suggestions for family dinners that work well with weight loss plan

[geordiedench]

I need loads! I have two teenage beanpoles and a six-foot husband to feed and don't want to make one thing for them, another for me. I'm happy to skip the carb they have, or to give them bigger portions of something that is really healthy and nutritious.

Does anyone have any favourite recipes they cook for family that are also part of their weightloss plan?

[WipsGlitter]

Following!! Was think about starting exact same thread!!

[geordiedench]

The only ones I have already are quite carb heavy - old style green Slimming World, but I'll add them anyway, in case anyone out there is not following a low carb plan.

Mediterreanean veg pasta for 4 people:

10ml olive oil
3 big garlic cloves, minced
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper diced
1 yellow or green pepper diced
1-2 courgettes, diced
4-6 cup mushrooms or chestnut mushrooms
400ml passata or chopped tinned tomatoes
20ml tomato puree
heaped spoonful of veg bouillon powder (or one stock cube)
heaped spoonful of dried oregano or marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
sprinkling (1/4 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
4-6 chunks frozen spinach (optional)
desertspoon red wine (optional)
salt and ground black pepper
stoned black olives in brine optional
capers optional

fry garlic and onion for 1 min, then add peppers and courgettes for a further 5 mins. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, puree, herbs and seasoning, and spinach, olives, capers and wine if using them.
Cook gently, with lid on pan for 10 more minutes. Add a small amount of water if sauce is about to stick. After 10 mins, take out 2 ladlesful of mixture and hand blend to smooth sauce, then stir back in with chunky veg.
Non-dieters can add grated cheese and as much pasta as they want. Strict dieters could use courgetti or those zero noodles.
Serve with salad or steamed green veg if you like.

The other one is a family favourite.
Lean carbonara.

cut four rashers of back bacon into strips, and dry fry.
In a bowl, whisk together
1 carton Quark
2 eggs
2 oz reduced fat mature cheddar, finely grated
spoonful of veg bouillon
pinch of grated nutmeg
teaspoon of dried thyme
teaspoon garlic granules
black pepper

Cook pasta and steam frozen peas over it
Drain pasta 2 mins before cooking time is over.
Stir in the cheese and egg mixture and cook on low heat for two more mins. Stir in steamed peas and bacon. Serve with grilled tomatoes or steamed broccoli.

These are both recipes for people who want or need to follow lower fat diets. I do, because of gallstones. So they're not that fashionable at the moment, but they do fill up the family and I know you can lose weight eating them as your main meal, if you don't eat silly amounts of pasta.

I'm really interested to try some good low carb recipes that aren't too high fat, and very interested in any good soups and salads as well as family main meals.

[crazybutterflylady]

If your teenagers are ok with spice then I'd recommend the body coach cookbooks. Have a google and you're sure to find some recipes before you invest, but I'm in a similar situation and I feed my v active 6 footer the BC meals, and generally add some form of carb if I'm not having any. Things like his muscle mince recipe or spicy turkey mine, frittatas, omelettes (add wedges for your family?) - definitely worth a look.

[BIWI]

If you're low carbing, there's no need to feed the family different things! Look at the Bootcamp recipe thread. There are lots of lovely recipes there, and no-one would notice that there isn't a high carb element.

A high carb diet isn't actually good for anyone - we'd all benefit from lowering our carb intake.

[geordiedench]

BiWi, thanks for pointing me to the Bootcamp thread. Does it have ideas for family dinners on it?

Crazy, thanks for that suggestion. I'll take a look at them. They do like spice. And mince. And turkey. So it sounds like a good place to start.

[Blondie1984]

Stir fries are great - chicken, prawn, lean beef - they can have theirs with noodles and you could either have a modest portion or skip altogether

You could make meatballs with lean mince and cook in a tomato sauce with lots of veg and serve with pasta

Also, look out for a magazine called Healthy Food Guide - that always has lots of great recipes in it

[Bestthingever]

The Healthy Food Guide is great. I find their recipes and tips very practical.