inspiration needed for very healthy family recipes.

[racingheart]

Three out of four of us need to lose weight. I've been good about no longer keeping trashy snacks in the house, like crisps, sweet yoghurts and rice krispie bars, which DS2 used to help himself to at all hours. But I have instead started baking fruit cakes and crumbles.... Not good.

I need some inspiration for low fat that people's families genuinely eat. Only thing we never touch is shellfish of any kind, due to allergies.

And has anyone helped their whole family to lose weight by being healthier in their cooking? I always cook from scratch but probably make too much and allow too much snacking between meals. They scowl if I say 'Have fruit,' so any more inspired but not fattening snack recipes would also be welcome (though I know, generally, they should stop snacking.

Thanks for any ideas.

Whenever I make a meal that I would normally put some kind of spuds with, I leave them out and do more broccoli etc instead. I also replace creamy/eggy things with tomatoey things e.g. roasted veg tart instead of quiche, tomato pasta sauce instead of carbonara. Much less bread. Much more salad. Boring things. Sorry

How about salmon fillets or chicken breast baked in foil parcels in oven- add pesto on top or spices such as cajun or thai spices for extra flavour and serve with steamed green veg such as broccoli, spinach, green beans , leeks, cabbage or Kale etc. add a baked sweet potato if you want?
fruit and natural yogurt for puddings
oat cakes, Ryvita etc with low fat cottage cheese for snacks or a banana.
make your own veggie soups and add lentils and pulses to bulk it out and make it more filling.
eating at regular times each day starting with a good breakfast-porridge, muesli etc, wholemeal toast is I believe good for maintaining good blood sugar levels etc which makes you less likely to snack. good luck

Good idea to just pile up the plates with extra veg and fewer carbs. I like the idea of foil baked food with herbs or spice too.

Great ideas. Thank you.

Keep them coming, please!

What do you have for breakfast? Cereal? Might be worth looking again at that and swapping it for something healthy like bread.

Flatpack, it's actually so much bread, even wholemeal, that I am trying to ease up on. DS2 would eat 3 slices of toast for breakfast, two in sandwiches and two again at supper time, sometimes having it with his evening meal. His stomach is very soft and puffy (the rest of him is fine.) I've noticed my stomach is flatter if I cut out too much wheat, and I also have fewer carb cravings. He also gets big carb/sugar cravings, so that's what I'm trying to steer away from.

They usually have plain cereal for breakfast with one slice of whole meal and juice, or a small cooked breakfast (beans or egg on wholewheat toast or bagel.)

I wonder if it's the milling which causes this bloating for so many people. Or possibly the modern baking technique (forget the term) which doesn't give the slow rise that traditional loaves have. I don't have the problem but I do find that making my own bread is better for me, digestically.

I wonder. Or maybe it's the kind of flour/wheat they use now.

But DS has been much healthier and his tummy is much less swollen now he has bread 2-3 times a week instead of 2-3 times a day!

Just need to keep it up. It's lot more cooking, as I'm making packed lunches from scratch most days, but worth it. Had a sugar blip this weekend when he went out with a friend and spent all his pocket money of fizzy drinks and chocolate. But he hasn't had crisps or glucose syrup cereal bars all week, or any sugary yoghurts or puddings, so I let it go, but asked him not to do it all the time.

He can have real mood swings too and these seem to be better than in the past.

Yesterday I did quorn curry with freshly milled spices, onion and butternut squash pureed to make the sauce, with cubes of butternut and peas in among the quorn. It was a big success and very low fat - almost fat free. One to keep.

Does anyone else have any advice on very healthy family recipes?

You sound like you're doing well and I agree with you about cutting down on bread.
I'd also perservere with fruit for snacks with perhaps one cracker/oatcake/hm biscuit.

What kind of things does your family eat?
You can make any meal healthier by cutting down fat and upping the veg (shepherds pie, casseroles, stews, curries)
Stir fries with chicken and noodles or rice

Have a look here;

www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=healthy+recipes

I have been doing the same. DH and I are cutting down on cals and trying to eat healthier and my DC have very good diets anyway.

Casseroles seem to be the way to go- you can vary the veg, meat and serve with small amount of rice or potatoes.

But generally, I'm working on getting us used to having more veg on the plate and less carbs/fat. This also means the kids can have it altered to suit them too.

Soups are another winner- especially tomato and varients thereof.

Curry- doesn't need to be too fattening, I use low fat creme frache (our asda does a 3% fat one) instead of cream, tinned toms, chicken (no skin etc) and lots of added veg like onions, courgettes, green beans etc.

The BBC good food website is really good and I often take more fattening recipes and will do a lower fat varient.

Tonight's dinner is this (with the 3% creme fraiche):

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13137/leek-and-mackerel-penne-bake

It's still really important for us to keep our fish quota up!

Good luck!

Have you tried rye bread? I find it easier to digest and i eat less as it is very filling.

Salmon or cod fillets in the oven served with couple of new potatoes and broccoli. Or spinach.

Tuna steaks marinated in olive oil, lemon, chilli, served with tomato/cucumber salsa and maybe low fat youghurt.

Omelette is not bad if you use just a bit of oil or m/w. Poached eggs even better.

Same here, family are trying to eat healthy now school hols are over.
Check out: www.healthyindianrecipes.co.uk/