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

amother

OP ↓

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:08 am

my husband and I both grew up with different levels of dysfunction and we've been working on many different issues over time depending on our ability to do the hard internal work

in either case; we've grossly neglected healthy habits in our home and we're desperate for a reset

we do not have an extra penny and we only have child health plus for the kids

both of us currently don't have insurance - we are considering the kosher health share

the eating habits in our house are COMPLETELY OUT OF WHACK

the thing is we both dont have a model of what's normal and not deprivation

ages:
8 12 14 17 20

would you be so kind to detail for me
breakfast
snack
lunch supper
on a regular weekday

on a friday

and your shabbos and motzei shabbos menu

you will be helping a hurting trying to heal mom

thank you

yachnabobba ↓

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:15 am

Breakfast choices:
Yogurt
Cereal and milk
Grilled cheese
Scrambled eggs
Some families are early risers and tend to hot breakfast, while others are the grab some cut up apples and a yogurt pouch on the way out
Snack at home:
Fruit vegetables crackers pretzels
In school loosen up a bit and serve junk food so your kids have what the others have
Lunch:
Pasta
Tuna patties
Fish sticks
Spicy noodles and eggs
Sandwiches
Pita stuffed with lettuce
Supper
Chicken and rice
Meatballs and spaghetti…
I can go on
But the idea is each meal should have something green, something starchy and something protein

flowerpower

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:19 am

Supper by us is a protien, carb, and veggie. Sometimes a soup ( and we freeze some for another night)
Cutlets is a hot item here. Veggies can be broccoli, broccoli kugal, cauliflower popcorn, creamed spinach, green beans, corn on the cob, squash coins, etc

Breakfast is whole wheat toast, cereal( not junky), sandwich, healthy homemade muffins, on Sundays its eggs- scrambled, sunny side up, french toast….

From infancy and on the kids are trained to love water. No apple juice or sodas. Just water….

Last edited by flowerpower on Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:20 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Carnation

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:19 am

I have different ages than you, but I’ll try to help. And also, you didnt specify exactly what you’re eating now so I don’t know if your eating is actually out of whack.

Ages: 9,7,3, and baby

Breakfast- cereal, yogurt, granola, muffin, or pancakes
With hot cocoa, milk, or coffee for adults

Lunch- kids get lunch in school
3 yr old gets sandwich, pizza, leftover supper, pasta
With a cut up fruit or veggie, pretzels, string cheese

Supper- (examples)
Sunday- bbq + salad
Monday- shnitzel+ rice + green beans
Tuesday- baked ziti +salmon + Israeli salad
Wednesday- pepper steak + broccoli + rice
Thursday- sourdough + eggs+ salad

Friday night-
Sourdough
Challah
Soup
Salmon
Gefilte
Chicken on the bone
Meat
Broccoli
Green beans
Potato Kugel
Dessert

Shabbos day-
Sourdough
Challah
Fish
Chulent
Eggs
Liver
Deli
Meat/grilled chicken
Lettuce Salad
Variety of cut up salads
Dessert

Shalash seudas-
Challah
Fish
Cereal and milk
Cut up salads
Fresh fruit

We don’t really eat motze shabbos… sorry if that’s unhelpful

These menus change all the time, but this is a sampling of one and they’re all pretty similar

For snacks, my kids take snack bags, muffins, pretzels, crackers, etc

amother

Bone

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:21 am

amother OP wrote:

Every family is different and does different things.h normal may not be your normal...

Breakfast: variety of eggs, pancakes, waffles, cereal, toast, etc. I am pretty laid back and make wtvr the kids want

Lunch: salad, sandwiches, noodles or anything really

Snack: kids take a couple snack bags, a fruit or veggy. I don't usually snack much

Supper: I like to do a soup usually and then a protein, starch and veggy
Example: veggy soup, broiled chicken, rice, broccoli
Fish, mashed potatoes, string bwansy, butternut squash soup
Sometimes I do all in one suppers like bean and veggies soup with garlic bread and a. Salad

Friday lunch: kugel, noode soup, noodles or wtvr they want.

