I'm looking or a blog or information about super simple healthy cooking. I know there have been a ton of blogs tossed around, but I have significant shortcomings in this department. I can't store food because I have no idea what I'd even need. The process is completely overwhelming to me.

To clarify, I can cook, but it's never been something I enjoy so I have put almost no mental energy into it. As a result, our pallette's (sp?) have become really plain.

Can someone offer some tips?

Ok. I think I can put into words what happens.

I make a menu for 7 days. I purchase items at the grocery for the menu. So, I'm ok at that step.

Executing the menu is the problem. I see what I have to prepare and get competely overwhelmed. It seems like it would take too long or I am just too tired to do it. So, I end up microwaving something and adding a handful of raw veggies. Also, my kids hate nearly everything I make. This doesn't stop me from making it, but it does wear a person down after awhile. Cooking here, is a completely thankless job.

I want to answer this...I need more time. But really - I would be happy to share what we do for me and dh at least. It's a lot of prep work, but dh likes to do it. I have also taken on parts of it and I enjoy it, and I've never enjoyed cooking (baking yes, not cooking). Right now I enjoy making stock and soup and prepping veggies for the week.

Anyway I will get back to this...it's a lot of beans and rice and quinoa, beef and potatoes and chicken for us - and tons of eggs. We eat really simply and plain too. But have put in a few things to jazz it up and change up how the beans and rice are flavored ;) that give us some variety. I feel like we're really hitting our stride after years of tweaking, though, but I'd be happy to share where we are now and how we got here.

Oh - and quickly - our favorite first resources were Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair - if you google it you can find many of the recipes from the book online. And Cook's Illustrated. MIL subs to it for dh's birthday present every year. He reads, studies and experiments. Has for years. So he has a level of knowledge, for sure. (Way more than I do.) But what he does is simple enough that anyone could do it.

I would love to help with this Stacy. Cooking is me time. It sounds like you are already evaluating where you get off track. Picky eaters definitely makes my job less enjoyable in that department. And sometimes we get so tired of kid friendly food that I just make something I love and buy them hotdogs!

I hear that you want cooking to be simple, healthful, and enjoyable for you and palatable to your family. Does that cover it?

First I would say. . . make your kitchen a place you want to be. Decorate it just for you. Make things easily accessible, and organized. I had a tiny laptop in my kitchen at one time and I would log on here and chat with whomever was in chat (back when we had chat) or IM mom friends while I cooked. It is also kid tv/computer time in our house so I am not interrupted too much. I give myself an hour prep each day. If I don't use the hour I read with a cup of tea while I stand at the counter so I look busy, lol. So in short, pad the time with pampering for you so you look forward to it.

Second make a list of meals your kids like to eat. Ask them to help. When I make my menu and I get a mental block I will often ask each family member to pick a meal they want that week. I also enlist kids as table setters and table clearers. Someday they will have their own day of the week to make a meal. I do not have them help me prep but I do hope to do that some day. That might be something that would help you enjoy the time. I know some people ask their kids to pick out the veggies at the store and say it helps them eat them. FWIW I think a handful of fresh veggies is a great thing that you do and its worth looking at what currently works for you and "plan" for that! If your kids like take-out figure out how to make their favorites at home. So, get family input and help.

Third, let go of perfection. Nobody says you need to be a gourmet or keep a completely organic pantry or anything of the sort. Do what works for you. If you think all you can handle is 30 min of prep, plan meals that only take 30 min. If you have most of your energy in the morning, go ahead and do whatever meal prep you need while you are doing your morning routine. Lots of famous cookbooks out there with 30 minute meal recipes. I have a couple of heavy cooking days balanced with several light cooking days. I get one day off a week and dh makes homemade pizza. Give yourself pats on the back for each step toward your goal and remember the good that you do!!

Thank you for the tips so far. Lauren and Y. I so appreciate your responses. I'm cleaning and organizing today and trying to stay off the computer. I'll be back tonight to read more.

We do a lot of prep work and batch cooking of single ingredients to make our weekdays run more smoothly. Everybody helps too, age appropriately.

