HELP! Need some manly meals! :)

I really want to see what responses you get to this! My husband doesn't need to lose a pound (lucky!) but it's easier for me to eat well when I can make the two of us the same healthy dinner and he is SO picky!

One trick I have found is substituting ground turkey for ground beef in chili, pasta sauce, etc. You really can't tell a difference in things like that and it is soooo much leaner! I need some more good recipes though!

I think I live with this guy....meat and potatoes, right? My bf is really, really picky. Getting him to try new things is rough. So what I've started doing is tweaking the meals I feed him. For example....he likes to eat meat and lots of it. But financially, buying a pound of hamburger and having it last one meal and a lunch gets really old, so I "beef up" the meat. For example, I make meatballs and use ground chia seeds to bind them instead of eggs and I add seasoning and 3/4 c of italian seasoned bread crumbs. I've also started using a mix of buffalo burger to regular hamburger.

I've heard of making mashed potatoes with some mashed cauliflower in them (don't go all mashed cauliflower...even if covered in butter, garlic and cheese he wont eat them). I've heard rutabagas can be substituted for potatoes in things like roasts, but haven't tried it.

Shish kabobs....buy decent steak, and put in big chunky veggies that he does like, serve on rice pilaf.

I make bisquick chicken pot pie and add cheese and jalapenos to the crust....using all light ingredients and making your own cream of chicken saves calories and sodium, plus for some reason veggies covered in gravy seem to go down easier--mine comes out to about 450 a slice (8 in a 9x11 pan....I think it is pretty generous). If I can find turkey breast on sale...I use that instead of chicken...he doesn't notice the difference AND it's better calorie wise.

Stir fry...my picky hunny wont eat green food much. But...baby corns, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, onions and dice pea pods (because he is too lazy to pick them out) added to diced chicken with a light sauce of beef brother, garlic, ground ginger and light soy sauce (or liquid aminos) really goes over well at my house. The best part about stir fry is you can tailor it to your families likes and dislikes. I never put broccoli or cauliflower in mine, because I know he'll pick it out....but you can add lots of things to stir fry....onions, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, peas, pea pods, carrots, mini corns.

I mix romaine lettuce with iceberg...I think it is better for you. Find what veggies he WILL eat and see if you can make it healthier...aka, corn...use butter spray instead of butter, make mashed potatoes with milk (my bf thinks it needs to be done with sour cream....seriously.)

Chicken skewers with red/green pepper and what ever other veggies he enjoys
Lean steak with bbq'd peppered broccoli
hot sauce chicken breast with wild rice
Stir Fry with low cal soya sauce (2 Table spoons is really enough)
Large Salads with egg, nuts, chicken breast



I mean, all you really have to do is find some stuff he enjoys..Than make that with less calories, while adding healthier foods.

rippedrecipes.co, has really good recipes! I think as a man, you don't want to change the flavor the portion size. Sometimes its best to keep the bold flavor but substituting the ingredients slowly (ie brown rice and lean cuts of meat). Things I have done lately are Flourless Pizza (using cauliflower), Quinoa Jambalaya, Protein cakes/ pancakes/ french toase and a few soups. For me flavor is key so I have like 20 different Ms. Dash's in my house haha.

My boyfriend has loved everything I've made for him from skinnytaste.com - Gina does a good job of making recipes healthy without using fake ingredients like splenda, etc and her recipes are easier/cheaper ingredients than those on cleaneatingmag.com and eatingwell.com

I've also made a couple things from skinnykitchen.com (greek chicken w roasted potatoes and also some lasagna ole) but you have to watch as her recipes will be high in sodium sometimes.

I really want to see what responses you get to this! My husband doesn't need to lose a pound (lucky!) but it's easier for me to eat well when I can make the two of us the same healthy dinner and he is SO picky!

One trick I have found is substituting ground turkey for ground beef in chili, pasta sauce, etc. You really can't tell a difference in things like that and it is soooo much leaner! I need some more good recipes though!

Totally agree. I just swap ground turkey for beef in all my mom's recipes (Lasagna, Meat Loaf, Stuffed Green Peppers, etc.) and I used low-fat cheeses.

Ground turkey tip: When you are browning the meat, stir in a TBSP of Better Than Bouillon - Beef. He will not know the difference!