Shabbos-
Challah, dips, salmon, soup, meat, chicken, veggy , starch , dessert
Shabbos day- challah, dips, liver, eggs, cholent, kugel, shnitzel, either deli or hot pastrami or something else, dessert

Motzai shabbos: usually Pizza or noodles for kids.

amother

Tuberose

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:26 am

amother OP wrote:

Breakfast: eggs and toast or ready hard boiled eggs from fridge and instant oatmeal

Lunch: tuna sandwich or turkey sandwich with cut up veggies

Supper: 1 chicken quarter, 1 cup cooked rice, vegetable salad or roasted veggies

amother

Freesia

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:32 am

Breakfast:
Smoothie
Toast with cream cheese/butter
Pizza bread
French toast
Pancakes
Cereal
Yogurt
Eggs
Oatmeal
Farina

Lunch:
Pizza/Pizza bagels
Tuna salad with melba toast
Pasta with cottage cheese
Noodle soup
Cereal
Sandwich

Dinner:
Chicken (cutlet, drumstick, ground patties/meatballs)
Side dishes:
Rice
Cabbage pasta
Roasted potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Gnocchi
Farfel
Veggie orzo
Sweet potatoes

Brocoli
Cauliflower
Cut up fresh vegetables with dipping sauce

In the winter, we have soup at dinner.

amother

Forsythia

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:33 am

Breakfast- cereal and milk-
eggs if anyone wants and there’s time
Toast with butter, cream cheese,
peanut butter
Rice cake with same choices as above
On Sundays sometimes pancakes

Lunch -at school or camp
When they are home whatever is fast -
Leftovers - sandwich- tuna-eggs-deli- pizza bread
Plus I always offer fruit

Snack - home baked cookies leftover from Shabbos - chips-popcorn- icees - frozen applesauce, frozen small yogurts (I buy a big tub and freeze in small cups)- cut veggies- Fruit.
If they are in school/ camp 2 snack bags water, and if they want more than that something healthy or I may pop some popcorn

DINNER - Always have a protein, a veg or salad, a starch and I always have soup in the freezer that I take out when I know I need something more filling.
We usually do chicken on the bone or ground beef, 2x a week dairy or parve

amother

Canary

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:33 am

My kids are younger but I don’t mind listing our “menu”

Breakfast is cereal (cornflakes, cheerios) or yogurt. Sometimes in winter oatmeal. Together with a cut up fruit- orange, apple, peach, banana, blueberries, plum, watermelon…..

My kids have a sandwich in school at 10. I send only WW bread and a healthy spread- cheese, avocado, peanut butter…

Lunch- eggs- sometimes hard boiled, sunny side, omelet… or tuna salad on spelt pita. Or Mac n cheese made with ww pasta or brown rice pasta. Always have some cut up veg- cucumber, tomato, cherry tomato, pepper, carrots, kohlrabi, lettuce, radish, mushrooms, baby corn…

I always have healthy crackers, pretzels, popcorn and bamba for snack.
I make cut up fruit platters a lot , if it’s pretty it’s eaten immediately.

Dinner- I make a carb, protein and vegetable every night.
Examples:
Chicken patties, roasted diced mushrooms and peppers, and rice.
Schnitzel, roasted broccoli, and sweet potato.
Ground beef in a WW bun with salad.
Chicken bottoms, roasted cauliflower, and cooked bulgur.

I use kosher.com a lot for dinner ideas, especially from https://www.kosher.com/user/98.....insky

oneofakind

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:35 am

Yogurt is expensive. Cheaper if you buy a big container or make your own.

