoying, very fast. My solution was assigning some cooking days to others, & on days when it's my turn, making double batches so people can just graze on leftovers & build their own meals...

[umsami]

Have you ever tried the plate approach? (Can't remember its official name.)  Basically, cook as you normally do.  For yourself, 1/3-1/2 of your plate you fill with whatever you made, the rest is low-carb veggies, and fruit.

 

Another idea would be to pre-make a large pot/pan of something that works for you that you could portion out and eat throughout the week (if you're OK with a lack of variety.)

 

I would think spaghetti would be adaptable….you could even use zucchini noodles for yourself.

 

For me, I'm kind of boring when it comes to breakfast and lunch.  I have maybe 2-3 meals I rotate…and I know that they are low-calorie.  Then with dinner, I have a bit more wiggle room.

 

Could you also offer bread and butter (or peanut butter) with the meals you make that are lower in calories?

[Momof3littles]

I would base your meals off of salad, items like cauli rice as a starch cub, etc. and then have theirs served with more traditional grains or sides.  This isn't as hard as it sounds.  DH and I eat a lot, lot, lot of salads.  So if I was serving tacos to the kids, I'd have mine as taco salad, no shell.  I would serve certain dishes over cauli rice (pretty quick to make with raw cauliflower if you have a good blender or food processor).  Agree with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash as a pasta sub.  Not sure if they align with your WOE, but there are also alternatives like "miracle noodles" which are just konjac/yam flour.  Some have soy, I stick with the yam ones . They are basically pure fiber.  IME, they work best as a sub for more of an Asian style noodle dish vs. as spaghetti.  You can make cold noodle salads with them and use something like soba or rice noodles for your kids.  I don't do a ton of legumes, so I'll make something like chopped flat leaf parsley, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt for myself, and add in some chickpeas to the version I make my kids.  I like that with grilled chicken breast.

 

Do your kids eat avocado?  I'd do things like cold salads (crab, tuna, wild salmon, whatever you like) over salad greens and then serve your kids theirs in the well of an avocado, with something else on the side maybe. 

 

Grill a bunch of chicken breast, slice, flash freeze, and pull out whatever you need for yourself.

 

Meatballs can go in pasta sauce with noodles for them, you could throw mini ones in broth for yourself with some added greens like spinach and have it as a lower calorie soup.

 

I make stuffed peppers with cauli rice.  If you make a big batch of the faux rice, you can do things like stuffed peppers for yourself and bake it right with grain based stuffed peppers for them.  Quinoa is pretty calorie dense; you could use that for the grain in stuffed peppers.  What I like about those is you can do cheese (or not), salsa or marinara, etc. to make them a little different each time.  I just mix the cooked cauli rice with ground beef (you could do ground turkey if you need leaner, or make your ratio higher on cauli rice, lower on meat to save calories) and whatever sauce, spices, etc. I want.

 

 

 

[Acadie]

Lots of great ideas already--the other thought I had was to stock up on high fat toppings and sauces, like shredded cheese, sour cream, olives, muffaleta sauce (our Costco has a great one, fairly cheap), guacamole, simmer sauces based on cream, coconut or peanuts, nuts and nut butters.  Also throw a giant pat of butter on everything your kids eat, like our grandparents used to do.  Veggies and meat really are yummier with a sheen of butter on top, and it's easy to skip to reduce calories.

 

We have varying dietary needs in our family too and it's tricky! 

 

Amy