Recipes to satisfy picky housemates

fluffybookworm

I am so tired of having to make 2-4 variations of whatever I make for dinner or different meals entirely just so my house can all sit down together and have a meal. me and one of my roommates work at pizza places so we often just bring food home from work because pizza is one of our few agreed upon meals. But all of us are over weight and 3 of us are trying to lose weight. I'm trying to find recipes but I cant seem to find anything other then pizza, and mexican food. Here is the restrictions I am working with.

Roommate 1: Kosher and hates mushrooms
Roommate 2: Has high blood pressure so cant have a lot of sodium. wont eat anything without meat, hates whole grain, and always over eats.
Roommate 3: Lactose intolerant(still eats it just not in excess), hates fish, spinach and tomatoes
Roommate 4(ME): Glutten and Lactose sensitive (will still eat them just get really sick if i do), allergic to olives and avocados, hates meat but loves fish.

My first issue is I'm pretty clueless on what Kosher is except that my salt is kosher.
second is that any recipe I find somebody wont eat. I'm pretty flexible about eating food I dont like and often just deal with being sick if we have something that doesn't agree with me.

But I am out of recipes that the others will eat, Does anyone have something that might work?

IAmAPearl

Yes.
You cook for yourself, and they cook for themselves.

You're welcome!

jgnatca

I love a challenge.


You are welcome. I think you all have eggs in common too so you could make an omelet, scrambled eggs, quiche, etc. without cheese.

dakotababy

Eviction notices work great.

Are you referring to your kids as your room mates? Are you their mother? Stop cooking for them.

jgnatca

I always assume people have a reason to cook for others. In this case I'm guessing they take turns. Sharing duties is efficient, even if it takes more planning, communication, compromise.....

Unknown

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jgnatca

When I was going through the various preferences/prohibitions, I wondered what sort of pizza you all could agree on?

PrizePopple

jgnatca wrote: »

When I was going through the various preferences/prohibitions, I wondered what sort of pizza you all could agree on?

None. Lactose intolerance/sensitive, and gluten too.

IAmAPearl

jgnatca wrote: »

When I was going through the various preferences/prohibitions, I wondered what sort of pizza you all could agree on?

I was wondering too!! You couldn't have any conventional pizza meats, but then how is the meat eater happy? Maybe she brought home several pizzas. Yum!

tlharin

You need to clarify with your "Kosher" housemate what exactly this means to him/her. It *can* mean something quite restrictive ("true" Kosher requirements can be cumbersome even for lifelong Orthodox, observant Jews long-practiced in Kosher cooking). On the other hand, I had a college pal who said she "kept kosher" but what she *meant* was that she didn't eat shellfish or pork, and didn't combine meat & dairy in the same meal (ie: her pizza was always vegetarian when it had cheese on it; if we made a beef chili, she would skip cheese and sour cream, etc.). So before you even agree to cook for that person, make sure you REALLY understand what he/she actually means by "Kosher." (I would personally not like to cook for housemates, especially picky/restrictive ones, but like @jgnatca, I know that there are often good reasons to cook for housemates, such as common prior agreement about household responsibilities).

tomatoey

Make the veggies in common (absent mushrooms, spinach or tomatoes)

For starches, potatoes or rice are ok for gluten-free person and everyone - it's only pasta and bread that's out

Let everyone fend for their own protein - get a few small Foreman grills and people can do their own thing. Like this one is 25 bucks
http://www.sears.ca/product/george-foremani-george-foreman-2-serving-grill/611-000037929-GR0040BC?gclid=CJ33teeSi8YCFZAAaQodaZMAmA&extid=ca_1search_2en_3gogl_4productfeeds&s_kwcid=AL!4202!3!67086554337!!!g!126595224777!&ef_id=VXtVeAAAAOb2Mo49:20150612215608:s

fluffybookworm

For pizza we do half pineapple and bacon and half mushroom and onion light cheese light sauce or half cheese half pepperoni.
I cook for everyone because everything in the kitchen belongs to me and my roommates already have successfully destroyed one set of pots and pans so my parents bought me a new set for my birthday last year and I volunteered to cook just so I can make sure my stuff stays in good shape. Its stupid. everyone in my house is 22-23 so stupid things like not using metal forks on pans should be common sense but its not. We also split the food bill 4 ways so it makes sense to make 1 meal everyone will eat. I would love to have everyone buy there own stuff and make my life less stressful but our fridge and pantry aren't big enough for everyone to have their own space. we've tried to organize it so we all got our own shelf in each and nobody was happy.

