Menu Monday - Simplify

Alrighty.  Although I feel like I've been making healthy choices, and eating well, my family is starting to rebel a bit.  The goal this week is to find simple, pleasing meals that the whole family will eat.

Jenn, over at Trendy 'Tweens and I were discussing what makes a healthy meal.  When you are talking about "healthy food" in this country, the perception is that reduced calorie or low-fat, processed foods are fine, even better than the originals, because they say so, right on the package.  I'll get into that tomorrow. 

Jenn and I agreed on what to select for healthy eating - real foods.  But even more importantly is the way in which you eat them. 

If you sit down to a plate of food, and wolf it down, you body isn't going to have time to tell you that you are satisfied.  Dr. Clower points out that not only is our "full" signal delayed, but our appetites keep adapting to the larger amounts we eat.

"Why is this a problem?  Our body naturally expects a certain amount of food, which is  your appetite set point.  If you keep eating past this "enough already" point, you train your body to expect more food on the next meal.  In other words, you increase your appetite threshold.  Even worse, because your body is such an elegant adaptable machine, "raising the bar" can go on and on.  It's not clear that there's a ceiling."
Will Clower, The Fat Fallacy, page 132

Slowing down and sharing meals with my family is like swimming against the current lately.  It's a struggle to keep the kids at the table.  I have been preparing meals that cause the kids to gag and make "oh, barf" comments.  In short, I'm trying too hard to be fancy. 

No more.  At least, not this week.  Behold the menu for Simplicity Week:

Tuesday: Baguette slices topped with broiled cheese and tomato slices, tomato soup and mixed green salad, sliced fruit with whipped cream for dessert.
Wednesday:  Steamed rice with baked tilapia and peas, with sliced strawberries.
Thursday:  Southwestern Chicken Soup, with warm corn tortillas and watermelon.
Friday:  Open-faced egg salad sandwiches, pickles, olives, sliced fruits and carrots, celery and snap-peas with some sort of dip.
Saturday:  Breakfast for dinner - Waffles, Canadian bacon and cinnamon stewed apples. 
Sunday:  Turkey pot-pie with biscuits and steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Comments

[HG]

That sounds way more doable than your previous menus.

I've had success going real simple with sliced chicken grilled in olive oil, salt, and pepper (which I also ate half what I normally would and was satisfied), a veggie (we are fond of green zucchini sauted in the same as the chicken above) and some sort of rice or bread.

[Stephanie C.]

I am most impressed with your diligence in planning your menus, typing them out for us AND the photos you've posted of your past meals.
Very, very impressed!

[Elizabeth]

The problem I have isn't so much with my kids as with my husband. He wants to eat the same four or five things over and over, and it's all packaged food like taco "kits", Hamburger Helper (the ultimate in dog-crap food), and Banquet Fried Chicken. Next week, when the insanity that is our life right now settles down, I'm going to try out your Simplicity Week menu on him and see what he thinks. I'll send you an email with the results!