Picky eater who hates cooking

jgnatca

You don't have that much weight to lose but you do need to broaden your food choices and pick foods that will help you lower your cholesterol. I suggest divvying up the cooking duties. Either pick weekdays, weekends, or every other day. Learn to cook.

Slowly adjust your meal plans to include new foods every week.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/emofly/foods-everyone-should-learn-to-cook#.pl3W2Ey9A

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/cholesterol/art-20045192

I see a lot of things your son and your fiancee enjoy that would fit in your plan with a little adjustment. All that free beef is great. Grilling is great. Grill fish once in a while. Throw some roasted vegetables on that grill and you instantly have a healthier meal.

See if your fiancee will bring home "free food" that comes from the perimeter of the store (not processed). Whatever comes home, find a way to cook. Google is your friend. I'd try a recipe that will satisfy at least 2/3 of your crew. You don't have to hit a home run every night.

Wraps make instant tacos out of leftovers.

Pulled pork is all country. Just put veggies you like on the side.

Kabobs are kid-friendly, and can involve your son in the kitchen. He will eat a Kabob he makes himself. Get your fiancee to finish it on the grill.

If you hate salad greens, don't eat greens. There are many other ways to get your vegetables.

carolynmo1969

When my kid was 3 he decided he would only eat pizza. So I got out the breadmaker and made my own pizza dough daily, then whatever we had for dinner went onto the pizza dough with some tomato sauce and got sprinkled with mozza and baked. OK I was temporarily insane and thought my kid would starve. I am not kidding, I would dice grilled chicken, add rice and steamed veggies to that damn pizza dough, lamb stew one night, homemade chili another night. My kid didn't starve, my sanity was restored and we as a family learned that pizza doesn't have to come in a grease soaked box.

One meal gets cooked at our house. The kids are old enough to help now. I don't go out of my way to cater to their tastes, but tend to not choose to cook things they absolutely hate. Taste buds mature and change. I used to hate onion, now I find it a delicious flavour enhancer. Try new things, new prep methods. And learn to cook and teach your kid. Take a cookig class together. Develop a cooking repertoire of consensus foods and rotate them accordingly.

mojohowitz

I am not particularly fond of salad either but I eat it twice a day because I am fortunate to have constant access to it. Consider food as fuel not a means to bring you joy.

Then, start with some humble pie. Most of the world doesn't have the luxury of choosing what they get to eat... if anything. Then do some google searches for nutrition and cooking and read the results.

Edit: Geez. I sound like my grandmother.

vixtris

I'm a pretty picky eater. I hate almost all veggies. I have grown to get used to green beans, its like the only green vegetable I will eat. I love corn, potatoes and carrots. You will have to learn to cook though ... I hate cooking, my husband usually does it most of the time. Its actually the preparation that is the hard work - I help him with that. What we do is buy hamburger/chicken/pork/ whatever else, prepare it, then freeze it. When it comes to cooking time, just pop it in the oven. I love hamburgers and lately I have been eating them at LEAST once a week if not 2 or 3 times ... lol. We measure ours to be 5 oz each patty so its not a huge serving and after all the toppings and a side it usually is around 600 calories. For chicken, we buy thin cut breast meat and bread crumbs, coat olive oil on the chicken, dip it in the bread crumbs, put them in separate small baggies and freeze. same goes for pork. I also love sandwiches and fix that at home as well. Bread is a big part of my life, but I do try to keep it minimal daily. If I had something that contained bread or pasta for lunch, then I won't eat something that has it for dinner, so I try to only have it once in a day. If you are concerned about not getting enough nutrients because of your pickiness, a multivitamin could help.

carduccic

I feel like we are the same person! I am a texture person, and I can not eat most vegetables (lettuce and other leafy greens are the worst ones). I have tried to learn how to like it, and have tried hiding it in my own food, etc, but it just doesn't work. It makes me sick when I try to eat it, so instead I just make sure I am counting the calories I am eating, and I try to eat more of the healthy foods that I can actually eat. I have lost 34 pounds so far, definitely a lot more to go, but so far just making sure I am at a calorie deficit is working out. My boyfriend likes most food (except cheese, which I really like) so if we are making a meal (tacos for instance) and he wants something added in his meat, we make two batches, so really it's just one extra pan and such, and we just make it to how we each like it. This way we are not making two separate meals, just two batches of the main course (if that makes sense). Just use lean meat, healthier versions of what you like, and smaller portions. And as for sides, we generally have one that we both like, and sometimes we add in one more for him. I haven't really cut anything out of my diet, I am just making them healthier or having them less often if it's bad. Instead of ordering pizza out, we use flatbread and turkey pepperoni, so it is far fewer calories.

