When Parents Diet...

I've mentioned in a post before, that my husband and I are on a diet, in particular, Nutrisystem.  One of the biggest questions when I tell people this, is how do you do that with your kids?

We have 3 children, and they were the biggest issue when we decided to go on a diet.  I had to plan out a variety of meals, that they will most likely have often, that they will enjoy, and more importantly, that will not take very long to cook!

Being on a diet is hard enough as it is.  First of all, Nutrisystem is great because the meal prep does not take that long, so I didn't want to be in the kitchen for a long time because I had to cook my kids dinner as well.  Second of all, I hate making them something that looks and smells delicious, that we can't have.  Even though my husband and I are having different foods then them, I still make sure that we are eating as a family at the dinner table, and there have been quite a few times where we catch ourselves looking longingly at their plate of chicken nuggets.

CHICKEN NUGGETS!

Who would've thought we'd be jealous of those fried, meat filled, nuggets, dipped in the savory sauces they get to choose.....

I digress.

Anyways, as I was saying, before we even officially started, I talked to my girls (because my son will pretty much eat anything) and asked them what kinds of meals they wanted.  They may not have came up with the healthiest meals, but I tried to make sure they had a protein, vegetable, fruit and dairy on their tray, for the most part.

Meals I mostly stick with are: hot dogs, frozen bagged chicken, egg and sausage on an english muffin, macaroni and cheese, broccoli cheddar soup,  grilled cheese, chicken nuggets and peanut butter and jelly.  I throw some others in the too depending on what they see that they like when we go grocery shopping.  Here are what a couple of the meals look like.  The plates also vary depending on which kid is getting it.  One hates blueberries, while the other likes them.  One loves oranges, while the other would rather have orange juice.   So while the "main" part of the meal is usually the same, the 3 plates usually have different things on them.

Avocado has been a lifesaver with my son!  He recently stopped eating most vegetables, which is frustrating enough because I LOVE vegetables, but he loves Avocado.  He would eat a whole one all by himself if I let him!  Once I started buying them for him, my girls remembered how much they like them as well.  Luckily, they have recently gone down in price!!!

It has been hard, especially after a couple weeks on the diet when the whole novelty has worn off.  The worst is when I make them the BBQ chicken because it smells soooo good!  Seeing the numbers go down on the scale each morning, though, helps with keeping us motivated.  We got lazy with food.  We ate what was cheap, quick, and usually too much of it.  So our plan is to do this for a couple months to get back on track, and to get our portion sizes under control (which is a big component to the Nutrisystem diet!

Want to learn more about Nutrisystem?  Check it out here