1. Wash all fruits and vegetables that can be washed before they get put in the fridge.

2. Batch cook as much meat/beans as possible.

I buy hamburger in 1 lb packages. It gets fried in 1 lb increments according to what it is for. Like when we have sloppy joes, a chopped onion gets fried with it. When it's done, it gets spread out on a cookie sheet and goes into the freezer for the amount of time that the next batch needs to get cooked. Then it goes into a labeled freezer bag or container: sloppy joes.

When I cook the meat/veggies for pasta sauce, the veggies get sauted after the meat and then added to the bag. (It may seem like we eat a lot of meat, but when you divide 1 lb by 8 it's not so bad, imo. LOL)

I roast 2 whole chickens at one time. We eat from it one night and then meat leftovers get saved for a variety of different meals: chicken salad, pot pie, lettuce salad, pizza, etc. It can be frozen cooked too for later in the month. The next day I cook the bones w/veggies to make broth. Then the broth gets used for soups/pot pie, or frozen for another time.

So when I go to throw together a meal that includes meat, I dump out the frozen cooked portion and add whatever else goes with it.

3. Everybody helps with prep/cooking and anyone who does helps get a huge family "Thank you," at the dinner table. (Dh started the thanking part and it has been a phenominal success. I can see the pride of accomplishment and recognition in all their faces.)

When we make pasta sauce, someone peels and chops the garlic (with the mini-chopper), someone cleans and slices the mushrooms, someone chops the onions. Everyone helps clean up too.

When we make a meal with lots of veggies, again everyone helps. Gryphen, almost 4, can wield a potato peeler. He gets started before anyone else because it takes some time. No one peels over the garbage either. That can lead to lots of frustration. We use a piece of scrap paper or a small cutting board.

4. Use the crockpot as much as possible. I have lots of energy in the morning, but by midafternoon I'm spent. I utilize it for as many meals as I possibly can.

5. Make extra batches of mixes you use often.

I make a quadrupal batch of pancakes. When I make one, I also measure out the dry ingredients for 3 or 4 more batches and put them into containers/baggies. In the morning I put together the wet ingredients and store it in the fridge. Right before lunch, I warm up the griddle and then go and throw the wet and dry together. All the kids like to flip pancakes, so I don't have to do it often.

6. Organize your pantry. I need to do this yet. I just saw a great idea in Better Homes & Gardens. It had breakfast items together, including English muffins, bread, bagels, and cereal. Quick lunches were together. They also had baskets that all the ingredients for a meal. One was tuna casserole and it had the tuna, noodles, peas, canned soup, etc in one basket labeled tuna casserole. All the baking items were together in clear containers so you quickly see what you needed more of.

That's all I can think of for now.

Oh man I just lost a big post. What Variant described is basically what we do...jazzing it up from meal to meal. So beans are made one night and over salad with cheese, hot sauce and slices of avocado, let's say, then spread in a corn taco with beef 2nd night, 3rd day we might each have them in burritos with romaine and tomatoes and quinoa. The rest get frozen into meal-sized-serving jars or bags and thawed and eaten within a day.

Basically we make big batches of basics, change up how we eat them slightly day to day for variety, freeze extra to thaw for quick meals when we need them. We keep breakfasts really simple - eggs or oatmeal, on weekends a day of pancakes for fancy family brunch. Lunches are quick wraps, hummus (made en masse), veggies, soups or leftovers, so they stay simple as well.

I have to add that we have me, Matt and K (with some alterations for her pickiness, eg she doesn't eat hummus) on this menu...J is another menu entirely based around his extreme preferences. I really wish we could all eat the same thing, and I've tried really hard to accommodate everyone's different needs to get to a menu where we'll all eat it without preparing separate stuff. I don't know if those types of issues are part of what you're dealing with, but in my experience they vastly complicate trying to eat simply and thriftily.

Ok. I think I can put into words what happens.

I make a menu for 7 days. I purchase items at the grocery for the menu. So, I'm ok at that step.

Executing the menu is the problem. I see what I have to prepare and get competely overwhelmed. It seems like it would take too long or I am just too tired to do it. So, I end up microwaving something and adding a handful of raw veggies. Also, my kids hate nearly everything I make. This doesn't stop me from making it, but it does wear a person down after awhile. Cooking here, is a completely thankless job.

oh man...i can so relate to all you've said.

