22 new of 23 responses total.
not much.
Does he get his cholesterol checked?
he does. right now it's not a problem, but it will be as he gets older. He does try to eat things heathly for him, but he just doesn't like much. But believe it or not he is WAY better than his mom and brother.
I assume he takes vitamin pills, but does he eat anything with fiber in it? COuld it be that he is allergic to many vegetables? What is it he does like about restaurant salads?
I've not heard of these zip cooking bags? How do they work? Oh, and fast and easy is what I do most meals. And I depend on leftovers to cover meals where even fast and easy is too much work. So there! ;-) I used to cook for a very fussy eater and it's no fun. None. Zip. The only suggestion I'd have is to come up with variations on a theme of what you know he likes. If pizza works, then try a calzone with refrigerated pizza dough for a subtle switch-out. Then move on to bottled spaghetti sauce and packaged ravioli topped with cheese. Is he a burger man? Make baked ziti with, again, spaghetti sauce, ground beef and tube pasta. Next try packaged breaded chicken cutlets, baked, then topped with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella. A quick stop under the broiler to melt the cheese and you've got Chicken Parmesan. You then add on a bagged salad (for you) and you've got some variety, prepared at home, fast and dirty, with leftovers for another meal or two. Anyhow, that's some of the tricks I used when I was way too busy to cook for someone who only wanted pizza, burgers or ribs.
re 5 Sometimes he takes vitamins, but yeah, not much fiber, though I do try to sneak it in. I have no idea why he will only eat restaurant salads. He has eaten them at home OCCASIONALLY, but I really don't know. He also will only eat certain brands of stuff, and no left overs. But enough about him. ;) What other easy meals do you guys make, picky or not? On the ziplock bags, basically they are specially designed bags for microwave cooking, and you can cook lots of veggies and meats in them. They have times and instructions right on the bag. You just add spices, oils, etc. So far I like them a lot. I am actually kinda glad I don't cook like I used to. I don't need to be around food. I only bake once a year (holidays) and other than that I clear my house of all temptations.
Fruit usually has fiber. I have microwaved apples with raisins. Core them first. Put in a covered bowl.
(he doesn't like fruit either)
I have found that Trader Joe's has lots of pretty healthy prepared dinners. They have frozen pizzas, burritos, and rice bowls. Lots of frozen veggies too. I microwave all of that stuff.
My brother has never liked vegetables either. When he visited I asked for a list of vegetables he did not like, but should have asked for the shorter list of ones he was willing to eat. Green beans. How about nuts? Does your husband have food allergies?
no allergies. Just doesn't really like to eat. ;) re 10 Do they have much sodium in them? I gave up pre-packaged meals about 3 years ago because of too much sodium.
I buy chicken when it is cheap, roast 10 pounds of it, and pull the meat off the bones. I also cook up a huge pot of brown rice. From this, I do an assembly line of small plastic containers for lunch, and larger containers for dinner. Layer of rice, layer of frozen veges straight out of the bag, 3, 6 or 9 ounces of cooked chicken. A dollup of bbq, or teriyaki, or pasta sauce on top, and you have three very different flavor fuel-food boxes. Throw them in the freezer, and pull them out a few at a time. Not exactly gourmet, but you can change up the sauce and get a different flavor. Quick, easy, cheap, convenient.
This sounds sort of like what the Chinese restaurants do, but they buy their sauces by the gallon.
re 13 you're my kinda woman!
resp:12 I dont know if they have a lot of sodium. Some of them probably do but others probably dont or at least they dont taste like they do.
Which makes is all the funnier. For all the sodium they have, you'd think you were eating a salt lick.
Ok, I looked up one of my favorites online. This is the Amy's brown rice and vegetables bowl. This is one where I have suspected that they dont use salt because it doesnt really taste very salty. It has 550mg of sodium. So my guess is that all of the other ones probably have more sodium than that.
Amy's has a low sodium version of that same dish with 250mg. I cant remember now if what I have been buying is the low sodium version or the regular version. I'll pay attention the next time I pick up those bowls. Ditto the Trader Joe's bowls
I like Amy's stuff. I should look at getting those. 250 is good. even 550 isn't BAD, but I'll check it out.
I just checked the Trader Joe's Kung Pao Chicken Rice Bowl. 740mg of sodium
No doubt
Canned soup. 20-minute stew made with canned tomatoes, canned black beans, and canned or frozen corn. Garlicky black beans Veggie dogs. Mock tuna for lunches (mashed canned chick peas instead of tuna). Mjaddara (about 45 minutes). Hummus. Cheese, onion, and mustard sandwich. Fantastic Foods vegetarian sloppy Joes. Baked or boiled potatoes and whatever - steak sauce, salsa, balsamic vinaigrette, mustard, etc. Quick homemade soups.
You have several choices: