2 months out, but trying to Lear to cook for my family--husband, and 2 daughters who are 12...

Any help would be great. I don't want to add a lot of fat to their diet, and want them to learn good eating habits, so any suggestions from y'all with young ones at home would be great! Thank you!!

That would be *learn..

I am still pretty new but I have been cooking with my family and trying to get my fat in without making them unhealthy so far I have focused on protein and since they need it too I try to add in good things for me and them. I like grilling steak with vegetables  and when we want a treat I like cooking seafood and just add butter for me to supplement my diet it's been a new experience since I have been a chronic dieter since adolescence lol fish is great too and olive oil is great to roast vegetables! Also I just modify my portion instead of centering the meal around my diet which would not be great for them. Here is a example we had hamburgers and strawberries for dinner they had theirs on a bun and I just wrapped mine in ham and vegetables and added mashed avocado to mine :) breakfast is another staple since I can eat bacon now we do scrambled eggs meat and I put cheese in mine and make it with heavy cream instead of milk or water there are lots of little tweaks and tricks I have been putting into practice it's tricky sometimes but it has been working. I hope this helps I am still figuring things out as well. Oh and we made manicotti the other night and I just ate the filling with marinara sauce and that was tasty! 

 

Don't worry - this is easier than you think.  Just eliminate the starch from the lineup and add another veggie in it's place.  I got a little resistance, but when my son's wrestling coach suggested eliminating the starches and concentrate on meat and veggies, he was quickly on board.  For fats, I concentrated on whole unprocessed foods, and if they had fat - so be it.  I think the low fat revolution of the 90's created the obesity problems we have today.  I  still reserved extra butter and sauces for myself, but I didn't give the meal preparation any extra special treatment than that.

Occasionally I would do pasta or rice as a treat and I would enjoy a spoonful, but it was no longer a necessary part of the meal.

I laughed when I read this because my son is the same way. His football coaches could tell him the same thing I'm telling him and all of a sudden it's new advice and so so smart. :) Thankfully he is learning great discipline from them.

12 and 15yo girls are already concerned about their weight, or soon will be.  Especially if heavy runs in the family.  I would probably offer a large salad first, at least for the three of them.  Then meat and another low carb veggie.  Probably largish portions because you aren't serving anything unhealthy.  A couple times a week I would offer something with potatos/rice/pasta/dessert.  I would just keep my serving separate and only the meat with sauce.  If you want to make something like tuna casserole, just bake a separate portion for you without the pasta.  When you are a bit further out and can eat more, try Dreamfields pasta.  If everyone likes it you are back in business for pasta dishes.

 

As far as snacks and eat and run foods, I would always have peanut butter, cheese, and deli meat around with low carb wraps.  Make it easy to eat what's good and more difficult to eat what's bad.  The three of them are out and about every day and if they want junk food, they have plenty of opportunities.  You don't need to keep garbage foods in the house.  And people are basically lazy.  They will usually eat what is readily available.

 

Sugar/carbs is something almost no one needs more of.  Honest!