Pizza, Hotdogs...JUNK FOOD

I love the website weelicious.com that provides a lot of simple recipes for dishes that can be made with standard off-the-Trader Joe's shelf items, such as premade pizza dough, frozen veggies, etc. It's somewhat like Sandra Lee's "semi-homemade" -- where you feel good about the individual healthy components, but you didn't have to make everything from scratch.

Trader Joes! You can find all kinds of great AND HEALTHY microwavable dinners etc. Everything from meatloaf and lasagna to chicken dishes....endless variety. This saved my college age kids from eating junk!

my daugter is only two, so I know I have not yet experienced this picky eating stage, but I here is an idea: When I gave my baby snacks in the day, she really filled up on her favorits, like gold fish crackers, but only picked at her healty meals. I decided to skip snacks to insure her hunger during the healthy meal. It worked so well. I rarely give my daughter snacks now. She gets good and hungry before her meals and eats up!

As for pratical food ideas, Barilla Plus is a spaghetti pasta that has omega 3's and is whole wheat, but taistes just as good as regular spagetti (any grocery store). Morning Star meatless beakfast sausages (trader joes, or Costco). Veggie burgers (morings star makes a good taisting brand)

I also SUCK at cooking, so I feel for you!! I've always tried my best to do healthy things that are easy though, and I find lunch time much easier to achieve that...

My daughter and I often do "picnic" style lunches that are all fun finger foods that include things like;

-whole wheat crackers
-cheese (any kind you like and is healthy)
-raw veggies (like baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, celery with or without cream cheese/peanut butter/etc), fresh green beans, etc....
-Another one of our favorites is bread with hummus (usually a baguette style - it's easier to cut into tiny slices).
-For protein I'll do hard boiled eggs (sometimes I'll make egg salad sandwiches or potato salad; red potatoes, mayo, boiled eggs, celery bits and if you want: blue cheese and bacon bits and salt and paprika, whatever you want really!).
-Or I'll buy meat from the deli and roll it up and poke a a toothpick through it - my daughter loves that for some reason (eating off a tooth pic is "fun" to them since it's different...)

Anyways, hope this gives you some good lunch time ideas!! :) I always try and get at least; one protein, one veggie, and one "grain" (bread or crackers) into each lunch. And always fruit for desert.

Good luck! :)

You've gotten some great responses...I echo the comment about the crock pot. Check out Allrecipes.com for easy slowcooker and quickie recipes. You can make a recipe box and get email newsletters. My next best friend for healthy shopping is Trader Joes. They've got great stuff in every aisle that are healthy alternatives at affordable prices. They've got some great mini pizzas, organic spaghetti o's, canned soups, yogurts (freeze them and use them as a treat), freeze-dried fruits, cereal bars, cheese sticks, hummus, organic crackers, veggie sticks, edamame that is cooked and shelled, and the frozen food section is awesome. I'm also a fan of the frozen veggies for my son. Frozen veggies are convenient and have just as much nutritional value as fresh (avoid canned veggies!) I will saute some in olive oil or smart balance with a little salt & pepper or Italian Seasoning. You can also throw them into things like Spaghetti O's (organic from TJ's) or Mac N' Cheese (Organics makes a good box version...Alfredo sauce too, my son loves them both). I use Hebrew National hot dogs or the frozen turkey meatballs in these too. Finally, find a good local farmer's market and take your son there. The farmers always give out tons of samples and the kids have a blast trying new fruits and veggies...if he likes it, buy it. I keep fresh fruit washed and ready to eat in my fridge and just pull out a snack for my son. He loves it. Hope this helps! Best wishes!

if you have a fresh and easy chain grocery store near you they have fantastic healthy premade meals(sometimes on clearance you can freeze for later). also, stouffers aren't so bad..the family size meals are pretty healthy. they even have veggies.

also, veggie hotdogs are good..my son eats em like candy as are the morningstar farms veggie products(cikin nuggets, corn dogs....) they are a bit pricey but worth it as far as for healthy alternatives. hang in there...it happens ot the best of us!

I would make sure your whole family eats lots of veggies and fruit. I have been making changes in my family's diet as well...trying to eliminate processed foods, cut down on sodium, etc. My son enjoys broccoli and green beans.

Best of luck.

A few years ago Jessica Seinfeld put out a book called Deceptively Delicious. http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/ You might find it on the cheap at Ross.

From the site:

"mouthwatering recipes, tips on making healthy snacks and improving store-bought foods, and her advice on creating harmony around the kitchen table."

Yeah I have one like that too. Try buying the same items at Whole Foods or Trader Joes-they are much "cleaner"

But PLEASE try to use a toaster oven !

