What is normal eating for a family [don't judge]

amother

Green

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 12:50 pm

You definitely don't need to have some of the menus discussed here. Totally functional and raised in a functional home.
You need vegetables (not every meal, we don't at breakfast, but many meals). Starches (best if healthier like quinoa or whole wheat pasta vs white pasta) . And a protein (cheese, yogurt, milk, beans, chicken, tuna etc).

If you are low income- eat more beans and rice, carrots and other cheaper options. You can also find ways to stretch chicken or meat- tacos with beans and rice, stews etc.

Despite what some imamothers say- you don't need chicken or meat every day.

And shabbos dinner does not need soup and fish and chicken or meat and three sides. We do soup and 1 main, 1 starch and 2 vegetables. I try to get in as many vegetables on Shabbos as it seems to be easier than other days of the week 😅.
If we do fish, we don't do a different main. We do fish, salad, and a grain. Probably another vegetable as well

Amarante ↓

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 1:00 pm

Perhaps it would be more helpful to you if you posted what you currently eat and people can then actually make suggestions - especially lower cost suggestions that fit your tastes and your budgets.

There are many many ways to eat healthy - and at almost every budget level.

The issue with eating healthily on a budget is that often it takes a bit more planning and time because you generally need to eliminate processed food since it is more expensive than scratch cooking and generally not as healthy.

But healthy within a budget is possible without going crazy or having to cook for hours

For example, frozen vegetables are as healthy as fresh for the most part and cost far less generally.

Some healthy fruits are inexpensive and healthy while others are a luxury. And of course there are ways to get fresh fruit by buying in season or frequenting stores which are less expensive. For example, my neighbor buys fruit at a certain market and the prices are super cheap. She picks up stuff for me as a favor. Last time the white Rainier cherries were $2.49 per pound and the lychees were $1.99 per pound. At my regular grocery store, Rainier cherries are $6.99 and lychees are $16.00 per pound.

amother

Tealblue

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 1:12 pm

Quote:

We are very functional, I’m just busy and I think normal.

Breakfast is always cereal and milk or yogurt. No time for cooking. Oh sometimes rice cakes with cheese on top.

Lunch is either warmed up frozen pizza, fish sticks, frozen potato knish in the microwave, toast, or grilled cheese sandwhich.

Supper I try to do protein starch and veggie (or fruit). So grilled chicken with couscous and frozen broccoli, or meatballs spaghetti and whatever fruit or veggie my kids agree to, baked ziti and a salad and tuna for the kids that will eat it, burgers and frozen French fries and again any fruit or veggie my kids agree to (apples, oranges, cut up cucumbers…)

This sounds like my house, kids ages 1 to 16.

I grew up in a perfectly functional home, and I think my home now is pretty functional. I'm super laid back with what my kids eat. I try for some sort of protein and each meal and some fruits and vegetables scattered around. But there's also lots of junk and snacks

Some of these menus listed above sound like hours of prep, washing dishes and cleaning. I can't imagine such a thing unless you have full time help or don't work.

dankbar ↓

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 4:10 pm

What matters is that you have teens/adults who might need lot food because growing/have ravenous appetites.

You need enough food to go around. Make sure they don't go hungry. I think what's more important is the quantity.

If it's too much to prepare all meals for them, you can rotate,each one responsible a diff day, or they can help you with food preps.

Ask them what they'd like to eat, make a menu together, maybe every day a diff chooses the menu of what they like or have diff options so everyone has what to eat.

amother

DarkOrange

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 4:12 pm

Wow, this is really helpful as a fellow "dysfunctional" mom, to see I'm actually doing ok.

We have hot oatmeal, oatmeal fruit smoothies, low sugar type cereal and milk or yogurt for breakfast.

Kids take a sandwich, fruit, vegetable, and snack (pretzels, crackers, rice cakes or breadsticks) to school.

After school we have one of the following as an early dinner:
Baked potatoes and toppings
Soup with cheese
Chicken stir fry or curry
Meatballs or shepherds pie
Baked white fish
Pasta and cheese
Tuna patties
Eggs - scrambled or shakshuka or omelette
Tofu stir fry

Most have either veggies in or on the side, but not all

Kids usually have another fruit and maybe another savory snack closer to bedtime

↑ Amarante

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 6:51 pm

amother Blonde wrote:

We like fruit but none of us like vegetables. We eat fruit for dessert.

Vegetables are pretty critical for a healthy diet.

There are loads of ways to incorporate vegetables in ways that people who don’t think they like vegetables crime pit they love.

No one likes overcooked mushy plain vegetables and obviously people have preferences but tomato’s are a vegetable, minestrone soup is essentially vegetables, most people love roasted vegetables especially with good flavors depending on what foods you prefer. Stir fries are a vetaboe if you like Chinese flavored foods. Vegetables puréed and so on.

amother

↑ Blonde ↓

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 7:23 pm

Amarante wrote:

Fruit is basically vegetables but with sugar, so yes we get all the vitamins but you can't eat as much because of the fructose involved. Occasionally we'll eat something that has spinach and cheese or green beans in tomato sauce, but that's about it for vegetables.

amother

Ballota

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 7:39 pm

Maybe I’m not as functional as I think?
Breakfast:
Cereal and milk
(Not anything too healthy but not the crazy sugar/colored ones. So like life, varieties of cheerios, cripix, panda puffs, kix etc)
Frozen waffles

Lunch:
Cream cheese sandwich
Bagel and butter
Frozen food like:
Pizza, pizza bagel, pizza snaps
Blintzes, potato knish, fish sticks
Or a yogurt for some picky little

Supper::
Chicken and rice and green beans
Baked ziti and corn on the cob
Breaded flounder and wacky Mac (don’t judge)
Meatballs and spagetti
Tacos with ground beef
Burgers and hot dogs
If I’m feeling really functional I cut up a plate of fruit and veggies
Thursday night is also some kind of pizza. Either homemade or frozen or store

Snack:
Kids bring (gasp) lots of snack bags and pastries and bars to school

Always have fruit available in fridge as well as string cheese and crackers etc

amother

Cherry

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 8:24 pm

Let’s be clear here.
Cereal and milk are not a meal. Never should have been a meal. Has no nutritional value. Doesn’t actually make anyone full or have energy.

