Cookbook with kid-friendly, but healthy for adult ideas??

[Anonymous]

I am struggling with dinnertime. Our kids are decent eaters but definitely prefer the basics/comfort food. Spaghetti, tacos, mac & cheese, meatloaf, etc. On the other hand, my husband and I just did the 10 Day Blood Sugar detox plan (awesome, recommend!) and really want to continue eating healthy low-carb dinners. During this time it was a LOT of work in the kitchen - I basically was making two meals which meant two sets of cooking stuff to be washed/cleaned. I really need to streamline this work while maintaining our adult healthy eating.

Is there a cookbook that contains good ideas for a family, mixing kid-friendly stuff with healthy options for adults? Ideally I'd love ideas and recipes that give you an entire meal and then include modifications for adults. I don't think I've ever seen something like that.

[Anonymous]

Jamie Oliver

[Anonymous]

Roasted butternut squash pureed with some chicken stock, roasted garlic, and heavy cream (s/p). Serve thick as soup or pasta sauce. We also throw butternut squash into a nice risotto. Looks similar to mac n cheese, so DD has no problem giving it a go, and it's now her favorite meals.

We don't hide things. DD see's us eating the meal and tries everything at least once. She likes 99% of what she tries, we just don't make a big deal out of it. I threw broccoli on her plate this week, which we don't eat often (I cook and I don't like it), but she took a nibble and ate most of it. If I left dinner up to DD she would request meatballs with squash pasta and peaches every night (possibly a turkey hot dog or crab cake as well).

Start setting the expectation that there will be one dinner, everyone will eat it, and if they want to have some sort of choice. You're giving them control over the meal. Either you're a short order cook or not. They won't go hungry.

[Anonymous]

Everyday food cook book is a good one (plus not too hard- but good recipes).

[Anonymous]

I've always liked "Cooking Light" for good, healthy food.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I eat a very low carb diet. Our kids are actually eating much healthier dinners since we started, since we are not putting rice or bread on the table at every meal. So the kids are eating more meat/fish/eggs and veggies.

But we do sometimes put more carby foods on the table for the kids. Like last night I made baked chicken drumsticks, chopped salad, and pasta with red sauce. My husband and I just had the chicken and salad. The kids were offered everything, but choose to eat just the pasta.

So sometimes we just all eat low carb dinners, and sometimes we add something carb-o-rific for the kids. The kids have not made a fuss over this change - it started about 5 months ago. Kids are 3 and 5.

Taco dinners are great for the family and for when we have guests. I put out corn tortillas for the carb eaters and romaine leaves (make a great taco shell) for the low carbers. Then whatever fillings I have on hand - meats for low carb and rice/beans for kids. And cheese/sour cream/salsa for all.

Another idea: tuna or salmon salad. Kids eat it on toast or crackers and my husband and I eat it on spinach salad or scoop it up with cucumber slices.

We go through bread very slowly now, so we keep a sliced loaf in the freezer and pull slices out and toast for the kids as needed.

I am loving the Wheat Belly cookbooks. Avoiding wheat is not my particular issue, but these books are actually free of all grains and pretty much free of legumes. He's very focused on keeping things low carb and there are carb counts for the recipes. The drumsticks I made last night were from Wheat Belly. Basically I coated them in a mix of flax meal and parmesan cheese and baked - very yummy and kid friendly (although not as kid friendly as pasta )

Good luck! My husband and I are loving the low carb lifestyle. We've both lost weight and are feeling great.