I’ve done stir-fries, spaghetti with squash noodles, etc., but…I agree that it IS hard!! I can’t stand making two or more meals (mine and theirs), so I need to get my recipes/menu right the first time. I desperately need to heal my own body and do something like Whole30, but with virtually no willpower to assuage sugar/bread/peanut butter cravings, I must include my family in on this. Besides, we have too much (potential) ADHD, auditory processing, aches and pains, and behavioral issues going on for me to be lazy about biting the bullet and making my whole family bite it, too. So that brings me to feeding young ones: how to sustain a young kids’ growing body (6 – 9) and the issue of “getting them” to eat a lot of new things. The Whole30 menu you followed looks delicious, but not exactly doable for 5. [Do I really need to eliminate things such as lentils and beans? I know, I know. It’s only 30 days and supposedly you can do most things for 30 days (and the last 30 before school starts, so really we had better figure out sensitivities NOW, right?); however, I am usually the one who can’t do anything past 4 before I give in.] What are the best resources without breaking a very skinny bank? I’m looking at books online–It Starts With Food and Well-Fed: Paleo Recipes. Any thoughts? Links? Free-menu planning? Kid-friendly ideas? P.S. My son has been known to eat 3 burgers in one sitting, so I’ve been anxious that without the simple starches my kids will be in the kitchen non-stop!
Jessica
You ask some great questions. I know how hard it is to fill kids up without the starch, that’s why I did it on my own. There were a few meals that everyone could eat, but not a ton. The kids are used to their pasta and rice. So are husbands. 🙂 I read It Starts with Food. But, I’m really interested to read Gwyneth Paltrow’s book on clean eating, It’s All Good.
Rosie
I have to ask: why bother with making 2 dinners? I’m on my first whole30 and no one in my house is doing it with me, but I’m not having to make two separate meals at dinner time. There at plenty of recipes that can be tweaked to be whole30 compliant and satisfying to those not on the plan. Tonight was tacos: I pulled my serving of taco meat out before adding the beans for everyone else (my kids really like the beans) and had a cheese-free taco salad while everyone else had standard tacos. We even made a smoothie to go with it that everyone enjoyed (coconut milk, strawberries, a bit of apple and spinach). Another idea: stirfry. Make it whole30 compliant with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and skip the rice. Or do burgers: skip the cheese and the bun on your. I have your normal small children who are wary of new foods too, but we have a pretty strict take it of leave it policy with dinner. So far my biggest “this sucks” is making cupcakes and birthday cake in which I won’t be indulging… that’s definitely no fun. 😉
Barri
We are now trying to get my daughter (5) on what I call a ‘No Crud’ diet. She’s going through testing for ADHD and I’m trying to take all the not-so-good-for-you stuff out. It’s amazing what you find when you start reading labels on the ‘healthy’ products you feed your family. :/
Jessica
Isn’t that the truth? Good luck with that.
Christine
If you freeze a banana and then put it in your food processor for a few minutes, it will have the consistency of ice cream and believe it taste like ice cream. I think it is called a “banana whip.” You could add cocoa powder to make it chocolate or add strawberries. Also I have seen Paleo recipes for “ice cream” using coconut milk and no sugar.
Jessica
@Christine, I am planning to detox my children from sugar in a few weeks, so I will definitely try that. Thanks for the reminder.
I found another recipe that you might be able to use…
cheese made from cashews! Seeing all the cashews you have been eating reminded me of this recipe. I don’t know all the ins-n-outs of your diet, so I’m not sure if the method of preparation is allowed in your diet.
@Leah, well, that was interesting! LOL. The Whole 30 actually says not to mimic your “illegal” favorites since it might trigger cravings. Here’s hoping that dairy is not my problem and I won’t be tempted to make cashew cheese. Oh my!
NIA
Hey Jessica, I know my local Wal-Mart sells a bacon you might be interested in. Hormel Natural Choice, has no nitrates/nitrites. Not as expensive as health store bacon which runs about $6-$8. Oscar Meyer has one without nitrates/nitrites too, but I’ve only been able to find it once. But, I also live in a small town, not a larger city as you do, so you might find these options at places you already shop.