We do a lot of prep work and batch cooking of single ingredients to make our weekdays run more smoothly. Everybody helps too, age appropriately.

1. Wash all fruits and vegetables that can be washed before they get put in the fridge.

2. Batch cook as much meat/beans as possible.

I buy hamburger in 1 lb packages. It gets fried in 1 lb increments according to what it is for. Like when we have sloppy joes, a chopped onion gets fried with it. When it's done, it gets spread out on a cookie sheet and goes into the freezer for the amount of time that the next batch needs to get cooked. Then it goes into a labeled freezer bag or container: sloppy joes.

When I cook the meat/veggies for pasta sauce, the veggies get sauted after the meat and then added to the bag. (It may seem like we eat a lot of meat, but when you divide 1 lb by 8 it's not so bad, imo. LOL)

I roast 2 whole chickens at one time. We eat from it one night and then meat leftovers get saved for a variety of different meals: chicken salad, pot pie, lettuce salad, pizza, etc. It can be frozen cooked too for later in the month. The next day I cook the bones w/veggies to make broth. Then the broth gets used for soups/pot pie, or frozen for another time.

So when I go to throw together a meal that includes meat, I dump out the frozen cooked portion and add whatever else goes with it.

3. Everybody helps with prep/cooking and anyone who does helps get a huge family "Thank you," at the dinner table. (Dh started the thanking part and it has been a phenominal success. I can see the pride of accomplishment and recognition in all their faces.)

When we make pasta sauce, someone peels and chops the garlic (with the mini-chopper), someone cleans and slices the mushrooms, someone chops the onions. Everyone helps clean up too.

When we make a meal with lots of veggies, again everyone helps. Gryphen, almost 4, can wield a potato peeler. He gets started before anyone else because it takes some time. No one peels over the garbage either. That can lead to lots of frustration. We use a piece of scrap paper or a small cutting board.

4. Use the crockpot as much as possible. I have lots of energy in the morning, but by midafternoon I'm spent. I utilize it for as many meals as I possibly can.

5. Make extra batches of mixes you use often.

I make a quadrupal batch of pancakes. When I make one, I also measure out the dry ingredients for 3 or 4 more batches and put them into containers/baggies. In the morning I put together the wet ingredients and store it in the fridge. Right before lunch, I warm up the griddle and then go and throw the wet and dry together. All the kids like to flip pancakes, so I don't have to do it often.

6. Organize your pantry. I need to do this yet. I just saw a great idea in Better Homes & Gardens. It had breakfast items together, including English muffins, bread, bagels, and cereal. Quick lunches were together. They also had baskets that all the ingredients for a meal. One was tuna casserole and it had the tuna, noodles, peas, canned soup, etc in one basket labeled tuna casserole. All the baking items were together in clear containers so you quickly see what you needed more of.

That's all I can think of for now.

what a neat way to organize the pantry..i really wish i had a pantry.

I do something similar to MamaBear and Variant. But I have a one day a week cooking too. Where I cut all our salad greens, and peel carrots, wash grapes, etc... so we have quick snack foods at home. I have even considered buying the sliced already cheese, although it seems like a waste with a cheese slicer. lol... I have made my "prep ahead" days Sundays. I used to cut onions and mash garlic at the same time, and should really get back to it, but I haven't done that for quite a while.

So basically, I have one really big cooking day per week, and then the rest of the week, some of my prep is already done. If that makes sense.

