This is my opinion...
It is extremely hard for me to cook McDougall friendly food for my family. More specifically it is hard for me to create food that they will actually EAT, since the cooking part is pretty easy. My daughter is extremely picky, and although she is willing to try most foods, her plate is usually only 1/3 empty after 'finishing' her dinner.
My daughter is 15 1/2 and underweight by about 10 pounds. I worry about her health constantly and will freely admit to letting her eat foods that are junk (vegan junk food) just to make sure she eats enough calories. Often, I will make separate meals for her. My husband has also lost about 15 pounds since I have been cooking McDougall style, making him underweight by about 10 pounds as well. Sometimes I make separate meals for him too. Yep, this means some nights I make THREE dinners.
That being said, we have not given up. I am constantly trying, perfecting and discovering new recipes for my family to experience. Also, I try to have staples on hand that the family will eat. My daughter loves plain rice and even though it is white rice, I always make sure there is some in the fridge.
Some of our tried and true favorites are:
- Tofu Fried Rice (from the McDougall Quick & Easy Book)
- No-Beef Stew with a LOT of adjustments from myvegancookbook.com
- Black Bean Burgers w/ mashed potatoes (we eat a LOT of mashed potatoes) I make thick homemade whole wheat pitas for the buns.
- Cauliflower Chowder, adapted to be Fat-free from Vegan Dad's blog
- Whole wheat pasta or brown rice pasta
Hope that helps. I'm trying to develop a cookbook of sorts for more omni-friendly/Mcdougall families, which I'm hoping to put on a public blog. The goal being to help families transition to the healthy eating habits of a McDougall lifestyle.
Sorry, I also wanted to add...
Don't be discouraged if you are the only one in the family who McDougall's. I did this for quite some time and it really isn't difficult. Make a huge batch of baked potatoes and eat the families' veggie side with your potato for dinner. For breakfast you can even have some plain Cheerios with fat-free rice milk and still feel like you fit in.
Plenty of ways for your eating not to cause you too much stress if you have to eat somewhat different than your family.-Reni