NIA
@NIA, Oh, wait you’re eliminating sugar, and hormel has turbinado. Oscar has cane syrup. That’s why my bacon tastes so good, cause of the sugar. I shouldn’t be shocked, but I can’t believe they’re putting sugar in my meat. Now I’m feeling like the girl who knew too much. I’ve seen youtube videos of people making their own bacon and I’m wondering if that’s what I’ll have to resort to?! Just unbelievable. Thanks for opening my eyes even wider to the realities of what I feed my family, while thinking we eat pretty healthy!
Jessica
@NIA, yep, you beat me to the answer. This has been a hugely eye-opening experience for me. I thought we were eating very healthfully. But, I’m reconsidering that assessment.
Kelly
Amen to giving yourself a break now and then! I’m dealing with pregnancy nausea, so meals are NOT as fancy and drawn-out as they were a while ago. The crock pot is doing a lot of cooking for me these days! I decided to splurge on convenience items this week, too, because nothing in the house sounds remotely appetizing. And a girl has to eat something, even if it is fruit cups and popsicles all day!
KimH
I’ve been making mostly gluten free meals for years.. most of the time, I’ll just add egg noodles or something similar for M’honey. It makes life a whole lot easier.
I used to make meatballs and meatloaf with crushed up pork rinds.. Flavor-wise, you cant taste them but its not as fluffy as using bread or crackers.. but still.. it works.
Sandi
Not exactly on topic, but hear hear! for the pre-chopped, frozen bell peppers. That was the best choice I ever made. I like to keep a fresh one or two for salads, but for regular meals, the container of frozen ones is awesome.
Robin
I’ve done stir-fries, spaghetti with squash noodles, etc., but…I agree that it IS hard!! I can’t stand making two or more meals (mine and theirs), so I need to get my recipes/menu right the first time. I desperately need to heal my own body and do something like Whole30, but with virtually no willpower to assuage sugar/bread/peanut butter cravings, I must include my family in on this. Besides, we have too much (potential) ADHD, auditory processing, aches and pains, and behavioral issues going on for me to be lazy about biting the bullet and making my whole family bite it, too. So that brings me to feeding young ones: how to sustain a young kids’ growing body (6 – 9) and the issue of “getting them” to eat a lot of new things. The Whole30 menu you followed looks delicious, but not exactly doable for 5. [Do I really need to eliminate things such as lentils and beans? I know, I know. It’s only 30 days and supposedly you can do most things for 30 days (and the last 30 before school starts, so really we had better figure out sensitivities NOW, right?); however, I am usually the one who can’t do anything past 4 before I give in.] What are the best resources without breaking a very skinny bank? I’m looking at books online–It Starts With Food and Well-Fed: Paleo Recipes. Any thoughts? Links? Free-menu planning? Kid-friendly ideas? P.S. My son has been known to eat 3 burgers in one sitting, so I’ve been anxious that without the simple starches my kids will be in the kitchen non-stop!
Jessica
You ask some great questions. I know how hard it is to fill kids up without the starch, that’s why I did it on my own. There were a few meals that everyone could eat, but not a ton. The kids are used to their pasta and rice. So are husbands. 🙂 I read It Starts with Food. But, I’m really interested to read Gwyneth Paltrow’s book on clean eating, It’s All Good.
