Healthy food choices....?!

Healthy food choices....?

I have 75 pounds to lose and I need to start cooking differently all together. Right now we do the family food thing...sloppy joes, hamburger helper, hamburgers, hot dogs,chicken fingers, spaghetti, corn dogs, etc...just a few of the many things we rotate in our household. So I am looking to cut this out and cook healthier. Where to start? I'm sure I can cook healthy, but I don't have any ideas of what. It needs to be cheap (strict budget due to military income) and very child friendly. Nothing crazy or fancy expensive that takes hours to make. I worry about just how many times I can rotate chicken without us getting sick of it. Someone once recommended eating not too much differently than we do now, just eating less and substituting the fried and oils. I know my problem areas and that I need to substitute the sodas and sweets in our home also. So anyways, can someone help me get some ideas on some realistic, healthy menus? Thanks!

1 day ago
* Foods need to be cheap and family friendly with no hassle cooking. Mother of 2 with deployed hubby...no time for fancy cooking.

I too, am a military spouse and I'm a stay home mom so I totally understand the budget constraints. Here's what we do:
* I like to make homemade chicken parm. - the recipe's on the back of the can of bread crumbs. I do NOT make my own marinara like it suggests, I use a jarred one.
*I also bake chicken with a variety of different spices - lemon pepper and italian are our favorites so I rotate those. I also steam some frozen veggies and maybe some rice or pasta to go with it.
* Homemade meatloaf with mashed potatoes and another veggie.
* Baked fish (a white fish such as tilapia, flounder, mahi mahi, etc are best because they are milder). I just use EVOO to coat both sides and season with something everyone likes and bake at 350 for appx. 20-25 min. and serve with veggies and bread
* I also keep on hand a few boxed dinners, chicken nuggets, sloppy joe mix, and frozen pizzas for the occasional "I don't feel like doing dinner" nights.
* I get the Kraft Food & Family magazine and sometimes find something to try in there and they're usually very easy and quick to prepare.
* Homemade enchiladas - small flour tortillas, large can of red ench. sauce, grated cheddar or mexican cheese and I cheat and use canned chicked or a rotisserie chicken instead of boiling my own or you could use ground beef. Heat a few tortillas at a time, spread chicken and cheese inside, roll and and line them up in a casserole dish. Cover evenly with sauce (use a lot to keep them from drying out in the oven) and bake for about 20 min. at 375, then top with cheese and bake until cheese is melted.
* Homemade nachos - nacho chips, grated cheddar, either rotisserie chicken shredded up and then heated in skillet or ground beef browned. Spread chips on a cookie sheet, cover with cheese and chicken, bake at 350 about 10 min. then top with your favorite things, tomatoes, olives, sour cream, lettuce, etc.
* Salad with whatever veggies you like, bake some popcorn chicken and toss into the salad and add your favorite dressing (be careful with the dressing and don't overdo it or you are negating the benefits of the fresh veggies by adding too many calories from the dressing - try using the recommended serving size on the bottle - you'll be surprised that it's actually enough)
Remember: you can usually bake anything that you can fry!! And that cuts out a ton of the bad stuff.