Meals for a picky eater/sweet tooth

Czuni6

Hey all!

So I’m dating a guy and we have a goal to get healthier and eat better. He has a very big sweet tooth and I want to surprise him with some great meal ideas. Snacks, desserts and breakfasts are pretty easy—so many sweet and healthy options for those, but what are some good meals for dinner and lunch? I just need help brainstorming, so any help is welcome! Thanks in advance

kshama2001

Sweet and Sour Pork from "The Joy of Cooking." This person said she made a few changes; I can't tell what they are off hand.

https://www.food.com/recipe/sweet-and-sour-pork-13618

That is a classic sweet + savory dish. This is common in many non-European/US cuisines.

rheddmobile

Not sure what your definition of “healthy” is here. For me, eating healthy and indulging a sweet tooth are opposite goals - particularly if you want to eat sweet at every single meal. Large amounts of added sugars and refined starches aren’t healthy, and there’s only so much fruit you need in a day.

Czuni6

kshama2001 wrote: »

Sweet and Sour Pork from "The Joy of Cooking." This person said she made a few changes; I can't tell what they are off hand.

https://www.food.com/recipe/sweet-and-sour-pork-13618

That is a classic sweet + savory dish. This is common in many non-European/US cuisines.

Oh this is great! Sweet + savory definitely piqued my curiosity, thank you @kshmama2001!

Czuni6

rheddmobile wrote: »

Not sure what your definition of “healthy” is here. For me, eating healthy and indulging a sweet tooth are opposite goals - particularly if you want to eat sweet at every single meal. Large amounts of added sugars and refined starches aren’t healthy, and there’s only so much fruit you need in a day.

Agreed! You hit the nail on the head. So by “healthy” I’m looking for something that doesn’t require a lot of refined carbs and sugar, something under 25 grams of sugar.

So I’ve already got some great ideas for healthy, sweet breakfasts, sweeter snacks, and healthier desserts—I need to up my recipe list/meal ideas so there’s more variety to work with in general, I’m lacking in ideas for lunch and dinner. Sorry if this is more confusing lol

littlegreenparrot1

I often make a salad for work lunches.

Start with grains, cous cous/bulghar wheat/quinoa
Chop some veg up small, cucumber/cherry tomatoes/grated carrot
Roast veg - pepper, butternut squash, sweet potato
I like a kiwi in there chopped up small, and add some small salad leaves (rocket, chopped spinach etc)

Essentially you can add in whatever you like, roasting veg brings out a nice sweet flavour, and of course you can adjust what you add to it. I just have lemon/lime juice and olive oil for a dressing, but you could use one with a sweeter flavour.
I make up the grains and roast the veg as a batch, it'll live happily in the fridge for a week, and make up the salad fresh every day with whatever other additions I fancy.

I often see recipes for meat prepared with sweet marinades or glazes, honey glazed chicken for example, pork with apple sauce. Soup made with sweeter veg, carrots, parsnips, squash etc. There are a lot of curries that would be sweeter and creamier.

I guess it depends how adventurous your picky eater is prepared to be...

kshama2001

rheddmobile wrote: »

Not sure what your definition of “healthy” is here. For me, eating healthy and indulging a sweet tooth are opposite goals - particularly if you want to eat sweet at every single meal. Large amounts of added sugars and refined starches aren’t healthy, and there’s only so much fruit you need in a day.

I see no reason not to have fruit with every meal. Many cuisines outside of Europe/US commonly mix sweet and savory, with the sweet coming from fruit.

Here's a yummy Chicken & Apricot Masala recipe. (Only the "shoe leather" type apricots need to be soaked.) I mash it up with another recipe and add 8 oz coconut milk.

https://www.food.com/recipe/nigella-lawson-chicken-apricot-masala-59448

If anyone else is like me - needs unsulfured apricots and can't find them locally/thinks Whole Foods charges too much, I like these from Amazon:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T3JKX3I/

kshama2001

In my experience, fresh fruit grown and sold locally is so much better than that available at the supermarket. One consolation about summer ending is that it means Honeycrisp apples have arrived at my local fruit farm. (And Macouns, and Zestar, etc., etc.)

If the location in your profile is accurate, here's an orchard in your town:

https://allredorchards.com/harvest-schedule

I can do so many savory pairings with apples. For a snack, a lot of apple with a small amount of cheese, peanut butter, or nuts.

