Divorcing Dad, TV gadgets and cooking

[Scanner]

Hey, as a few of you know, I am a divorcing dad and have 3 boys. I have been adjusting okay financially and socially and stuff.

HOwever, a problem I am having is when I have the boys (12, 7, and 1), I am struggling cooking healthy foods for them. It's hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza. . .now. . .I was always kind of a "hands-on" dad when I was married. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being an Iron Chef, I was okay, like a 4 maybe. Can make breakfast, crockpot dinner. . .but admittely, a lot of times when Dad cooked, it didn't get eaten, with the kids complaining, "Dad this is disgusting!"

Anyway, I wanted to tie this with a thread I have been meaning to start about how I am a sucker for TV cooking gadgets. Well, I never buy them but I usually watch the whole informercial wanting to buy them.

Any suggestions on how I can start preparting real meals for them, preferrably limiting my cooking time and maxing "prep" time (since I live alone and have time to prepare in advance before).

Frugality is appreciated but value is appreciated more.

Thanks in advance.

[Fizgig]

I usually eat pretty simply - meat, veggies, and a starch or salad. I like having three things on the plate, but try to keep it to just one thing that actually needs attention.

Easy and cheap -

Grilled or baked meat, whatever is on sale. Steak, chicken legs, pork tenderloin, etc. Just dust some salt, pepper, and whatever spices sound good and cook it up.

Microwave a bag of frozen vegetables. Frozen green beans in particular, I think, are better tasting than fresh. Corn, peas, etc.

Bake/microwave a potato (sweet potatoes are REALLY tasty), or add a salad.



You don't need any of those gadgets. Maybe one of those george forman grills would be nice, though - I don't use them but I hear they're a really easy way to cook meat.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Spinach popsicles? Okra custard? Mashed cauliflower on whole wheat crackers with a dab of frapped green beans?

If the biggest problem is kids thinking your cooking is disgusting, then the safest thing might be to not try to improvise or introduce new foods as the main dish very often at all. Maybe just cook things they are familiar with in the same way their mother cooks them.

[lovcom]

Scanner, I feel your pain lol. I raised two little girls from ages 2 & 4 through college age, and I was a worse cook then you, and I hated cooking plain and simple. I really am not one to give advise on this topic, but right or wrong here is what I did:

Breakfast: The easiest for me. Good surgar free multi grain cerealsm, yogurt, bagels and juice.

Lunch: School lunches were purchased there; about $2 each day each girl.

Dinner: Ate in half the week, ate out half the week. We NEVER fast food it for the times we ate out. We would go to Olive garden, Chevy's, TGIF's, Macaroni Grill, places like that. The two girls would split one entre, and I would get the cheapest entre for myself. Often nice sit-down places can be found that provide discounts on certain days of the week; mostly mom & po places, non-chain places too.

This was perhaps the cheapest solution but it did prevent my girls from eating crud food at the making of my hands.

[cicy33]

Cooking doesn't have to be fancy, specially with boys. Here is a dish my ex's kids loved. I personally think it is yucky but well, then again I'm a woman!

Prepared spaghetti noodles (or whatever pasta) added tomato juice to drained noodles. serve with bread or biscuits. kids love it.

Kids also love plain noodles with butter. Many people do not realize that a lot of small kids don't like meat, i think it has to do with texture. Manwiches, while not super healthy is not too bad. especially if made with ground turkey or low fat ground beef. Chicken burritos are super easy. and the kids can help. Cut chicken into small pieces (use boneless, skinless breasts) cook in pan until done, can use spray to avoid use of grease or butter to lower fat content. put on burrito, add cheese, favorite veggies and serve. simple and not too bad for them. Can substitute almost anything for those too by the way. There is nothing wrong with cereal for supper occasionally as long as it isn't full of sugar. I have found that kids aren't too picky and when they can help sometimes they will eat more willingly. I hope these ideas help. will post more when I think of them.

