Preparing meals for non-dieting significant other

lauren3101

My other half eats what I eat. I think the common misconception is that healthy meals have to taste healthy - but they don't. I make chillis, spag bols, burgers, curries, shepherds pie, chicken nuggets, sausage and mash, home made chips, the lot. He loves it all - I just give him a bigger portion.

RebekahR84

I offer my husband whatever I'm eating. He usually goes for it, but makes a different side for himself. It works really well. When we start having children, they'll eat what I eat, and we'll have a Saturday night dining out tradition like his family had when he was growing up.

thebigcb

My girl was gaining a few pounds

So last time we went out for dinner I said to the waiter

" No chips for the UNIT beside me, fish and steamed veg is all she is getting"

She'll thank me in the long run

:drinker: What a true gentleman you are *tear* :flowerforyou:


I did a little snort at "unit"

Lol, I'd love to do it some day, just to see the look on her face(shes the one beside me and is one of those people that WE all hate, eats, never puts on weight)

SpecialSundae

I'm cutting and my husband is on maintenance for the time being (but his body fat is very slowly going down). I cook the same for both of us but he adds extras i.e.

Breakfast - Both of us have muesli. He usually adds a pastry or just has a much bigger serving. I have low-fat non-dairy "milk" and he has whole milk.

Lunch - Both of us have leftovers from the previous night's dinner. He usually adds a dessert from his work canteen.

Dinner - We both eat the same. Usually 150-300g meat and 200-500g vegetables with either 50-75g rice, noodles or pasta or 100-200g potatoes or sweet potatoes.

Snacks - Pretty much the same, although he has extra chocolate bars. My post-workout shakes are made with water, his with whole milk.

godsgrl33

I had this problem when my brother-in-law and sister-in-law lived with us. He was a chef in the Army, and cooked some rich foods for all of us. All I did was eat a little of it, and filled up on fruits and veggies the rest of the day. Personally, I have always cooked the same thing for everybody, as a general rule. There may be once in a while when I make seperate things, but it's not a big issue. What gets me baffled is when people make different things for their kids and then different things for adults. I don't think that's right. But, you do what fits your family.

mareunuv

Since I'm doing more high fat low carb option cooking for 2 and still eating less calories is often easy. He has some more of the protein+ sauce and more carbs. 50g pasta for me and zucchini strings, 120g pasta for him and so on. Also easy to add an extra side of vegetables/salad to your plate. Which automatically lowers the calorie value of your meal. We have snacks in the house. I'm lucky enough not to feel the need to eat them. I do have healthy snacks that really tastes great. Cheese, grapes, yogurt with fruit. It doesn't satisfy my sweet tooth but I don't have the craving after a few days if I don't eat sweets.

workout_ninja

My husband eats what I eat just slightly more of it. Because I weigh everything, I have quite a small portion and I also buy my own low fat cheese. So say we have pasta bolognese, we each have the same amount of bolognese cause its healthy and full of veg but he will have more pasta and his own cheese on top. It works just fine. He even lost weight doing that with me and feels happy.

iceqieen

I make enough so he will feel full and make sure he can add cheese/dip/sauce when I cook.. and he makes sure to add veggies and not over do it on cheese/dip/sauce when he cooks He will even make a thinner crust pizza when I ask him even though he loves the thick one

When shopping he picks the cookies he wants, and I force him to select at least 2 veggies/fruit that he will eat. We buy the healthier options of the food we will cook, because he has come to learn that it doesnt have to taste bad.. its more to do with the spices used anyway.

You know.. compromise, communication, cooperation.. all that jazz

BeccaBollons

I am part of a family of 4, and I do the shopping. At the start of each week I ask each family member to choose a meal they would like me to cook that week (my 2 yo ALWAYS wants sausages lol!) And I cook those 3 meals, and eat them, just smaller portions than we would have had once upon a time. The rest of the week we eat meals that I have chosen, and no one complains. My daughter can't have dairy, so every meal I cook is always suitable for her, so we don't have pizza unless I make it, lasagne unless I make it with sustitutes for dairy.
So I guess what I am saying is, we eat together the same meal as each other. No seperate meals for us, and we are all happy.

GemskiB

I do most of the shopping and the cooking, which is fine by me. I buy snacks that we both like that fit in with my calorie allowance, and also buy stuff for him that I know he likes. I don't often have bagels but most weeks I buy them for him. He likes that we eat a nutritionally balanced meal every night and when he cooks he makes efforts to do the same. He uses MFP sporadically and understands fully what I am trying to achieve. I think he probably snacks more/differently when he gets in from work but he normally gets in from work about half an hour before me. If he wants a pizza (or some other high calorie treat!) he will wait until we are having sperate dinners for whatever reason (i'm at the gym/out with friends) so he doesn't tempt me off the wagon...

amy1612

For the majority of the time, I make us both the same meals.

E.g.

Breakfasts, unless specifically stated otherwise, I make us both toast and spreads of choice, or both of us porridge or both of us a cooked breakfast of the same thing (different quantities if desired). If cereal is being had, then it's cereal of choice. If I'm leaving for work first, and well before my partner wants to eat, then I just make myself food and leave her to her own devices. I've also been known to pack her off with an Up & Go for her drive to work in the car rather than make her breakfast. If we go out to eat for breakfast on the weekend or on a day off, we order what we want.

Lunches - I pack the same or similar foods for lunches. Sometimes I just pack her off with snacks and she gets her own lunch at work. Usually she has whatever she wants for lunch! lol

Dinner - I cook one meal and we both eat it. If we go out for dinner, we often order two separate dishes and share so we get to experience the different flavours.