Rosie
I have to ask: why bother with making 2 dinners? I’m on my first whole30 and no one in my house is doing it with me, but I’m not having to make two separate meals at dinner time. There at plenty of recipes that can be tweaked to be whole30 compliant and satisfying to those not on the plan. Tonight was tacos: I pulled my serving of taco meat out before adding the beans for everyone else (my kids really like the beans) and had a cheese-free taco salad while everyone else had standard tacos. We even made a smoothie to go with it that everyone enjoyed (coconut milk, strawberries, a bit of apple and spinach). Another idea: stirfry. Make it whole30 compliant with coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and skip the rice. Or do burgers: skip the cheese and the bun on your. I have your normal small children who are wary of new foods too, but we have a pretty strict take it of leave it policy with dinner. So far my biggest “this sucks” is making cupcakes and birthday cake in which I won’t be indulging… that’s definitely no fun. 😉
Barri
We are now trying to get my daughter (5) on what I call a ‘No Crud’ diet. She’s going through testing for ADHD and I’m trying to take all the not-so-good-for-you stuff out. It’s amazing what you find when you start reading labels on the ‘healthy’ products you feed your family. :/
Jessica
Isn’t that the truth? Good luck with that.
Christine
If you freeze a banana and then put it in your food processor for a few minutes, it will have the consistency of ice cream and believe it taste like ice cream. I think it is called a “banana whip.” You could add cocoa powder to make it chocolate or add strawberries. Also I have seen Paleo recipes for “ice cream” using coconut milk and no sugar.
Jessica
@Christine, I am planning to detox my children from sugar in a few weeks, so I will definitely try that. Thanks for the reminder.
Laura Rogers
Your menu plan is always so inspirational – if I could only get my husband to not be such a picky eater 🙂
I posted my menu plan here:
http://mrsrogersfrugalneighborhood.blogspot.com/2013/02/menu-plan-monday-02252013.html
Leah
I found another recipe that you might be able to use…
cheese made from cashews! Seeing all the cashews you have been eating reminded me of this recipe. I don’t know all the ins-n-outs of your diet, so I’m not sure if the method of preparation is allowed in your diet.
http://feedingpickle.blogspot.com/2012/06/cashew-cheese.html
Jessica
@Leah, well, that was interesting! LOL. The Whole 30 actually says not to mimic your “illegal” favorites since it might trigger cravings. Here’s hoping that dairy is not my problem and I won’t be tempted to make cashew cheese. Oh my!
NIA
Hey Jessica, I know my local Wal-Mart sells a bacon you might be interested in. Hormel Natural Choice, has no nitrates/nitrites. Not as expensive as health store bacon which runs about $6-$8. Oscar Meyer has one without nitrates/nitrites too, but I’ve only been able to find it once. But, I also live in a small town, not a larger city as you do, so you might find these options at places you already shop.
NIA
@NIA, Oh, wait you’re eliminating sugar, and hormel has turbinado. Oscar has cane syrup. That’s why my bacon tastes so good, cause of the sugar. I shouldn’t be shocked, but I can’t believe they’re putting sugar in my meat. Now I’m feeling like the girl who knew too much. I’ve seen youtube videos of people making their own bacon and I’m wondering if that’s what I’ll have to resort to?! Just unbelievable. Thanks for opening my eyes even wider to the realities of what I feed my family, while thinking we eat pretty healthy!
Jessica
@NIA, yep, you beat me to the answer. This has been a hugely eye-opening experience for me. I thought we were eating very healthfully. But, I’m reconsidering that assessment.
Kelly
Amen to giving yourself a break now and then! I’m dealing with pregnancy nausea, so meals are NOT as fancy and drawn-out as they were a while ago. The crock pot is doing a lot of cooking for me these days! I decided to splurge on convenience items this week, too, because nothing in the house sounds remotely appetizing. And a girl has to eat something, even if it is fruit cups and popsicles all day!
KimH
I’ve been making mostly gluten free meals for years.. most of the time, I’ll just add egg noodles or something similar for M’honey. It makes life a whole lot easier.
I used to make meatballs and meatloaf with crushed up pork rinds.. Flavor-wise, you cant taste them but its not as fluffy as using bread or crackers.. but still.. it works.
Sandi
Not exactly on topic, but hear hear! for the pre-chopped, frozen bell peppers. That was the best choice I ever made. I like to keep a fresh one or two for salads, but for regular meals, the container of frozen ones is awesome.
Jessica
@Sandi, it really is making meal times easier.