Here is an article on the DANGERS of microwaves- http://www.mercola.com/article/microwave/hazards.htm
They are illegal in Russia!

Find yourself a good health food store, like Whole foods market and ask tthem to help you find some easy to make stuff. there are analagous healthy versions of many convenience foods (i.e. microwave burritos). And also find some healthy take-out type food, too. Yes, it costs more, but if you really don't enjoy cooking you might have to invest a bit more cash to get your family the nutrition they need. Stop feeling guilty and spend a whole morning meandering around the health food store. Make a plan to go cold turkey, because losing all of that grease and processed flour will take a bit of an adjustment. You will find that after you are off of the junk food for a month or so, you will not be able to eat a large fry without a tummyache!! You might want to ease into it by just switching breakfast to healthy foods, then snacks, etc. I have been on a slow transformation for a couple of years now, and I really do feel better! Good luck!

The longer you feed him the convenient junk the harder it will be to steer him back to the nutritious stuff, so you're smart to start worrying about this. I wrestle with this all the time too because while I love to eat, I hate to cook and I don't like spending time on it. I've written lots of columns about this on Examiner.com (see the links below -- these suggestions might help). Basically, stock the house with lots of foods that are instant or nearly instant but healthy. Ex: fresh fruit, baby carrots, nutritious (low-sugar) cereal, yogurt (choose one w/ relatively low sugar, which is hard but generally vanilla or plain rather than fruit flavors), potatoes (microwave them in 8-10 minutes, top w/ cheese), lowfat microwave popcorn, un-breaded chicken nuggets (Costco has them), raisins, raw nuts, hard-boiled eggs (takes minutes to boil 6-8 of them, then leave in fridge for days, eat one at a time, you can draw silly faces on the shell to make them fun for the kiddos). Etc. Start thinking about all the healthy foods that are fast and instant; usually the less processing or cooking required the healthier they are, lucky for you! Good luck with this. Meanwhile, check out:

http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

http://www.examiner.com/x-5093-San-Diego-Healthy-Food-Exa...

Theres' more on the Examiner site if you click on the link for my homepage. Good luck and have fun with this!

well u can always substitute things..like get healthier pizza..sprinkle flaxseed on it..i buy spinach linguine at Wholdfoods and tomato sauce is filled w/ vitamin C and u can take veggies and grind them down..i have a special wood bowl for that..and then just sneak it in the sauce if your son doesn't like to eat veggies..i also use clear clam sauce on pasta..
i buy blueberry small mini waffles and put honey on them..i substitute nutella w/ almond chocolate peanut butter ..u buy croissants ...don't heat them up or anything just cut them open and put the almond chocolate inside...its dark chocolate too..
try going to the health food markets and peak around and see if there are things u can swap ..like veggie burgers..or organic chicken ..super easy to make..i just buy thighs & legs..clean them..put some grapeseed oil on top..salt/pepper/powdered garlic cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes..then reduce to 350 and cook another 15 minutes.

u can google recipes too..i get them out of my fitness mag..

if your son will eat fish ..u can buy salmon..put olive oil in a pan..cook on the skin side for a bit til u can scrape the skin off easliy...then put it on tinfoil..put some lemon on top and broil it til it starts to brown a bit...
always cook w/ the dull side of the tinfoil up..so the food isn't on the shiney side..i always fold it over and double up.

u throw some ranch dressing on the fish and it tastes better for kids..

well i'm off to bed hope u get some good ideas..

D.

So funny that you were into the health and then just stopped. It's so easy to cook healthy recipes that your kids AND you will love. We make our own chicken nuggets and fish sticks, mashed potatoes and potato cakes, chicken and pasta recipes that can also be frozen and popped out when you're too tired to cook. Check them out!-www.weelicious.com

Hey K. -

I don't cook as much as I used to either and have resorted to prepared foods, but I'm careful of what's in them, trying to get things that are made of a short list of ingredients. What brands do you buy? Since I don't know, I'll go with the suggestion that you can still give him all of those things, but "clean" them up a bit by buying them at places like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or Wild Oats. They offer frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, mac&cheese, but if you read the label and are careful to get those without trans fats (hydrogenated oils) and high fructose corn syrup, you're better off right there. Also look for lower fat and salt content. As far as hot dogs go, I personally stick with chicken or turkey, but if you prefer beef, look for something w/o nitrites. Not sure Hebrew National has that or not, but it's a brand I allow my daughter to eat if we're at someone else's house & that's what they have. I've relaxed a lot in the last year or so.

