1 healthy person / 1 not so healthy person

MonicaRod · June 2009

My boyfriend and I just moved in together. I have always known he has bad eating habits ( eating jack in the box at midnight, drinking, eating until he is stuffed, etc) Before we lived together I could avoid it and make my healthy meals while he devoured Burger King.

Now that we live together, I have been cooking. I find myself cooking 2 separate meals though! One lean and healthy one for me and burgers, fried chicken, pastas for him. I've tried to sneak in a couple of healthy meals here and there but he won't have any of it. He's not over weight by any means, but he's 22 and thinks he's always going to have this metabolism.

Regardless I need help on either getting easy healthy recipes that only feed 1 person ( me ! ) or suggestions on what I can work out with my significant other.

HELP!

amymeenieminymo · June 2009

My boyfriend by no means eats healthy but I only cook one meal. A lot of it is about portion control and substituting non-healthy foods for healthy ones. For example, my main success in weightloss has just been portion control, cutting out pop except for on special occasions, stopping the mindless snacking, and eating more fruits and veggies.

That being said, most of my meals that I cook are very similar to how I cooked before, I just eat less of it. I have spaghetti once a week, you can try slipping him the whole wheat pasta, but I myself don't like it so he may notice the difference.....so I make the regular but I eat a serving size whereas my boyfriend eats about 3.

I make a lot of chicken dishes.....would your boyfriend really object to a non-breaded chicken dish? Or does it have to be breaded and fried for him to eat it? I make tuna melts....check out the recipies board, I usually find at least one new recipe each time I check them out. Also try replacing ground beef with ground turkey, replacing regular salad dressings with light, etc.

If he still refuses to eat what you make, tell him you're not a restaurant and to make his own dinner :happy:

foxyforce · June 2009

chilli isn't super high cal, and it is delicious and filling. my boyfrined and i make it all the time.

MonicaRod · June 2009

Amy-
thanks for your input, I have to start saying that " this isn't a restaurant" lol!

Portion control is the key...I didn't think about that. I could make the same dishes but eat only 1 serving of it.

I 'm going to try to squeeze in some veggies and cook with lighter products. Whats a good substitute for eggs? or cooking oil? do you use butter?

I don't want to compromise my health because he does. Puts me in a predicament.

Those tuna helpers are delicious too!! yummy!

Thanks for your help!

MonicaRod · June 2009

chilli isn't super high cal, and it is delicious and filling. my boyfrined and i make it all the time.

Any easy recipes for 2 people?

Thanks for your input!

MonicaRod · June 2009

:indifferent:

angelajiniel · June 2009

I like to make a big crockpot full of chili and then freeze it in 2 person portions. Using a higher bean to meat ratio makes it a little more healthy, so does using leaner cuts of meat. I usually use about 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 lean beef cut into tiny cubes. Also, if you use dried beans and soak them overnight before making the chili, there will be a lot less of the after affects usually associated with them

I like to soak the beans and prep everything before I go to bed. Put it all in the crockpot before I go to work in the morning and then I have a great meal waiting for me. I also like to take a little bit and eat it over a baked potato for lunch at work. Very filling and a lot of veggies can be hidden in there! If you cut up the peppers, etc. in smaller pieces, they don't know they're there. My hubby isn't a fan of anything "healthy". In fact, anything wheat is poison and I once ruined spaghetti night forever by trying to sub turkey for ground beef. But, I've learned slowly that some things do work. For instance, if I mix Italian sausage spices with the ground turkey and let that sit for a day or two before I use it in spaghetti, he'll eat it because it has more flavor.

As for other tips, Canola oil is a lower fat option for frying things. Saute with extra virgin olive oil, but that will smoke at the high temps needed for frying. I also put my oil in a spray bottle and cook using that. You use a lot less and it still does the job! One of hubby's favorite things is chicken baked in the oven. I make chicken parm this way, only I don't fry it first. Just slice it thin, coat it and bake it. Much healthier and still yummy!

chrissyh · June 2009

I would bet you can find recipes that he'll like too...

I make hamburgers at home, I just use 93% beef, for french fries - I cut up fresh potatoes in fry strips, enough for my whole family toss in 1 - 2 tablespoons of olive oil - broil each side for about 8-10 minutes - they get browned - my kids and hubby LOVE them...

tacos with 99% fat free ground turkey - he can use the cheese, etc and you can skip it if you want

make oven fried chicken

just some thoughts!

amymeenieminymo · June 2009

Amy-
thanks for your input, I have to start saying that " this isn't a restaurant" lol!