As far as grilling goes, I really like grilled pineapple, and the boyfriend really likes grilled peppers and asparagus. We buy the smaller peppers and just throw them on as is.

Also, to all of you who are just telling her to grow up, clearly you don't know what it is like to get so frustrated that you can't eat the foods that you know you should (I said can't, not won't). Be nice, try to be understanding. If it's anything like what I deal with, it's not a preference, it's a physical sensation that you can not move past. Not everyone is the same, and she is trying to work with what she has. Don't be rude, just try to be helpful.

blb85

BFDeal wrote: »

I actually love almost all fruits but I also don't really like sweet foods so it's hard to eat as much fruit as I should.

I get it if you just don't like something. It happens. Free country. They're your tastebuds. That said, this sentence makes zero sense. You don't like sweet foods or are afraid of them? If you love most fruits and fruits are sweet then you like sweet foods.

EDIT: Also, your goal is to lose a 13lbs. Not exactly a ton. Cut your hamburger/pizza/meat in half at night and you'll probably lose the 13lbs without trying too hard assuming you keep everything else constant.

kbmnurse wrote: »

Really? I hate fruits and vegetables. Good Lord grow up.

Also this. "I hate X food" threads are basically permission threads. You want permission to keep doing what you're doing. Same as the "I hate water" threads. Those people want permission to keep drinking soda.

I am in agreement with the permission thread. But don't need to continue the negative talk either. Instead, I will say that you just need to do more research and hunting for taking the things you do love and making them healthy.

Want a bun with your hamburger? Get a whole wheat (emphasis on the main ingredient being "whole wheat") bun/bread. Complex carbs are good for you and you should have 6-8 servings a day (one slice is 1 serving).

Don't want eggs everyday? (Even though my absolute favorite thing is to sauté olive oil with spinach and portabella mushrooms with egg omlette) Try greek yogurt with granola and fruit. Or make smoothies with greek yogurt and fruit. Or English muffin with laughing cow cheese.

Want to eat meat? Then eat meat. We should be getting 3-4 servings daily of protein anyway. Just try to reduce the amount of red meat in a week and go for more lean options like seafood (salmon, cod, shrimp, tilapia, etc.), chicken, and turkey.

Want to eat pizza? Try to find whole grain options! Or make your own! There are sooo many options that include using cauliflower as a crust or even eggplant.

Don't like veggies? Try using seasoning and olive oil to cook them. Or my favorites are the green giant or Bird's eye options in the freezer section. Like sandwiches? put tomato and cucumber (and onion, if you like it) on it.

See the point? You can make things you love into healthy options.

Markdjones83

I was never a big veggie fan either till i just found other ways of cooking them. Try doing a lot of them in the oven, they take longer, but I love it when they are a little more crispy and have a different texture. I still struggle with my kids eating fruits/veggies, but i'm finding different ones they like. Still not a huge variety, but hey its better than nothing!

chelsmaee7

It would be so hard to reply individually to each comment at this point so I'm just going to try to reply to some points from all of them lol

I read everyone's comments, negative and positive. I want to say thank you for all of the advice! I've found quite a few ideas to try. As for the negative comments, people come here to ask questions and find support and motivation. When they are put down for trying to get advice, it can be discouraging. Luckily I'm not someone who will let that get to me!!

Grilling vegetables is going to be something I will absolutely be trying a lot.. When it stops snowing again I also love the idea of hiding some vegetables inside of burgers.. That is genius! I have tried a few different leafy greens and the only thing I can tolerate is cabbage but I've never tried it on its own. It's also good to know that I can eat the things I enjoy but just in slightly different ways. There are so many other tips that I will make sure to keep in mind and I appreciate all of you who took the time to give me a real answer.

I did ask my fiancé if he would eat a homemade pizza that has a healthy crust (cauliflower) and he agreed but I dont plan on telling him what the crust really is lol

I should also note that they believe my high cholesterol is genetic. I was able to get my levels down by changing my eating habits but I still have a lot of work to do. I have been extremely frustrated lately though because I went from never drinking water to only drinking water or tea and occasionally coffee or skim milk (I used to drink whole milk) and I've been much more active than when I was hibernating all winter but all I've seen happen is going from staying consistently the same weight to gaining weight.

Thanks again everyone!!

andrikosDE

In my personal experience, I find that most adults that are picky eaters have not gotten past their childhood trauma of being force fed hideously overcooked, bland and nutritionally destroyed veggies with the additional burden of "finish your food! There are starving children in Africa!"

At some point, one has to get past it, grow up, embrace modern cooking methods and rediscover the treasure awaiting them...