Dealing with a PICKY eater

My fiance is the exact same person! I swear he will only eat meat, bread, and cheese. Corn and green beans are the only veggies he will eat, and strawberries and bananas on the fruit side. I have tried everything to convince him to eat healthy or even just try new things. It came down to me cooking for me and making a similar version for him. He eventually wanted to try some of the things I was eating, SOME.So far in two years I have been able to introduce jalapenos, rasberries, blueberries, soy milk, and low fat versions of his favorite foods into his diet. Oh, and I also hide spinach and greek yogurt in his smoothies and throw flax seed and use whole wheat flower in his breakfast muffins. He doesn't know the difference. He is a terrible soda drinker, probably five cans a day, so I make him drink two cups of water for every soda he drinks.

I would say that as hard as it is, he probably won't change unless he feels there is something in it for him. He grew up in a little country town where his mother believes butter and bacon will fix all problems. lol
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An example is, this morning I made him a "strawberry/banana smoothie" that actually had strawberries, bananas, raspberries, blackberries,spinach, kale, greek yogurt instead of milk and a touch of almonds. Never knew the difference. Then I made grilled chicken and jalapeno wraps for breakfast. His was wrapped in a tortilla and mine in romaine lettuce. It is annoying sometimes, and weekends he has to make all his own food. But, I like to cook and he appreciates me trying. Sometimes.

I'd tell my husband to make his own damn meals then.

this for sure

My husband asked me last night: "When are you going to cook NORMAL food?". :explode:

I have to agree with the others who have said to tell him "if you don't like what I am cooking, cook your own blasted meal" :P. But I know that sometimes that doesn't always work (and it sounds like he can be, as others have stated, a bit of a "manchild" about this issue).

My husband is a bit picky (more so than myself and even my kids) and so like some others have suggested I usually will modify things a little bit to make sure he gets enough of what he likes to eat and the kids and I have other things too. BUT- I definitely don't sacrifice my time or health to totally accommodate him. I have gotten him to try some things by hiding them in other things (like someone else suggested) but they have to either look similar to something else (tricked him with asparagus one day by putting it in a stir fry- he thought it was green beans) or be covered in tomato sauce usually (or so small you don't know it's there). No matter what way I do it, though, I can never get him to try broccoli or cauliflower! He has a bit of a sensitive sense of smell, though, so I think that is the turn off of some foods for him (can't even have tuna in the house- but that doesn't bother me too much, never ate it much to begin with).

One thing to think about, also, is how he grew up eating. Like another poster said about her husband, he grew up eating "Paula Deen" style . Sometimes it is hard for people to step out of comfort zones and that might be part of the issue. If he grew up eating a certain way and the way you are wanting to eat is vastly different, it might be hard initially for him to step out of the comfort of familiar foods. My husband grew up eating pretty bad (his family has always been short on money, so a lot of what they ate came from cans or was something like spaghetti or taco casserole) and it took a bit for me to get him to try a different way of cooking things. Also, his mom is not really the greatest of cooks (pretty bland food and veggies from a can) and I think that has played into some of his not wanting to try certain foods again. If the first time you try a food you have a bad experience with it or it tastes horrible, a lot of people might not want to try it again because of the memory of it tasting so bad. I am like that with liver- tried it once and my memory of eating it was like eating a sponge that just exploded in my mouth (not quite the best description but close enough), so I refuse to touch it now . Same with orange juice- got sick after drinking it once and haven't drank it since (although I don't really like anything orange very much, so that is probably part of it too). So, that might be something to think about (not that it should change your actions or eating, though).

Sorry, I kinda wrote a book. Hope some of that helps you, though. Bottom line: you do what you have to do to keep yourself on the track of eating healthier. He's a big boy and can fend for himself if he doesn't want to reach a compromise on eating habits.

There needs to be more sandwich making and less husband bashing, He isn't on your lifestyle change.

If he wants a sandwich, he can make his own d@mn sandwich! She shouldn't have to make different meals for both of them just to accommodate his pickiness! And it doesn't really sound to me like she is either bashing him OR trying to make him completely change (she said she would like for him to join her on this journey but not that she is completely trying to change him)! She is just looking for some ideas on how to keep herself on track AND keep the tension in the house down (because it sounds like food is a point of fighting in their house if things aren't how he likes them).

I know the biggest problem is he's never been exposed to a lot of my foods before. He's a good ol' southern boy raised on Paula Dean, so his main dietary staples are cream, butter, salt, and sugar.

This might be a silly idea, but how about trying some recipes from that show "Not my mama's meals" where Paula Deen's son cooks healthier versions of her dishes?
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/shows/not-my-mamas-meals.html

Why do women marry men who can't cook for themselves?? Seriously? If you aren't going to eat what is cooked for you..starve!

Incidentally I've never dated a woman who can cook. But that's OK because I don't really like it when people cook for me. I am the picky eater.

I want to know everything that's in it. Because what if someone puts something in there I hate? Like artichoke hearts or something. Gross.

It does suck, though, when someone does want to do something sweet and cook dinner for me ... because I'm exceptionally picky and so I'm always worried I'm going to hate it.

My ex actually made dinner for me once and it was really dry, bland chicken, mashed potatoes in which there were still full chunks of potatoes (with no gravy and she didn't use any milk at all in the potatoes because I'm lactose intolerant ...) and a frozen pumpkin pie. It was terrible. It was very sweet of her, though, so I choked down as much as I could.

Sigh. Being picky sucks, I wish I liked vegetables and stuff. (I circumvent my hatred for veggies with Green Monster smoothies.)

You might want to look up information on supertasters. It's not the same thing as being picky for being picky's sake. His tastes sound A LOT like mine.

This! I am that "picky" eater & it makes things tough. In school, I had to do the fake allergy thing so I could get something that I could eat. When I eat at a friend's house, I try to be polite & move it around on the plate to make it look like I've enjoyed it. I would love to be able to enjoy a salad, but lettuce, dressing, & just about everything else in them disgusts me.

I cook at home, but much of the food I like taste bland to my husband. I don't do the "eat it or fix your own dinner" thing. I understand that our tastes are different & I work with it. There's always a little give & take in a good marriage.

I'm fortunate my husband will eat MOST things... but then he was brought up where he didn't get to eat unless he was in school or at his dad's. About the only thing off limits is turnip greens, and spinich (cooked spinach anyhow) and I don't even KNOW how to make turnip greens, and he just won't eat the spinach if I cook some.

My kids on the other hand can be picky, I've found you eat it or you go to bed without works with them *shrug.

Seriously though... he's a grown man. He's capable of cooking something and/or making a sandwich for himself.

My boyfriend is very much like this. He eats lettuce, corn, watermelon, and meat and breads/pasta/white rice/etc.

The compromise is that I prepare and eat all the fruits, veggies, and whole grains I want, and he'll just tweak the meal. For example, if we have grilled chicken, he'd have it with some sort of bread, and maybe lettuce (with croutons, ranch dressing, and cheese), and I'd have the chicken with a bunch of veggies, and a vinaigrette dressing. But he does cook, and has expressed I'm free to eat anything I want, as long as I don't force him to eat it, he usually tries it though.