cooking for families

I simply stopped cooking for that family while losing the weight. Yea,
it is mean, but it worked, and they are happier with crappier dinners
and I am 100 pounds lighter, than they would be with Better dinners
and me dead....

I simply stopped cooking for that family while losing the weight. Yea,
it is mean, but it worked, and they are happier with crappier dinners
and I am 100 pounds lighter, than they would be with Better dinners
and me dead....

"Shanon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:zRZsd.125378$%x.121951@okepread04...

Quoted message said:

Hey Everybody!

I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals for
my hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out there
that can share any helpful tips?

Glitter Girl

I can only say I know EXACTLY what you mean!
I have four children that pretty much eat most things.....well except one
who won't touch beans, one hates anything spicey, another that hates
wholemeal bread, none are very keen on doing without potatoes etc etc! and
various combinations that only another mum can understand.
To make life really difficult my hubby is vegan, and won't eat anything even
prepared at the same time as a dish with none vegan ingredients.
My only 'tip' is that I no longer spend more time preparing for others than
I have to. If they would like anything more elaborate they have to catch me
in a good mood and offer to help. I found an old secondhand book called
'What's for Lunch Mum' on Amazon that has helped, lots of very quick easy
recipes for kids.
As for hubby, I still slave away over a hot stove for him....usually! but
again I go for as uncomplicated as possible.
However selfish this sounds, me losing weight will benefit the whole family
and I think they support me even if it's not easy for them.
Whenever I feel a bit guilty, I just remind myself of how proud they will be
of me when I'm slimmer and fitter.
Regards,
Denise

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In article <zRZsd.125378$%x.121951@okepread04>, "Shanon"

Quoted message said:

Hey Everybody!

I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals for
my
hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out there
that
can share any helpful tips?

Glitter Girl

I have never cooked different meals for my family--I prepare one entree,
along with a huge salad, steamed veggies, etc. I cut up whatever meat
we're having for dinner and plop it on top of my salad, or if the main
dish is pasta, I'll pour a cup of meat sauce over my steamed vegies.

This way we always have healthy choices available to everyone at the
table, and I can enjoy most everything the family is eating and never
feel deprived.

Good luck to you.

Amy
168/117/115
(moderate carbing)

A Ross said:

In article <zRZsd.125378$%x.121951@okepread04>, "Shanon"

Quoted message said:

Hey Everybody!

I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals for
my
hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out there
that
can share any helpful tips?

Glitter Girl

I have never cooked different meals for my family--I prepare one entree,
along with a huge salad, steamed veggies, etc. I cut up whatever meat
we're having for dinner and plop it on top of my salad, or if the main
dish is pasta, I'll pour a cup of meat sauce over my steamed vegies.

That's what I do as well. I cook for three adults and three children. I
also often make extra so there are leftovers (or planned-overs), so when
the rest of the family have pizza or something else I can't eat, there
is something for me. I have a son who doesn't eat fish, so he has
leftovers when we eat fish. I keep some chicken nuggets in the freezer,
too - one of the few convenience meals my kids will eat :-)

I use the low-carb Menu Mailer now and it has been a sanity saver. For
the others I cook mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles, if they want them,
to go along with the low-carb meal gluten-free meal I can eat.

Donna

On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 08:17:06 -0600, "Shanon" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hey Everybody!

I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals for my
hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out there that
can share any helpful tips?

Glitter Girl

Why are you cooking separate meals for yourself and the family? I've
been LC for over 6 years now and I just make the meat dish and sides
separatly. They get the starchy ones I won't eat (like potatoes) and
we all enjoy the meats, salads and green veggies. It takes me almost
no extra time.

Even when we're doing something substantially starchy, like pasta,
it's not a big deal. I boil pasta for them, make a rich meat-based
sauce for all of us and serve my share over 'pasta' made of finely
shredded zucchini or cabbage, wilted in a pan with some butter, or
even on a bed of broccoli or cauliflower nuked until tender-crisp.

Aramanth

We had an Italian dinner tonight, sausage, pasta with sauce, sautéed
portabella mushrooms, Italian salad with avocados and tomatoes. They had the
pasta and bread with their meal, I had an extra helping of sausage and
mushrooms with a little sauce over the top and some salad. Usually I prepare
a main dish of meat or fish, a vegetable and some potatoes, rice or pasta
for my family. I always make sure that I have my stuff and maybe a special
dessert. My family loves low carb cheesecake or fruit, especially berries.
Please don't make life hard on yourself. Buy the kids some snacks that they
like and you don't. That ploy works for me and my kids very well. Another
thing I often do when the meal isn't my best choice is to have a snack of
cheese cubes, olives and nuts before dinner. When you are already 1/2 full
you won't tend to cheat. Hope that helps a little.