I also have tons of simple recipes on my blog... here... let me narrow it down for you:

Hobbies of a Domestic Goddess: Food (http://goddesshobbies.blogspot.com/search/label/Food)

Hobbies of a Domestic Goddess: Recipes (http://goddesshobbies.blogspot.com/search/label/Recipes)

These are the two searches that will take you strait to the recipes. :) Some are REALLY simple. Others are worth making because everyone loves them. But our staple simple meals are fajitas, burritos, beans and rice, asian chicken salad, split pea soup, black bean soup, pasta salad, open faced sandwiches (usually broiled), and pizza night (every friday).

i cook similarly to what mamabear and variant describe too, so i won't say all of those things again. :)

i went through a crock pot book once and marked everything that looked like something we would like and tried the recipes over a couple of weeks so that i could find some really good recipes to use consistently. i did the same with soups. although it's getting warmer, and i won't make soup very much.

i used to have a once a week crock pot meal, soup meal, breakfast for dinner meal, chicken recipe, very simple cooking night (for me, that was baked potato and toppings w/ salad or spaghetti or some sort of frozen meal in a bag sort of deal, which we don't really eat anymore). that worked well for a long time. it could be italian night, mexican night, vegetarian night...anything! but having a general idea each night/week was very helpful.

now, i keep a notepad with a running list of all the dinners we have in the house. it always has eggs and pancakes and smoothies on it and it always has taco lentils and lentil chili and brown rice on it. i just keep that stuff around. besides that, i rotate things we like and new recipes i see. when i see the list of dinners getting to below 5 or so meals, i know i need to get some more food...lol. but...that also allows me to see meat on sale and then come home and put the chicken meal on the dinners list unexpectedly.

i have really enjoyed freezing things lately. i make 12 corn muffins and freeze half of them to eat with soup for dinner one night. i look for soup recipes that have lots of servings, eat it 2 nights that week, and then freeze enough for a couple of dinners as well. it's heavenly to already have healthy, homemade meals or parts of meals in the freezer.

Ok. I think I can put into words what happens.

I make a menu for 7 days. I purchase items at the grocery for the menu. So, I'm ok at that step.

Executing the menu is the problem. I see what I have to prepare and get competely overwhelmed. It seems like it would take too long or I am just too tired to do it. So, I end up microwaving something and adding a handful of raw veggies. Also, my kids hate nearly everything I make. This doesn't stop me from making it, but it does wear a person down after awhile. Cooking here, is a completely thankless job.

I feel like that a lot.

You know what my kids love most of all? When I make the simple stuff. Simple steamed veggies, simple rice or potatoes, simple grilled or broiled meat. The devour food when I make the simplest stuff. :P

Heck, this week they even ate salmon - i marinated it with teriyaki sauce, then baked until it was cooked. I made some rice and steamed broccoli. Easy peasy, and they all wanted more.

AND... what has helped me a lot... since dh has gone, I have been doing almost all of our 'big' meals at noon. I can start a nice dinner at 11 am while I am still fresh - and then for dinner we can just have sandwiches. It's working much better for us this way.

Also, you might want to check out Rachel Ray. I believe she has a basic pantry list.

Okay - I think this can be a little overwhelming. Let's take a step back.

First and foremost, what do your kids like? List it for me?

(Sounds like it will be a short list) :)

While I think it's important to introduce new foods, I also want to do this in a way that will make it well-received by your kids and easy on you. So, let's get to the basics. If each of them could pick five meals, what would they choose? Pre-packaged is fine - don't worry about it. :)

I was having the same problem as you, except since we don't do pretty much anything prepackaged dh ended up cooking after work. So I got a couple cookbooks from the library, I love Lorna Sass' Short-Cut Vegetarian: Great Taste in No Time and Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table.
Once a week I write down ingredients for 7 dinners, at least 3 of them new to me recipes so it would be more interesting and most taking up to 35 minutes prep time. I don't plan it day by day either, maybe I won't feel like a certain dish on Monday so I can pick something else. I also pick one more elaborate meal each week, this is often carried out with the help of dh on weekend. Picking new and quick recipes is the key for me. There are staples like beans and rice (with salsa, sour cream and cheese) that get made almost every week but most is new. I get bored cooking the same stuff over and over.

I understand the idea behind prepping a bunch of stuff once a week except it isn't happening to me. I never have energy for that. And if I do then it is the last thing I want to do. So I do simple, fast, and wholesome food daily. The only thing I do in bulk is beans but somehow even 4 quarts of beans lasts just a couple of days (and there are only 2 adults and a toddler, we just eat a lot compared to most people) so it is not that bulk. (have not found an efficient way to cook more, then some always end up mushy). There are a few things like lentil pasta sauce that I do in double batches but we don't have a microwave so frozen stuff does not work so well. Also we don't eat casseroles (well, like twice a year, lol) and not too many soups, like once every two weeks.

