Are our meals so unhealthy?

[carrottopper]

I'm getting quite obsessed with what we eat. We eat prob 2 veg a day and a couple of fruit a day on average. Some days we eat more fruit and veg.

I'm starting to get anxious about what we eat as I'm panicking that if I don't provide super healthy meals, one of us will get a serious illness or disease. We are both reasonably fit, in our early 40s, in the normal weight range bmi. Hubby had a heart attack when he was in his20s due to a complication but has been fit since and is regularly checked and on blood pressure tablets. He has a very active job and is healthy. We also have two little ones. They mostly eat what we do but I also give them freezer stuff once or twice a week.

I worry about us not eating healthily enough, the amount of red meat we eat etc.

The regular meals I cook are
Roast chicken with 2 veg and all trimmings
Pork and chorizo burgers with veg and chips
Tagliatelle with mushrooms, pepperoni and onions
Penne in tomato sauce
Cottage pie
Chicken wrapped in bacon
Chinese chicken curry with onions and mushrooms

Any suggestions? Does anyone else worry about what they eat as much as I do? I take in all the health recommendations and I wonder if I take them too much to heart

Looks good to me.

What sort of snacks and drinks do you have? It's good to try and have fruit and veg as a snack I. E. Veg sticks and hummus, apple and peanut butter etc, to up the fruit and veg content.

I'm always worried about us eating enough fruit and veg, we had fish fingers for lunch so tonight we're having a big salad... It's all about balance.

Your menus sound fine, as long as you serve a couple of veg with the cottage pie and the chicken wrapped in bacon.

I always try to get at least two veg with my main meal and then another one veg with my lunch (so for example avocado on toast, or tomato salad with whatever I'm having).

The only thing at all I would say is try to avoid eating bacon/sausages/pepperoni more than a couple of times a week as these have been proven to be baddies and get some fish into your diet as well.

I certainly wouldn't be anxious about it. Your diet is far better than many people's.

Thank you. I think I am a worrier. I will up the fruit and veg a bit. Thank you for your replies. I'm sure my post sounds ridiculous to most but it's good to hear it's not the worst menu.
Thanks again

We have an Indian takeaway once a week and sometimes fish and chips mid week.

Current guidelines suggest aiming for minimum 5 portions fruit/veg every day, some health people suggest 7-10 instead.

You could try adding in more - maybe fruit with breakfast, or if you want a cooked breakfast add in mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, baked beans and onions; if you have sandwiches for lunch then adding a salad or thermos of vegetable soup, chopping a load of veg into your tomato based sauces, maybe having a stir fry, vegetable omelette, warm salad type thing in your rotation for evening meals?

I just read a book called 'how not to die' by Micheal McGregor or something like that.

It says the superfoods and how to balance your diet and enjoy food but with little tips and tricks to increase your health like adding turmeric, eating Brazil nuts etc. Eating more broccoli and cruciferous vegetables. So nothing extreme, just little swaps that could maybe have an effect on long term health.

I worry about what I eat too, well not that much as just had pizza express for dinner, but it's in the back of mind. But I don't think that's a bad thing, being conscious of our health and diets must be better than thinking sod it I will eat what I want and being unhealthy and a strain on the NHS later down the line.

Maybe cut out the chips or just once a fortnight? Or just make your own in the oven with sweet potato?

I would make sure every meal has fruit or veg at, not just dinner

I get all sorts of veg into pasta sauces, or we have things like stuffed peppers. Could you try to have vegetarian meals a couple of times a week? That way you up the number significantly.

TBH we don't have take away curry or fish and chips more often than once every 6 months, they're really not that healthy. We do make a mean curry though so we're not missing out!

We also have stir fry from packets of prepped veg once a fortnight or so on nights when I literally get in at supper time and the kids need to eat half and hour ago.

I'd cut down on the pepperoni, chorizo, bacon, red meat side of things, personally. The recommendation is one portion per week, two at most. I'd probably try and add trout, mackerel or salmon in there somewhere if possible too.

As for 5-a day. Drinking a fruit juice at breakfast sorts one without even noticing it. Likewise, tomato purée on pizza or in cottage pie counts because it's so concentrated.

