Wives of the meat & potato lover! Help!

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Replies

  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    What hearty recipes does a picky guy like most? How do I convince him to do a few pushups/situps with me before dinner? Any tips on helping the man be healthier without being condescending would rock!
    lead by example.
    you can inspire more people by doing then nagging them and forcing them to do it.
    do you. if he wants to get down on the floor with you, he will.

    Yeah, this. I'm not digging a lot of these stories about tricking your husband like a kid, and they don't sound very sustainable for any real change. Real motivation is intrinsic; people have to give a damn about fitness or it's not gonna take.

    That said: if you wanna be a Sith Lord and play dirty, then bust out some substantial dumbbells (not pink 2-pounders) and lift while he's sitting on his *kitten* watching TV. Shame can be a great negative motivator, and he'll feel like a wuss.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    We have a rule at our house..if we didn't have to cook it...eat it with a smile and say Thanks honey that was great.

    implement that rule.
  • Golferdrone
    Golferdrone Posts: 68 Member
    Grill lots of chicken. Problem solved :)
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    edited March 2016
    The only way my husband will eat 99.9% of veggies is if I blend them into a pulp and then add them to meals. If he cant see chunks of them, then he's a happy camper. He knows I do this....I'm not "sneaking" them in on him. For him its just out of sight/out of mind. He also has some textural issues with a few cooked veggies, and pureeing them eliminates the texture issues.

    This works great for things like soups, stews, sauces and things that are mixed, like meatballs, and casseroles.

    What I usually do, around 1x a month, is steam a massive batch of celery and carrots until tender. Saute a bunch of onion at the same time. Then I dump equal amounts of all 3 into the blender with about 1/4 cup of the water from the steaming. Blend until smooth. I put it in a ziplock baggie and lay it flat in the freezer until solid. When I want to cook with it, I just break off a corner and weigh it. I also label the bag with the exact gram breakdown (grams of each ingredient....total grams and calories per 100g..and what I named the recipe in MFP so I can easily add it to new recipes as I cook).

    I also do batches of pureed spinach, cauliflower, zuchinni/summer squash and pureed bell peppers, but those I keep to 1 ingredient purees, because they don't always work with a recipe. I find that celery, carrots and onion pretty much go with anything I'm making.

    Its not much, but considering he will only willingly eat steamed broccoli, fried potatoes, canned green beans and canned corn.....its better than nothing!

    As far as meal suggestions go...I cook for me and the kids. If he eats it, great. If not, not my problem. He always sits with us and dishes out a serving anyways and pushes it around. Our kids are too young to notice hes not actually eating but old enough to question why hes not having dinner, lol.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    As far as getting him more on board...you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink!

    He has to be ready. Be supportive of any efforts he makes towards a healthier life. Keep healthy options he enjoys in the house. Lead by example.

    Thats really all you can do.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Try a new recipe each week. With that recipe, serve a different veggie prepared in a different way. He may not like it, but it gives you both something new to try and you might find ideas for future meals.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    mkakids wrote: »
    The only way my husband will eat 99.9% of veggies is if I blend them into a pulp and then add them to meals. If he cant see chunks of them, then he's a happy camper. He knows I do this....I'm not "sneaking" them in on him. For him its just out of sight/out of mind. He also has some textural issues with a few cooked veggies, and pureeing them eliminates the texture issues.

    This works great for things like soups, stews, sauces and things that are mixed, like meatballs, and casseroles.

    What I usually do, around 1x a month, is steam a massive batch of celery and carrots until tender. Saute a bunch of onion at the same time. Then I dump equal amounts of all 3 into the blender with about 1/4 cup of the water from the steaming. Blend until smooth. I put it in a ziplock baggie and lay it flat in the freezer until solid. When I want to cook with it, I just break off a corner and weigh it. I also label the bag with the exact gram breakdown (grams of each ingredient....total grams and calories per 100g..and what I named the recipe in MFP so I can easily add it to new recipes as I cook).

    I also do batches of pureed spinach, cauliflower, zuchinni/summer squash and pureed bell peppers, but those I keep to 1 ingredient purees, because they don't always work with a recipe. I find that celery, carrots and onion pretty much go with anything I'm making.

    Its not much, but considering he will only willingly eat steamed broccoli, fried potatoes, canned green beans and canned corn.....its better than nothing!

    As far as meal suggestions go...I cook for me and the kids. If he eats it, great. If not, not my problem. He always sits with us and dishes out a serving anyways and pushes it around. Our kids are too young to notice hes not actually eating but old enough to question why hes not having dinner, lol.

    He only likes canned green beans?? Wow, that's rather unusual considering canned veggies tend to taste worse than fresh or frozen.

    And a question: If there are some veggies he likes that are good, like the broccoli or green beans, what's wrong with eating them as your veggie all the time? I mean, some people want variety, but I don't see what's wrong with eating the same 3 veggies all the time if that's what you like. At least he's eating them! ^^;
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    We eat lots of meat and potatoes...with a green vegetable.
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    edited March 2016
    dubird wrote: »
    He only likes canned green beans?? Wow, that's rather unusual considering canned veggies tend to taste worse than fresh or frozen.