I'm overwhelmed just thinking about this thread. :lol:

First off, I should say that I'll eat anything. I could care less. In fact, if it weren't for the kids, I'd not cook at all very often and live very happily. I require very little variety. I eat healthy foods. Food itself is not high on my priority list except to use as fuel. My kids however, use it as fuel, as kids usually do, but they only like certain kinds of fuel. They also ALL have different tastes, so there is very little that they will all eat happily. Here are two items:

1. Pizza - They choose toppings
2. Tacos - One of the kids only eats the shell and cheese

Here are the rest of the items that I make that most will eat some of:
1. Annies Mac and Cheese
2 Triangle Noodles from Costco (they have spinach and cheese in them)
3. Scrambled eggs and toast
4. Spagetti w/sauce (one will only eat the noodles--no protein!!)
5. Garden Burgers/MF chicken patties

That's all I can think of. Breakfast is no problem. They eat nearly everything. Lunch and dinner are the problems.

they eat no side dishes at all. The veggies they like/eat are cucumbers, a bit of carrot, snap peas, and about 3 lettuce leaves.

ok, do they do beans? rice? Will they eat veges if they cant see them? What sort of food does dh like?

2 of them like refried beans.

Dh eats most of his meals at work. We eat the tacos and pizza on the nights he is home. He's easy.

1. Pizza - They choose toppings

In this case, to stock your pantry, I would buy a bulk container of flour and a bulk container of yeast. You can buy the cheese in bulk, too, but it really won't make a huge difference, IME, and it tends to be better if you buy it fresh, as needed. If they will use things like frozen peppers, you can buy a big bag of those to throw on the pizza - or pepperoni or sausage, prepped into single-use packages, then frozen and ready to go. That way you can just assemble and bake. You can also make a big batch of pizza sauce up and freeze in jars or containers in single-use sizes.

2. Tacos - One of the kids only eats the shell and cheese
I stock up on taco shells when they are 10/10. You can also make a crock pot up of pinto beans (veg stock/broth, garlic cloves, cumin, whatever you like) and then freeze them in individual servings. OR you can just buy bulk pinto beans (freeze for 24 hours to kill whatever might be lingering) and then keep those in your pantry for use, as needed. But, I like making the beans and freezing much better - we actually use them that way ;) If you do any kind of meat, you can pre-cook that with the taco seasoning (I also buy this at Sam's in bulk) and then freeze into individual size containers for each meal. Then you just have to add the fresh ingredients (cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream - whatever you do).

1. Annies Mac and Cheese
Easy to stock in the pantry - pretty shelf stable. Buy when it's on sale and buy a whole case. Just check the expiration date.
2 Triangle Noodles from Costco (they have spinach and cheese in them)
Do you eat these with pasta sauce? You can freeze a pasta sauce with shredded carrots in it to boost nutritional value. Buy a big can of crushed tomatoes at Costco for like $2.88 and doctor it up with dried italian spices, minced garlic cloves, and whatever else - you can do this in the crock pot, too. Then, freeze in whatever size you would normally use with the pasta. I use canning jars (just leave a little room at the top for it to expand) and have also reused things like pasta sauce jars and applesauce jars.

3. Scrambled eggs and toast
Since you're toasting the bread, you can buy this ahead of time when it's on sale and freeze the whole loaf. I keep a boule of multigrain sourdough in my freezer from TJ's at all times just for toast :)

4. Spagetti w/sauce (one will only eat the noodles--no protein!!)
Will they notice if you throw some red lentils in the sauce and puree it? They pretty much dissolve when cooked. How about a generous sprinkle of parmesan - or making a baked spaghetti (just assemble your spaghetti, tossed in sauce, and put it in a 9X13 - then top with part skim mozzarella and bake like lasagna).

