Easy healthy tasty food ideas/recipes

[Emba]

I have realized that with my family in a busy season right now and coming out of Covid where I was making a lot of comfort foods, my family’s eating habits aren’t as healthy as I’d like. 
 

I’d like to find/get in the habit of making better meals, by which I mean less processed carbs more whole grains and good carbs, more vegetables and plant-based meals.

 This summer I really want to try hard with this, but I’d like to start now doing what I can. My two oldest are teens and are getting pickier (like toddlers, I swear) because of all the junk they eat at school. Not necessarily school lunches, just junk that their friends bring and share - massive quantities of soda, chips, and candy. They love any recipe of Nana ‘s that includes adding sugar (as many do, including meatloaf! I’m not sure what’s wrong with the woman). I’d like them to develop a taste for things that aren’t sugar laden and full of processed carbs. At home I use whole wheat pasta for almost all pasta dishes.

we aren’t big on fish. I really don’t like it myself but if like some good ways to work it in at least sometimes.

 So throw your tried and true ideas at me, with recipe links if possible. Most normal stuff I can get at the store nearby, but if something is only found at places like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, I probably can’t get it.

[regentrude]

Easy plant based meals that take less than 30 minutes to prepare (that's all I have on a normal day)

Curries. Veggies of choice, curry paste, coconut milk, spices. 
Salads. Any veggies, any dressings. In winter, I do lots of kale/cabbage salads; in summer cucumber, tomatoes, peppers when ripe.
roasted veggies - whatever you have and is in season
hummus (easy to make- chick peas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice); vegetables and pita bread
soups. Sweet potato, onion, celery, tomatoes (from can), plus red or green lentils. Can use miso paste or curry powder to season.

ETA: Sorry, I don't have links to recipes because I don't normally use any - I just freestyle the ingredients I have.
 
 

 

Edited March 18, 2022 by regentrude

[Laura Corin]

This is naturally sweet because of the butternut squash, carrot and cinnamon, whilst being a healthy option.

https://vanillaandbean.com/moroccan-squash-stew/

Edited March 18, 2022 by Laura Corin

[Emba]

21 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

This is naturally sweet because of the butternut squash, carrot and cinnamon, whilst being a healthy option.

https://vanillaandbean.com/moroccan-squash-stew/

That looks really good! 

[KungFuPanda]

I have this curry base stashed in my freezer.  It's easy to quickly customize it for whatever curry you're in the mood for that day.  

[mmasc]

One of my sons and I really like this Greek dish. It keeps well in the fridge, too. 

This pasta primavera is really yummy in the summer, when the vegetables are in season.

And I LOVE this simple beans and rice dish.

[Emba]

7 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I have this curry base stashed in my freezer.  It's easy to quickly customize it for whatever curry you're in the mood for that day.  

I’m very intrigued by this, it sounds great and versatile but I am by far the most adventurous eater in the house and I’m afraid to make a big batch of something that No one else will eat. We don’t have any Indian restaurants around here and I’ve never had real Indian curry, though I love Thai curry.

[Brittany1116]

On the weekend, I make a "salad bar" for the fridge by prepping all sorts of toppings and putting them all in their own containers to be used at-will. No excuse for not eating the items through the week.

[popmom]

What does your family like to eat? Start there and just make some tweaks. It might backfire to suddenly make some dramatic shift in what foods are available. 
 

It might be helpful to start small. I’m thinking…if it’s pizza night, steam some fresh broccoli. Drizzle some melted butter, lemon juice, and salt. If that’s not enough, melt some Velveeta. If you’re a foodie like me—I cannot resist Hollandaise over broccoli . 🙂 I’m just throwing this out there not really knowing the current eating habits. I have found that gently exposing kids over time helps them cultivate a taste for healthier foods. Avoid making it into a power struggle. That’s a no win. Lead by example. Show how much you enjoy good, wholesome foods. Eventually, it’s going to rub off on them. 

If you can involve the fam in gardening—even better. I’m still working on that myself! 😂😭

Edited March 19, 2022 by popmom

[Ausmumof3]

Thai green curry (paste, chicken, veg, coconut milk). You can add extra veg and serve with brown rice to keep it healthy.

Kind tex mex style bowls - I do use corn chips or prepackaged tortillas but then loads of diced salad, homemade guacamole, and either chicken or mince. You can also do beans with it to make it healthier.

i think you’re coming into spring/summer so it’s probably going to be easier to do salads and lighter meals.

[Ausmumof3]

Another thing the kids really like here is herby chicken thighs and salad. I usually serve with air fryer wedges.  Literally just grilled chicken thighs with loads of herbs, salt and garlic.

