No-one likes anything i cook anymore

Taco seasoning adds flavor to meat without killing your diet. Fam can have proper tacos while you enjoy a taco salad. So good!

Well, that's hard - I suspect what they're missing is the fat and the salt. Fat and salt being what generally tastes good. You could always try throwing spice at them - heavy handed with spices (I like garlic and also hot things like red pepper flakes) - will make a flavor impact.

Also if they're eating crap outside of the home, and then coming home to healthy meals, they're going to notice the lack of those yummy fats and salts more than if they're eating healthy foods all the time.

What are some of the things that you've been making?

Healthy food doesn't have to be bland. You can still have spices and sauces to brighten things up, you just have to shift the focus from fat-based to other bases and skip on the pre-made stuff. Since I started eating healthier, my fiance has started complimenting me MORE on my cooking! There are tons of ways to experiment with healthy foods.

For instance, I hate steamed vegetables. I think they're bland and gross. Instead, I'll sautee them in white wine and a splash of lemon juice with garlic or brush them with a little olive oil, sprinkle them with sea salt and pepper and grill them. Bam, tons of flavour. I do a lot of tomato based sauces. I use a lot of garlic and a lof of spices/herbs. I've taken naughty meals from the past, like nachos, and turned them into something healthier like taco salad.

I somewhat have that problem. I started buying whole wheat everything, and they got mad. Now I buy a nice healthy bread for me, and a whole-wheat white bread for them. Or I buy Hillbilly bread. I buy 1 percent milk for me, and 2 percent milk for them. They don't like whole wheat pancakes. So I make regular buttermilk pancakes, and watch my portions. I make most of the same dinners I did before, but use wholeweat pasta in place of regular. I kept trying different brands until they stopped complaining. Looks like Aldis Fit and Active Whole Wheat pasta is a winner. When I make baked potatoes, I eat the smallest one, and make sure it is a good tasting potato(yellow or red) and use a small amount of reduced calorie margarine.

Say I make beef stroganoff. I use whole wheat noodles, make it how I normally would, but I don't add the sour cream to it. They don't like sour cream anyway, and if they did, they could add it to their own. I watch my portion on it, and eat lots of salad on the side. So, maybe you could go back to some of your old recipes, and just tweak them a bit, eat less of them, and eat lots of veggies with dinner to fill you up. Are you using less salt? They can salt their own dishes. Also, sea salt has more flavor, so you can use less of it.

I am easing in new healthy recipes. If I started a bunch of new recipes at once it would be disasterous. I try to only do one new recipe a week. If they don't like it, I don't make it again. Try the Cooking Light Magazine. It may have changed its name. It is made by Taste of Home. Always awesome recipes.

Taste test & season!!! I have a pantry full of spices, and they make all the difference. Plus, most of them are zero cal or very low cal. I keep the following on hand and use at the discretion of what I'm cooking - garlic powder, ground black pepper, sea salt or kosher salt, basil, oregano, sage, rosemary, ground white pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, dill, celery salt, cinnamon, fennel seeds, bay leaf and a few others that I don't use as regularly. If you're unsure, add a little of something and simmer for a couple minutes. Taste, and if it seems bland add more. Just be sure you log those tastes (or get someone else in your family to do your taste testing) - and I know we're supposed to limit our sodium intake, but salt IS necessary to help bring out the flavors of some foods.

Good luck, and I hope this helps!

I agree with this and add to the list: Crushed red pepper, fresh garlic, fresh onion, sea salt adds great flavor and you use less so less sodium for more taste. I personally use different types of sea salt (different colors, textures, etc).........

Why is the food you cooking too bland? There are herbs & spices that you can use to seasoning it up. You can make your own healthy marinades using virgin olive oil as your base. Green, Red & Yellow Bell Peppers are excellent for seasoning also.

Try this:

Just last night I made extra lean turkey burgers mixed with precooked)Stove Top Stuffing Low Sodium Mix (chicken flavor), Mrs. Dash chicken seasoning and minced garlic topped it off with lettuce, tomato, thinnly sliced provolone cheese, teaspoon of ketchup and 1 slice of bacon. The family loved it...hubby, 18 yr old, 10 & 9 yr old all gave it raved reviews.

Burger Calories 133 for 4 oz (weighed before cooking)
Burger with Nature's Own Sandwich Thins Multi Grain and all the fixings 271 calories

I mixed the box of stuffing in 40oz of Turkey meat. Each burger weighed 4 oz before cooking. I have left over mixed turkey/stuffing for tonight...(turkey loaf maybe). Pan was sprayed with Pam.

Oh and do not use butter in the stuffing. Its not needed.

Taste test & season!!! I have a pantry full of spices, and they make all the difference. Plus, most of them are zero cal or very low cal. I keep the following on hand and use at the discretion of what I'm cooking - garlic powder, ground black pepper, sea salt or kosher salt, basil, oregano, sage, rosemary, ground white pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, dill, celery salt, cinnamon, fennel seeds, bay leaf and a few others that I don't use as regularly. If you're unsure, add a little of something and simmer for a couple minutes. Taste, and if it seems bland add more. Just be sure you log those tastes (or get someone else in your family to do your taste testing) - and I know we're supposed to limit our sodium intake, but salt IS necessary to help bring out the flavors of some foods.

Good luck, and I hope this helps!

I agree with this and add to the list: Crushed red pepper, fresh garlic, fresh onion, sea salt adds great flavor and you use less so less sodium for more taste. I personally use different types of sea salt (different colors, textures, etc).........

And to add to that, lemon juice, sliced black olives, sprinkles of cheese, onion, mushrooms, all can be added to dishes to increase their flavor. It takes a while for people to get used to what natural food tastes like, if they're used to eating processed, msg laden, salt and sugar drenched foods.

I feel you. I am a vegetarian so a lot of things I cook, I have to make sure I can make it non-vegetarian as well for my bf. So like for tacos, I will usually make one chicken/beef filling and one beans/vegan soy filling. That way its not entirely two separate meals.

Or, I cook a lot of indian food as well, which he doesn't mind eating, but it usually doesn't fill him up, so I'll use the curry and grill a piece of chicken along with the meal so he can eat that as well.

I know sometimes it can be tiring but I figure if I want to be healthy than I have to put in a little more effort. An easy way is just to prepare the base without adding extra ingredients, i.e. cheese, meat, etc and then setting some aside prior to adding anything that someone else might want in there.

Learn to substitute. Instead of mixing sour cream into enchilada filling, use greek yogurt, or fat free/light sour cream. Use the 98% fat free cream of chicken/mushroom instead of the full fat. Use butter substitute, and replace oil with applesauce in baked goods. I personally don't like my food super salty, even before my lifestyle change, so I usually taste test and make it to my my salt level liking, but always make sure to keep salt at the table for him. When buying cheese, get the 2% milk kind....start off with little changes like this that simply disguise the health factor in their meals. If you put a plate of plain pasta and steamed veggies in front of them, they may complain, but if they don't know the difference...everyone's happier (and healthier!).