5. Garden Burgers/MF chicken patties
Definitely something I buy in bulk and on sale to stock my freezer. :)

That's all I can think of. Breakfast is no problem. They eat nearly everything. Lunch and dinner are the problems.
this is another place I use a lot of pantry staples - I make oatmeal muffins with yogurt and oats, flour, um - maybe applesauce. I think it's a Hillbilly Housewife recipe. It can be made ahead of time, but it's just as easy to soak the oats in the yogurt the night before and then assemble the dry ingredients in the morning. You can even pre-measure your dry ingredients and put them in ziplock bags. Buy oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda all in bulk. We also buy the whole case of instant oatmeal packets at Sam's (or Costco in your case) and keep them in a deep kitchen drawer where the kids can reach. Lastly, I buy cereal in bulk or in quantity and always have 15 or so boxes on hand. I find it 5/10 and sometimes have a coupon on top of that, so I always buy 10 or 15 at a time when that happens.

Lunches - how about canned soups with a grilled cheese sandwich?

I think it's important to keep offering fruits and veggies at every meal, and if it gets bad you can sneak some in there - but eventually they might just give up and eat it. I've also put out a plate of things while I'm cooking - when they're begging for something to snack on. That might make the carrots more appealing. :)

with the pasta sauce, I actually add a TON of veggies. Usually carrot, celery, onion, spinach, bell pepper, and often some sort of squash if I have it on hand. I then use a stick blender or food processor and get rid of alllll the evidence LOL.

Do they eat any sorts of soups? Chili? I would def make my own refrieds-- super easy and super cheap, esp if you eat them often.

Are you looking to work on expanding their palettes, or just on making cooking day to day easier? We can probably offer you a lot of food suggestions, but if they arent things that you think that they will eat, then it won't work for you.

ok food blogs of the top of my head that I like
THE OMNIVORE'S SOLUTION (http://www.theomnivoressolution.com/) (good blog based around the ideas fromt he book)
bakingsheet index (http://bakingsheetindex.blogspot.com/) (lots of baking, but not exclusively so)
FHC (http://foodandhealth.com/blog/) (i think this one is the woman that is a runner, I can't remember right now LOL)
Whole Foods for a Whole Year (http://wholefoodsforawholeyear.blogspot.com/) (this is maryalene)
Little Turtle Mama: The one in which we talk about eating locally... (http://www.littleturtleknits.com/blog/2007/08/one-in-which-we-talk-about-eating.htm) (this is ltk theresa)
Better Banana Bread | The Fresh Loaf (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/betterbananabread) (baking, but very extensive)
Simply Recipes Food and Cooking Blog (http://elise.com/recipes/) (this is one of my favs because it is very extensive)
Andrea's easy vegan cooking blog (http://cookeasyvegan.blogspot.com/) (vegan but has some good ideas)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks! (http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/) (this one has been mentioned here before but is awesome!)
http://www.menus4moms.com/kitchen/weeklymenu/offers free easy menus, gives you step by step prep directions and grocery shopping lists-- semi healthy, not exactly a blog but maybe a good starting place?))

and recipe sites
New Low Fat & Tasty Recipes Added Each Month! (http://www.healthdiscovery.net/recipes/entrees/index.html)
T h e R e c i p e H o u n d (http://www.recipehound.com/index2.html)
Our vegan recipe collection at The Cat-Tea Corner(c) with a new recipe every week! (http://www.catteacorner.com/vegan-c5.htm)

I know how it is with pickiness. You are actually doing okay with your list there - I can see a few good meals. If you add veggies, great - a handful of micro'ed veggies that everyone will eat is fine. Or prep cukes, carrots, etc on weekends and have enough to grab a handful raw to plop on everyone's plate. Just having them repeatedly eat the veggies they like will eventually expand their palettes (we started with carrots and celery with K and now she will eat swiss chard in soup as well).

Pizza - work toward putting veggies on it or at least in the sauce
Pasta - veggies in the sauce as herc said will help nutrition and expand their tastes a bit because there will be subtle tastes in there. When Katie wouldn't eat sauce we did tons of olive oil and tons of grated parmesan. Also Barilla makes a pasta with lentils in it for protein.
Garden burgers - great meal, you can have potatoes and warm/cooked veg with it or a salad and whatever veggies the kids will eat. Or french fries and on a bun :). You can dress this basic up a few different ways.
Tacos are great. Try soft taco shells one time, corn the next, put out bowls of different ingredients for everyone to make their own. Make up burritos instead of tacos one night and enlist the kids' help so they see it's just their favorite dressed up a little differently. Will the one who only eats shells and cheese let you make a quesadilla with ww tortilla? That is what we do for K when we have tacos.

