Getting Family Healthy! Please Help!!!

There is a book called 'Too busy to cook' with simple, healthy recipes and you cook once a month and chop all the veggies and assemble meals to freeze. It is a lot of work in one or 2 days but So great to have a healthy meal you just pt in the oven or crockpot. Best of luck!

K.,

I totally understand feeling like you are too busy to cook. It's easy to be too tired and then eat out at the last minute. My husband runs a Dream Dinners franchise, a meal preparation service where guests come in once per month to make meals to take home and freeze. There are 17 recipes to choose from each month, and they are kid friendly (the home office has a kid test panel). Most of the meals are 280 calories or less with 10 grams or less of fat, and all the nutritionals are given out in the store and on the website. You come in once a month and have enough meals in your freezer for 3 meals a week (unless you want to order more). It's actually cheaper than the grocery store because we are able to buy everything in bulk. It's a great feeling to have a healthy meal ready to cook when you get home from a really busy day. It's helped our family eat a much healthier diet. You should try it. You can check out the menu on the website at www.dreamdinners.com Or you can call Jim directly at ###-###-####. I'm sure Jim will give you a discount on your order if you call and let him know that you heard about it from me. Good luck!

C.

Way to go, K., for wanting to change your health habits! It's a hard thing to do when you have children, and work or stay home full time. I have run into the same problems. I hate to cook dinner, and sometimes it's easier to order take-out or make mac'n'cheese!! You've received some great responses, but I'll let you know what I've done in my life to help myself and my family.
My husband and I joined a fitness center finally! I always said it would be cheaper and easier to just buy a couple DVD's and some hand weights and exercise at home, but we never did it! I have found a couple of gals who will meet me at classes now. This holds me accountable because someone else is expecting me to be there! It was so hard, at first, actually getting into the gym - I was too tired, not prepared with my workout clothes, didn't have the kids ready, etc. Now, I make it a priority to go at least twice a week, if not more. I have found that I WANT to go now because I have noticed a change in my body (I can finally see my stomach muscles again after having three kids!!!) and the amount of energy I have! My husband and I can also work out together during the weekend while the kids are in the provided day care! You just have to make yourself do it and it'll get easier. Do activities with the kids if you can't get to the gym: play freeze dance or Simon Says with different exercises (Simon Says do 10 pushups), take a walk or make an obstacle course to race, take a bike ride, go kick a soccer ball around, teach the kids how to jump rope.
As far as our diet goes, I really try not to buy all the "junk" food. If it's not in the house, then we don't eat it!! I try to buy a lot of organic stuff: veggies, fruits, dairy products, meat, etc. This adds money to our grocery bill, but it's a sacrifice I want to take so that I know my family is putting healthy things in their bodies. My kids are pretty good about eating their fruits and veggies because I've always made it a point to serve them. Sometimes they gripe about it so I try to dress things up - ie. ranch dressing to dip veggies in, putting parmesan cheese on top of cooked veggies, peanut butter or sometimes caramel sauce to dip fruits in, making "Aunt's on a Log", cutting up fruit and making a parfet with yogurt, etc. I also try to stay away from processed foods, hydrogenated oils, high sugar content (4 grams is equivalent to a teaspoon of sugar!!) and high fructose corn syrup. I do a lot of label reading at the store!
Three other things that I think are so important to keeping those bugs away are making sure everyone is washing their hands several times a day (show the kids how to really scrub their hands together for as long as it takes to sing the Alphabet song, getting in between the fingers and under the nails, and using warm water); covering their mouth with the inside of their elbow (not their hands) when they sneeze or cough; and getting significant sleep so that are bodies are working at their optimal level (I think the sleep thing is more important for the adults because we tend to stay up later and get up earlier)!!!
Good luck with everything!!

Hey K.!
That's great that you want to make a change!
As far as cooking - try grilling your meat - it's fast, easy and since you're not cooking in oil, healthier.

You can grill year round. Buy some different rubs at the grocery store - later you can make your own. This way you can eat chicken or fish several times a week without having the same flavors every time.

Grill your veggies too. A little olive oil and garlic salt (or those new rubs...) make them flavorful.

Buy one of hte little cookbook booklets at the checkout counter. I bought one this summer for chicken - it has some great easy, fast recipes.

Planning a few days or week in advance goes a long way in cooking healthy.

Last but not least, take the money you would have spent on eating out and put it in a savings account. You will be amazed at how much you save! Take a vacation next summer in your new bod!

Good luck to ya!
J.

