I'm having trouble keeping everyone fed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last night I made steaks. Enough for 2 per son and husband, 1 for each me and dd. I made 1 for the 3 yo. Salad with spinach, lettuce, egg, and beans. Baked potatoes and cauliflower/ broccoli medley. No leftovers still, but I bellow everyone was satisfied. Dh has also mentioned that he likes dinner lately.

Sounds delicious.

Well done OP!! Nailed it.

[Anonymous]

First of all, the steaks were not like plate sized restaurant steaks. I think my sons who are now swimming for summer on top of other sports will burn off the obscene amount of fat. But thanks for your concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, the steaks were not like plate sized restaurant steaks. I think my sons who are now swimming for summer on top of other sports will burn off the obscene amount of fat. But thanks for your concern.

You go, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, the steaks were not like plate sized restaurant steaks. I think my sons who are now swimming for summer on top of other sports will burn off the obscene amount of fat. But thanks for your concern.

You go, OP!

Ditto. If I was young and still swimming, I would have LOVED that dinner.

[Anonymous]

I'm 52 and pudgy and fantasizing about that dinner. Way to go, OP.

What's for dinner tonight?

[Anonymous]

Tonight I'm making shrimp fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli. I'm not sure if I need to add another vegetable to sort of round out the meal. Tonight will be a dessert night as well. I'm making sweet potato pie.

[Anonymous]

I do feel for OP adjusting to cooking for something outside her norm, it sounds like she is doing much better now!

My H is 6'6 and athletic. I come from a petite family. My mom would make a meatloaf with 1 lb of meat for the 4 of us and it would be good for 2 full meals plus leftovers for dad's meatloaf sandwiches. My similar 1 lb meatloaf feeds the 3 people in our family one night (one being a preschooler) with only enough left for one or two sandwiches. When we first got married I would get frustrated that he wanted seconds and would make it so there wasn't enough for a second dinner of leftovers meaning I had to cook an extra night that week. I've adjusted though and either don't plan on meals made of leftovers or double my original recipe if I want leftovers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do feel for OP adjusting to cooking for something outside her norm, it sounds like she is doing much better now!

My H is 6'6 and athletic. I come from a petite family. My mom would make a meatloaf with 1 lb of meat for the 4 of us and it would be good for 2 full meals plus leftovers for dad's meatloaf sandwiches. My similar 1 lb meatloaf feeds the 3 people in our family one night (one being a preschooler) with only enough left for one or two sandwiches. When we first got married I would get frustrated that he wanted seconds and would make it so there wasn't enough for a second dinner of leftovers meaning I had to cook an extra night that week. I've adjusted though and either don't plan on meals made of leftovers or double my original recipe if I want leftovers.

This sounds familiar. My parents were worried about money, especially at the end of the summer (my dad was a teacher) and my mom would make a roast or whatever but we were only allowed one thin slice at the first meal. Then the second meal would be something using the meat in another way (stir fry or a casserole) and then maybe my dad would get a sandwich for his lunch. Finally a soup if there was a bone. Taking a second slice was not allowed. My mom could stretch that original roast for several meals for four people. I wanted more roast but I didn't go hungry because there were sides or snacks available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do feel for OP adjusting to cooking for something outside her norm, it sounds like she is doing much better now!

My H is 6'6 and athletic. I come from a petite family. My mom would make a meatloaf with 1 lb of meat for the 4 of us and it would be good for 2 full meals plus leftovers for dad's meatloaf sandwiches. My similar 1 lb meatloaf feeds the 3 people in our family one night (one being a preschooler) with only enough left for one or two sandwiches. When we first got married I would get frustrated that he wanted seconds and would make it so there wasn't enough for a second dinner of leftovers meaning I had to cook an extra night that week. I've adjusted though and either don't plan on meals made of leftovers or double my original recipe if I want leftovers.