Just some brainstorming...whatever works. I think for storage you do have to have your menu really "set" - I'm working really hard right now on things we all like and maximizing that so that the work is streamlined. It does cut down on the work a lot to only make one thing for dinner. (Duh, but at our house it's been a little bit of a revelation; we didn't quite realize why cooking was such a chore.)

honestly I like to make pancakes/waffles up all at once, and then freeze those. you can just pop them in the toaster like an eggo later. But then our freezers have always been small and we've never had an extra freezer either, so having something slim & flat has always been better than storing batter in a rental house fride or freezer. ymmv tho, that's just what worked for us because we rented.

Also, don't feel bad (like everyone said) if you're using prepacked things. You do what you can and as you find your stride you can add in more things later. (hug)

I tend to go in spurts with cooking, do a ton of hard/long/super healthy stuff and then make dh cook for a while or cook easy things.

Something everyone likes here takes only one pan. It can be healthy to if you have a good pan. I take maybe a capful of olive oil and warm it up in my good frying pan. I add spices. If I have half an onion I might toss that in there, maybe not. Then I add cubed meat (chicken or pork for us, but you can use whatever meat will cube). I have a special cutting board I use only for meat. I fry it in the oil on medium to low, depending on what else I have to add and how much time I have. Once it's cooked about halway I add potatoes that have been cut up, let it cook some more, maybe add a lil' more oil if it needs it. Then once it's about 10 -15 min from done I'll add carrots, broccoli, etc whatever else is around. I use a lid the whole time. This is hardly any oil in the pan so it's not unhealthy, and olive oil is good for you. You will go back a few times to stir while it's making, but you really could mostly ignore it. You just can't completely ignore it kwim? This is a simple dish that you can totally customize with spices/veggies that everyone in my family loves. Of course I do have kids that love veggies so I know I'm lucky.

If money for groceries was tight you could serve this over rice, or with more veggies and less meat (assuming you were using in-season veggies). The right sides would also help make this go farther. If you had a biiiig frying pan, or a double burner skillet or something you could do up either enough for a big family or enough to have leftovers the next day. This almost never happens in my house though because if there's more everyone wants to eat it right then :lol:

Another good tip (assuming you have a crockpot) is to go to any thrift store and get a couple of crock-pot cookbooks. I haven't fully utilized mine yet because our crockpot is pretty small, but I'm working on it. :D

Sounds like you minght need this book: Amazon.com: Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food: Jessica Seinfeld: Books (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061251348/bookstorenow16-20)

I checked it out from the library and she has tons of great ideas for picky eaters. :)

Val

Yet another book suggestion lol but I got The Art of Simple Food for Christmas and I really love it. She goes into technique is a really helpful way so that you end up being more able to just throw things together - and also discusses helpful meal planning ideas, pantry suggestions, tools that are must haves....


And in addition, she focuses on eating healthy organic whole foods that are in season. I love it!

Amazon.com: The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution: Alice Waters: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Simple-Food-Delicious-Revolution/dp/0307336794/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206411630&sr=8-1)

1. Pizza - They choose toppings
2. Tacos - One of the kids only eats the shell and cheese

Here are the rest of the items that I make that most will eat some of:
1. Annies Mac and Cheese
2 Triangle Noodles from Costco (they have spinach and cheese in them)
3. Scrambled eggs and toast
4. Spagetti w/sauce (one will only eat the noodles--no protein!!)
5. Garden Burgers/MF chicken patties

That's all I can think of. Breakfast is no problem. They eat nearly everything. Lunch and dinner are the problems.

they eat no side dishes at all. The veggies they like/eat are cucumbers, a bit of carrot, snap peas, and about 3 lettuce leaves.

Great list!

