How to combine my wish to eat ultra healthy whole foods with family eating ordinary meals

[TheWatersofMarch]

Our family meals (two adults, 2 teens) are nearly always scratch and batch. This week meals include Fish Pie made from batched frozen parsley sauce and assembled on the night; chicken tikka masala; batched frozen sweet and sour chicken and stir fry veg; lasagna; home made Cornish pasty, veg. I don’t eat meat so I make a veggie equivalent eg my tikka masala will contain tofu instead of chicken; lasagna with lentil bolognaise etc. I’m quite overweight and I feel I need to quite radically change what I eat, and I don’t want these carby mains. For supper I’d like to eat a pulse and veg salad with a boiled egg or cottage cheese; veg/pulse soup or veg stir fry with cashews, tofu. Family won’t want this stuff. I’ve always thought it’s more emotionally healthy for us to all eat basically the same. Does anyone eat different mains to their family? I suppose I can put my food on the table as a side. I’m not fussed about the extra time as I’m pretty organised.

I have a similar issue and what we tend to do - which works reasonably well is either:

I make myself a substantial salad which goes on the table and they have as a side

Or we do a sort of build your own type meal - a classic one for us is couscous, range of raw or roasted vegetables, hummus, halloumi, chicken drumsticks. I tend to just have veg, hummus and halloumi, DH and the kids have everything

I’m so over this now and am increasingly just eating what I want, often a salad with protein. But my kids are grown up now, so maybe it’s easier.

Try and deconstruct the meals eg instead of lasagne cook bolognese, pasta and broccoli and you have the sauce and the green veg. Tacos also work well- you can put the toppings in a lettuce leaf instead of a tortilla. Actually if you're already making veggie alternatives it should be easier.

You already eat different meals if you're vegetarian and nobody benefits from you eating a veggie version of a meat meal when you'd rather be eating something else. Make yourself happy and eat the food you want to eat.

Those are all quite stodgy carb heavy meals. Even with a vegetarian alternative. I agree with breaking things down more into ‘meat’ and two veg. Roast chicken/tofu, new potatoes (you can skip), roast veg and a salad. Spanish omelette, baguette, asparagus and salad. Bean chilli, lots of fresh veg, soured cream.

You also have teens. I take a bit of a like it or lump it approach. I cook healthy family meals. You eat it or you don’t eat it or you plan and cook your own meals.

Thank you - really good ideas @ditericturwe had this last night an it worked really well, I made a chick pea and quinoa tabbouleh which I had with whipped feta; the family had flatbreads, spiced lamb loaf, hummus and plain salad as well. @Blinkingmarvellous
. the fish pie will be grilled salmon, parsley sauce, mash and veg separate so I can have salmon and veg. I’ve thought about prioritising eating what I want - the things I cook are often meals they ate from weaning, and meals they can now cook themselves - so maybe we will all expand our horizons a bit.

I have the same issue. It helps that my young children will have variations on the same thing so I'm serving plates that all look different.

Ideas

Grilled kebabs, meat and veg/halloumi on sticks. Serve with green salad, yoghurt and cucumber dip and tomato salsa. You skip the rice and load up on greens. Drizzle with chilli sauce.

Vegetable soup with dippy bread. You skip the bread. If they want meat then take out portions for you and add stock/bacon/shredded chicken.

Make paneer curry for you. Add diced/cooked chicken that everyone else can add. They have rice you have ghee fried cauliflower with spinach.

Fajita make-your own. Meat and wraps for them. You have the green salad, salsa, sour cream, roast veg and cheese.

Another one is quiche. They can have it in pastry but if you make extra you can pour it into muffin tins and make mini frittata. These keep well in the fridge. I do goats cheese, fried mushrooms and spinach ones.

Quorn Bolognese with veggies for you and pasta for them

I usually double up on my veggie cooking and shove half in the fridge for next time. I roast peppers, onion together, adding broccoli and courgette later on to get crispy.

Don't be afraid to just give everyone veggie food once in a while. They'll be fine. Sounds exhausting.