Hi, I am new at this forum. I have been on LA for a few months now, -20 lbs. I am having a hard time feeding my teenage daughter. She doesn't like many veg. or a lot of meat. What do you girls feed your family? I really don't want to cook for me and her separtely. My son will also be coming home from college and I will have to feed both of them. Please give some suggestions. I would also like to make soups, but not 1 serving at a time, any help with this?
Thanks for the help.
bkstitch - I know what you mean about cooking. I have been on this program for almost 4 months now. I still am scared to cook anything cause it might be off plan. I did by their cookbook but not many of the meals appealed to me. What I have done is look for diabetic exchange recipes that sound good to me and try and convert them to LAWL. Unfortanutely for dear hubby he has been eating a lot of lean cuisine, healthy choice, etc because that is all I will by. I do do hamburgers, (I just eat the meat), lean steaks with baked potato (I only eat half). I wish I had better answers for you but Im sure one of the great people on these boards will be able to help you better than I.
can you make one meal with variations for the both of you.
i often will let my son have a potatoe or rice when i have veggies or i will broil my meat and fry his. But it is the same basic things used so its not that much work.
she seems old enough to know what she woudl like, can the two of you sit down and when you make out your menu make out variations for her?
Hi guys~
Been doing good today..going on two days now..today I was juicing.. but now I seem to really be craving some sugar..anything sweet..cookie etc. My mood is grumpy and I actually had thoughts of "how can a person be happy in life not eating the good tasting food?" I even have had a headache! I can't believe how addict. I am to sugar. Does anyone know how long this really bad wanting state will last? And has anyone else had this experience? Thanks... trying very hard to make it through another day!!
Well since I have 7 people to cook for, it becomes a case of economics also. My oldest is 19 and male and therefore, VERY picky! He'd rather eat at McDonald's which is right down the street and although I discourage it because of health reasons, at least he's eating. My 4 younger kids are 9, 9, 8 and 7. They love mac and cheese (of course), hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, etc. So basically I make THEIR meal and MINE is special instead of the other way around. While they are eating all the starches which they need - they are all UNDERweight, I fix myself fish and a veggie or chicken and a veggie or whatever. They like chicken so on my chicken meals, they have it too. They don't like tilapia, salmon or whatever so I fix them fish sticks on those nights. On the nights THEY have spaghetti or hamburger helper, I have a Lean Cuisine or Healthy choice dinner - it really becomes second nature - OH and I almost forgot DH - he eats anything he can get a hold of! NEVER had to worry about his weight in 51 years!
As far as your daughter, BKStitch, I would do the pasta for her - if she doesn't like meat or veggies, what else is there? Pasta is SO easy and cheap - we do a lot of it here with the little ones -
I agree that as a teen, she can start learning to cook for herself, at least some days.
It's never too early to learn to cook for yourself. If she doesn't do any of the cooking yet, yet it can be a great activity for the two of you also. There are some great learning to cook cookbooks out there (and some of the cooking for college student books are light on the meat and veggies, because starch seems to be the college staple, can you say ramen noodles?)
Also, if she gets into it, you can ask her help in planning and cooking a meal you can eat. She can learn about good nutrition and hopefully get inspired to eat healthier too.
I just got sick to my stomach with ramen noodle flash backs. That Ramen noodles and white bread diet could last for weeks, well at least until the next holiday when you get to eat at home
Because I love my family and want them to be healthy they eat the same foods I do with a few higher-calorie additions, tailored to thier individual needs. They are well-educated about nutrition and enjoy eating a whole-foods diet.
For instance, when we are having soup and salad, my daughter will get avocado on her salad and flourless whole grain sprouted bread to go with them, while I stick to the salad and soup alone without the "extras". She may have more of the same low-fat dressing I have as well. When we eat chili, she gets veggie cheese on top of hers and her cornbread will be the same high-fiber one as mine but hers will be spread lightly with Earth Balance (a cholesterol-free, non-hydrogenated margarine spread).
Children's tastes change quickly and they adapt to new flavors and foods with time, fat cells develop in childhood and never go away and kids must learn to eat healthy as they grow if healthy eating is to become a habit/lifestyle so it's never too early to educate and empower children to make better choices for thier health.
Thanks for the advice. I just have a hard time right now, if I make her pasta I just can't control myself. I go off of course and eat too much. I guess I'm the one that will have to change. My will power is really low right now. Thanks again, by the way, how do you all get those cute weight charts at the bottom of your message?
bkstich - if you go to the user CP section (upper left), and click on edit signature, there are instructions on how to add the ticker.
I live alone, so I can't really help you about family meals, but what kind of soups do you like? If your daughter doesn't like meat, does she do beans? eggs? tuna fish? At this time of year, I do tend to do lots of stew type things - I just put meat equal to 4 servings, then whatever veg and seasoning I want -- I like to cook, but I don't like to cook every day.
Also, we all go through periods of low will power, and this time of year is the WORST. Just remember that you deserve the best for yourself.
bkstitch, I had the will power problem alot early on (still do for that matter)
I would eat my "main dinner" before serving dinner and then eat fruit/veggies with the family at the table, so i wasn't as hungry, but we still ate together. plus i often made jsut enough for them to eat and that way I couldn't get any.
THAT is a great idea, which never occurred to me. A must do. I will cook enough for the family including DHs lunch, and then the temptation will be removed...
What to feed family?
NEVER had to worry about his weight in 51 years! 