Breakfast: variety of healthiest cereal
Oatmeal or scrambled eggs or grilled cheese by request

Snacks at home without major limits: pretzels, rice cakes, crackers, fruit, veggie

Lunch: tuna sandwich, grilled cheese, peanut butter sandwich,macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza,eggs salad or hard boiled or something an adventurous child decided to make themselves

Supper:: chicken ( different varieties) ground beef, with side dishes of starch fish ( if people like) once a week, pasta once a week, cut up veggies

Sunday night is traditionally Shabbos leftovers

mummiedearest

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:39 am

No judgment, op.

Our eating has evolved over the years. I try to minimize the amount of processed food we use, but some kids are pickier than others and we have some food intolerances.

We used to go through a lot of cereal and milk for breakfast. Now 5/6 of us tend to eat eggs and some kind of cheese, with some bread and veggies as possible sides. The one kid who doesn’t like eggs will eat oatmeal with butter and salt or a grilled cheese sandwich. Fresh fruit is available as well, we go through a lot of bananas.

Lunches are more varied: some like salmon and rice with avocado, others like big salads with tuna or hard boiled eggs or cheese, one kid will happily eat leftover cholent or chicken soup.

I tend to plan out suppers and cook enough with leftovers in mind for lunch. I pick one protein, at least one veggie side, and usually one starch for the week- a big pot of rice, pasta, or a lot of potatoes. Protein ideas- grilled chicken or baked, salmon, meatballs, a cheap roast, tuna patties, fried tilapia, etc. One kid can’t have dairy, so we tend not to have dairy suppers. Sometimes I’ll make fresh falafel or a veggie soup with cheese to melt in individually.

Veggie sides- salads, soups, roasted veggies- zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes. Grilled veggies. Winter squashes- kabocha, butternut, acorn, spaghetti, etc. Mushrooms, raw veggie trays- cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, etc. Pickles, olives, etc.

We rarely get any kind of takeout. I know my family’s eating habits are not standard. I make a lot from scratch. Whatever level of cooking involvement you like, protein veggie carb is a good formula to follow. If you want to aim for healthier options while still buying convenience food, consider limiting those to products with five or fewer ingredients. If you like that and want to go further, you can start learning about individual ingredients and choosing based on those.

zaq

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:40 am

For adults, Google the DASH diet. It lists healthy foods and provides sample menus for various calorie levels starting at 1200, the minimum recommendation for an adult.

The DASH diet is an eating plan designed to prevent hypertension but is a good overall plan for anyone who doesn't have a specific disorder. It is also flexible enough to accommodate the restrictions of many disorders.

For the kids up to age 18, check out "Nutrition for kids: Guidelines for a healthy diet" at mayoclinic.org.
Past age 18 they should follow adult guidelines.

amother

Peachpuff

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 11:48 am

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…)

amother

Eggplant

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 12:12 pm

Breakfast:

Cereal milk
homemade goodies
oatmeal
banana
yogurt
cheese

lunch:

homemade pizza or calzones or garlic knots
chummus and pita
pita falafel
tuna and bread
omellet
cream cheese and olives on bread
jacket potato and beans
tuan pattiess
white fish and bread or crackers
monkey bread
bread and peanut butter
soup and pita chips
halloumi salad
smoked salmon and rolls
Usually accompanied by veg but not always

supper:
protein:
chickne on the bone
chicken breast
Turkey roll
ground meat
hot dogs
burgers

starch:
quinoa
potatoes
sweet potatoes
couscous
rice
farfel
pasta

Veg:
Green beans
cauliflower
brocolli
carrots
peas
Zucchini
corn

amother

Mustard

Sun, Jul 28 2024, 12:24 pm

Breakfast- cereal and milk or microwaved oatmeal or yogurt

Lunch sandwich/bagel/pizza/pasta

Snacks throughout day such ad fruit, veg, potato chips, pretzels, cookies
not saying those were all healthy

Supper-
I try to do a protein, A veg, A carb
Like cgicken, rice, stringbeans
Or salmon, orzo, broccoli
Meatballs, noodles, and salad..

But sometimes supper here is pancakes / french toast/ frozen pizza