Name: ICHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-06-05T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-06-07T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Bourbonnais, IL

Tagged: pop, probiotics, water kefir

This topic has 19 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 10 months ago by Jenni.

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July 16, 2013 at 10:42 pm
ServingwithJoy
Participant
Hello Knowledgable Ladies! My husband is about to undergo surgery that can be minor (if he can lose about 15 pounds) or more major if he stays overweight. Needless to say, I am trying to make some changes so that he can do the less invasive procedure.
He is NOT a healthy eater, so I am trying to come up with healthy recipes a meat and potatoes man will actually eat! I am thinking I can get him to switch to a soup and wrap or half sandwhich for lunch, but he never eats breakfast, and I feel that is important to his energy level and health.
Aside from smoothies, does anyone have a healthy granola bar type recipe that he could have for breakfast and snacks? I am thinking something that would incorporate oats and walnuts (since he hates oatmeal) and wouldn’t have a lot of fat or sugar?
Thank you for any and all advice!!
July 16, 2013 at 11:29 pm
lnosborn
Participant
Here’s a good recipe if he enjoys sweet potatoes. You can eat it for any meal really. http://wholefamilystrong.com/2012/07/24/sweet-beef-scramble/
I also found a recipe for chocolate chip peanut butter cookies grain and sugar free if you have a food processor. They are actually really good, more like brownie consistency than cookie. I’ll post it later if interested. It uses garbanzo beans and honey in place of the flour and sugar. I don’t usually make “healthy” sweets but my kids actually loved these and I didn’t feel guilty about giving them extra.
My husband is also trying to lose weight so I’ve been looking for different recipes that don’t involve bread/flour or sugar. He’s kind of particular about food and he enjoyed these.
July 16, 2013 at 11:45 pm
Doug Smith
Keymaster
How about continuing to eat the same things he loves but cut down the portions a bit? For example, instead of putting all the food on the table where it’s easy to grab seconds, serve up plates with the right portion.
July 17, 2013 at 12:00 am
Phobo
Participant
My granola bar recipe:
4.5 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat/kamut/oat/spelt etc flour
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2/3 cup soft butter
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup unrefined cane sugar/coconut sugar etc
1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt
2 cups mix-ins
Mix in ideas: walnuts, flax seeds, carob chips, dried fruit, seeds or other nuts, unsweetened coconut etc
I just stir up the dry, stir up the wet and then mix all together. I bake in a 325 oven for 20 minutes in a 9 by 13 pan.
Enjoy!
Rachel
July 17, 2013 at 12:03 am
Phobo
Participant
Feel free to sub coconut oil for butter, if you guys are wanting a different fat. We’re fat friendly in our home as long as it’s an unrefined fat, and we prefer local foods, so we always choose butter, but I know that not everyone is into that.
Rachel
July 17, 2013 at 2:28 am
lnosborn
Participant
I agree about the portion size, my husband will over-eat if it’s in front of him. He used to get more helpings even when I tried to help him or make his plate, but now he’s much more willing after realizing he has grown out of his pant size and thus uses more self-control.
July 17, 2013 at 2:51 am
Jenni
Participant
I second Doug’s suggestion. We used to eat family-style, with all the bowls passed around the table and easily available for seconds (and thirds and fourths). We all overate regularly. Now I spoon up enough for each of us on our plates and put the rest away for leftovers in the fridge before I call anyone to the table. If anyone is still hungry after their generous meal, there is fruit available.
As far as breakfast goes, we just recently found Trio Bars. They are NOT organic, but they are non-GMO and have lots of healthy proteins and fats for energy, and come in enough flavors to satisfy us. We get a bulk box at Costco and take them camping or hiking usually.
Another tip… do you live in an area where you can fish? Or get fish cheaply? We fish all summer long and have halibut and salmon instead of red meats or chicken, or other processed meats. Seems to meet my Dh’s needs for “meat” and fills him up, especially if I pair it with at least half a plate of veggies and fruit. Sometimes we’ll have rice or quinoa, but we’re about done with potatoes since they cause lots of inflammation (in some people). Tonight we had pan-seared halibut (in olive oil) with a mountain of fresh green beans and white nectarines for dessert. I’m finding that if I can fill him up with other stuff before he starts sniffing around the kitchen, I can usually get him to be content with just one plate of food (still mounding high, but he finally realized he’s FULL at that point).
When my DH needed to lose weight, we went off meat completely for about 4 weeks, then reintroduced fish and some wild game. He ended up losing about 25 lbs in 3 weeks. Success! 🙂
Wishing you guys success too! It’s a worthy motivation to avoid the major surgery.
July 17, 2013 at 3:18 am
ServingwithJoy
Participant
Thanks so much for all the wisdom and recipes, everyone! This is helping me a LOT :).
My husband’s big weakness is fast food during the day. He doesn’t really overeat (as far as his portion size) but no one can eat grease on a daily basis and stay healthy, in my opinion. So I am hoping some good breakfast and snack options will help him stay full enough to make good decisions when he’s out of the house.
Jenni, he does love salmon and fish, so I am going to talk to him about your husband’s success! If he could cut the red meat and animal fats back to once or twice a week I think we could make some quick progress.
Keep those ideas coming and thanks again!
July 17, 2013 at 11:14 am
Kayla
Participant
When I got married my husband lost 15lbs (he is NOT a big guy, he wasn’t really over weight at all) and the only change was that I was making his lunch for him to bring to lunch instead of him eating dad food EVERY day. Another non food related change is maybe go on a family walk after dinner. It gets everyone moving and even if you only burn 30 calories it gets your digestion started.
