[Paisleymama]

For those who live with partners/spouses/children, what are they all eating for their main meals at home?

At the moment, I'm trying to find a happy medium but I'm struggling to find something that suits everyone each day.

For example, last night I cooked steak. I cut my portion off and put it to the side and cooked my husband's and children's separately. They had oven fried wedges and vegetables with theirs, I had mushrooms and cauliflower mash with mine.

& then there's my husband, who has been eating whatever he wants in front of me, next to me etc... He even ordered a pizza the other night I would have him cook for the kids but he isn't the best chef going, they'd be living off grilled cheese sandwiches until I stepped back in...trialled this before.

I know this post is sounding complain-y, it's not my intention though! Can anyone point me in the direction of recipes that keep the whole family happy, even if it's just 1 element of the meal that overlaps?

[Munchy]

I feel very strongly that everyone can benefit from healthy meals. The meal that your family had and the one that you had look awesome. Either one is calorie-counting friendly!

My six year old and I eat different dinners very often. She may eat zucchini/turkey meatballs with pasta, while I would eat them alone or with zucchini noodles or with fine green beans as pasta. The other day I made a salad topped with breaded and pan seared chicken, while my daughter ate her chicken with a tomato salad and some corn. I may eat a flatbread pizza with mushroom, spinach, cheese, etc, and she would eat hers with sliced tomato and her vegetables on the side. Similarly, her quesadillas may have black beans and chicken with a side of veggies, while I like my quesadilla with a lot of different chopped vegetables in it.

There are several things that we both will eat, though. I make a veggie-rich turkey chili (she eats hers with tortilla chips), chicken or beef stew, shepherd's pie (even with mashed cauliflower topping), loaded baked potatoes (she likes her roasted broccoli on the side and I like mine on the potato), homemade Chinese takeout chicken recipes with rice, any plain protein component like grilled steak, chicken, or fish, especially salmon are easy for us both to enjoy. We both like nuggets (I make mine homemade with ground chicken and shredded vegetables), or burgers (also with lean meat and shredded or finely chopped vegetables - mine wrapped in lettuce, hers on a bun).

If you haven't browsed www.skinnytaste.com, www.cookinglight.com or www.eatingwell.com, they are great resources to find ways to cook things that your family probably already eats, just making sure that they are on the healthier side.

[Paisleymama]

Thanks for all the suggestions, Munchy!
My daughter is pretty good about whatever I feed her, my son is a super fussy 4 year old who wants to live off mac n cheese and chicken nuggets.

[Munchy]

Originally Posted by Paisleymama

Thanks for all the suggestions, Munchy!
My daughter is pretty good about whatever I feed her, my son is a super fussy 4 year old who wants to live off mac n cheese and chicken nuggets.

I make mac and cheese and nuggets for my daughter, but I try to add as much nutrition to her meals as possible, so I mix vegetables into most components of her meals (and mine!). I can't waste time everyday making ornate meals, so I cook as much as I can to set us up for success during the week.

Squash/chicken nuggets: 1lb ground chicken mixed with 1-2 shredded yellow squash with all water squeezed out, one egg, season, and bread it with panko (I do a gluten free homemade mixture made from chex cereal and seasonings). Lightly oil your sheet pan and bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

To freeze: Make sure you "unstick" them from your baking sheet, cool, then freeze on the baking sheet until frozen. Transfer to freezer bags. To serve, either microwave, use the toaster oven, or bake.

Cheese/cauliflower sauce: simmer one chopped head of cauliflower with a bit of water, puree, stir in about 1/2-1 cup of whatever cheese you wish, and season to taste.

To freeze: I take this mixture, cool it, and put it in ice cube trays. Once it's frozen, I transfer the cubes to a labeled freezer bag. When I'm serving it, I microwave to thaw and mix with cooked pasta (I use the kind with a full serving of vegetables in it) for easy mac and cheese.