Help a picky girl eat healthier!

Jme2209
Jme2209 Posts: 24 Member
edited January 19 in Food and Nutrition
Hello everyone!

I am SUCH a picky eater, and have an even pickier eater as a husband. I want to eat healthily so badly, but I am finding it so hard to eat healthily within my picky eater food repertoire. My favorite foods are typical fatty American foods: hamburgers, french fries, pasta, steak, CHINESE FOOD!, etc. I know that this is not the way to properly eat, and I'm having a hard time losing weight, I've been in a plateau throughout the month of March. Please please help and offer any advice that you have.

How do I break out of this bad-eating mode!?!

Replies

  • nicola1141
    nicola1141 Posts: 613 Member
    Hamburgers - try turkey burgers (I just mix ground turkey with salsa and an egg to make it stick) - YUM
    Pasta - Pasta's okay, just lower your portion. If you like meat sauce, try lower sodium sauces with ground turkey and puree some veggies (zucchini and carrots puree really well and I PROMISE you cannot taste them. My husband has never eaten a vegetable other than the ones I hide in sauce)
    Chinese food - try to make some yourself. Smaller portions, better cuts of meat, less sauce and sodium

    Challenge yourself to try new things and remember that it can take up to 21 tries to like something, so just because you hate something the first time, don't give up. Promise yourself you'll try it again (like once a week or something) for a certain amount of time, and hopefully you'll slowly increase your repertoire of healthy foods.

    Make a new small change every week (or every couple of days). Eventually all those small changes will add up to major changes.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    Typically 'fatty foods' can be made healthier. I eat everything you mentioned there, but I make it myself.

    Hamburgers - use extra lean minced beef. Bung it in a food processor with some chopped onion, garlic, chopped herbs, seasoning to taste, and if you like a bit of spice, a chilli. I then put a laughing cow blue cheese triangle (only 25 cals) in the middle and wrap the burger meat around it so when you bite into it the cheese oozes out. You could use other cheese if you don't like the sound of that. Stick it in a wholemeal bun with some salad and you have a healthy burger.

    Chips (or fries) are easy to make. Chop potatoes into chips, par boil them and oven roast with some spray oil and seasoning on top. If you make sweet potato fries, these are even better.

    Pasta is calorific, admittedly, but can be healthy. Make your own sauce with chopped tomatoes, passata, etc, and add loads of chopped veg and diced chicken breast in there.

    Steak is not unhealthy. When grilled with fat removed, it is full of protein and fairly low cal.

    Chinese food is so easy to make yourself and there's probably loads of recipes online. Stir-frys are quick, cheap, healthy and low-cal.

    As for snacks, when you say fussy, I don't know how fussy you are, but I'm sure there must be some healthy snacks you like, fruit, veg, etc?Try experimenting with new ones, try and incorporate more veg into your dinners. And don't feel like you need to cut out all junk straight away. It's not an all or nothing approach, these things can take time and baby steps are better than none.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,123 Member
    I am a picky eater too! I still eat burgers.... just use turkey instead. Pretty much anything I used to make with hamburger, I use turkey now. I have switched to these whole grain bread "thins" can't remember the brand but super low cals for a sandwich.

    For dinner, we cut out carbs 100% atleast 3 times a week. So, we'll have our meat and veggies - no potatoes, pasta or anything. For pasta, Harris Teeter has this "hidden veggie" pasta now that has atleast 1 serving of vegetables in every serving of pasta.

    Try fruit smoothies - use real fruit, greek yogurt and a little bit of milk.

    Sweets - I love Skinny Cow candy and "No Pudge" brownie mix (they sell it at higher end grocery stores in the baking aisle). Or, you can make ingredient substitutions with regular recipes such as using apple sauce instead of oil.

    Hiding veggies in juice, sauce, etc is a really good way to get your daily intake without tasting them if you hate them. Invest in a juicer - they are awesome! You can mix the veggie juice right in there with your regular fruit juice and you'd never know. :)

    Good luck!
  • Jen21878
    Jen21878 Posts: 40 Member
    I'm a pasta lover myself...I've switched to brown rice pasta. Can't even taste the difference. So good!!
  • TimeForMe99
    TimeForMe99 Posts: 309 Member
    Commit to change and it will happen. If hubby isn't on board there will need to be some conversation / negotiation. Remember that you can't change him but you can set a good example.

    It's almost grilling season; lean cuts grill well and adding marinades is an easy way to vary the flavor and tenderize the meat. Grill vegetables as well. Try sweet potato oven fries or chips. Add vegetables to pasta dishes and learn to make a stir-fry. Take salads for lunch with lots of different veggies and fruit, lettuce and/or pasta. Precut vegetables are widely available if time is a concern.

    Look online for make-over versions of your favorites but avoid the pale comparisons if they don't satisfy.
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