Nancy J

"Shanon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:zRZsd.125378$%x.121951@okepread04...

Quoted message said:

Hey Everybody!

I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals for
my hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out there
that can share any helpful tips?

Glitter Girl

that was exactly what I meant by preparing seperate meals--they get the
starch and I have to cook something else for myself...
"Aramanth Dawe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 08:17:06 -0600, "Shanon" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hey Everybody!

I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals for
my
hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out there
that
can share any helpful tips?

Glitter Girl

Why are you cooking separate meals for yourself and the family? I've
been LC for over 6 years now and I just make the meat dish and sides
separatly. They get the starchy ones I won't eat (like potatoes) and
we all enjoy the meats, salads and green veggies. It takes me almost
no extra time.

Even when we're doing something substantially starchy, like pasta,
it's not a big deal. I boil pasta for them, make a rich meat-based
sauce for all of us and serve my share over 'pasta' made of finely
shredded zucchini or cabbage, wilted in a pan with some butter, or
even on a bed of broccoli or cauliflower nuked until tender-crisp.

Aramanth

We are really busy on Tuesday nights, and three weeks in a row I made
spaghetti in advance for them and artichoke parmesan for myself...three
weeks in a row I was out of ketosis early Weds morning-has anyone else had
this experience with tomato sauce? I have avoided it since...

BTW can I have your recipe for the "Italian Salad"?

Glitter Girl

"Nancy J" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We had an Italian dinner tonight, sausage, pasta with sauce, sautéed
portabella mushrooms, Italian salad with avocados and tomatoes. They had
the pasta and bread with their meal, I had an extra helping of sausage and
mushrooms with a little sauce over the top and some salad. Usually I
prepare a main dish of meat or fish, a vegetable and some potatoes, rice
or pasta for my family. I always make sure that I have my stuff and maybe
a special dessert. My family loves low carb cheesecake or fruit,
especially berries. Please don't make life hard on yourself. Buy the kids
some snacks that they like and you don't. That ploy works for me and my
kids very well. Another thing I often do when the meal isn't my best
choice is to have a snack of cheese cubes, olives and nuts before dinner.
When you are already 1/2 full you won't tend to cheat. Hope that helps a
little.

Nancy J

"Shanon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:zRZsd.125378$%x.121951@okepread04...

Quoted message said:

Hey Everybody!

I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals for
my hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out there
that can share any helpful tips?

Glitter Girl

Glitter Girl said:

that was exactly what I meant by preparing seperate meals--they get the
starch and I have to cook something else for myself...

But the starch is (or should be) a minor component of the meal. It
takes a moment to throw a few potatoes in the oven to roast while I'm
preparing the rest of the meal which we all share. Or to throw
oven-baked fries in there. My family dislike (intensely) mashed
potatoes so that's never an issue.

A typical dinner here includes broccoli or cauliflower, a salad, roast
or grilled meats. A side of potatoes is the only difference between
my meal and those of the rest of my family. It doesn't take more than
a few extra minutes to prepare the starchy side for them.

Sometimes, my family don't even want a starch. There's really very
little nutrition in starches that they can't get anywhere else. If
cooking a starchy meal regularly for your family is becoming a chore,
just stop doing it. No-one ever died of malnutrition eating
vegetables and meats with little or no starch or sugar added!

Aramanth

Did you have any meat with the spaghetti? If not you may want to consider
making low carb meatballs or cooking some sausage to have with it. Smother
yours in a couple tablespoons of sauce and lots of cheese. As far as an
Italian salad goes, E A S Y. Just cut up about 1/3 head lettuce (or buy the
bagged stuff) add whatever you have, chopped tomato, avocado, celery,
cucumber, black olives, etc, pour about 1/4 cup olive oil, add wine vinegar
to taste, sprinkle some Italian seasoning on it, salt, pepper and after you
mix it up (use clean hands) sprinkle some parmesan cheese over it. This
takes all of 5 minutes. BTW, do you make your own sauce? If you do, don't
add sugar. If you don't, buy low carb or sugar free sauce. Your family won't
know. If it isn't sweet enough for them add a packet of Splenda.

"Glitter Girl" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:RZ8td.125401$%x.102270@okepread04...

Quoted message said:

We are really busy on Tuesday nights, and three weeks in a row I made
spaghetti in advance for them and artichoke parmesan for myself...three
weeks in a row I was out of ketosis early Weds morning-has anyone else had
this experience with tomato sauce? I have avoided it since...

BTW can I have your recipe for the "Italian Salad"?

