cooking healthy for the Pickiest eaters

dreamingofhealthy

My husband has agreed to support my weight loss goals, but has asked that I still make foods he will like. That is going to be very difficult as he LOVES and lives on Processed boxed foods and fast food.
Kraft mac and Cheese is his favorite side dish, or even a meal by its self.
He likes green beans if they are sautéed, and the only other veggie he likes is corn (which isn't really a veggie its a grain) I know there has to be good "picky eater approved" recipes out there, and I am hoping MFP's can help me out.

jwdieter

Eat what you want to eat. Let your man-child eat what he wants to eat.

verdemujer

That can be a battle. I've seen all kinds of ways to deal with it. "You are the cook so you cook for you and they have to eat it or go hungry." "You cook for you, and they cook for themselves." - My ex was like that - I cooked for me and the girls and bought our food. He bought his junk and cooked for himself. Its not something I recommend. Currently, I'm somewhere in between. I find that since I'm the buyer, I tend to buy better and if he wants junk, he has to go buy it - most of that doesn't involve cooking on his part. I don't ask him to cook often as he tends to over cook the veggies. I tend to cook a big meal (soup, roast, spaghetti, etc.) and we have lots of left overs or variations on a theme with the main dish cooked. Health education is a constant activity in our house. He's much better than 12 years ago but I still see a lot of junk. Luckly, most of it, I don't like so I can ignore it. I wish you the best of luck.

bcnewell27

Ha - I have the opposite problem. I'm the picky one! Just about the only cooked veggies I eat are green beans and corn. So that's a staple for us with fish and chicken. I don't see why you still couldn't make him mac n cheese from the box. It's cheap and easy to fix and you can pass on it. I haven't eaten it in a long time but it's not a staple around in our house anymore. I used to love baked mac n cheese with corn bread. If you can eat the majority of the same things he likes then it might be easier. My husbands not a picky eater so we typically eat what I like, but I still make other things he likes (like corn bread and asparagus) so as not to make the household dinners "all about me". Of course as far as I'm concerned "I cook it, you eat it or make a sandwich"...ha! I wish.

fruttibiscotti

Can you strike a deal, like Monday, Wednesday and Saturday you prepare his "processed crap" and the other days he has to eat healthy?

Mangopickle

Good luck, I don't know how you will pull this off. I think I would cook a healthy meat dish and have corn or beans as one of the daily sides as my concession. I would be unable to agree to continuing to make Krap Mac and Cheese. I think you would be dooming yourself to failure before you even begin.

SapiensPisces

Try modifying some of his favorites to trim down calories (replace butter with margarine and full fat milk with lower fat options) and exercise portion control. Make some steamed or roasted veggies for you to fill up on instead of a double portion of more calorie-dense food.

You can also check out www.skinnytaste.com for some lighter fare. Dig around and see if you see something he might like. Once you find something, send it to him and see if he'd be willing to try. My husband loves junk foods too, but I've managed to slowly get him to turn around by getting him involved with meal selections.

dreamingofhealthy

Can you strike a deal, like Monday, Wednesday and Saturday you prepare his "processed crap" and the other days he has to eat healthy?

This is a great Idea!!!

Thank you all for your posts... there is a lot of helpful hints here... Luv all MFP's!

fruttibiscotti

Can you strike a deal, like Monday, Wednesday and Saturday you prepare his "processed crap" and the other days he has to eat healthy?

This is a great Idea!!!

Thank you all for your posts... there is a lot of helpful hints here... Luv all MFP's!

You are welcome...and best of luck :flowerforyou:

thefitzner

I would check out Meal Makeover Moms "No Whine With Dinner" cookbook and also "Eat Clean Diet for Kids and Family" by Tosca Reno. Those should give you some ideas! For what it's worth, my husband was the same way. I had to make gradual changes so he didn't revolt immediately. I also would google recipes for traditionally boxed and processed foods that he likes such as Hamburger Helper. If you google "homemade hamburger helper" you'll get all sorts of recipes that are healthier. Good luck!

dreamingofhealthy

I would check out Meal Makeover Moms "No Whine With Dinner" cookbook and also "Eat Clean Diet for Kids and Family" by Tosca Reno. Those should give you some ideas! For what it's worth, my husband was the same way. I had to make gradual changes so he didn't revolt immediately. I also would google recipes for traditionally boxed and processed foods that he likes such as Hamburger Helper. If you google "homemade hamburger helper" you'll get all sorts of recipes that are healthier. Good luck!

Both these selections are AWESOME!!! I have several ideas from them... Thank you!!!

samspam1023

My husband is picky, and I'm transitioning to vegetarianism. We compromise by having a lot of "build-your-own" style meals. Things like tacos/burritos and baked potatoes give you a lot of easily customized topping options.

Also, does he dislike the flavor or texture (or both) of vegetables? My husband hates the texture of many veggies, but he'll eat them if I puree them and hide them in things like spaghetti sauce or casseroles. He even enjoyed tofu when I crumbled it like scrambled eggs in fried rice!