Hey there! Here are a couple of cheap, quick things I do to bump up the nutrition in my daughter's diet (and mine)... One thing she'll eat pretty regularly is chicken noodle soup, so I buy an organic one that tastes good, with lots of carrots in it. I do Muir Glen's version and she'll eat it when I'm too busy to cook something else. By avoiding the ones with MSG, I feel like it's not a terrible option, and she likes cooked carrots. Also, when I started introducing food, I started to buy small amounts of really good quality lunch meats from the deli counter at Whole Foods. They don't have nitrates or hormones or preservatives, but I could give her a little pile of small pieces and know that she was getting good quality protein. Finally, I always keep frozen veggies on hand and I discovered that I can nuke a bowlful at a time, and she'll eat some IF I add butter and salt. I know that's not the healthiest, but I figure that it's better for her to eat her veggies with butter and salt than not at all. So I do maybe 1/2 cup of peas in 1/4 cup of water with 1T butter and a bit of salt in the microwave for 2 min and it comes out perfect. Carrots 3 min or more (for fresh), broccoli also takes a bit longer, frozen or fresh, and green beans are 2 to 3 minutes. Now that she's 2, she'll only eat them if she sees me eating them, so it keeps me honest. Good luck, this is a really hard thing!

Hi K.! I'm a health and wellness coach with Herbalife. My husband and I, and are two boys (ages 5 and 3) have been on Herbalife for 2 years and now I coach people with their health by personalizing nutrition programs for them. My husband lost 60 pounds, I dropped 5% in body fat percentage, my kids used to be in fifth percentile of their growth but now in 65th percentile. We live a nutritional lifestyle and love it because we actually feel more healthy, have more energy and endurance. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to take a look at it 800-850-0609.

I just discovered this one and it's FABULOUS

www.sparkpeople.com

You can get healthy recipe ideas, track exercise, set fitness goals, track nutrition, add in your own recipe and see the nutritional value of it and more!

another fav: www.savingdinner.com

I've started buying us "Walmart fast food" on paydays. I let each of the boys pick out a TV dinner, or something from the premade & frozen section at Walmart & that's dinner. Sometimes cheaper, sometimes more expensive but when the teenager is choosing Lean Cuisine paninis instead of a double cheeseburger-or two (from real fast food places), it makes me feel like I'm doing my job right.
I also buy "cheat" foods for those nights I just don't want to cook. Pizza rolls, I've figured out how to make taquitos (basically a couple of tablespoons of meat in a corn tortilla, bake or fry it til crispy), we'll do ravioli...
If you don't have a crock pot, get one. I throw dinner in in the morning & it's done when it's time to eat. I like my basic crock but there ones now I believe that have delayed start-great if you leave for errands at 8 & don't get back til 4 (saves dinner from being too overdone!). We're about to start soccer & football & I'm sure we're going to have a lot of sandwich nights coming up. A big sub sandwich is also easy to make. I get a loaf of fat French bread, put mayo & mustard on it, a bunch of cold cut varieties, a couple of kinds of cheese, tons of lettuce, tomato, pickle & dinner is served.
My husband & I both found out that we've got high cholesterol. Because I'm only 32, this concerns me. I know it's because we got off to a bad start w/our last move & haven't gotten out of our quick & easy fast food habit all the way yet. Slowly but surely, I'm working on it.
I also make homemade fast food stuff-Krystal/White Castle burgers (2 lbs ground beef makes us about 24-25 tiny patties) on the grill, do up some fries in the oven (special occasions like birthdays gets them fried in the deep fryer). I grill the burgers so they don't have the fryer grease on them, plus the buns aren't greasy like the restaurant ones.
I've got friends who grocery shop & cook up the meats they buy right away so they can pull out a bit of precooked meat to add to their dinner w/o the added time of defrosting & cooking it.

Hi K.,
Congradulate yourself for being aware and wanting to make a change! And you are right, nutrition is a direct link to our health. I found that out when we had a family health crisis and my mom was diagnosed with cancer (she changed her diet and is cancer free now). You are heading in the right direction!
As we go into the cold and flu season, it's the strength or weakness of the host (us) that will determine if we get sick or not, not the strength or weakness of the virus. So there are many nutritional links that will weaken or strenghten or immune system.
I am a SAHM too, but this is what I do and I love it! I am self educated in nutrition because I just kept asking questions and wanted to know more. I would be open to helping you beyond suggestions on Mammasource if you are open to talking or getting together. One of the fun things I do with a friend is a "Grocery Detective" walk in the grocery store! Also, on Friday there is a speaking coming to town to talk on "The Journey to a Health Existence".

Please contact me if you'd like to learn more ###-###-####
L.