I will toss apple in a salad, especially if I'm having an entrée salad with chicken breast.

Here's a cooked apple and cabbage recipe. I used a Macoun (any "cooking" apple will do) and subbed pumpkin pie spice for the clove:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/139977/grandma-jeanettes-amazing-german-red-cabbage/

While looking for a Honeycrisp meme I found this, which I do not endorse, but do empathize, because Honeycrisps are the most expensive apple, and I don't like how some supermarkets have passed the labor of their employees to their customers:

Czuni6

kshama2001 wrote: »

In my experience, fresh fruit grown and sold locally is so much better than that available at the supermarket. One consolation about summer ending is that it means Honeycrisp apples have arrived at my local fruit farm. (And Macouns, and Zestar, etc., etc.)

If the location in your profile is accurate, here's an orchard in your town:

https://allredorchards.com/harvest-schedule

I can do so many savory pairings with apples. For a snack, a lot of apple with a small amount of cheese, peanut butter, or nuts.

I will toss apple in a salad, especially if I'm having an entrée salad with chicken breast.

Here's a cooked apple and cabbage recipe. I used a Macoun (any "cooking" apple will do) and subbed pumpkin pie spice for the clove:

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/139977/grandma-jeanettes-amazing-german-red-cabbage/

While looking for a Honeycrisp meme I found this, which I do not endorse, but do empathize, because Honeycrisps are the most expensive apple, and I don't like how some supermarkets have passed the labor of their employees to their customers:

How great!! Wows thanks for the research you did, and gosh! I loooooooove apples—hahaha, I think I’ll save these for my own personal use, jk. I forgot about mixing berries with salad! You’re excellent, thank you!

Czuni6

kshama2001 wrote: »

rheddmobile wrote: »

Not sure what your definition of “healthy” is here. For me, eating healthy and indulging a sweet tooth are opposite goals - particularly if you want to eat sweet at every single meal. Large amounts of added sugars and refined starches aren’t healthy, and there’s only so much fruit you need in a day.

I see no reason not to have fruit with every meal. Many cuisines outside of Europe/US commonly mix sweet and savory, with the sweet coming from fruit.

Here's a yummy Chicken & Apricot Masala recipe. (Only the "shoe leather" type apricots need to be soaked.) I mash it up with another recipe and add 8 oz coconut milk.

https://www.food.com/recipe/nigella-lawson-chicken-apricot-masala-59448

If anyone else is like me - needs unsulfured apricots and can't find them locally/thinks Whole Foods charges too much, I like these from Amazon:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T3JKX3I/

That’s really super helpful, thanks for the links! Also great because he really loves apricots and is so excited with anything that has apricots and mangos! Oooo also thanks so much for adding the tip on the coconut milk!!! I’m giving these a try!

kshama2001

Glad you are finding my posts useful!

I often have a 4 oz ground turkey burger for lunch. I used to have this with mayo, but I am reducing fat, so now use fat free cottage cheese and hot pepper jelly. This last adds some zip, flavor, and sweetness. I get Trappist Preserves at my supermarket, but I am in the same state - here is their official website:

https://www.monasterygreetings.com/product/Trappist-Preserves-Hot-Pepper-Jelly-by-the-case/Trappist_Preserves_Single_Flavor_Cases



Of course, there are plenty of options for hot pepper jelly; I just thought I'd give this one a plug as I get a kick out of these guys.

Czuni6

kshama2001 wrote: »

Glad you are finding my posts useful!

I often have a 4 oz ground turkey burger for lunch. I used to have this with mayo, but I am reducing fat, so now use fat free cottage cheese and hot pepper jelly. This last adds some zip, flavor, and sweetness. I get Trappist Preserves at my supermarket, but I am in the same state - here is their official website:

https://www.monasterygreetings.com/product/Trappist-Preserves-Hot-Pepper-Jelly-by-the-case/Trappist_Preserves_Single_Flavor_Cases



Of course, there are plenty of options for hot pepper jelly; I just thought I'd give this one a plug as I get a kick out of these guys.

Oooo, that sounds super good—savory plus sweet 🤤🙌. That cream cheese and jelly on top of a burger sound so good, especially since he loves cream cheese and burgers!! Wow, thank you that knocks out two at the same time!