Come forward EatBetterers and unite - it's the second happy healthy eating thread!

[fuzzpig]

Here's the previous thread where it all began!

EatBetterers are trying to improve the diets of ourselves and our families. No weighing, restricting, calorie counting etc - just finding joy in nourishing ourselves by making positive changes one step at a time. All welcome! :)

Just wanted to share tonight's successful healthy dinner which suited the whole family - was a bit fiddly though and took a while so not really a week day supper, but it was yummy so will definitely do it again.

Vegetable and haloumi skewers
Chicken skewers
Pitta bread
Brown rice
Salsa verde to go on the side - (had a load of parsley to use up and it is easy to make in one of those mini hand blenders)
Also made a quick yoghurt & mustard dressing
Homous and salad

Everyone liked it, could pick and choose which bits they wanted (DD1 likes everything very plain, whereas DH likes lots of flavour). I avoided the pitta bread and just had the brown rice.
It is quite hard making healthy meals to suit 5 people with different tastes and needs!!!

The best thing is that I have quite a lot left over, so that will be a nice lunch tomorrow and the salsa verde should keep for a few days in the fridge.

Won't mention the the chocolate chip cookie I ate earlier...

Hi, can I join your lovely foodie thread please.

Just had my dinner. Chicken breasts grilled till tender with wedges of lemon and then covered with garlic herb and lemon butter served on a bed of mixed leaves, coriander, mint and a olive oil balsalmic maple syrup dressing. For pudding I had a bashed banana with creamy greek yoghurt and drizzled with honey and crushed pecans. Lovely.

Hello Milly/Bindi - you found us, how are you? . Welcome (whether you are or not!). Your dinner sounds delicious.

Donteat - I like the sound of the veg and halloumi skewers...can I come round for lunch ?

Hi Sleep. Thought I would wander on your suggestion.
Not exactly sure at this point what to post though.

Food for thought[forgive the pun]

At first glance, it seems a bit boring?
I can see that there is a wide range eaten, and some things I could incorporate quite easily that I havent been doing before [like berries on my cornflakes[sorry, refuse to eat yoghurt, I decided a few weeks ago that having tried to enjoy yogurt for 30 years and dont, that I am not going to spend the next 30 years trying!]]
But I can see a lot of foods that are probably not allowed to be spoken about, much less eaten!
[am thinking that this thread may not be my natural home]

Popping in to recommend Anjum Anand's recipes for healthy sustaining eating - beef skewers marinated in ginger, garlic, onion, cumin, chilli, with the most divine coriander chutney (mint, coriander, pistachios, lemon, water) and nutty wild rice. Mmm.

Sleep, I pondered on your suggestion that I don't eat enough protein and have upped my protein/fat at meals and hey presto, fewer biscuits! Thanks.
Hi everyone else!

rabbit I've just been for dinner and shared a fantastic cheeseburger, rack of ribs and fries with DH, about to have red wine and chocolate at the cinema...no guilt, really enjoyed it but wouldn't want to do it every day! No food is banned or unmentionable here!

And we won't make you eat yoghurt !

Now thats a lot better Sleep! Both posts!

rabbit, you also have to enjoy what you eat, i think and choose to eat it, I suppose - that is about it. banning foods is banned.

oh rabbit, I meant that to sound a lot more friendly, sorry!! (i am really pants at the minute and cannot get enough sleep!)

It sounded ok, so dont worry.
But yes I do struggle with that a bit.
I am not a very big person, so I cant consume a large amount of food. And by the time I eat different foods that I am not overly fond of, for different health reasons [am actually healthy, when not many of my peers are any more] eg, the normal fruit, veg etc, there is not that much room left for the treat side of things.
I feel like I have lost my train of thought there. I too need bed soon I think.

Rabbit, I know what you mean- I'm small and know I can't eat like a normal sized person - my issue is I eat meals like a small person but I struggle with snacking. Well, with chocolate anyway. It's hard to get the balance right...

rabbit (or is it rabbi? please say it is!), Are you talking about particular healthy foods - as in, you are trying to counteract a deficiency or eat something that sits with medication? If you are talking about general healthy food eg veg, pulses, then maybe a start would be to mix it up a bit, try new recipes, have veg for breakfast. I have very rarely felt guilty around food unless I have massively repressed this. But what i regard as treats eg melted cheese, chocolate, cake, really are not that treaty for me (physically) because I've overeaten in the past on these. When I really put my mind to it, I create something tasty with different flavours, spices etc and that feels like a treat. I suppose if I could only eat small quantities , I would make every mouthful delicious!

Hi Sleep...yes its me...Milly. Glad I found the thread. I had been busy and not on Mumsnet for awhile. I went to the cinema with DH today too. We went to see LovePunch for the second time. I love it and he tood me to see it again today (don't think he likes it really though ) ha ha.
Today I had a slice of grilled bacon and Burford Brown eggs scrambled in butter and tonight we went to our favourite Cantonese and had duck with pancakes and that yummy sauce that goes with it and king prawn with sesame seeds in honey and lemon sauce. Delicious.
Came home and had oak aged Caerphilly cheese with strawberries
then lots of cups of tea and a couple of chocolate brazil nuts.

