family meal suggestions for difficult family

[paula70]

Hi All,

Anyone have this situation, my wife is on a diet (as usual) so likes salad, two young boys , one eats anything but cheese and onions the other is terrified of anything that looks like a vegetable. Im currently off work so im preparing meals and i find i`m cooking 3 meals every evening.
Help!!

Why don't you try a good amount of salad with some grilled sliced chicken breast (with mango chutney on the top!), cous cous with fried pepper in it (and spring onion if he'll eat it) and some pitta bread on the side? We LOVE this, it feels healthy yet filling, and not too "vegetably" either for your DS. Oh and we have greek yoghurt on the side, as we're obsessed.

Good luck, sounds like a nightmare!

Chicken salad?
Various pasta salads/dishes?
Spiralize veggies to disguise them or make soups?

Lasagne with no
Cheese, curry with rice , shepherds pie, fish pie, pasta, prawn and pancetta spaghetti, spag Bolognese, chicken Pad Thai

Your wife will just have to take the carbs off the meal because the kids defo need carbs

I'd start by choosing whatever lean protein you're having each night. Your wife can have exactly the same just with veg/salad instead of any carbs.

Personally I always like my children to also have some carbs, so next choose these. Try and go for complex carbs if possible especially if your wife does still want carbs e.g. whole grain rice/pasta/bread or squash/sweet potato. These are good for everyone, your wife just might want to only have a couple of tablespoons of these if she's dieting.

Not sure how you deal with the veg phobic child if he won't eat anything?! I aim for half the plate being veg, with whatever my kids like e.g. Broccoli, carrots, peas, pepper, cucumber, sweet corn. Baked beans as a worst case scenario!

Alternatively could you make a big batch of hidden vegetable tomato sauce (fry onions and any veg until soft, add tinned tomatoes, pinch of sugar, herbs then blend until all veg hidden) and put on pasta? Your wife could have loads of sauce, just not too much pasta?!

Hope that's of some use! Good luck.