Breakfast should be a carb and protein. Eggs and toast is a solid go to!

Lunch salad or veggie forward with protein. Light meal.

Dinner a protein heavy meal with no carbs and if need other crunch factor can do veggies or simple carbs like rice or potatoes or soemtjing that’s actually food.

I highly suggest looking and doing the whole30. You want REAL food. Not overly processed. Not “low fat” or “sugar free” garbage pretend food. You want real food.
Rice is better than pasta as an example

Fruit is solid good food. Helps with sugar cravings and is delicious.

You don’t need major meals.

Again I suggest focusing on real food. Not canned food. Not processed food. Read all labels and know what each ingredient is in the food that you’re putting into your body!! Stay away from gimmicks

Splenda is horrible for you. Want sweet? Raw honey, maple syrup or dates.

Watch Dr Berg on YouTube

amother

Oldlace

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 9:18 pm

amother Cherry wrote:

Cereal is a carb and milk is a protein….

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:05 pm

thank you dear friends
sorry I'm responding so late
very busy here
need to sort through all responses

you asked and here goes:
what we currently eat:

yogurt cereal bar or cereal/milk for breakfast
some of the older teens do ww bread with tuna avocodo or eggs

we swapped whole milk for low fat milk

erev shabbos we have kugel and ferfel and peice of cake/cookie if hungry
lunch is tuna or egg with ricecake or melba toast [earlier than the above] and a yogurt or a leben [but then you can't claim your leben at melave malka]

shabbos at kidush a slice of cake
shabbos is regular challah / fish / dips / soup / chicken / potato kugel / cooked apples for night
challah / fish / dip / eggs - liver / chulent kishke kuge for day

we drink diet soda and water or seltzer at seuda
challah isn't limited and people eat 1-3 slices

licorice, em and ems, chocolates [think rumballs marshmallow almonds] snack bags and ices for shabbos afternoon

challah and lox foor shalash seudos
matzah and cheese or scrambled egg for melave malka
kids who don't wash eat icecream or leben

my suppers are
sundays leftovers
mondays ground chicken with potatoes
tuesday chicken cutlets and rice
wednesday a rotation of pizza type dishes or cheese latkes with a fresh salad
thursday is some type of fish - think flounder or tuna with a salad

I don't always have my suppers ready Sad

so kids may eat cereal [rice crispies or honey nut oats or branflakes - it rotates] and milk or foxies or snack bags or crunchy bars
sometimes I have available grapes or watermelon
the cookies and cake in my house are bought for shabbos - and the leftovers eaten during the week and than I dont buy until shabbos
I have a dairy bar of chocolate which also gets eaten - a bar a week for the family - usually in the am if s/o isn't eating breakfast
here and there dh buys a bottle of juice and it's finished over a week's time

my 12 year old son went up two sizes this year and my 14 year old is also very very heavy
I'm now pre-diabetic

amother

↑ Lightblue

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:15 pm

amother OP wrote:

I'm sure people far more eloquent than me will give you ideas on how to improve your eating habits in a sustainable way but I will tell you, when you posted your OP, I did not imagine eating habits that were this ordinary. Sure it's not the healthiest, but don't beat yourself up, this isn't the height of dysfunction.

thegiver ↓

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:24 pm

Protein carb and veggies for each meal except breakfast. We can’t afford meat during weekdays so it’s mostly beans fish and eggs tofu etc.
Easy veggies are carrots Tomatoes string beans cucumbers. Prechecked salads.

Breakfast is always grab n go.

Two well thought out dinners a week.

Lunch is simple. See above.
Try to imagine egg size portions of things. Eat to taste not to get full. U will see that smaller portions do fill u over time. (You train your stomach to be a certain size—if u r overweight it’s an inidicatuij you need to eat less… eat more veggies if u are still hungry after 1 serving. Have hot water after each meal to prolong bonding time and ease digestion.

Don’t have older kids yet. I heard they eat more than they need to.

↑ thegiver

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:29 pm

Sugar and carbs need to be cut—quantity. Low sugar cereals only (3g). Sugar is addictive. More than opium.

Lastly increase fiber in your diet as much as you can tolerate. This is mostly fruits and veggies. Some high fiber bland cereal and crackers. It’s yuck but you will feel much better. U will eat less bec u r not eating to enjoy but eating to have energy. There’s a big difference. When your body is suffering your spirit is rejoicing. It’s a power struggle. Much like rival wives. When your body is enjoying your spirit is depressed and you might feel less energy and depleted after meals.

Rappel

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:39 pm

amother OP wrote:

You're okay.

The only thing I'm seeing in house function - your kids should have an independent food corner, so you don't have to work hard for them to be full.

Ex:

A ready pan and spatula on the stove, for eggs. Each teen makes their own when they feel like it.

A fruit bowl on the table

A tray of sliced veggies waiting in the fridge. Transition that to a cutting board and knife near beautiful, visible vegetables.

A sandwich toaster, cheese and bread

Frozen individual portions of yum, and a microwave