[snafu]

you need some fast, cheap, easy recipes

http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/browse/browse_result.aspx?PageNumber=2&DropHost=39355

Sandi Richard is a divorced mom with seven kids! she knows how to deliver great meals! This is one cookbook I think worth the price. If you can locate her TV show on DVD so much the better!

[MonkeyMama]

Find Recipes, Appetizers, Desserts, Holiday Recipes & Healthy Cooking Tips, | Taste Of Home

Lots of simple, fast frugal recipe ideas - we swear by Taste of Home.

Of course, just last weekend, I (the non-cook) whipped up some spaghetti. It took like 10 minutes with a canned sauce, and could certainly add some diced up veggies for more flavor and nutrients. Sloppy joes, burritos, and stuff like that are my old stand-bys. I always think to my friends who only serve frozen meals because they have "no time" when I get stuck in cooking mode. Home cooking is as complicated as you make it.

IF you have more prep time, things to consider would be crock pot, etc. Or things you can freeze and heat up later. We don't spend a lot of time prepping our food - just sticking to things that can be whipped up in a 1/2 hour.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

spaghetti, lasanga are easy to make. mac and cheese casserole or just mac and cheese and hot dogs. I agree with sloppy joes, burritos, etc.

[Scanner]

Yeah, I'd almost default to eating out when they were there and unfortunatley do a lot. . .the problem with that is actually the 1 year old, who really just throws his food around doesn't make dining out pleasurable.

So the compromise is "ordering in" (pizza, cheesesteaks etc.).

Anyway, that is not frugal and probably my last "financial" hurdle to clear during divorce (well, not last. . .we are still in mediation and nothing is settled). The problem is a whammy during divorce. . .as a way of "compensating", often you are tempted to "eat out more" or bring in whatever pleasure you maybe otherwise wouldn't.

I am really trying to avoid the temptation of getting a place that basically becomes a "second home" to them because I feel the children are entitled to one home, not two necessarily. . .so I am trying to compromise between an "Oscar and Felix" situation and getting another 4BDR house (thinking a double wide trailer) and keeping my lifestyle more simple (and trying to support the other lifestyle).

Anyway. . .just giving you where my mind is. . .trying to not let some temptations in divorce to override me. I feel the whole process of divorce is biased towards financial stress and some of it doesn't have to be. I have tried to collaborate with my soon-to-be-x at times. . .but I guess we are both emotional.

Thanks for feeling my pain. . .I know this is a problem I need to confront. . .you all gave me reasonable suggestions - sloppy joes, steamed veggies. . .and then I can hear the older two each protesting (usually one or the other). It was a parental dysfunction we both had when we were married and I know I'll just have to be like "Hey, this is it. You don't like it. . .go hungry."

It's just hard to tell if it's my cooking or them being fussbudgets, lol.

[scfr]

That must be really tough, especially if you didn't do a lot of cooking before.
Start slow and gradually build up your repetoire.

Lots of good suggestions so far.

Nothing wrong with a sandwich and some soup from a jar or can; it can be a pretty healthy option and since you're a doc I know you'd look for whole grain bread, low sodium soup, etc.

Scrambled egg whites (seasoned with some no-salt all-purpose seasoning & Parmesan cheese) plus a salad or frozen veggies is another super-easy meal.

If you'd like to make more use of your crock pot, Beth Hensperger has a series of cookbooks called "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker ..." (How's that for an ironic title?)

Here's the secret to making lots of veggies taste great: ROASTING. Cut in to bite-sized chunks, toss in a bit of healthy oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper (I buy the sea salt & whole black pepper grinders from Costco so it's always freshly ground), and roast in the oven, stirring about every 15 minutes, tasting & seasoning as needed as you go (temp & time varies, but it's usually in the 350-400 degree range for 30min-1 hour). Takes time to cook but comes out tasting delicious! I roasted cauliflower (375 degrees for about 50 min) the other day for a houseful of guests and everyone raved about it ... it turned out nice and carmelized, with none of the bitterness you associate with raw cauli. Roasting works great with root vegetables, or just about any other firm veggie (potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, etc). I swear shoe leather would taste great roasted!

