Husband wants to go on a diet!

lthames0810

I am 100 percent responsible for the meal planning, shopping and preparing of meals in my house. It's not as burdensome as it sounds. I really only have to prepare dinners four times a week and my husband "cooks with his credit card" the other nights. We eat breakfast and lunch separately. He won't eat very many vegetables but loves rice and spicy foods. I'm not a great cook, so I rotate through about 10 easy recipes that we both like. I have salads and a few roasted vegetables with them. I save the steaks, seafood and different vegetables for the nights we eat out.

Now he wants to lose about 30 pounds by going low carb. Not keto low just regular low. Now I'm trying to adapt my recipes and learn new ones that work for him. So, some of my things that involve meat or chicken in sauce served over rice, I can serve up in soup bowls like stew. I found a recipe for stuffed poblano peppers to try out tonight. I'm coming to the end of my ideas. I continue to do my research on low carb menus, but any comments and suggestions would be welcome.

Edit to add: I'm losing weight adequately on our previously way of eating. Low carb eating makes me too hostile to go out in public. I intend to get my carbs with my breakfast and lunch so these changes won't affect my diet very much.

gt0186b

Put boneless skinless chicken breasts in a crock pot with a bottle of hot hot sauce. After it cooks all day, shred the chicken in with the sauce. I like to eat it with carrots, celery and blue cheese dressing. You can also make into sandwiches if you want some more carbs.

lthames0810

gt0186b wrote: »

Put boneless skinless chicken breasts in a crock pot with a bottle of hot hot sauce. After it cooks all day, shred the chicken in with the sauce. I like to eat it with carrots, celery and blue cheese dressing. You can also make into sandwiches if you want some more carbs.

Hey! That's a great idea. Like buffalo wings. Thanks!

thepainmaker88

I’m in charge of all the meal planning for my wife and I and I agree it can be an adjustment going low carb. First order of business was getting some sugar free beverages to replace soda (my wife always drinks soda)... next I started eating more seafood, I have fish 3+ times a week(aside from canned tuna) I eat a lot of canned tuna in the form of tuna burgers... just mix 1 can of tuna 2TBS bisquick 1 egg and season with cayenne and steak seasoning, then Form it into patties and fry until it’s golden brown

smolmaus

If he wants to revamp his way of eating then the best thing you can do for him is let him handle it himself. Get him to do the research. Ask him what low carb alternatives he would like to swap in for his rice etc.

If you do all this for him he won't learn a single thing about eating for long term weight management. Part of the process of weight loss that I think is most helpful for keeping it off in the long term is knowing and taking responsibility for what you put in your own mouth and if you're feeding him he doesn't get any of that. You'll be doing him a serious disservice imo.

lemurcat2

When I was lower carb I just cut out the starch element from my meals and didn't eat fruit. It's easy enough to make normal meals and just let him eat more meat and veg and no starches, especially if the only meal at issue is dinner. Unless you do lots of one pot meals it shouldn't be difficult.

busyPK

I'm not sure how "low carb" he wants to go, but things that come to mind are roast in the crock pot with carrots (onion too if he likes). If you want some carbs you can add small potatoes and I like it with some dried ranch and dried Italian dressing seasoning for the broth in the crock pot. Also, how about an egg casserole or egg muffins where you can sneak in veggies? How about chili (just limit the beans if you want lower carbs).

jemhh

OP, can you just serve the rice separate from the meat when you make your original recipes? I am not what I consider a low carber but I am more apt to cut the starches from my dinners when I'm dieting and replace them with big salads instead. A lot of times we'll have some sort of meat with rice/couscous/orzo as a side dish and instead of having that, I replace it with either a giant salad or a larger portion of whatever veggie side I've made.

lthames0810

thepainmaker88 wrote: »

I’m in charge of all the meal planning for my wife and I and I agree it can be an adjustment going low carb. First order of business was getting some sugar free beverages to replace soda (my wife always drinks soda)... next I started eating more seafood, I have fish 3+ times a week(aside from canned tuna) I eat a lot of canned tuna in the form of tuna burgers... just mix 1 can of tuna 2TBS bisquick 1 egg and season with cayenne and steak seasoning, then Form it into patties and fry until it’s golden brown

Thanks for this!

One of my many failings as a cook is that I can't seem to tell when something is done. For that reason, I never attempt to make expensive things like steak or fish. But my husband likes it. I should stop being such a coward though. What's the worst that can happen? Waste a little food is all.

He's not a fan of tuna, but that tuna burger sounds real good to me. Maybe I'll make it for myself for lunch one day this week. Thanks!

puffbrat

lthames0810 wrote: »

thepainmaker88 wrote: »

I’m in charge of all the meal planning for my wife and I and I agree it can be an adjustment going low carb. First order of business was getting some sugar free beverages to replace soda (my wife always drinks soda)... next I started eating more seafood, I have fish 3+ times a week(aside from canned tuna) I eat a lot of canned tuna in the form of tuna burgers... just mix 1 can of tuna 2TBS bisquick 1 egg and season with cayenne and steak seasoning, then Form it into patties and fry until it’s golden brown

Thanks for this!

One of my many failings as a cook is that I can't seem to tell when something is done. For that reason, I never attempt to make expensive things like steak or fish. But my husband likes it. I should stop being such a coward though. What's the worst that can happen? Waste a little food is all.

He's not a fan of tuna, but that tuna burger sounds real good to me. Maybe I'll make it for myself for lunch one day this week. Thanks!

Get a digital food thermometer. It helps tremendously with this issue for things like steak, chicken and pork.

lthames0810

smolmaus wrote: »

If he wants to revamp his way of eating then the best thing you can do for him is let him handle it himself. Get him to do the research. Ask him what low carb alternatives he would like to swap in for his rice etc.

If you do all this for him he won't learn a single thing about eating for long term weight management. Part of the process of weight loss that I think is most helpful for keeping it off in the long term is knowing and taking responsibility for what you put in your own mouth and if you're feeding him he doesn't get any of that. You'll be doing him a serious disservice imo.

I hear you and I don't disagree, but I don't think he's likely to learn anything about how to eat right whatever I do or don't do. We're both in our mid sixties, maybe set in our ways, and he has no interest in cooking. Before we married he lived on frozen entrees and instant coffee and does this still when I'm away. I feel like he has asked me to make this change for him and I'm happy to do it.

If asked for advice to a young couple, however, I would say that the way of eating and the cooking should be a joint responsibility.