My DH and I don't eat much, despite working out regularly. When I cook, I play for maybe a half cup of rice for each of us, or we will spilt a potato, maybe 4oz of meat and a mountain of vegetables (which really don't amount to many calories). I think we both just have low metabolisms and don't require much to sustain ourselves. It is has been an onoing process to keep our boys fed AND to do it healthfully, without leaning on excessive amounts of empty carbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to give an idea of what are appropriate amounts of animal fats according to the American Heart Association:

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Replenish/WhatisaServing/What-is-a-Serving_UCM_301838_Article.jsp

That list doesn't specify what age is being targeted with "serving". Clearly those servings are far too much for toddlers. And nowhere near enough for growing adolescents. Who need FAT!

When I was pregnant I went to a dietician who recommended a bunch of AHA meal plans that included stuff like canned no-salt vegetable soup and white bread rolls with margarine and iced tea with artificial sweeteners. Who eats that crap? I'm thin, I eat a whole foods diet with plenty of fats and I was hoping to boost what I was already doing. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those questioning how one makes enough food if it's from scratch, the anwer is that these are teens! THEY should be helping! I posted ages ago about all I cook for my kids. They were in the kitchen with me from day one and were "helping" me as toddlers and were actually pretty useful sous chefs by about age 5.

At this point, dinner is around 30 min prep and it's all divide and conquer. So I'll yell that it's time to make dinner and they all swarm in and everyone gets a job: someone washes veggies, someone peels, someone chops, someone gets out pans, etc. Many hands make light work, and the number of hands should coordinate with the number of stomachs!

My teens don't have 30 minutes every night to help prep dinner. They have 2 hours of sports practice and 2-3 hours of homework.

[Anonymous]

Two adults one toddler we spend $800-900 just on groceries and that excludes us eating out (buy lunch five times a week, weekends 2-3 meals). Not that I'm couponing but we hardly ever go to WholeFoods eother. I think grocery bill is just a big expense. So for three teenagers I would imagine food bill even higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do feel for OP adjusting to cooking for something outside her norm, it sounds like she is doing much better now!

My H is 6'6 and athletic. I come from a petite family. My mom would make a meatloaf with 1 lb of meat for the 4 of us and it would be good for 2 full meals plus leftovers for dad's meatloaf sandwiches. My similar 1 lb meatloaf feeds the 3 people in our family one night (one being a preschooler) with only enough left for one or two sandwiches. When we first got married I would get frustrated that he wanted seconds and would make it so there wasn't enough for a second dinner of leftovers meaning I had to cook an extra night that week. I've adjusted though and either don't plan on meals made of leftovers or double my original recipe if I want leftovers.

This sounds familiar. My parents were worried about money, especially at the end of the summer (my dad was a teacher) and my mom would make a roast or whatever but we were only allowed one thin slice at the first meal. Then the second meal would be something using the meat in another way (stir fry or a casserole) and then maybe my dad would get a sandwich for his lunch. Finally a soup if there was a bone. Taking a second slice was not allowed. My mom could stretch that original roast for several meals for four people. I wanted more roast but I didn't go hungry because there were sides or snacks available.

That sounds like my family. (I posted about adjusting my cooking above.) My mom was a teacher and off summers as well. I don't recall ever being offered seconds and we filled up on salad which was always served at the end of the meal instead of at the beginning. Our meat was also cut thin, that was another thing that took adjusting, my H cuts thick slices of everything! She also definitely stretched meat portions out by adding fillers, particularly to things like meatballs, burgers, and hamburgers. I don't recall ever being hungry because of the salad, but I think back and wonder about my dad....he was a plumber so did physical labor all day long.

[Anonymous]

How much salmon is a serving? I've heard 2 oz but that's really a small amount. I made 2 salmons (Costco size) before and there still weren't left overs but how much should I anticipate needing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much salmon is a serving? I've heard 2 oz but that's really a small amount. I made 2 salmons (Costco size) before and there still weren't left overs but how much should I anticipate needing?

A normal serving is about 6-8 oz.