If they are eating a good breakfast and lunch you can let go of worrying they get a balanced meal at dinner. Cook to please the majority. You know kids are often not at their best come evening. For the kids that won't eat protein you could make sure they are getting some at breakfast/dinner those days. It might be helpful to you to preplan lunch for those days.

Also wondering if your husband's presence makes a difference and if he can alter his schedule at all to make dinner a family affair? It might motivate you to prioritize dinner as you wish. Help contain the children while you cook. Help you cook. I completely understand many schedules make this impossible. At least tell him what you are up to and give him a job. . . call you at 5 to see how you are doing, give you lots of praise. LOL. Seriously.

Another idea I had is post your menu in a visible place so the kids know what to expect for dinner and it will help keep you accountable. :) I think just getting into a routine of cooking for dinner will help a lot.

A lot of people have talked about batch cooking. I think it's a great concept. It doesn't work for me. I do much better doing things in small increments. It's what works for me. The only thing I do in batches is spaghetti sauce because I make my own.

One thing you could try for getting some more veggies in them is buying a frozen veggie blend and mixing it in to the Annies, the Costco noodles, the egg scramble. Serve salad every night and let them pick out of it what they want to eat. Have a try a new veggie night once a week. Have a try a new food night once a week.

You could try variations of the things you know they like:
spaghetti pie
baked ziti
ravioli, there are many kinds, even sweet potato
baked mac and cheese w/ some meat (we do ham) and veggie (we do peas)
cream of chicken spaghetti pie (use white sauce instead of tomato and use primavera type veggies
pasta primavera
chicken spaghetti - mix chicken in with sauce instead of ground beef, bit of cumin in the sauce
spanish omellete
fried egg sandwich
egg pie (like quiche but milk instead of cream, no onion, cheddar instead of swiss, premade pie crust)
fritatta
breakfast burrito (scrambled eggs, salsa wrapped in tortilla)
start making your own veggie burgers like garden burgers, try different types of gardenburger
turkey burgers in a skillet
salmon burgers in a skillet
enchiladas
burritos (I admit I buy canned beans, mash them with a potato masher, add olive oil and we're good to go for refried beans)

I normally pad the menu with 5 or so meals I know they will eat, one or two vegetarian meals to help the budget, one or two meals that dh and I like and I know the kids will pick at and complain about. Sometimes my youngest girl, especially lately, refuses everything and has peanut butter and jelly. The 7 yo eats everything, the 5 yo is getting there. She's getting better. But I just keep serving things and encouranging them to try things.

One of the best things a good friend of mine said to me once is "I am not a naturally organized person, I try to think. . . what would an organized person do in this situation. . . and then I do it." I think that logic can be applied to a lot of things in life. Even this!

Want to make a menu for next week and we can help you tweak it?

waterlily that was amazing. Can you come over here and talk to me like that about stuff I have guilt over? You're very wily, I bet you could talk some of it into leaving!

<bows to you>

I am bumping this thread because I must have missed it the first time around and I love it. I did a search for food help and found it. I am desperate. I don't weigh enough and I am nutritionally deficient, my immune system seems to be crap, and it's manifested in my oral health (just had 5 more cavities filled under deep sedation last week, now I have a raging cold/cough, I feel like crap, dentist said with all my teeth issues it is likely my problems are stress/nutrition related, becuase I floss and brush like a madwoman 3X a day, but still have teeth problems).

We did the dinner's ready thing for the last two months, but we only buy enough to have two of those a week. I am desperate. Once and for all I need to figure out FOOD.

Anyways, I'm bumping this thread because I love it!!!!!!!! It will help me!

You gals are amazing! I loved reading thru this thread! Thanks so much!

You gals are amazing! I loved reading thru this thread! Thanks so much!

::ditto::

asian chicken salad,

This thread rocks - Val, can you post your recipe?

I use a seseme dressing, with saute'd chicken (browned in strips and cooled) and toss with slivered almonds and asian friend noodles (the crunchy ones in the asian food isle). Then I toss with whatever greens I have on hand. All of the bits (except for the greens) store or freeze well, so we really can have it whenever we have an excess of salad greens. You can even cook the chicken before hand, and put it in the fridge for up to a week. :)

Val