So...the above photo is a perfect example of what this looks like for us. I started with a package of premade-fully cooked,frozen GF chicken patties that happened to be on sale for a very good price at our local Shop Rite that week!! Major score! Obviously it isnt the ultimate health food, but at the very least they were GF,Non GMO and preservative/hormone free. So, theres the "balance" I feel OK with. Next,I always have a bag of salad mix or greens along with a bag of eiher broccoli slaw mix or chopped rainbow salad mix on hand. Theyre inexpensove and I can get a couple of meal sized salads out of them.Obviously to be even cheaper you can chop your own head of lettuce and keep it in a ziploc. I often do this during the .99 lettuce sale! While the chicken patties were in the oven I quickly dumped a bunch of my salad mixes into a lage bowl,and grabbed whatever additional salad toppings I had. This time that was some cherry tomatoes& avacado which I typically buy fresh each week on grocery day, and I added in some green peas as well which were frozen. I always,always have a back up stash of frozen veggies since theyre readily on sale (.99a bag) and still a healthier option than junk food! After the chicken was done, I sliced up a few of the patties atop the salad. Now, my husband and I ate ours exactly as pictured,salad with the works topped with a drizzle of balsamic dressing. However, the other 3 had other plans...but no problem, I can work with them within reason without creating extra work for myself. I used the chicken as the base for all of us and went from there. That was the "No-Negotiating" item! For my oldest who still uses her hands to eat (utensil use is still a work in progress),and with her dietary restrictions, I just simply chopped her chicken patty up along with some of the avacado,tomato and peas from the salad. My middle daughter just wasnt in the "salad mood" appearantly and so her chicken patty,tomato,lettuce and avacado went onto some toast along with a slice of cheese...still the same protein and some veggies,but with compromise. 😉 Then onto my son,the youngest and pickiest of the crew.He NEVER eats salad...ever! But, he loves chicken and surprisingly he also loves peas!! So, the compromise for him was to serve his chicken patty atop a bowl of brown rice (again,I went with the frozen,easy heat kind this time.) as an extra and affordable "filler upper" 😉 and his favorite veggie of choice,peas! Thats that..... One main dish that fit everyones needs and tastes with just a few slight alterations for each. Happy kids who cleaned their plates and happy well fed parents with them. 😊 Its all about the balance and compromise and a bit of convenience thrown in too! 😉
In general I stick to this same idea for most meals. I always make some sort of main food that suits all and then allow them to work out which vegetable and/side theyll eat it with...within reason. If Ive made something new or something they arent a big fan of, my rule is they have to have a small bit of it,but can pair it with something they do like such as pasta,rice, or ketchup! Never underestimate the power of Ketchup!! I buy Organic with basic ingredients (until I attempt homemade).
To keep to our budget...which if you are curious is Under $200 a week total for 5 of us. By UNDER, I mean as far under as possible! $150 makes my day.😁 Even lower and Im doing a happy dance! I admit I would be a health food fanatic if the budget had the room,and would probably spend hours daily inside specialty health food markets reading labels and going crazy analyzing every ingredient and only buying fresh and cooking from scratch if I had the time.But, that is NOT my reality and I have better things to do with my time and energy....specifically 3 better things that I save it for specifically! 😊😊😊
I go with my health "tier" method and work my way down to whichever tier is doable at that time. Example-Produce: -Organic is best -Fresh is still better -Frozen is better than canned- Organic in a can is still better than a twinkie or some Spam!😜
AND pretty much the same for other foods as well....work my way down. For meats,I will either sacrifice my prreferred cuts in order to buy organic such as thighs and drumsticks instead of breast, or Ill forgo Organic and opt for at least an antibiotic and hormone free version....or 100%grass fed ground beef when on sale and so on. I keep a stock of frozen veggies for quick sides in a pinch, Organic canned beans, anything similar when on sale. Bags of potatoes,onions and sweet potatoes stay long,can be bought cheap. Pasta is another easy and filling food to have on hand. For us, I need the GF type so I stock up when on sale or from Trader Joes. Pasta can easily be healthfied by adding in chopped veggies,meat and a sprinkle of Hemp seeds. If your kds wont eat the veggies in the pasta you can try chopping them up or even pureeing them and putting them right into meatballs, as well as some hemp or flax seeds. Sauce can hide a lot! The same goes for brown rice, its easy to keep around and filling!Using sides like potatoes,pasta and rice allow me to use better quality proteins and toppings for optimal nutrition and still keep them full. If you arent a big starch fan you can always try some "faux" veggie based versions like Cauliflower rice, Zuchinni noodles,spaghetti squash etc. They require a bit more work,but are still fairly inexpensive and very delicious! And if Picky kids are an issue,just work with them within reason, and find easy ways to use the same base meal and and alter it to keep them all healthy...think salad to sandwich, over rice or pasta, or bring out the ketchup! If I were to choose one healthifying ingredient to always have it would be a toss between my chia seeds or my hemp seeds....they can be spinkled over everything and give a great health boost to any dish with little flavor change so the kids stay happy.
Hope some of that was helpful...thats how we roll around here. We work with what we got and healthify it as much as we can! Keep it Simple, Keep it healthy...Keep it fun!
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