Diet Discovery

sometime during the weekend, i sit down with my family and ask them what they would like for dinner the coming week. My husband and I, or sometimes just I, then go through the suggestions and i write them on a weekly calender. We pick which ones would be best that week, or ones that may have similar ingredients if its something we usually don’t keep on hand. That way nothing goes to waste. then I can go grocery shopping once during the week and get everything I need, and I dont have to worry about that last minute rush to decide what to make. It also helps so you don’t have up eating chicken 3 nights in a row.
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try to find meals that you can easily remove or substitute thing for your son’s allergies/intolerances.

my sister in law has one daughter that is allergic to wheat and soy products (my sister is too) and another daughter who is allergic to dairy!!! dinner in her house can get complicated!!

she finds easy caserole dishes or meat and veggie dishes that she can easily substitute to accomodate both girls (for example-mashed potatoes she makes plain that way her dairy allergic daughter can add ghee to hers since she’s allergic to butter-the rest of the family can use butter just fine).

are you able to make meals earlier in the week that your non-intolerant family members can eat and freeze them? that way-you can just reheat these while cooking a meal for your younger kids. as for your 12 year old-maybe not allowing her to be so picky or choosy w/her meals. I have a 9 year old and she (along w/both of her sisters) know that they have to eat what is set on the table each night-no exceptions. this will make things easier on you too!!

planning a meal calendar for the upcoming week will help alot too. I do this in my home (my hubby and I are on south beach currently so planning ahead helps w/grocery bill and time). have everyone sit down and come up with ONE meal for dinner each night (make sure you can accomodate the intolerances) for the week.
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For me, I cook my family the same thing for everyone. Our older son doesn’t like spicy food, but everyone else does. The younger son likes more meat sauce on his spaghetti and the older one likes more noodles, and daddy is just a garbage disposal. I try to swing with whatever they want. If they want something different, then I make the same base and put the different ingredients in separate bowls. I let them choose, because I choose more of the healthy option for myself. My husband and older son don’t like tomatoes, but the younger one and myself do. On Friday I wanted to make steak fajitas. So, I cooked up steak strips, bell peppers, onions and garlic with seasoning in a pan by itself. Hubby wanted refried beans and velveeta, but I didn’t. Our boys won’t eat the steak or bell peppers, so I put the velveeta and beans together in a glass bowl. I ended up having a separate pan for the fajita base, a pan of corn, and pan of rice, sour cream on the side, grated cheese on the side and the velveeta/bean mixture. I made the boys bean and cheese burritos with rice and corn added. I made myself the fajita base, rice, corn and grated cheese. Hubby had everything except the corn and rice. I make sure the counter is clear, make an assembly line (just about), and let them choose what they want rather than telling them. Tonight, I made them chicken fried rice, with the rice on the side (so they can decide how much they want) and marinated chicken (hubby and I will eat). I try different foods on them, make a mental note of what they all agree on or the things they like in the meal. I rotate the meals around so hubby doesn’t get bored of it, because he does often. Good Luck! =)
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I like to cook tonight what I am going to eat tomorrow night. That way, when I get home from work, dinner just needs to be warmed up. Then, after we eat, I cook the next night’s meal. That way I am not all hungry and snacking and eating unhealthy. Much easier to cook on a full stomach!

As for making it easier when everyone likes/can eat different things, could you try making a list of say three standby meals that everyone will eat? That way, you can have those ingredients on hand for last minute meals. Something else that works for me is to plan a meal where everyone will like at least some part of it. For example, I will make taco meat, salad, taco fixings and taco shells. I just like the salad with meat on top, my daughter likes to do that and add crushed taco shells to it, and my son likes a traditional taco. You can do variations with this to suit your family’s tastes. The idea is to have at least two ingredients for each person, and all the ingredients go together somewhat.

I found that my kids were more apt to eat dinner if they helped make it. So sometimes it is a family affair with the kids chopping, stirring, or whatever.
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My better half and I try to plan out menus for 10 – 15 days, but shop only for a full week. We cook what we can ahead of time on Sundays and freeze what we can.
We both do the cooking.
We try to find things that can be used for a second meal – pre-planned leftovers are a big help.
crock pots/slow cookers are great.
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i have to cook red meat and potatoes every night to satisfy the male.however tomorrow,i am going to cook chinese,
sirloin steak and peppers served over brown rice with ginger.let him starve if he don’t like it,i want it and that is good enough for me.
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