cwolfman13

when I had roommates, we tended to fend for ourselves save for occasionally. i sure as *kitten* wasn't going to try to accommodate those 3 guys all of the time. even when we ate together it was usually everyone throwing something on the grill...

we had plenty of other together time as buddies and roomies...lots of keggers and whatnot...didn't need to sit down to Sunday dinner or anything.

rugratz2015

As a rule, most people need to 'train' their tastebuds (obviously if you're allergic or intolerant this can't be done) the tastebuds ned at least 10 tries before the food will taste 'pleasing'. So, for example, if you don't eat musbrooms then include them in food, like chicken and mushroom pie, then on their own and you eventually learn to like, or at least tolerate, them.

jgnatca

Taking on all the cooking to preserve your pots seems a little excessive. I hope you negotiated your way out of other household chores by way of compensation.

fluffybookworm

I did. one roommate does the yard work, the other two rotate between cleaning the kitchen and cleaning the bathroom. And it was something I started doing when I first got them because I had only had the previous set for 3 months before they were so trashed that we couldnt use them without bits of the non-stick coating ending up in our food. and now it is just a habit.

tomatoey

Ok then get a few small pans and bake fish and chicken at the same time. (NB I haven't tried that, maybe they'll influence each other in the oven.)

tomatoey

jgnatca wrote: »

I love a challenge.


You are welcome. I think you all have eggs in common too so you could make an omelet, scrambled eggs, quiche, etc. without cheese.

This is great btw must give props

IAmAPearl

Instead of recipes that are all complicated, I would do a protein, a carby side, and a veggie side for dinner every night.
Grill chicken, side of black beans, and salad. Serve with salsa, tortillas, and pico de Gallo. Sour cream if you can handle it. Voila!
I actually eat that a lot. It's really good.

jgnatca

@tomatoey , I gotta say your suggestions totally rock too.

moosiemom

Considering only the preferences of two people, roommate 2 and roommate 4 (you) -- one wont eat anything without meat and one hates meat --- You're already out of options. I don't know how to reconcile that. I feel for you.
Here's what I would do --- ask everyone to list as many foods as they can suggest (that they will personally eat) --- then cancel the foods that are disliked by one housemate. (Kinda like scoring for a boggle game). See what you have left.
Cooking for them is one thing, but having to think about the menu may have to be a group responsibility.

tomatoey

Thanks, @jgnatca!

dklibert

What about noodle(rice or other gluten free pasta) bowls with a savory broth? Then everyone can add their choice of add ins. Rice bowls would work the same. You could make beans, poached chicken, boiled shrimp, a roast(beef) and they could be added to the noodle or rice bowl. You could add to a salad too. The idea to create a buffet of sorts that works for multiple meals.

These beans are delicious just leave tomatoes out. soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/06/pinto-beans.html

Poached Chicken: rachaelray.com/recipes/poached-chicken

Great noodle bowl broth: soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2015/03/edamame-broth-bowl.html

dklibert

Devin Alexander’s Brown Rice Salad
As seen on The Revolution

Brown Rice
Your choice of Optional Ingredients below.

Prepare brown rice according to package directions. Pack a serving of brown rice and optional ingredients of your choice separately. When ready to eat warm brown rice in the microwave and combine with optional ingredients.

Greek Optional Ingredients:
Chicken breast, cooked and chopped
Black olives
Feta cheese
Tomato
Cucumber
Red onion
Green bell pepper
Basil
Lemon
Arugula
Dressing: lemon juice or balsamic vinegar

Mexican Optional Ingredients:
Steak, grilled and sliced
Black beans
Corn
Queso fresco
Pico de gallo, diced tomato or salsa
Avocado
Onion
Green bell pepper
Kale
Lime
Cilantro
Dressing: Mango Cilantro Dressing

Asian Optional Ingredients:
Shrimp, boiled and peeled
Carrots, shredded
Purple cabbage, shredded
Red bell pepper
Broccoli
Cilantro
Green onions
Dressing: Oriental Sesame Dressing

dklibert

Piri Piri is great on everything! I mean it! I have had it on chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, fish, mushrooms. One sauce, one grill any protein or veggie. The rice and broccoli would work too!

soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2015/03/piri-piri-chicken.html

zira91

IAmAPearl wrote: »

Yes.
You cook for yourself, and they cook for themselves.

You're welcome!

THIS!

Im the picky one among my housemates so, i cook myself.. much more satisfying...
no need to think hard of what others want.. and definitely better when u r trying to control what you eat.
plus, i get to make my meals look like it was served at a 5 star restaurant!LOL its satisfying and makes me feel a lot happier even if its a home cooked meal..