[popmom]

13 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Another thing the kids really like here is herby chicken thighs and salad. I usually serve with air fryer wedges.  Literally just grilled chicken thighs with loads of herbs, salt and garlic.

Yep. One of my go to dinners is roasted chicken thighs with sliced carrots, small potatoes, onion wedges, whatever I have on hand. I whisk olive oil and balsamic vinegar together. Drizzle and toss to coat. Add some minced garlic, thyme, and lemon slices. Roast at 425 until chicken is cooked through. Makes the house smell wonderful. Even the pickiest eaters don’t complain. 

Edited March 19, 2022 by popmom

[Eos]

Roasted root veggies, make your own pizza topped with caramelized onions, rice with currants, almonds, cinnamon, and cumin - lots of sweet flavors without the sugar.

[HomeAgain]

In the summer, we tend to make up containers of falafel. You can eat them cold or hot, spice up the yogurt dip however you want, and stick them with salad or in a pita.

However, here is the tried and true recipe to get our kid to eat some sort of sandwich, because we eat a lot of meals on the go when it's nice out and sandwiches are just easier than bento boxes of rice and chicken or salads.

• Spinach wraps
• Greek yogurt
• 1 avocado
• Spinach or some sort of lettuce
• 1 mango
• Red onion
• Grilled chicken

Chop the mango, onion, and chicken.  Mix together in a bowl, adding salt and pepper if necessary. 

Slice the avocado.

Lay out a spinach wrap.  Spread a thin layer of Greek yogurt on it.  Top with the spinach or lettuce.  Add a few slices of avocado, then spoon the mango-chicken mixture on top.  Roll into a burrito and cut on the diagonal.

We serve with grapes, cucumber salad, pasta salad, and/or crackers.  They keep well in coolers for beach days.

 

Other summertime meals we like are:

Kabobs

Lettuce wraps

Flatbread pizzas made with yogurt dough. We pick different things to put on top

 

The big thing is, though, to reduce the main and increase the sides, preferably plant based.  Last night we had roasted corn, black beans, cilantro-lime rice, pico & chips, and chicken enchiladas with a creamy roasted poblano sauce, all made from scratch so I could control the content.  There was a balance on the table of the sweet, salty, acid, savory that sated us.  If ds1 hadn't been directing the menu, there also would have been roasted sweet potato rounds with chopped jalepenos on them.  Soooo good.  But the more sides there are, the more the eyes feast and eat around.  I'm not worried about the white rice or any other one thing on the table if there's opportunities to eat a variety.

[wintermom]

I'd build meals around foods your teens already enjoy eating. You can then add sides that encourage them to try new flavours and textures. If they are "picky" they may refuse a meal if the whole concept is too different. Also, there seems to be an unwritten phenomenon that once you find a meal everyone loves one week, then won't touch it the next week. 😅

My gang (3 teen boys) enjoy grilled chicken (I'll add steamed veggies), stirfry, tacos, nachos, quesadillas, hamburgers, sub sandwiches. It's fairly easy to sneak in veggies to any of these meals. 

[Bootsie]

For simply meals, I make great use of roasted chicken which can be turned into a number of different things from chicken salad to chicken tetrazzini to chicken quesedillas to chicken soup.  Eggs can be cooked quickly in a variety of ways, omelletes can be filled with veggies and scrambled eggs can e served with a big bowl of fruit.  We also do a variety of salads; lettuce-based salads with sliced veggies come together quickly.  Larger salads of raw vegetables in a vinegar marinade hold well in the refrigerator for several days.  A large fruit salad with cottage cheese is a healthy dish to have in the refrigerator in the summer time.  Soups allow for a variety of ways to use up bits and pieces of what is on hand or make use of a vegetable that is inexpensive or plentiful in the garden.   Some soups are great to dump in the crock pot and let the flavors blend all day; others are great because they can be fixed very quickly.

I keep things on hand to be able to fix a quick, nutritious meal (soup in the freezer, eggs and fruit, etc.)  When I have the time and energy to be a bit more adventurous, I try to pick one or two items I would like to experiment with.  I might focus, for example, on beets--looking up alternative ways of using beets and experiment with a beet salad, adding beets to a smoothy, a beet soup, etc.  I figure out what things we like and don't like and expand my ways of using a particular vegetable so that it becomes part of my general knowledge of cooking.  

[KungFuPanda]

12 hours ago, Emba said:

I’m very intrigued by this, it sounds great and versatile but I am by far the most adventurous eater in the house and I’m afraid to make a big batch of something that No one else will eat. We don’t have any Indian restaurants around here and I’ve never had real Indian curry, though I love Thai curry.

