Hi Emid!

I know its a struggle to actually start a new diet and eating right plus the economical issue, but believe me if all of you sat down and talked about it and all aproved it would be easyer on you. I gained almost 100 pounds in less then 2 years because a depression i was strugling with and what i allways used as an excuse (not saying that you are) was that i didnt have the money nor the time to go to the vegeterian markets and buy food there becasue they are so expensive .... turns out i started dieting 3 weeks ago and i make a list of my 3 meals a day ... and you know what? is not as expensive as i thought =P i allways save $50 for my grocerie shopping i eat oatmeal in the morning and a piece of whole bread, a vegeterian salad for lunch and a fruit cocktail for dinner and i drink about 64oz of water everyday plus i drink 8 oz of water with one yellow lime (no sugar) every morning . I dont eat that everyday tho i change plates from day to day i also try to take proteins in my food and keep my calories down to 1,400 calories per day tops and i feel much better . The key here is for all of you to come to an agreement really if you all do it it will be easyer and as for your twins if you get them to eat healthy plus giving them the vitamins they need they will be ok. You and your daughter should exercise to like taking walks or riding a bicycle that would give you time to spend with her aswell And i tell you again its hard to do the change but when you finally do it, you will see how easy and convenient it really is .... Plus the meals are so easy to do it wont take more than 30 minutes . In here you will see a lot of ppl trying to give yoiu advise from comparing theyr lives to yours or saying ived been there done that but that wont help and you may even feel a bit annoyed y it cuse many are not getting at the stress level your problem is at .... But all begins in your mind if you can change yours and your famillys in to thinking ... "Hey! Eating right is much better!" you will be able to do it P.S if you need anything else you are more than wellcome to mesege me good luck

I feel so sorry for you & your kid. However a Mom who can support another 5 persons seems to be strong enough to find a way out of this situation. Do not lose your motivation...ever.
I live in Egypt, & vegetables are cheap, yet we cook it in a very unhealthy way. Just try to find healthier ways to cook whatever you have (grains, poultry, meat...etc) & try to replace meat with poultry if you can (meat is the most expensive type of food here in Egypt). Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts are versatile & there are plenty of healthy recipes out there.

I'm not a good cook too, but through trial & error you will eventually be a good cook. Just use little quantities of good fats (vegetable oils are good source of good fats) & try to limit junk foods as much as you can, even if they are cheap.

The most important thing is to start a healthy "life style" BIT by BIT. Do not rush into ALL these healthy things directly. Just do one healthy tip after the other, gradually, so you won't lose your motivation & off course not to destroy your budget .

Keep it up & never give up & am sure you will find the way.

I second getting your daughter involved in the cooking, and any of the other kids that are interested and old enough. Kids usually like eating something they have a vested interest in.

Start now making a binder with all of your new successful recipes (I have faith there will be more!) I hate it when I make a new dish, then can't find the recipe again. Soon enough, they will become committed to memory, but in the beginning, it helps to keep them all together.

I also want to mention frozen veggies. A little water, salt & pepper, and some dehydrated onion added to a bag of frozen green beans makes a pretty good side dish -- 10-12oz bags can be found for under $1 in my area.

Also, protein snacks will keep the kids full longer than chips, crackers, etc. One of my local stores has low sugar, low carb flavored yogurt cups 10 for $4, and everyone could choose their own flavor!

Cheese sticks are good, but I found that if I buy the same Sargento cheddar cheese in individually wrapped sticks as opposed to a bag of slices (same ounces) it's actually about $.70 cents more expensive. Guess which one I buy?

Eating healthy, even for one person, takes a lot of thought and planning. Your kids are lucky to have a mom that's going to be building meals with their optimum health in mind. Best of luck to you!