Does your son like soup? chili? pasta? casseroles? My daughter likes all the things your son does but fortunately likes veggies too so I can always give her something simple like a couple of slices of pizza & some steamed veggies. Happiest of all, she LOVES soup and will eat almost anything if it's in a clear, tomatoey broth. You can whip up a pot of soup very quickly and if you don't like standing & chopping for a long time you can use frozen veggies or buy them already chopped. I add cooked beans and sometimes quinoa to a pot of soup to make it more filling. You can toss it all in together in 15 or 20 minutes, let it simmer for a half hour & your done. A big enough pot of soup can last for a few meals, with addition of quesadilla or garlic bread, chicken nuggets, etc.

Oh - another idea. See if he likes eating roast chicken. I sometimes buy an already cooked whole chicken at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods and they are both delicious. After the first meal or two, you can do a lot of other things with it in other meals. We get lots of mileage out of them.

Bon Appetit & all the best,
Colleen

Hi K.,

Glad to know I'm not alone in the world of "I don't like to cook". I have a child who is sensitive to processed foods, so I try to do as much as I can from "scratch". Big chore for someone like me.

I use whole grain pasta and brown rice instead of potatoes and white rice, that adds some good nutrition. A yummy tomato sauce covers the "funny taste" of the whole grain pasta. I like it, my kids don't, so we make sure to have a very tasty tomato based sauce, then they will eat it.

I can handle 8 minutes to boil a pot of pasta, so I don't consider that cooking.

You can also easily cook things like chicken chunks in the microwave (with the right cooking tools). I promise it does not come out looking and tasting like little rubber balls, but you have to have the right tools to do it. I love the microwave cooker I bought at someone's Pampered Chef party years ago. I use it every day for cooking chicken or steaming veggies or even making quick mac and cheese.

I also recently bought one of their stoneware pieces, I think it's called the covered baker, (it has a lid unlike most of the stoneware pieces.) There are a ton of recipes for things like soups, stews, casseroles and a bunch more stuff that are all done in that dish in the microwave. This dish was something like $60, but the money I've saved on prepared foods has paid for it over and over again. They also have a recipe card collection called Weekday dinners, I can get two weeks of recipes with those cards, all fast and easy and healthy.

Anyway, I feel your pain :-), good luck.

I keep a stash of frozen vegetables in the freezer... brocolli, peas, carrots, etc. If I'm throwing something together quickly, I'll take a handful of one, put it in a bowl with some water and nuke it for a couple of minutes. My son (who's two) likes to dip things, so if I give him a little ranch dressing, the veges go down without a problem. And I know he's getting some nutrician along with the hotdog or pb&j he's eating as his "main" course. Good luck!

it's hard to make time to cook, especially if you're a busy household. in addition to the great suggestions already mentioned, in my household, we try to make a couple of things during the weekend/sunday night that we can eat a few days into the week. some easier ones are meatloaf with lean turkey meat, add chopped onions, mushrooms, carrots. This is great to hide other veggies chunked into small pieces and the plus is the veggies will keep the meat moist. so one meal can be the meatloaf, make sandwiches with the leftovers, chop some up for spaghetti and meat sauce, etc. Another great one is making a quiche, buy ready bake pie crust and fill with a number of different options. if you want to watch the fat and cholesterol, use lower fat cheese and use egg beaters. while these do not eliminate your time in the kitchen, spending a hour or two on the weekend to prep and the additional bake time, will open you up to just microwaving the next couple of days.

Hi K.,

I am also a failure in the kitchen. However, I have found that crock pots are great. There are plenty of crock pot recipe books out there. A lot of times you can just put in meat and veggies and a seasoning packet set it on low and go about your days.

Ditto on the frozen vegetables. I know they are not as good as fresh, but for a microwave mama, very easy. That peas/carrots/corn/lima bean mix, I microwave a bit of it in a bowl of water and mix it into whatever- noodles, rice. Or my daughter just eats it plain as if it's tiny finger foods... she is younger though.

You can always microwave steam some veggies. Also, trader joe's has a lot of more exotic microwavable meals. Things like Indian, and Thai food that would be a great way to expand your son's palate. My 2 year old's favorite is Chicken Tikka Masala and Paneer Tikka Masala with spinach rice! Go figure.
I also sometimes peel back the wrapper and add some veggies that will cook with the meal - so pasta gets a little broccoli or zucchini, or a stir fry gets a little green bean added, etc.
Be sure on prepackaged meals to check the sodium and fat levels and fiber. If you look at just those 3 things, you can judge some nutritional value & evaluate some better choices. I know Healthy Choice entrees are pretty tasty, and if you add some extra veggies on the side, they can actually be really extra healthy.