That makes it harder.  My family loves all kinds of curries and my kids grew up with food choices I never imagined as a kid.  My mother lives in a rural area and often faces feeding grandchildren who only like "real food."  This means if the dish would be out of place on a Cracker Barrel menu, then they won't eat it because it's "too weird."  In that situation, you lean into doctoring things they already eat.  Instead of plain tomato sauce, you make a marinara and hide carrots and zucchini in it.  Blend if you must.  Make packet tacos like usual, but add veggies and lentils to the meat mixture.  See if you can get them to go for taco salads now and again.  

I've often done the trick where you tell your family that the main dish is going to be a few more minutes, but go ahead and come to the table and start on your salad.  They eat more salad this way.  Or you put out a veggie platter for munching and let them "ruin" their dinner with crudites or soups.  Sometimes you can eat healthier by adjusting your meat/starch to veggie ratio without changing your recipes too much.

[fairfarmhand]

Mexican can be pretty healthy. Easy to make with low fat ingredients and you can omit or reduce the meat in many recipes, replacing it with beans. Use brown rice instead of white.

 

this one was VERY popular at my house.

https://www.homestratosphere.com/mexican-beef-and-rice-skillet-recipe/

[alysee]

For summer I make a Rainbow Quinoa Salad. The base is quinoa and I let the kids choose what they want to add. When are vegetarian now but would add chicken in other years. Usually I put out small bowls of chickpeas, corn, avocado, red pepper, peas,  cucumbers, olives, cheddar, feta, cherry tomatoes, greek dressing, italian dressing . Yes the preschooler mostly adds cheese, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. Sometimes I can convince her to put a few chickpeas or green peas in her bowl. The other kids like all of the ingredients and make great bowls. I honestly eat a mediterranean quinoa bowl almost everyday in the summer. 

[Emba]

25 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

That makes it harder.  My family loves all kinds of curries and my kids grew up with food choices I never imagined as a kid.  My mother lives in a rural area and often faces feeding grandchildren who only like "real food."  This means if the dish would be out of place on a Cracker Barrel menu, then they won't eat it because it's "too weird."  In that situation, you lean into doctoring things they already eat.  Instead of plain tomato sauce, you make a marinara and hide carrots and zucchini in it.  Blend if you must.  Make packet tacos like usual, but add veggies and lentils to the meat mixture.  See if you can get them to go for taco salads now and again.  

I've often done the trick where you tell your family that the main dish is going to be a few more minutes, but go ahead and come to the table and start on your salad.  They eat more salad this way.  Or you put out a veggie platter for munching and let them "ruin" their dinner with crudites or soups.  Sometimes you can eat healthier by adjusting your meat/starch to veggie ratio without changing your recipes too much.

They’re not quite the level of picky you describe, but have definitely gotten more so over the last few years. I really think it is peer pressure at school to not like “weird” things, at least part of the time. And the school serves very safe choices that most kids like, and always had the option of a chicken sandwich, so they’re getting resistant to getting out of their comfort zone with food.
 

i just get so irritated with the passive aggressive whining (every single time I make meatloaf I hear about how “I like Nana’s meatloaf. She puts sugar in it.”) and the requests for more junky food after I spend time and effort cooking what is objectively more healthy and tastes better to me.

[Frances]

47 minutes ago, Emba said:

They’re not quite the level of picky you describe, but have definitely gotten more so over the last few years. I really think it is peer pressure at school to not like “weird” things, at least part of the time. And the school serves very safe choices that most kids like, and always had the option of a chicken sandwich, so they’re getting resistant to getting out of their comfort zone with food.
 

i just get so irritated with the passive aggressive whining (every single time I make meatloaf I hear about how “I like Nana’s meatloaf. She puts sugar in it.”) and the requests for more junky food after I spend time and effort cooking what is objectively more healthy and tastes better to me.

Personally, I would not allow the whining, only thanks and positive comments. That’s just basic manners. I was picky through early adulthood despite my mom being a great cook. To this day, I still feel guilty about some of the whining and complaining I did.

I do think they are likely stuck in the physiological rut of junk food and too much sugar/salt/processed food ruining their taste for healthy food. While you can’t control what they eat outside of the house, you can make your home a place with only healthy options.

Are they involved with sports? Sometimes that can be a motivator to improve nutrition. Do they help with cooking and/or make the occasional full meals? Sometimes that can help them more appreciate all of the work.

 

[Emba]

DS is in football. He expresses great desire to develop bigger muscles and abs, but isn’t interested in increasing protein or eating more healthily to do so. Once in awhile he says he will eat more healthy, but always plans to start at some future date. I encourage it, but it never lasts more than a day.

I definitely make them all cook during the summer and insist on it being a balanced meal with at least two vegetables. 