I hear ya! Dinners are the harderst for us, too. It is so much easier to go and get pizza or fast food. I have a 21 month old and an 8 month old and I work full time, so dinners are doubly crappy at our house. I also believe you that there is a link b/w what we eat and getting sick, and I am paranoid about the upcoming flu season. We got some take-out dinner recently from an italian place-spaghetti w/ meatballs or sausage and some bread, and I thought it was pretty decent, fairly healthy, and it cost the same as we would have paid for fast food. I thought it was a more nutritious idea than the pizza we could have gotten there (which we have also had). Try having only take-out food on the weekends as a treat.

Yes, I have that deceptively delicous cookbook, too. My daughter and I love the sweet potato pancakes in there, if you haven't tried those. Quick and easy (if you have the sw. potatoes pureed in advance). I know, it's TOUGH to get the little ones *and us* to eat right! My 21 m.o. doesn't ALWAYS eat all of the veggies I put in front of her, but she will try them most of the time. Sometimes I get a surprise hit, like steamed zucchini w/ parmesean. The key, I think, is to be persistent. Always offer veggies at lunch and dinner and don't make a big deal of him eating or not eating them. Also, model what you want him to do (hint, hint, eat your veggies too!). You will eventually find stuff he likes, so be patient. Try www.doortodoororganics.com to get fresh organic veggies delivered weekly or less--pretty reasonably priced, too.

One of my quickest recipes is the green (or red) curry thai dish--buy the paste in the asian section, light coconut milk, chicken, peas or other veggies, and a couple of other things (recipe on the back of the paste and also the coconut milk). Serve over rice or noodles. It is soooo quick and tastes delicious.

Good for you! There are so many great programs out there, but until you try a few basic steps, it would be pointless. Start out by drinking one quart of purified water for every 50 lbs you are. This is minimum. You can do more if you are sweating a lot. Next, start walking for 1 hour a day. You already decided to give up fast food which is the best choice. I read somewhere that the fast food companies actually put things in their ingredients to make people fat. (A fatter person orders more food) Next, make sure that you don't ever drink soda! Not even diet soda. This is more acid than your body can handle. Try eating more alkaline foods like green leafy vegies. Watch out for another bad thing call High Fructose Corn Syrup. Every time you consume this product, you put yourself at risk for diabetes. Most salad dressings have it in them, so be picky! There is a book I will recommend it is "The PH Miracle" by Robert Young. I got my copy of this book from amazon.com. Good Luck!

Good! You're right this will make a huge difference in your quality of life and you're the biggest role models for your kids. If you really want to you WILL.
My first thought is to do something to reduce the stress in the evening...cut something out so you're not in such a hurry and have time to fix dinner and eat together. That's a hard thing I know. But just by cutting out restaurants you'll be so much better off from both a health standpoint and financially.
"Eat less and move more" is the key. I tend to think eating right is even more important than exercise (even though I run 45 min 5 days a week). Eat smaller meals more frequently and include protein in each one. Cottage cheese, chicken, boiled egg, lean deli meats, a protein shake for example. Eat within 20 minutes of waking up in the morning which starts your metabolism. Have a protein snack 1 hour before bed which helps your body not go into the fasting mode during the night. Start walking every day. First 10 or 15 minutes and go up from there. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!

Try reading these three books, to begin with, for motivation: "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell, PhD; "The Culprit and The Cure" by Steven G. Aldana, PhD; and "Eat To Live" by Joel Furhman, MD. These helped give my husband and me the motivation to change the way we eat.

Have you tried to give your kids cherry or grape tomatoes? It is the ONLY veggie my son will eat. He will eat about 20 tomatoes at a time if I let him. He has done this sience he was just over 1yo.
As far as heathy dinners, have you tried taking one day to cook 2 or 3 dinners at a time and freezing them, that way within 1 1/2 hrs of cooking time, from freezeer to oven you have a healthy dinner.

Look into website: www.slimbodycoach.com

I was the 2007 Round 1 winner in their contest. It's a plan where you eat 5 mini meals a day. It's a great way to help you change your lifestyle. It's not a diet, but a lifestyle that anyone can do.

Plan your dinners for the whole week (or even 2 weeks). Go for things that don't take a lot of prep time (croc pot is GREAT, but anything that you can make in 5-10 min plus bake time is great). Have everything there and ready. Maybe you and your husband can take turns getting things cut up or any pre-prep in the morning. Make sure, as you plan, to include lots of colors (in the fruits and veggies). Also aim for less fat and refined flour. Lean meats and beans are great sources of proteins and lower in fat and can often be done in the croc pot. And have cut fresh veggies in the fridge for easy quick snacks.

