Joy Bauer’s slimming chicken wraps

Video: Healthy meals to please the whole family

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   >> family. first, this is "today" on nbc .

   >>> back now at 8:40 this morning on "take it off today," the struggle to find meals that satisfy the entire family. knowing all too well how hard that can be, we sent nutritionist and "today" contributor joy bauer to help her out.

   >> dinner is an awful time of day . each night i probably make four to five meals. my older son, who is a very picky eater, likes pizza. he would have a steak every single night if he could eat it, or french fries . feel sorry for my wife, because ultimately she takes responsibility of what we're all going to have.

   >> guys, dinner.

   >> my ideal is making one meal and sitting down.

   >> i'm going to show her she can prepare one meal to suit the entire family. we're going to make a beef venlg vegetable stir fry . i tried to come up with what we could make together that everybody would like. i felt like if i come up with a really yummy mayrinade for the beef, it will be the perfect vehicle or compromise to get you to eat some of the vegetables that come along with it. who is excited to cook?

   >> i'm excited!

   >> by doing the stir fry with nonstarchy vegetables, vegetables that we're choosing, bell peppers and broccoli, are loaded with vitamin c. i'm going to add in some scallions. i think the kids are going to like it. * yummy, yummy yummy i got love in my tummy *

   >> 330 calories compared to over 1,000 calories for the same kind of thing from chinese takeout.

   >> everyone at the table and everyone having the same thing.

   >> and joy is now with us. her latest book is called slim and scrumptious. good morning to you.

   >> good morning.

   >> that family seemed to like what you did.

   >> they were so lovely and it was a lot of fun. the truth, ann , is that you could pretty much take any decadent, delicious, over the top recipe and by tweaking the ingredients, you can present the meal that is lower in calories but still --

   >> beef and bell pepper stir fry , that's what you did in the take.

   >> right.

   >> there are kids who are going to say i'm not going to eat those peppers. i don't want broccoli. so, why is that family going to eat this meal?

   >> the reason i picked this -- and it was a great selection for this particular meal because noah, the pickiest of the gang, loves beef. so, i started with something that i knew was a sure thing for him. pare parents can do this at home with their own kids. then i added boat loads of vegetables and mixed it with a yummy asian sauce that mimicked chinese takeout. instead of 1,000 calories, this was a voluminous amount. kids like to eat with their fingers and get to stuff the lettuce leaves, roll it up and pop it in their mouth. i put it on our website. people can download the recipe and make it tonight.

   >> cashews. and basic mac and cheese .

   >> traditional mac and cheese have three full fat artery clogging ingredients, butter, cheese and milk.

   >> what is this made with?

   >> first, whole grain elbow macaronis, which have a filling factor , much more fiber and it also has skim milk, reduced fat cheese and the most delicious creamy mac and cheese , i promise you'll get two thumbs up.

   >> all of these are in the book?

   >> in the book and 150-calorie guilt-free milkshakes.

   >> the book is called "slim

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