Snacking for Two

Eating healty is always a challenge. Now throw in that mix a baby and now you're struggling a bit harder because it's not only you, but two.

I need some subtle way to introduce a healthier food choice options when it comes to home cooking. We usually have a steak/potatoes style meal but lean meats is the better option. As for as lean meats, I can only think of chicken and pork. Is pork a lean meat? Oh and veggies, we have to stay away from the can (I hate can, I'm a frozen guy) so I'm looking at the fresh selection. It's not crazy cold outside yet, so any grilling suggestions besides squash, zucchini, or potatoes? Can you grill green beans?

I might be over thinking, but doesn't hurt to ask and get other's ideas.

I'm also a meat and potatoes type of person, and healthy cooking is a real challenge for me too so I don't have a lot of advice. Baked or grilled chicken with a side of veggies is always a good healthy meal though, and I don't think it hurts to throw in a steak now and then too... maybe with some grilled or roasted veggies on the side. During my first pregnancy I had a big steak and cheeseburger craving so I ate them a lot, and my dr was always impressed with my hemoglobin level! I agree with you about the canned veggies... I always go for either fresh or frozen as well.

W my first I had gestational diabetes. Talk about a lifestyle change!! I worked really hard at finding high fiber, low carb/sugar items. I ate a lot of chicken with brown rice and veggies, fish is a good option. I had to follow a diabetic diet obviously, but found really great receipes. Toward the end of my pregnancy I actually started to lose weight, which was great b/c I was overweight to begin with.

Here's a sample meal plan. Obviously since she's pregnant she should be consuming more calories, but really only 100 or so more than what she was before (obviously consult the dr on this!!!!)

Your daily meal plan should take into account your size as well as your physical activity level. The following menu is tailored for someone who needs 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day.
Breakfast. Whole-wheat pancakes or waffles, one piece of fruit, 1 cup of low-fat milk.
Lunch. Chicken kabob, 1/2 cup of steamed broccoli, 1/2 cup of cooked rice, 1/2 cup of juice.
Dinner. Pasta primavera prepared with broccoli, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash and Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of low-fat milk.
Snacks. Six homemade crispy corn tortilla chips, 1/2 cup fresh vegetables with a seasoned garlic sauce

W my first I had gestational diabetes. Talk about a lifestyle change!! I worked really hard at finding high fiber, low carb/sugar items. I ate a lot of chicken with brown rice and veggies, fish is a good option. I had to follow a diabetic diet obviously, but found really great receipes. Toward the end of my pregnancy I actually started to lose weight, which was great b/c I was overweight to begin with.

Here's a sample meal plan. Obviously since she's pregnant she should be consuming more calories, but really only 100 or so more than what she was before (obviously consult the dr on this!!!!)

Your daily meal plan should take into account your size as well as your physical activity level. The following menu is tailored for someone who needs 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day.
Breakfast. Whole-wheat pancakes or waffles, one piece of fruit, 1 cup of low-fat milk.
Lunch. Chicken kabob, 1/2 cup of steamed broccoli, 1/2 cup of cooked rice, 1/2 cup of juice.
Dinner. Pasta primavera prepared with broccoli, carrots, zucchini, yellow squash and Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of low-fat milk.
Snacks. Six homemade crispy corn tortilla chips, 1/2 cup fresh vegetables with a seasoned garlic sauce

Some lean meats:

Turkey breast (the rest of the turkey is pretty fatty)
Chicken breast (thighs and legs are fattier)
Veal
Emu
Chicken liver
rabbit meat
deer meat

As for grilling veggies, we tend to cut up a bunch on stuff that wouldn't normally go on a bbq, and put them in a foil packet with a little bit of butter or olive oil... or cut them in bite sized chunks and put them on some skewers

Onion wedges
Carrot sticks
Green beans
Mushrooms
Cherry Tomatoes

Eggplant and corn also grills quite well, as do red/green/yellow/orange pepper halves or quarters.

We also eat a lot of stir frys... we cut up onions, garlic, peppers, broccoli, zucchini, celery, a couple handfuls of baby spinach (1 handful shrinks down to 3 or 4 bites), some mushrooms, cherry tomatoes.

We'll add 2 or 3 cut up cooked chicken breasts... sometimes a handful of pine nuts or slivered almonds.

Pretty much any type of rice or pasta dish we have (which we don't have very often) we will add some chopped peppers, some spinach, chopped onions, small bits of broccoli...

For things like pancakes / muffins / cookies etc... I tend to substitute the oil for applesauce for a healthier option, add pieces of fruit to the batter..

I also make muffins with fruits and veggies and whatever leftovers I have, really... I make some with avocado.. I make some with corn.. some I make with cheese, onions and bacon and leftover meats... Apple oatmeal muffins, orange cranberry muffins, chocolate beet muffins... banana muffins..

As much as possible, you will want to try and stay away from "white stuff". White bread, white rice, white pasta, white sauces, white veggies... like potatoes. Try and substitute them for their whole wheat counterpart... or make your own white sauce with low fat milk.

Whatever meal we end up having for dinner, though, we usually have salad on half of the plate, the meat/protein taking up 1/4 of the plate, and the carbs taking up the remaining 1/4.

We will snack on toasted pita bread or veggies with hummus, or cut fruit on a platter. We don't buy much junk food... but it's darn tasty now and then. What we do instead is buy day old baguette bread, and cut it up pretty thin... spray some Pam or some other cooking spray, sprinkle the bread with garlic powder, curry powder, or any other seasoning you want... broil one side... turn them over, spray and sprinkle, broil the other side, and serve them with salsa and homemade guacamole. That's the kids' favorite snack.

This is me.

Rocky can I live w/you?

lol, Sure!

I know this is almost 3 months old, but I just saw this.

I stay away from processed foods/snacks as much as possible. I will have fruit and veggies for snacks, veggies at every meal even breakfast (I love my eggs with the onion and pepper mixture yumm). I stick with water and milk to drink and limit soda/tea to eating out. By eating out I mean at a sit down restaurant.

It was a hard change, but I adopted it my last pregnancy. Then I was able to lose all the baby weight plus a little more before getting pregnant again where as before it was very hard to do so.

Hope things are going well for you two