Dinner Drama

Sharon909

I need ideas please. I'm having an awful time planning dinners that my family will enjoy. My husband is the stubborn meat-and-potatoes type that is allergic to seafood, hates all fish, and wont eat brown rice or multi-grain anything. He hates most vegetables. Salads consist of ice burg lettuce and croutons. I'm on a budget and work full time so I have limited time in the kitchen to prepare meals.
I'm sick and tired of boneless chicken breast. So I've found that I have reverted back to ground beef based meals. Limited veggies. Lots of bread with butter. My pants are tight again. HELP!
And please keep the lectures about being married to a caveman to a minimum. I'm well aware. He was like this when I met him and he loves me even when my pants are tight. He supports me as much as he can, its my own stupid worrisome self that wants to serve meals that are nice to my diet plan, AND yummy enough for him to actually ENJOY the food. Not to mention I want my kids to enjoy it too.

LoraF83

There's no reason you can't eat beef or potatoes or bread or white rice. I eat that stuff all the time and I lose weight. It only matters how much you eat. Keep a calorie deficit and you'll be fine.

Check out skinnytaste.com for recipes that are lower in calories.

saraknotts

I should preface this with the disclaimer that I have just started my journey so these may not last forever :-)

We do tacos once a week using lean ground turkey. I make mine into a salad with a lot of lettuce, veggies, and salsa. The rest use flour tortillas or make salads with a ton of tortilla chips and sour cream. Once all of the toppings and seasonings are on it the family has no problem with lean ground turkey.

Lean pork chops are another good one, does your husband grill? Simply marinated in italian dressing. It's easy to make white rice for the family and have some frozen steamed veggies for yourself. When we do this I try to have bread for everyone else and I just do without.

I got my family to start eating whole grain pasta by starting with the angel hair spaghetti, the texture is less noticable because it's so thin. Maybe try it one night without saying anything and see if anyone notices lol

Good luck! Can't wait to see what everyone else suggests.

kts3639

My husband wasn't very adventurous when it came to food when we first got married. Now, he likes all sorts of different things. Sometimes it's a struggle to get him to even try something, because he claims he doesn't like it even though he's never had it, or it's been years. But once I get him to try something, 9 times out of 10 he ends up being surprised at how good something tastes. Besides, if you're the one making the meals, then he either has to deal with what you make, or make something for himself!

I would try allrecipes.com. and skinnytaste.com.

reinventingandrea

There's no reason you can't eat beef or potatoes or bread or white rice. I eat that stuff all the time and I lose weight. It only matters how much you eat. Keep a calorie deficit and you'll be fine.

Check out skinnytaste.com for recipes that are lower in calories.

Yes! ^ this!

It's all about moderation and portion control!

btsinmd

Maybe try little substitutions, like ground turkey for ground beef in some recipes. You could make a nice, filling, healthy, chili with lots of beans and ground turkey in addition to the tomatoes, onions, and spices. Grill vegetables either in the oven or on an outdoor grill. Many people who don't like vegetables find that grill ones aren't too bad. To encourage eating them, make kebobs, with a piece of steak or chicken for every two pieces of vegetables. Try grilled asparagas too.

JennaM222

skinnytaste.com


It is ALL your fave meals, in a healthier version! My BF loves EVERYTHING I make for us on this site.

sleepingtodream

Maybe try and "sneak" veggies into meals that you typically make. If you make ground beef casseroles rinse and drain the meat and then added pureed carrots, zuchini, spinach, broccili, mushrroms etc. to the recipe. They most likely won't even know the veggies are in there:) The same would go for spaghetti sauce...you can really add alot of fresh things into the sauce that makes it healthier.

Can you make smaller portions of brown rice and white rice or white pasta and whole wheat pasta (some for him/some for you)?

CouleeRunner

I agree with the others. Skinnytaste.com

Pick out the recipes he will eat. Trust me, He will love most of those recipes and they are fairly cheap and easy to make.

TavistockToad

There's no reason you can't eat beef or potatoes or bread or white rice. I eat that stuff all the time and I lose weight. It only matters how much you eat. Keep a calorie deficit and you'll be fine.

this!

asaw00

My husband is also a pain in the butt when it comes to food. I call him the "complainer". I started making small changes and didn't tell anyone, like mixing whole grain pasta with regular (I get whatever is on sale) and put sauce on it asap so no one can tell its a different color. Throw some cauliflower into your mashed potatoes. I also make myself an extra veggie, I always offer it to who ever, but am the only one to eat it. I just try not to eat the starch or bread w/butter.

JeepBaja

OK so it's not really the husband but I get what you are saying. My better half has to deal with my horrible diet. Fortunately for her she can eat whatever she wants and never gain an ounce. Yet she still eats healthy. She drives me crazy!

There is no reason why you can't enjoy some meat with your husband and kids. I am in no position to talk about the extra cost but I don't see why you can't have a side salad with the fixin's you like or a side of veggies to limit your meat portion. Fresh and frozen/canned veggies are not that expensive (again I can't speak for your financials) and what is left over can be used the next day.

Look, it's extremely hard to diet when you are in house full of those who may not need to diet or not doing what you are doing. Between the better half never gaining weight and the kids who are so active with sports it's a real challenge for me as well. TEMPTATION TEMPTATION TEMPTATION let me tell you! Which is also the reason why I myself am on the slow road to lose weight.