    That's subjective, no? The juice they come canned in is nice & salty already.
    what's wrong with eating them as your veggie all the time? I mean, some people want variety, but I don't see what's wrong with eating the same 3 veggies all the time if that's what you like.

    Nothing wrong with it, but if you buy the theory of hormesis as being the best thing about eating plants (which I do)... then the goal is as wide a variety of plants poking at you in different ways as you can manage.
  • MrsLeonard2016
    MrsLeonard2016 Posts: 50 Member
    Thank you for the advice everyone!! As for making him cook or starve, I wouldn't do that to him. I'm old fashioned and enjoy doing the cooking, cleaning etc. So these days I cook one meal and make him mashed potatoes and me some broccoli for example.. I am in no way trying to force anything on him just looking for ideas to help him since he wants to be healthier.
  • MrsLeonard2016
    MrsLeonard2016 Posts: 50 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day

    Teach him how to use the Internet and point him in the direction of healthy recipes and he will do his share of cooking and be an equal partner rather than a pet

    Happily married for 16 years ...be equal partners in your lives not kitchen aids

    We are equal partners in many ways. We both work but overall he is the bread winner so I enjoy to cook and clean for him. He works way longer and way harder than me during the day so I like to take care of the home and him during the evening. I do not see that as him being my pet. I see that as he works hard for me so I work hard for him. Just in different ways. I did not mean for this post to turn into a "you're doing your life wrong" argument. Simply looking for advice from people who understand what I am saying. :)
  • MrsLeonard2016
    MrsLeonard2016 Posts: 50 Member
    On top of all that, I am in no way trying to force anything on him. If you had read the very first post, he came to me wanting to be healthier. I was simply looking for more ways to help him eat healthier without forcing him to eat what he does not want to eat. I did not mean for this post to turn into a huge question of if I'm being forceful or should I make him cook or go hungry.. Thank you to everyone who is in my boat and gave me some advice of any kind! I'm sorry to everyone else who feels the need to judge our lives over me asking for advice. :)
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    dubird wrote: »
    mkakids wrote: »
    The only way my husband will eat 99.9% of veggies is if I blend them into a pulp and then add them to meals. If he cant see chunks of them, then he's a happy camper. He knows I do this....I'm not "sneaking" them in on him. For him its just out of sight/out of mind. He also has some textural issues with a few cooked veggies, and pureeing them eliminates the texture issues.

    This works great for things like soups, stews, sauces and things that are mixed, like meatballs, and casseroles.

    What I usually do, around 1x a month, is steam a massive batch of celery and carrots until tender. Saute a bunch of onion at the same time. Then I dump equal amounts of all 3 into the blender with about 1/4 cup of the water from the steaming. Blend until smooth. I put it in a ziplock baggie and lay it flat in the freezer until solid. When I want to cook with it, I just break off a corner and weigh it. I also label the bag with the exact gram breakdown (grams of each ingredient....total grams and calories per 100g..and what I named the recipe in MFP so I can easily add it to new recipes as I cook).

    I also do batches of pureed spinach, cauliflower, zuchinni/summer squash and pureed bell peppers, but those I keep to 1 ingredient purees, because they don't always work with a recipe. I find that celery, carrots and onion pretty much go with anything I'm making.

    Its not much, but considering he will only willingly eat steamed broccoli, fried potatoes, canned green beans and canned corn.....its better than nothing!

    As far as meal suggestions go...I cook for me and the kids. If he eats it, great. If not, not my problem. He always sits with us and dishes out a serving anyways and pushes it around. Our kids are too young to notice hes not actually eating but old enough to question why hes not having dinner, lol.

    He only likes canned green beans?? Wow, that's rather unusual considering canned veggies tend to taste worse than fresh or frozen.

    And a question: If there are some veggies he likes that are good, like the broccoli or green beans, what's wrong with eating them as your veggie all the time? I mean, some people want variety, but I don't see what's wrong with eating the same 3 veggies all the time if that's what you like. At least he's eating them! ^^;

    Yup...only canned!


    We do eat those veggies at each meal....as the visible veggie, lol.

    Usually dinner is a main dish (with hidden veg if possible), one of the veggies off his list and another veggie that the kids and I also like.

    I also puree and add them for flavor. Can you imagine never adding onion to anything you cook, EVER? the pureed veggies add alot of flavor to the dishes too. I would normally add them chopped or sliced and sauteed....but pureed works too!
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
    I don't see where the problem is. Chicken breast, pork loin, white fish are all very lean and low cal while still being meat. I switched to ground turkey and he barely noticed. Baked potatoes with kosher salt are delicious. There is no reason to load them up with a million fatty toppings. One of my husband's favorite ways to eat potatoes is peeled, steamed, cut, and tossed with fresh parsley, kosher salt, and garlic. No butter, oil, cheese, or bacon necessary. I moved down in steps from white rice, to brown rice, and now we are switched over to bulgur and he LOVES it.

    I don't force my husband to eat whatever I am eating and I often will buy him things I have no intention of eating myself like gummi bears. Yick.