Help! Picky Eater!

mwilson1018

I need help! :laugh:

I want to start cooking healthy for my husband and I, but he is an extremely picky eater (no onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc...he's a meat and potatoes kind of guy!). I don't want to cook two seperate things, but also want to make sure we are both satisfied. Does anyone have any really simple, healthy recipes you can give me??

Thanks!

aippolito1

That sounds just like my bf when we first started dating. I basically told him I'm not making 2 separate things and I use a lot of herbs & spices and now he loves peppers & onions and will tolerate tomatoes if he has to.

Keep a mental list of what he doesn't like and think of the dishes you love that have those things and then figure out how you can alter them to eliminate those things. With some things, eliminating those items for just his can be easy. For fajitas, just leave it out and hey, more for you! So then you're really not making two separate things, just not putting certain things in his.

What kind of meals do you typically prepare that he doesn't like? Try casseroles...I love tuna casserole and it's not that bad calorie-wise, if you have a small portion. Just throw noodles (elbow macaroni, penne, or rotini are my favorite to use), cheese, tuna, and sour cream together in a pot and serve.

My go-to meal is always pan-fried (with olive oil) boneless skinless chicken breast chopped up. I season depending on my mood. Lately it's been steak seasoning and crushed red pepper. It's also really good with garlic & onion (or just their powders) and basil. Then serve with some quick box rice or the vegetable of your choice. I love eating this with green beans lightly seasoned with salt.

You can fit in potatoes easily too. My man loves when I cut up raw potatoes into cubes, throw it in a glass dish covered in oil. Cover them with rosemary. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. I usually add cheese and bacon bits to his, but leave mine off. He likes his stuff greasy & fatty, bleh. One portion would be about half a potato, which isn't too many calories.

Hope this helps a little!

ka_42

Goodness! Sounds like my boyfriend, too! He is definitely a meat and potatoes guy and doesn't like hardly any veggies! I'm a little picky too but I'm willing to try a lot of veggies I've never had. I'm always on the search for new suggestions, I'll have to check back with this thread! I make home-made pizzas a lot that we both enjoy and when you make it at home it's surprising how low calorie it can be. Plus they're quick!

Arielle- Great suggestions, I'm always benefiting from your advise! Especially the potatoes.... Aaron would love the bacon bits and cheese and I'd be happy without it! I'm totally going to try that soon! And... I love your rewards for your goals... they are all things I want!!!!!!!!!! lol! I should make my goals the same.. oh how I'd love a pedi or new tattoo!

mwilson1018

I LOVE casseroles, but anything that he can't see all of the ingredients he usually won't eat...most times people have put onions and things in their dishes and say that there aren't any, and then there really is. He'll pick through it lol

I think I will just not put all ingredients together, like with chicken dishes, and then I can add salsa, or whatever it may be, to my plate, and he can eat it without. But, those potatoes sound delicious!

Thanks for your advice! I use to be very picky too, but when you're trying to eat healthy you need to like all those veggies you can get!

I agree with Kimberly...you're goals are awesome! I told my husband when I reach my 10 pounds I'm going to get my hair done, too...I can't wait!

sonjavon

My husband is picky - he's a meat and potatos type of guy. I used to think that made cooking "so much harder"- but really... it's not. He likes to have a piece of meat, a veggie and a starch. So I make chicken, steak, pork chops, etc. Then I make rice or red potatoes. And a side of veggies. Depending on my calories for the day I may or may not eat the starch (it's just not always worth it for me). I always make a huge salad for dinner as well.

Does he like lemon chicken? I made chicken the other night by simply slicing a lemon and laying it in the bottom of a pyrex dish, putting the chicken on top of the lemons, drizzling a little olive oil over the chicken and sprinkling it with dill and basil. Covered it with aluminum foil and baked it at 325 for about 40 minutes... it was awesome!

Dijon pork chops are popular in my house as well... take pork chops and put a little dijon mustard on them - then coat in italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I make my own to reduce the sodium) - bake at 350 until done.

If we do a hamburger night - I make a turkey burger for myself - sometimes my husband and son will eat turkey burgers as well - but they like their hamburgers. Zucchini fries for me (search the recipe section) and tater tots for them.

What kind of things are you used to making - maybe we can healthify those recipes???

mwilson1018

Wow - I really like all those recipes....thank you so much! I think he'll enjoy any of those - and me too!

Right now we are so use to eating out so much, just always on the go. We're are trying to change that habit to become healthier and save some $$$. I'm up for anything but usually it's just some kind of chicken...we eat the same things over and over. Chicken, pizza, hamburger helper, ...yes, i know, SOO FATTENING AND SOOO UNHEALTHY! We're making a complete lifestyle change

sonjavon

Oh sweetie - I can completely relate... my son is involved in a lot of sports - so we were always going out to eat. 2 appliances have become my best friends... my George Foreman grill and my crockpot.

I make a beef roast at least once a week - usually served with roasted red potatos and steamed green beans.
I buy frozen pizzas for the boys but make an amazing chicken pizza for myself using a whole wheat tortilla, some sweet baby rays bbq sauce, some shredded chicken and some mozzarella.... bake it til the cheese melts and yummmooo!
I also do chicken caesar salads a lot... my son loves them. Just portion control your dressing.
Taco salads are good too... just watch the sodium. If you do those - he can choose what to put on his salad... I use ground turkey and when you mix it with the taco seasoning the guys can't tell.
Breakfast for dinner... eggs and toast, omelets, etc... my husband occasionally makes pancakes for he and my son.

We also do stir fry a lot... I make orange chicken and veggies over brown rice. Slice your chicken, coat it in corn starch (makes it crispy) and fry it in a little olive oil... take it out and cover it. In a wok or large skillet add broccoli, carrots, mini corn (look in the produce section usually along the sides) and snow peas with a little olive oil, some orange juice, brown sugar (not much) and garlic. You want to saute this on really high heat for a few minutes until the veggies are a little more tender but still crisp. Add a little corn starch to some water and throw it in with your veggies to make a thicker sauce... put your chicken back in to warm up and serve it over some brown rice.

Hamburger Helper is doable... try using ground turkey or ground chicken instead and serve it with a salad... that way you eat less of it... (serving sizes are important).

With the George Foreman we do steaks sometimes as well - and again looking at portion sizes - one steak will generally feed 3 of us - so I can afford to buy a better cut of meat.

suejonestx

The bbq grill is your friend! You can cook chicken, pork, seafood, whatever and corn or baked potato for your hubby while also cooking some peppers/onions/veggies for yourself! (we tried adding broccoli to our grill veggie mix and it was surprisingly good!) Also, sliced bread turns out pretty good on the grill, too.

mwilson1018

Well now I can't wait to go to the grocery store and load up on all the healthy things to make dinner this week! I was really worried when we starting this thinking "I'm never going to be able to eat anything good..." but I've been very surprised at how yummy all the recipes I'm finding sound. I'll definitely have to go in with a strict list...I know those Digorno's pizzas are going to be calling my name, but it will be such a good feeling to not even want one!