Married to a junk food junkie

Does your husband like meatloaf? I'm really fond of this recipe, and make it a lot -- very healthy, low in calories compared to regular meatloaf, and tastes (IMO) better than any regular meatloaf recipe I've had: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/turkey-and-quinoa-meatloaf.

I am not a short order cook. When I make a meal, the family can either eat it or make themselves something else.

Also, V8 or store-brand knockoff stuff is better than nothing, and there's a lot to be said for it being the tomato juice that it predominantly is. You can down it like shot. I don't like it, but I down a cup daily.

Maybe a daily multivitamin too if you're not taking one; they're dirt-cheap and good insurance against dying from weird malnutrition issues at least.

my husband and I eat very few common foods. I prefer poultry, he prefers red meat. I prefer leafy veggies, he wants potatoes and corn. He wants fried, I like grilled.

what I do is find a common set of seasonings that will taste good on anything, chop some potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, and something like a round steak and season it. put it in a baking dish and cover with foil. same time, I put some chicken or turkey in a separate dish with beets, asparagus, onion, and peppers-use the same seasoning, cover with foil. bake them both until they're done. bam. two pans, two dinners, basically the same cooking.

if all else fails, we have spaghetti.

Be glad you only have one person in your home to appease. I have a spouse and 3 children. My middle child is very picky. I don't eat cheese. My teenager eats almot anything. My husband wont do healthy 7 nights a week and only my toddler eats everything. What we do and it works well for us. Is always makes sure there is atleast one thing per meal everyone likes. I cook 3 or 4 nights a week the lean protein, rosted veggie combo with some alternative carb for them and he cooks the other nights of the week and I usually just limit my portions.
Sit down. Make a meal plan with him. Be willing to compromise and just eat less of something that may not be as good for you. I will adjust my workout on a day I know hubby is making beefy rice with mashed potatoes for dinner because otherwise a whole day's worth of calories is shot on one meal. You got this. Meal plan it really helps out.

chunt87 wrote: »

Well tonight im trying some roasted non-green veggies and a ninja healthy meatloaf. I like the bbq veggies idea and I have thrown in veggies with hb helper with success. I make a loaded broccoli chicken mac and cheese without much mac or cheese with success too. I also have loaded tacos with corn and bean salsa with success too.

that sounds like what I go through with my toddler..

if he's really not giving you anything to go on, don't worry about it. he's a grown man. he can either give you some ideas or eat what you make for him. without fail, any time I ask my SO what he wants to eat he says "i don't care." I know he doesn't like some of the things I make and I know he likes when I switch it up. I try to make what he likes and find a new recipe to try a couple times a week. If he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to eat it. I do make a note of the things he goes back for seconds of, meals where he literally licks his plate clean, and the stuff he doesn't finish.

He doesn't like vegetables all that much either; every once in awhile I will suggest he eat more but most of the time I just let him go. He also snacks on ramen, cereal, sour patch kids, ice cream bars..stuff like that daily. He likes his snacks. our daughter is the same..so I do the same for her.

good luck.

chunt87 wrote: »

Well tonight im trying some roasted non-green veggies and a ninja healthy meatloaf. I like the bbq veggies idea and I have thrown in veggies with hb helper with success. I make a loaded broccoli chicken mac and cheese without much mac or cheese with success too. I also have loaded tacos with corn and bean salsa with success too.

It sounds absolutely awfull to try and bs a grown man with broccoli chicken mac and cheese without the mac and cheese part.....

I definitely relate. Hubby loves the concept of healthy eating but often fails in execution. He won't come out and say he hates a meal but he'll mumble around it and break out the beans.

He also conned me in to the cooking when we were negotiating chores. Ah well, I haven't touched a washing machine in over ten years so there are compensations.

I experiment a lot and I ask him to at least try it. I flag recipes that he likes and they get a repeat. He hates fish but he scarfed down breaded and fried cod halfway through before he realized it wasn't chicken. I have a beef curry in tomato sauce that he loves, so zesty, but he insists I never feed him curry. Little does he know.

Slowly we change habits. Ten years ago it was pancakes on Saturday morning with bacon, eggs, and jam. Now it is protein pumpkin pancakes with Greek yogurt and partially defrosted strawberries.

We have hamburger helper in the cupboard when he craves food he recognizes.

He's a Chocoholic, I am not. The junk food in the grocery line is for him, not me. The junk food gets hidden away and the healthy choices are displayed prominently.

I make a salad every couple days placed in a prominent place in the fridge and harp on him to finish it off while it is still fresh. My fitness instructor suggested I jazz it up with more colorful vegetables, sunflower seeds, etc. and that definitely spikes his interest.

If he gets lazy and asks me to serve up his plate, it gets filled with a lot more vegetables than he would take.

If you do the grocery shopping: don't buy the crap foods. And if doesn't eat what you cook: tough crap. This ain't Burger King. Eat what I cook or make a PBJ.

Or maybe your a terrible cook. (Srsly. Not trying to be mean here.) Salt enhances flavors, so unless you or he have a cardiac problem, why cut out salts? Use healthy fats, etc., etc. Healthy eating =/= bland foods. Roast veggies, it caramelizes the natural sugars and makes them sweeter. Don't trim the fats off meats, that's where the flavor is! (Don't EAT the fat, that's just gross.) When using cheeses, try sharper cheeses, such as parmigiano reggagio (sp?) which have more flavor but are lower calorie. Big flavors can be accomplished and make healthy eating a pleasure.

dbmata wrote: »

blktngldhrt wrote: »

dbmata wrote: »

chunt87 wrote: »

But my husband is a junk food junkie.

My wife is a scientist. Our spouses both have their crosses to bear it seems.

In what other ways are you having basic communication challenges with your husband?

whats wrong with being a scientist?? ..asks a scientist.

Imagine when one is married to an artist who knows everything. As I said, she has a cross to bear.

Now you have requisite insight into what I was really getting at in my post.

...im both artist and scientist.

As long as he eats it and doesn't complain, I wouldn't worry about it. I know you would wish for him to be healthier, but that's a choice he has to make for himself.