Good luck.

[jIM_Ohio]

Scanner- try this
plan a week of meals
cook most of them on saturday or sunday then refrigerate, the microwave them.

At minimum if you cook them on Sunday you can sample them and make sure they taste right.

Do dishes like this:
rice and chicken
spaghetti
beef and noodles
soup/stews
macaroni and cheese
and so on

Each week on Sunday, I take our boys for about 3-4 hours. Make sure they are fed and entertained, while my wife cooks the meals for the whole week. I eat 10 meals per week at work (lunch and dinner) so I need food pre-made, and wife divides each dish in half so she can eat same foods for dinner at home (She works in office 8am-noon and at home 1-5, I work in office from 1pm-11pm).

While this might not be directly applicable to your situation, premaking meals should help you financially plan the meals and make sure you account for what needs to be purchased and cooked.

[Scanner]

Yeah, ideally, I am looking for something that I can "prep" on. . .and then pull from the fridge or freezer and prepare in under 20 minutes. . .not b/c I dn't have the time per se. .. but trying to entertain/keep after the toddler and cook in a small place is hard, esp. when their toys aren't near.

I am struggling/adjusting but I am getting better.

I like to cook okay. . .even if I am not the greatest. . .kinda like most golfers,lol.

But I suppose the problem is most kids, even ones who are trained to eat healthy foods aren't adventurous. It's a hard call as a parent.

Is the child just being "normal" when they won't eat baked/grilled fish? My s-t-b-x would have said, "Look, kids aren't going to eat it." but I can recall liking it when I was small.

Or are tehy being a fussbudget?

Or is it "Dad's marginal cooking?" lol

No doubt my kids are fussbudgets. . .wouldn't deny it. . .the problem is deciphering which it is only given meal situation - fussbudget, cooking, or normal kid.

Maybe I'll bite the bullet and just make them swallow down a basic salad and since I know when they are coming - buy a salad prep kit and some tomatoes. MY parents have an old rotisseire too. . .could learn the knack of that, I guess. Then it's mac-n-cheese with it.

I suppose this is a huge organizational issue with me, and something I would tip my hat to my s-t-b-x had over me in bunches. Thanks for letting me talk it out.

[PrincessPerky]

well all kids tend to go through phases of 'I don't like it' just to see what happens, generally the first time they are just not really hungry, but soon as mom and dad give in, it becomes a habit.

So while you may not be a great cook, you might want to get some healthy mostly non cook foods for a few months, sandwiches, cereal, fresh fruit. Then when they are used to you NOT saying 'lets order out' you can start learning to cook. (even buying the burger meat to cook with whole wheat bungs and a side of fzn veggies is better than ordering in) You might find learning with them (they pick the food you research a recipe) is easier, kids are more likely to eat what they are invested in.

BTW with whole wheat pasta mac N cheese isn't that bad, dump some veggies in it and you are good to go (add ground meat for extra protein if you need it)

Oh and if you can, choose things to cook that a toddler can pretend to help with (mine stirs everything for me, so long as I am not cooking fried eggs, which shouldn't be stirred, it works fine)

[PrincessPerky]

Oh and all research I have read suggests that while kids do not like 'new' they tend to get over thinking anything is new after 10-20 tries....so don't give up on anything you like.

Though hearing 'kids wont eat that' is counter productive.

[reallyprettyhappy]

have you been to e-mealz.com? It is a subscription service (I think still $5 per month). Each week you get a full week's worth of really easy, usually pretty healthy meals and a shopping list for the week. I subscribed a few years ago when we had just gotten married and really just lacked cooking inspiration and know-how. These recipies gave us a good place to start and I still use some of them from time to time.