There are options that will not break the bank , you just have to experiment a little more to find the right solution.

Lyerin

We have been making recipes lately out of Tosca Reno's Clean Eating cookbooks, and they are awesome. I made meatballs from her recipe, and we *loved* them. I ate them with whole wheat pasta and sauce, my husband and the kids had "regular" pasta and sauce. I also ate them plain with veggies, and my husband enjoyed them as part of a "meatball sub." You can totally make things that are tasty and healthy.

You can make him regular potatoes and yourself sweet potatoes - we do this all the time. And baked sweet potato fries are super yummy, no matter whether you are dieting or not.

Plus, the more you get him to try stuff that he doesn't think he likes, the more he will expand his choices.

SmallMimi

Just because you make something for him doesn't mean you have to eat the same thing and if you do eat the same, manage your portion size. For a pasta option, look for Dreamfields, good for reduction of carbs and tastes the same as your average pasta. Potatoes - I use Baby Reds - cut in half, place cut side down on LIGHTLY oiled baking pan, sprinkle with seasonings of your choice and bake at 350. Also just because he doesn't like veggies doesn't mean you can't make for yourself. It takes a little extra time in the prep to work around every ones likes and needs but in the end you can reduce your calories while still giving your family the foods they want.

brigit628

I've had the same issues before and while you can't control what others want, you can control what you eat. I would eat a very large spinach salad, loaded up with veggies, encourage the kids to eat it too. Not everyone has to eat the same thing, but you can lead by example. Of course you can't force hubby to eat it, so just start by doing it yourself. Then serve your normal meals. you will find that the salad has partially filled you up, so just do half portions on the "unhealthy" foods. As long as you keep your portions under control, you should be ok. I force myself to eat well at breakfast and lunch, lots of salads, lean meats, tuna, etc. Then when I go home I don't have to be as crazy with shared meals. Even just eating an apple before a meal will help fill you up so you don't go crazy at dinnertime. Good luck!

ChangingAmanda

Well, my first thought was the one my parents took with us: if you don't like, it, you don't have to eat it, but I'm not making you anything else. Pretty much could be used with anything you fix but seafood.

I agree with the suggestion to substitute ground turkey for ground beef. I use it for everything but burger patties and don't notice a difference. Make the basic salad for your husband but load yours up with other veggies. The other thing would be to let them have their beef but make your fish/seafood for yourself. Yeah, maybe dirty an extra pan, but might be worth it.

Sharon909

Thanks for the tips. I am finding that I am using his habits as my excuse. I really do need to stop doing that. We are supposed to have steaks on the grill tonight. But that doesn't mean I need to have a full serving of mashed potatoes and a hard roll with butter too. Even though I want it. I will make a salad for my side instead. Wish me luck.

jlemoore

I keep frozen veggies: My husband wants spaghetti- I use frozen veggies for the noodles.
I keep a bag of salad at all times: My husband wants tacos- I have a taco salad.
He gets what he wants, I get a lower calorie meal.

terrappyn

We should get your husband and my boyfriend together for dinner while we enjoy the healthier dinners in life. I feel your pain. Instead of corn and potatos I try to have something else for me. $1 frozen bagged veggies with a small portion of the meat we eat is what I try to resort to.Marinade can be your best friend!

TJWrites00

My husband started off very much this way, but after years of working on him, it's getting better and he eats more stuff.

Another thing you might try is freezer cooking on a weekend for you and portioning things in single servings to freeze so that you can sub yourself a healthier option when you fix dinner. Once a Month Mom has some good recipes for regular and "diet" meals.

My husband hunts and we use a lot of ground venison instead of beef, which is a lot leaner. I can't stand the texture of ground turkey, so I had to find something else.

Josalinn

If he isn't going to eat the veggies anyway then make them for yourself and your kids. If you are worried about the kids seeing dad not eating veggies, tell him he needs to set a good example and take a "no thank you helping", a spoonful of the veggies. He can man up and eat a spoonful of peas. this way you can make your meal mostly veg and set a good example for your kids.

For the pasta thing, try doing half and half. or 1/3 and 2/3. ease them into it.

SkinnyTaste rocks.

missjones93

Substitutions, really lean ground beef. Ground turkey. Turkey hot dogs. Turkey sausage. Turkey bacon (not my favorite). As for potatoes, just limit them. Vegetables, first of all, I'm the one who does the cooking, so my motto is, "if you don't eat it, you can starve". Needless to say, I don't have a problem getting anyone to eat vegetables. Also, I make a meatloaf sometimes and I will chop up spinach and add to it. And don't tell em.
So find a way to sneak it - it's great stuff. Find more lean options for the good food. Of course, chicken will get old if you eat it everyday the same way. Find different ways to cook it - one day chopped in some veggies or pasta. One day baked with veggies. One day grilled the chicken and then pop some mixed veggies in aluminum foil on the grill.. Amazing. We're from the south, so I know what you mean by meat and potatoes. Mine didn't want to change either; however, you can always use this excuse. When he says "I have a headache" or "my back hurts" or complains about any of his ailments - tell him because the garbage he eats is making his body feel horrible and demand that you guys have to change the way you eat and think about food.

Healthy tastes good - remind him of that! LOL. Good luck!