Glitter Girl

"Nancy J" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We had an Italian dinner tonight, sausage, pasta with sauce, sautéed
portabella mushrooms, Italian salad with avocados and tomatoes. They had
the pasta and bread with their meal, I had an extra helping of sausage
and mushrooms with a little sauce over the top and some salad. Usually I
prepare a main dish of meat or fish, a vegetable and some potatoes, rice
or pasta for my family. I always make sure that I have my stuff and maybe
a special dessert. My family loves low carb cheesecake or fruit,
especially berries. Please don't make life hard on yourself. Buy the kids
some snacks that they like and you don't. That ploy works for me and my
kids very well. Another thing I often do when the meal isn't my best
choice is to have a snack of cheese cubes, olives and nuts before dinner.
When you are already 1/2 full you won't tend to cheat. Hope that helps a
little.

Nancy J

"Shanon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:zRZsd.125378$%x.121951@okepread04...

Quoted message said:

Hey Everybody!

I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals for
my hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out
there that can share any helpful tips?

Glitter Girl

yes, it was a meat sauce--I dont know why it knocked me out of ketosis, but
it did...

Glitter Girl

"Nancy J" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Did you have any meat with the spaghetti? If not you may want to consider
making low carb meatballs or cooking some sausage to have with it. Smother
yours in a couple tablespoons of sauce and lots of cheese. As far as an
Italian salad goes, E A S Y. Just cut up about 1/3 head lettuce (or buy
the bagged stuff) add whatever you have, chopped tomato, avocado, celery,
cucumber, black olives, etc, pour about 1/4 cup olive oil, add wine
vinegar to taste, sprinkle some Italian seasoning on it, salt, pepper and
after you mix it up (use clean hands) sprinkle some parmesan cheese over
it. This takes all of 5 minutes. BTW, do you make your own sauce? If you
do, don't add sugar. If you don't, buy low carb or sugar free sauce. Your
family won't know. If it isn't sweet enough for them add a packet of
Splenda.

"Glitter Girl" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:RZ8td.125401$%x.102270@okepread04...

Quoted message said:

We are really busy on Tuesday nights, and three weeks in a row I made
spaghetti in advance for them and artichoke parmesan for myself...three
weeks in a row I was out of ketosis early Weds morning-has anyone else
had this experience with tomato sauce? I have avoided it since...

BTW can I have your recipe for the "Italian Salad"?

Glitter Girl

"Nancy J" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We had an Italian dinner tonight, sausage, pasta with sauce, sautéed
portabella mushrooms, Italian salad with avocados and tomatoes. They had
the pasta and bread with their meal, I had an extra helping of sausage
and mushrooms with a little sauce over the top and some salad. Usually I
prepare a main dish of meat or fish, a vegetable and some potatoes, rice
or pasta for my family. I always make sure that I have my stuff and
maybe a special dessert. My family loves low carb cheesecake or fruit,
especially berries. Please don't make life hard on yourself. Buy the
kids some snacks that they like and you don't. That ploy works for me
and my kids very well. Another thing I often do when the meal isn't my
best choice is to have a snack of cheese cubes, olives and nuts before
dinner. When you are already 1/2 full you won't tend to cheat. Hope that
helps a little.

Nancy J

"Shanon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:zRZsd.125378$%x.121951@okepread04...
> Hey Everybody!
>
> I love to cook, but have found that trying to prepare seperate meals
> for my hubby and 3 kids is killing my kitchen joy...is there anyone out
> there that can share any helpful tips?
>
> Glitter Girl
>

Glitter Girl said:

We are really busy on Tuesday nights, and three weeks in a row I made
spaghetti in advance for them and artichoke parmesan for myself...three
weeks in a row I was out of ketosis early Weds morning-has anyone else had
this experience with tomato sauce? I have avoided it since...

With what tomato products are you making your sauce? (Assuming no
sugar added) tomato paste is a lot carbier than canned crushed
tomatoes, canned tomato puree, or canned plain tomato sauce.

--
jamie ([email hidden])

"There's a seeker born every minute."

Yes, it does have tomato paste, and I have been avoiding it since.....

What is everyone's opinion of MSG?

Glitter Girl
"jamie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Glitter Girl said:

We are really busy on Tuesday nights, and three weeks in a row I made
spaghetti in advance for them and artichoke parmesan for myself...three
weeks in a row I was out of ketosis early Weds morning-has anyone else
had
this experience with tomato sauce? I have avoided it since...

With what tomato products are you making your sauce? (Assuming no
sugar added) tomato paste is a lot carbier than canned crushed
tomatoes, canned tomato puree, or canned plain tomato sauce.

--
jamie ([email hidden])

"There's a seeker born every minute."

In article <jqttd.125621$%x.125061@okepread04>,

Glitter Girl said:

Yes, it does have tomato paste, and I have been avoiding it since.....

What is everyone's opinion of MSG?

I avoid it like the plague, but my reasons have nothing to do with lC.

--
AF
"Non Sequitur U has a really, really lousy debate team."
--artyw raises the bar on rec.sport.baseball