She has been a fantastic support to me the whole way and if she cooks then she always writes down the weights of everything and always asks how many calories I have left for the meal and then she either makes a dinner within my calorie goal or we make a plan to walk off the excess after dinner together. I know. I'm extremely lucky.

I don't see the point in making two separate meals. If you want something different to what I'm eating, there's the kitchen. Make it yourself.

This. My partner is pretty happy to eat whatever I'm cooking. Sometimes he moans that I 'ruin it with veg'. When I tried strict paleo he drank almond milk (which he still buys instead of regular), ate coconut flour pancakes etc. Sometimes I'll add some brocoli to my plate and not his or give him regular read instead of gf, but thats about the biggest difference.

Ccole90

For us, i usually have two different shopping lists. I buy my healthy fruits and veggies, ground turkey, etc and then i buy his processed foods. As much as it sucks, i have to keep in mind that he is an adult and a man, and will eat what he pleases. Sometimes i can sneak in healthy foods to him and he doesn't notice, but he has to make the choice for himself. I am thankful that i have such a supportive husband. He's in the army (you'd think he would want to eat healthier lol) but he's still a typical man and he's going to eat crap because that's what most soldiers do lol.

marasw

I struggle with this because my husband eats what I eat and doesn't ask for or want a larger portion, and he is losing weight because of it. He is a healthy weight already and does not need to lose so it's a problem. It's very frustrating trying to force him to eat more calories when he's quite content to have what I have and nothing more. Maybe I should start forcing him to eat protein bars or something. The worst part is I usually feel hungry and want more but can't have it, but he NEEDS more and doesn't feel hungry! ARG

Jennyd1314

I cook 2 similar meals, not a huge problem. I always have leftovers to use for lunches/other dinners. The kids are fussy so eat before us & different foods 50% of time. But I don't work (stay at home mum) so not a issue. It might become one when I go back to work next year.

Sieden76

My house is very opposite I eat a mainly raw vegan diet and my boyfriend eats a very meat and dairy heavy diet. I cook whatever he wants but I've stopped tasting as I go, I now have him taste it for me and tell me if it needs extra seasoning. He doesn't know how to cook or I would make him do it himself. I do all of the shopping so we sit down together and plan the meals for the week.

sozisraw

My house is very opposite I eat a mainly raw vegan diet and my boyfriend eats a very meat and dairy heavy diet. I cook whatever he wants but I've stopped tasting as I go, I now have him taste it for me and tell me if it needs extra seasoning. He doesn't know how to cook or I would make him do it himself. I do all of the shopping so we sit down together and plan the meals for the week.

Similar situation here, now way would my hyperactive Autistic son eat only my raw vegan foods, he would fade and die! But the fruit bowl is loved by both of us )

oOxXxOo

I cook everything in the house and my partner eats what I make him he just gets a bigger portion. I also usually give him and the kids a baked potato with their protein and he gets a bigger portion.. we all have the same vegetables bar the potato. I have to cook substantial evening meals because he does very physical work during the day and if I dont feed him properly he will be ravenous and I dont want that. If I make a salad for dinner, I make him a steak and bacon to go with it (he sees salad as a side dish LOL). I do quite a bit of research online to try and make things as healthy as possible for everyone but we eat pretty regular food.. soup, casserole, we have breakkie for dinner one night, pasta...
That all being said my boyfriend is not picky, he doesnt have a special diet and for the most part loves my cooking (I didnt get this big by being a crappy cook :P)

helenmelon29

We eat the same meal with a few adjustments. e.g last night we had pasta.

I had mushroom carbonara with big salad. My OH had the same but it was topped with bacon and garlic bread.

Tonight we are having homemade beef burgers. I will have one in a bun with lots of salad (with no or very little cheese and light Mayo), prob serve with Sweet pot fries. OH will have 2 burgers in a bun with mayo/cheese etc and sweet potato fries.

I like to eat what we normally eat but try and keep it healthy.

We eat a different breakfast and lunch as we don't eat that together, as OH eats at work.

courtneylyn1

Thanks for all of the replies! It was fun to read how everyone does different things with their family. For the most part, I bake for my hubby during the week for dinner. I tend to cook something from scratch on Saturday or Sunday since I am off and have the time to. Since I don't eat meat(and haven't since I was a child), he has to be the one to taste everything also. Stinks to be the taster as I know at least one of my meals was horrid! Haha. Hey! I try though. It doesn't bother me at all to cook something separate pending I have the time. We have only been married for a year and two months so I am still experimenting when it comes to cooking meat. When I have children, I will raise them to eat like my husband. He eats a large variety of meals and that is how I want them to be. I am very picky and couldn't imagine having another like me living in the same household. Haha. When I go to the grocery, I do buy snacks also. In this case, being picky has kind of helped me. For example, when I buy things that I like too, I try to go in a different direction of what I think my husband would like but me not so much. For chips(which are my biggest weakness), I will stick to Doritos as I am not a huge fan of them, but he loves them. Same with cookies and all of the other items. He still gets his good snack, but I also don't get my cravings when I open up the pantry and see my favorite items! I also try to sneak in healthier foods too by getting the items with no added salts/sugars and what not. There is no harm in that! He doesn't need to diet but it won't hurt him to eat healthier items either. Especially if it doesn't compromise the taste much

Phrick

I just cook food and we eat the amount we want to eat. We often have leftovers. It's not terribly complex.

This! I don't eat "diet" foods or meals. I've been on the MFP merry-go-round before but this time the difference is that I have made a conscious effort to NOT rely on "diet food." I eat the same recipes I've always prepared but I control my portions. That way no one gets upset over what I prepare (any more than usual anyway) and I'm not making more than one meal (no way in HELL would I anyway). Obviously it's working as I've lost 51 and counting.