Spanish chicken last night for dinner, it was lovely. I'll post the recipe if anyone wants it.

Managing to up my exercise slowly,I need to be careful as I have mobility problems but I'm doing it slowly and already feeling the benefit even after just a week.

How's everyone?

Yes please Dame . Well done on the exercise, what are you doing?

Bindi dinner sounds great. Burford Brown eggs are the best aren't they. Completely spoiled for any others now! Dark choc Brazil nuts are a fave of mine too, I try to make my own as packs are so expensive and tiny. I buy the Willies dark choc cooking buttons for them.

Fuzz - haven't seen you for ages, are you ok?

When I said health reasons, I meant as in keeping myself healthy. I am not on any medication, and dont have anything wrong with me[am 53].

I am rabbit[when chose the name did not realise that there are about 5 other rabbits on the board[sorry to all rabbits]].
rabbi would have been good wouldnt it!

I am not the best of cooks which doesnt help, have a large family - mostly gone, which means I have cooked sooo many meals that I am somewhat done with it, which sdoesnt help,and have never been very adventourous food wise.

But I do want to keep the weight off. And I know that to do that long term, some things have to change. But I dont want to go hungry aka the other thread I was on yesterday.

Boy, do I now sound moany!

Sleep-nothing huge but seeing as I've been very inactive due to a big accident 5 years ago it's a big achievement for me.

I use my exercise bike for 10 mins daily-I can't increase that atm,I need to do that slowly.

Ds does sports 3x a week so I drop him off and go for a walk hobble. I try and speed up as fast as I can for a bit, then slow down, then try again and so on.

Will up that to daily in a few weeks as my legs get stronger. I'm enjoying the fresh air and I actually dreamed I was running the other night which I haven't done for years

Spanish chicken-

In an oven proof dish,I use a terracotta one, put a bag of chopped Shallots, chicken, lots of halved new potatoes, some chorizo or lardons and a good glug of olive oil.

Cook for about 20 mins.

Add tin of chopped tomatoes,glug of tom puree and some chicken stock-I use a stock pot gel then add about half a cup of water.

Tons of dried parsley, give it a good mix.

Bung back in the oven until it's ever so nearly burned. You might have to stir it a bit half way through so it doesn't get too burned.

You can add peppers but I can't eat them.

Hi all and welcome to newbies :)

Yes I'm ok thanks, well pretty much anyway. Chest infection mostly better but feeling a bit worn out.

Reeeeally struggling with motivation, but I know that's mostly due to having been unwell. OTOH I'm sure that it's partly thanks to being fitter/eating better that I didn't suffer so badly as usual. It's been amazing to have still managed the school run etc.

But I am really finding it hard to cook ATM - we are both really worn out, mentally as well as phsyically.

Dame that chicken sounds lovely - do you mean a whole chicken breast, or do you chop it up before putting in the oven?

Sounds like we are in similar positions re: exercise. It's hard isn't it, feeling ready to do much more but having to be so careful for fear of overdoing it! Baby steps :)

Hi there
I'm still working my way through the previous thread as Sleep suggested, still have a way to go! I'm going to take one thing at a time as I get overwhelmed when I try to change everything at once. So, I'm going to start with breakfast. Currently I have weetabix, sultana bran or marmite toast granary bread. Are these ok or are all cereals bad? I don't have much time in the mornings as have dc to get ready and me to work for 8.30.
I do like eggs but isn't it bad to have them every day?
I'm planning to do food shop today so really want to get organised with breakfast. Any ideas gratefully received as like I said I'm still working my way through the first thread.

One other thing, do people give the same food to their dc's? My dc love pasta, rice & potatoes so I can't see me taking these away from them. Do people end up cooking two different meals every day to meet everyone's tastes?

Hi Jem :)

WRT breakfast. I think most cereals are pretty high in sugar TBH, even some of the so called healthy ones. But I don't think weetabix is that bad. What I find though is that absolutely any cereal (and porridge too) makes me super hungry again quite quickly. I now have eggs every morning - no, having them every day isn't bad. The whole cholesterol thing was bollocks apparently :o I feel really satisfied all morning after eating them instead of cereal. It is quite hard to fit it in before the school run (on a work day - if I'm not working I just leave it til I get home) but I'm trying to improve my organisational skills what I'd really like to do is have all of us eating a decent breakfast and wean the DCs and DH off their cereal addiction too, but I'm not sure if we could fit it in, especially as I don't get up until later (my health condition means I have to get up very slowly, as I'll collapse otherwise)

As for cooking for DCs, it's hard isn't it, as certainly my DCs wouldn't eat many more adventurous things that I'd like to try. I'm just working on improving the stuff I know they'll eat - increasing veg etc. So when I made a spag bol recently I used way more veg as well as lentils, we've made our own fish fingers, I did a tuna pasta bake with less pasta and heaps of veg stirred in, that kind of thing. If it's a meat and potatoes/rice type dinner, I'll serve much less of the carb, particularly for me.