Remember even if he will eat a couple eggs, or a banana for breakfast it is better than nothing. Any little bit of food starts your metabolism and will help to digest food better throughout te day.
July 17, 2013 at 12:05 pm
HollyS
Participant
If he likes to eat out, do you have a Subway available? Even their steak and cheese sub is better than a typical fast food meal. Or just compairing calories of different meals can get him thinking…I’ve been surprised by how much some things are. When we went to Applebees, we discovered we were better off with a steak dinner than a entree-sized salad!
What about a meat/protein for breakfast? We eat lots of turkey bacon, turkey sausage, and/or eggs. Greek yogurt also has lots of protein (we have it with a bit of low-fat granola and maple syrup. I try to make a few hot breakfasts each week and it helps. We all seem to do better with a bit of extra protein.
My DH tries to eat 600-700 calories per meal (less if he has snacks) and we’ve found by balancing out the calories, he does better. If he skips breakfast and/or lunch, he tends to totally overeat in the evening.
July 17, 2013 at 2:41 pm
art
Participant
My husband is a pilot, so has to eat out a lot. We like Larabars. They are dates, nuts and dried fruit. I think he eats a few a day. And when he eats out, he has a chicken sandwich or salad or some other slightly healthier choice. I definitely agree with the walking. My husband lost 35 pounds a few years ago by taking 2 walks a day and eating only slightly smaller portions. Also, slowing down the eating can help–if he’s fast eater.
July 17, 2013 at 3:12 pm
MountainMamma
Participant
We used to eat out more and get fast food more frequently, but after my husband and I watched some documentaries and read about the food that is served I can hardly force myself to eat at mass market restaurants any more. Just educating ourselves on the scary manufacturing processes that create the Big Mac was enough to turn us off. I was raised in the South and just didn’t know what I was eating until educating myself as an adult.
Here are a couple of eye-opening ones on Hulu:
Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122
Forks Over Knives, http://www.hulu.com/watch/279734
July 18, 2013 at 4:10 am
bethanna
Participant
Breakfast burritos make a good breakfast-to-go. I make up lots & freeze; we microwave what we need. I use fajita size tortillas, filled with eggs, a little sausage, and cheese.
July 18, 2013 at 2:36 pm
rejoicevermore13
Participant
my hubby is not a breakfast man either, but i make something at least for him to take and eat at work…favorites include…bacon and cheese on toast (i make bacon enough for several breakfasts on the weekend and then it is just toss it on homemade sourdough bread with cheese and toaster oven 3 minutes.) i’d do eggs, but he is not an egg man. or pb and jelly toast or blueberry muffins (no refined sugar or flour) made ahead of time or a smoothie. none of these would be ideal breakfast foods alone in my opinion for me or kids, but for him it is SOMETHING! and it is so important to me he eats breakfast. he also really likes a honey sweetened coffee cake, with nothing refined it is not too bad healthwise and at least something!
and if he drinks soda, just cutting that would make an AMAZING difference in weight loss. cutting all sugar drinks like that (and NOT replacing them with diet because that just messese metabolisim up more). my hubby gave up (for the most part! maybe 2x a month now?) soda and i replaced it with *very lightly* sweetened iced black tea. he likes something besides water, especially in the summer. although i prefer to do less sugar, other better than soda options include lightly sweeted lemonade or sparkling juice (we make it with juice concentrate and sparkling water) and my husband just loves it!
when it comes to losing weight, in my experience sugar intake has FAR more to do with it than eating fats, so longs as you are consuming natual fats (butter, coconut oil, bacon, whole milk, TALLOW/LARD from grassfed/naturally raised animals) fat intake should help maintain a healthy weight and keep you satisfied. now when it comes to fast food fats, yeah, those will make you gain weight because they do nothing to nourish and satisfy your body! but something with a bit of natural fat in the morning goes a LONG way toward staving off hunger.
July 18, 2013 at 4:45 pm
ServingwithJoy
Participant
Thanks so much – You have all helped me to come up with some great ideas and ‘tweaks’ to work into his life. Hoping these will be somewhat painless for him and he can get the weight off fairly easily!
Here is the plan:
Sending him off for the day with a healthy breakfast – egg burrito, a healthy homemade muffin, Larabar, and an apple, banana, or orange.
Making homemade, honey or agave sweetened green tea for him to drink throughout the day. He drinks a lot of water and no soda, but he LOVES sweet tea (like any good Texan :). Hoping I can make a formula that he will actually like!
Giving him a list of healthy eating out options – Subway – but not the ‘Italian’ that he likes best. Turkey or ham on whole wheat. A non-cream based soup or salad, a baked potato with chili at Wendys. Any other suggestions?
Snacks – a piece of fruit, handful of walnuts or almonds, homemade granola bar.
Unlimited veggies, of course!
I will be changing up dinners – taking out most of the red meat, white flour and cheese based dishes he loves :(. But we will have:
Grilled chicken, wild rice, sweet potatoes or broccoli
Whole grain spaghetti with marinara
Turkey chili and cornbread
Red beans and brown rice
Black bean soup
Greek salad pitas
Salmon with rice, broccoli
Roasted Turkey with veggie sides
Fish Tacos
Grilled chicken fajitas with lots of veggies
These are a few things that are fairly healthy and I know he would actually eat!!
My daughter is on a whole grain bread baking ‘trip’ so we will have lots of that –
he likes it with olive oil and vinegar.
Encouraging him to walk or run either early in the morning, or after dinner for at least 45 minutes. He always thinks that working out means lifting weights – he needs some cardio!
Thanks so much and please continue with the suggestions or corrections to our plan. I am really hoping we can get a handle on this so he has a simple procedure and small scar, rather than a very large scar and harder recovery!