Since my last adjustment I hate making dinner for my family. I work with kids right now and by the time I get home from work I am exhausted. I don't always feel like eating. I guess I have this attitude that why slave over dinner just so I can eat 5 bites? Latley my husband has just been making MacNCheese or some other quick meal for himself and our 2 year old son. My husband is one of those people that can eat anything and not gain any weight but I worry that we are setting my son up for failure in the food department. He eats very well balanced meals at the CDC but I worry that we are failing. Any suggestions on getting rid of my bad attitude :biggrin: would be much appreciated. Also any easy family meal ideas?

becca i feel your pain. sometimes its hard cooking knowing you are only gonna get a few bites down. lately i've setting certain nights of the week and cook those nights no matter what i can or cant eat.ive also taken to making a lot of food in the crock pot,it goes in in the morning before work then its done when you are home. at least that way its done when i get home. cooking food you arent gonna eat much of sucks even worse when you are cooking it exhausted from working all day. i have teenagers so there probably a little more vocal when they dont get cooked for. i also dont wanna to set a bad example for them by letting them see me skipping meals

Cook a few different things on sundays and put in individual servings in the freezer. I also use the crock pot. With the protein part of the meal done it's easy to add some vegis or fruit for you and your son. Just a suggestion. Hope it helps.

I knew that feeling long before I was banded. I never worry about the hubby but I do worry about my son not getting well balanced meals. My solution : kid kuisines. You get them in the frozen dinner area of the store. Kids love them, they have decent serving sizes, they are balanced with a veggie (usually corn), the chicken is all white meat (not processed) and they are quick and easy to make. My son eats one for dinner at least twice a week. They even come with a little desert like pudding or a brownie. Try one sometime :tongue2:

Becca-

2 thoughts came t mind when I read this:

1st.- You son is 2. By the time you are better and able to make dinner ,your boy will be what 2 yrs & 3-4 months older. You will make all the necessary changes long b-4 anything become irreversible as far as his diet.

2nd-.All the above suggestions are great and don't forget to just buy some canned vegs. Most kids love em-they are easy for everyone and keeps the vegetable in his life and in his taste buds.

I have 4 kids ....all over the age of 10 and even through my completely terrible relationship with food...keeping simple things like easy vegs. and fruits have helped keep them healthy.

Your better health you are working towards will benefit your whole family so soon try and be patient with yourself….sometimes you have to just take care of yourself.

What I do with my pre-schoolers to make sure they get veggies is serve either baby carrots (pre-washed in the bag) or grape/cherry sized tomatoes with just about every meal. They are easy to prepare, just put in a bowl and rinse off and they are finger foods that kids like.

I also try to have at least one fruit which you do have to cut up, like apple slices, grapes, pineapple (the kind in juice, not syrup), bananas, or strawberries. They love their fruit.

So, if you have an easy veggie and an easy fruit, then just adding some pre-made chicken fingers (grilled if you can find them) or some cheese sticks for protein and you have a decent meal.

My girls also love egg salad, so sometimes I will use that as the protein with a few crackers. You can make ahead and just serve at dinner time.

Hope that helps,

Stacey

I don't have a kiddo but fixing a meal for a 2-year old can't be that involved (of course I may be full of it to think that! LOL) And the husband ... what about tv dinners? Or leftovers? Can he cook?

I was usually the "meal" person in our fam and my husband is so happy to have a thinner healthier me around that he cheerfully has frozen tv dinners, sandwiches, whatever for dinner. He knows he can stop and pick himself up something too. He doesn't care.

So I say chat with your husband, come up with something. How you "relate" to food is changing and I'm sure he wants to encourage you to be healthy. Maybe you two could trade out meal duty.

Cook a few different things on sundays and put in individual servings in the freezer. I also use the crock pot. With the protein part of the meal done it's easy to add some vegis or fruit for you and your son. Just a suggestion. Hope it helps.

This is a great suggestion. I always plan my meals for the week, shop on the weekend and try to get some of the cooking done, so dinner is easy when I get home.

I love the crockpot. It is especially nice when I am teaching and both of my kids are in sports and we all have late nights. You can check out the Food and Nutrition forum for some easy recipes that you can eat as well as your family.