Some days I feed my kids hummus and carrot sticks (2- counts as 1 each), apple juice (counts as 1), baked beans with pizza (2 - counts as 1 each) and that's the 5 a day, without adding in the yoyo fruit bar on the way home from school (counts as 1), cucumber and blueberries for lunch boxes (1/2 - 1 each). It's pretty to smuggle it in without noticing it some days.

Really appreciate these replies.

Thank you x

It's fine, honestly. People live long lives on much less healthy diets.

Is it just food that you are so anxious about, or are you a worrier in general?

Sound good as long as are adding veg as a side to what you have listed. In terms of you dh's pmh, Cholesterol gained from food is actually very small percentage overall, and I personally would watch how often you are serving the chorizo/bacon/pepperoni ones due to salt content. Other than that, they sound good main dinners.....am off to Google your burgers now as sound lush!

I don't particularly worry about anything but we have had people close to us suffer ill health or loss and it's made me think. I just want to feel that the food we provide is helping give us the best chance we can. There's always an element of bad luck but I just want to be able to say I looked into it and did my best (I'm mainly the shopper and cooker).

Yep pork and chorizo burgers are yum

Any suggestions for how to get fish in our diets cheaply?? Frozen breaded cod?? It's all hubby will eat

Buy pollock fish, far cheaper than cod, I would buy plain not breaded though

Look at your diet over a week rather than a single meal, so yes one meal may be unhealthy with little veg but then a roast in this house can have 6 veg! One day we may eat 4-5 pieces of fruit, another day none.

Do you like tuna? Fish pie is also a winner in our house.

Looks really good to me!

One way I have found to sneak in more veg are chicken fajitas.

I thinly slice chicken breasts, peppers and onions and chop up a few tomatoes and finely slice some iceberg lettuce. I then dry fry the chicken, onions and peppers with some fajita seasoning and cook until chicken is done. Then warm up tortillas and everyone fills them up with want they like. (also have some grated cheese as well, I use a fine grater so it looks more!)

I get cheap frozen cod fillets and prawns and make OH a fish pie every now and then to get some fish in him! Poach the fish and prawns in milk and water. then use the liquid to make a sauce (with a roux) then put some mash on top. I also add in a lot of frozen peas and sweetcorn to sneak in veg! (I have to sneak in veg in stealth mode)

I think your diet looks fine to me - as a pp said, many people live long lives in a far less healthy diet. Genes play a large part.
Pork and chorizo burgers sound lush - do you make them? Can you post a link? Sorry - appreciate this isn't a recipe thread

It's lovely that you are concerned and want to do the best for your family! I would continue as you have been unless advised otherwise... i.e. You mentioned ill health, if anyone has low/high sodium, potassium, diabetes etc follow dietetic advice, but otherwise, you are doing brilliantly. Try to not stress and relax about it. If you are the shopper and planner i hope others do some cooking!

Ps potato gratin is fab for hiding small flakes of fish throughout (if you want to treat your dh like I do my DS!!!)

Totty- the pork and chorizo burgers are just that really. Nothing fancy. Pork mince less than 2% fat in a bowl, chop chorizo in to small pieces, good squeeze of tomato purée (add a red onion in if you like and other herbs) and mix. I then just take a small handful, squeeze into a ball, flatten and shall fry. Voila. Had them tonight with a big salad (lettuce, tomatoes, beetroot and sweet corn) and bread cakes.

Yes hubby cooks a few times a week too.

Thank you x

Yummmmm

Baked beans and fruit juice really shouldn't be in the 5-a-day list. Fruit juice is just sugar really. Actual fruit is much better.

There's quite a bit of dishonesty as far as food-labelling goes. You need to eat unprocessed fresh or frozen veg without loads of added sugar. It's hard to fit in if you're out of the house all day.

We do eat baked beans regularly and served on wholemeal toast with cheese they make a decent meal but they really aren't a vegetable.

OP your meals sound better than mine

It's as much about portion size as content, I think. Are any of you overweight?

Wttfgs thanks for your info

No none of us are overweight. I lost 2 stone this year and have started exercising regularly. It was baby weight that needed to go.