[73349]

Fruit smoothies are good with a little spinach and/or carrot added. Banana (preferably frozen), strawberries or mango, plain unsweetened almond milk, a little orange juice if they like it, and then just a bit of a vegetable.

Pineapple black bean bowls don't feel like health food, but they're good stuff.

Veggie burgers can be marketed just as burgers. 🙂 Dr. Praeger's All-American ones have a pretty convincing taste, especially once you get mustard, ketchup, etc. on there. I've seen them in mainstream grocery stores here, not just health-food stores.

Edited March 20, 2022 by 73349

[Bootsie]

21 hours ago, Emba said:

They’re not quite the level of picky you describe, but have definitely gotten more so over the last few years. I really think it is peer pressure at school to not like “weird” things, at least part of the time. And the school serves very safe choices that most kids like, and always had the option of a chicken sandwich, so they’re getting resistant to getting out of their comfort zone with food.
 

i just get so irritated with the passive aggressive whining (every single time I make meatloaf I hear about how “I like Nana’s meatloaf. She puts sugar in it.”) and the requests for more junky food after I spend time and effort cooking what is objectively more healthy and tastes better to me.

I don't know how much sugar Nana is putting in her meatloaf, but is it really a discernable taste difference?  Most meatloaf recipes I have call for ketchup (which has sugar in it) or tomato sauce and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar.  I would be careful not to make a big deal with the kids about how this meatloaf is better, more nutritious, and different from Nana's. If they like Nana's meatloaf, I would try to make something as similar as possible and slowly change to a more healthy version.  If Nana puts 1/2 cup of sugar, can you lessen it to 2 Tablespoons and then see how far you can cut back?  Can you add ground mushrooms without that being discernable? 

When trying to expand my kids tastes, I always try to have something at the meal that I know that they will like so that the questionable-to-them food does not take center stage.  If I am trying a new roasted vegetable, for example, I might also serve the kids' favorite mac and cheese.  That way they don't associate the new food with that dinner that they think was horrible, was a power struggle, or they left the table hungry if they really didn't like the new food.  I also try to make the things they do like healthier and look at the total diet, not just one meal.  Sometimes we have pancakes for dinner, but we add a can of pumpkin to the batter.  My kids love a baked pasta--with tomato sauce with added onion and shredded carrots and spinach added to the layer of ricotta cheese it's familiar and relatively healthy.  A grilled cheese sandwich, a cup of tomato soup, and a salad can be healthy if that is comfort food to them. 

When trying to expand my children's eating and cooking, I would challenge them to pick a vegetable and find a new way of fixing it.   Yes, sometimes that meant zucchini muffins, but I found it a better approach to expand their interest in trying new items and exploring new tastes than saying they had to have X amount of vegetables (which would simply be their favorite repeated over and over).  

[alysee]

1 hour ago, Bootsie said:

I don't know how much sugar Nana is putting in her meatloaf, but is it really a discernable taste difference?  Most meatloaf recipes I have call for ketchup (which has sugar in it) or tomato sauce and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar.  I would be careful not to make a big deal with the kids about how this meatloaf is better, more nutritious, and different from Nana's. If they like Nana's meatloaf, I would try to make something as similar as possible and slowly change to a more healthy version.  If Nana puts 1/2 cup of sugar, can you lessen it to 2 Tablespoons and then see how far you can cut back?  Can you add ground mushrooms without that being discernable? 

When trying to expand my kids tastes, I always try to have something at the meal that I know that they will like so that the questionable-to-them food does not take center stage.  If I am trying a new roasted vegetable, for example, I might also serve the kids' favorite mac and cheese.  That way they don't associate the new food with that dinner that they think was horrible, was a power struggle, or they left the table hungry if they really didn't like the new food.  I also try to make the things they do like healthier and look at the total diet, not just one meal.  Sometimes we have pancakes for dinner, but we add a can of pumpkin to the batter.  My kids love a baked pasta--with tomato sauce with added onion and shredded carrots and spinach added to the layer of ricotta cheese it's familiar and relatively healthy.  A grilled cheese sandwich, a cup of tomato soup, and a salad can be healthy if that is comfort food to them. 

When trying to expand my children's eating and cooking, I would challenge them to pick a vegetable and find a new way of fixing it.   Yes, sometimes that meant zucchini muffins, but I found it a better approach to expand their interest in trying new items and exploring new tastes than saying they had to have X amount of vegetables (which would simply be their favorite repeated over and over).  

Whenever I am feeding them a new to them food or even something I havent made in a long time, I always include something I know they will like: fruit salad, mac&cheese, mashed potatoes, cut up veg & ranch dressing.