Next, watch your portions. Use smaller plates at dinner time so your eyes think your getting as much as always. Eat slowly and savor the food - you'll find you won't need to eat as much to be satisfied(this is a good habit for a lot of reasons). Measure if you need to! Avoid going back for second helpings. And definately don't be the "clean-up crew" by eating what your kids leave behind. Better to throw it away that make yourself less healthy by eating more than your body needs.

Exercise too. 30 minutes a day cumulative (so even 10 min here and there adding up to 30) can make a big difference on how you feel. Take the kids on a walk, dance around the house with them, anything like that. Encourage your husband to park farther away and walk, take the stairs, etc. Little things can really add up!

since you indicated dinners were an issue...
when my kids were that age, I'd set the stove timer to go off at 4. that way, I wouldn't lose track of time and I could throw brown rice on to simmer or put something in the oven. I never have gotten the hang of cooking all my meals at one time - just not my gig. I will however cook twice as much of something like rice (since brown takes SO long to cook) so I can use it in a couple days or freeze it for some night that is super crazy. I also try to take a few minutes before I get out of bed to go through what the day will look like. If it will be super crazy, I try to do a casserole or crock pot item before I even take the kids to school or at least schedule prep (for example, cutting up veggies for a stir fry) into the afternoon. I also keep around fast and easy for those nights where it just doesn't happen - breakfast for dinner, simple soups like potato or a vegetable chowder, spaghetti w/a healthy jarred sauce (no added sugar!), pasta and veggies (a frozen mixed package), even pbj. As for the veggies....my husband's much, much tougher than my kids. I finally told him he has to try it just like they do and NO faces - for their health. I also experiment. If raw carrots aren't their thing (I have one that doesn't like the texture), then try steamed, then roasted, then glazed. My daughter would only eat canned green beans for a long time (texture again) so now I overcook fresh and frozen ones. The best trick I had (have) for fruits and veggies is letting them choose one at the grocery store that I would not normally buy (can you say belgian endive, parsnip, rutabaga....). anyway, they have to put some of it in their tummy (presuming I didn't totally screw it up cooking it) to get to choose something the next time. We discovered that my kids LOVE turnips, parsnips, and beets (ugh!). Good luck!

Hi K.,

It can be so hard to fit healthy eating into a busy lifestyle! My new favorite shortcut is Wildtree Herbs. (I love their stuff so much I became a rep!) They have all these great spice blends & mixes... for the same price as what you get at the grocery store but w/o all the junk! No additives, preservatives, fillers, artificial colors or flavors or MSG. And they're really good. Really, really good! And fast. Tonight I made lemon-rosemary turkey and pasta with scampi seasoning. It took as long as it took the pasta to boil & I was done. :) Last night I made bread from their mix in 20 minutes, including the cooking time. Check it out: O..mywildtree.com

I also try to incorporate veggies into things that aren't typically as healthy. Like hashbrowns. Instead of just potato, I'll grate potato, carrot, zucchini and a tiny bit of onion. If you mix a bunch of it up, you can keep it in the fridge a few days if you cover it with salt water. Or instead of doing fried french fries, I'll cut pieces of potato, sweet potato and squash and roast them in grapeseed oil. Yum! (That combination works great for crockpot roasting as well.)

As for weight loss, you can make some small steps that can make a big difference. First, don't buy into the whole 'eat less, exercise more' thing. It makes your body think you're starving, and it'll store *everything.* I gained a very fast 10 lbs doing that a couple of years ago. Ugh. Replace your cooking oils with a really healthy oil. (And don't use Pam!) My faves are olive and grapeseed...olive oil's great uncooked or cooked at low temps. (If you get it smoking, it's a hydrogenated fat!) Grapeseed is perfect for stir-fry or grilling, and it's also yummy uncooked. Don't eat for at least 2 hours before bed, as your metabolism slows way down then. Otherwise, eat every few hours. Balance carbs & proteins. Eat lots of fiber. Lots. (You can get it in bars--I like the Gnu Foods ones--or in wafer-vitamin thingies.) If you eat a carb-heavy meal, add extra fiber and it'll reduce the carb load of that meal. Keep healthy snacks handy, like cut-up veggies or fruit along with some fun dips. Combine proteins with snacks, too. Cheese & crackers is better balanced than just crackers. Fruit & yogurt. Frozen waffle w/PBJ (or soy butter, like in my house) or flavored cream cheese instead of syrup.

Balance is key. Best of luck to you!