Portion control is the key...I didn't think about that. I could make the same dishes but eat only 1 serving of it.

I 'm going to try to squeeze in some veggies and cook with lighter products. Whats a good substitute for eggs? or cooking oil? do you use butter?

I don't want to compromise my health because he does. Puts me in a predicament.

Those tuna helpers are delicious too!! yummy!

Thanks for your help!

That's what I always heard from my dad growing up, if we didn't like what he cooked, we had to make a sandwhich or something. Also when he told us to clean up after ourselves it was because "it was the maids night off" ha ha.

I use eggs in any recipe that calls for it, but you could try just the whites, or even egg beaters...I think those are a little healtheir. For cooking I either use a little olive oil, or Pam spray, and for butter I only use the spray "I can't believe it's not butter".....0 calories. It's probably made from a bunch of crazy chemicals, but I ignore that and focus on the "yum butter with 0 calories" factor.:laugh:

mel_istheshit · June 2009

My fiance is very picky and has a hard time with a lot of vegetables. I just cook what I want anyway, and go with a "you don't like it you can find something else" policy. However, I do try to always make sure there is at least one thing that he will like, and I avoid the things I know he really doesn't like (or make a small portion for myself). Since we've started trying to cook at home more he's gotten much better. He will pretty much try everything and most the time he'll eat it even if it isn't his favorite. Of course, he's older and doesn't have the metabolism of a 22-year old so he's seen where those habits get you.

Good luck!

Rugbychick16 · June 2009

This is exactly how my husband & I are. Sometimes it actually makes me a little pinchy when he does things like gets a giant dipped cone at dairy queen, and there I am with my fudge bar...

What I've found is I make one main dish, but different sides. The other day I made home made hamburgers, and I made him fries, and for myself I made some steamed veggies. If he's craving pasta, I make one dish of pasta, and use portion control, filling most of my plate with salad.

We also got a juicer for Christmas, so little does he know in those fruit juices I make him in the morning, there is 2 carrots & a stalk of celery. And he doesn't need to know that....

Hope this helps!

Valtishia · June 2009

I don't know if it will help but my boyfriend changed his eating habits once he saw what was in his food.
Show him food labels and explain to hm how some of this stuff can hurt him in the long run. In the case of his fast food you may have to pull it up on the internet. Especially the sodium.... thats always the very first thing I look at on food labels. The sodium content usually decides whether I will take a look any further at the other nutrients or pass on it altogether.

I don't (and won't) cook seperate meals for my boyfriend and I. At the same time after I am full and good for the next couple hours, he will still eat more and not necessarily always healthy stuff. So what you could do is suggest having a healthy dinner with you then afterwards he can have what he wants. If you can even get him to eat healthy half of the time... its an accomplishment.

Some next to effortless changes to his part of the meal might help steer him towards healthier options too. I tend to stay away from high sodium stuff so I spice my chicken breast with cayenne and some president's choice sundried tomatoe spice. So if you spiced your meat (if you don't like it plain) and allow him bbq sauce if he wants it on his. bbq sauce can be a little high on the sodium depending on the kind you use but its alot less than something from a fast food place.

I feel like I am rambling now... lol
Hope some of this helps.

nhoffman08 · June 2009

I LOVE to cook. My husband isn't picky, but my oldest daughter is extremely picky. So, I hide the good foods in the foods she likes. For instance, I put butternut squash in her mac n cheese. She doesn't know it's there and it tastes great with more nutrients. I got the idea from the cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. Great cookbook and there are so many ways to hide the good stuff and they won't even know it's there! I've slowly integrated healthy cooking and they don't seem to notice. I use whole wheat or multigrain pastas, I mix brown and white rice, I use less butter and salt and more garlic and other seasonings. I completely agree with portion control....get a good digital food scale. I got one on ebay real cheap. Measure your pastas and meats...what a difference that makes!

Arienna · June 2009

My husband is the SAME way. For years I would do things just to appease him, NOW I cook the food if he doesn't want to eat it, he can make himself something else. My husband is thin as well but you have to remember, just because you're thin doesn't make you healthy. Whenever he'd comment to me about something I was making, I'd make sure I'd tell him how I thought the food he enjoyed was probably clogging his arteries as we speak lol, he went to get his cholesterol checked, sure enough it was high, and I'm the overweight one with normal cholesterol :laugh: What I normally do is things like mixing ground turkey with beef for burgers, if it's chili or something I use ground turkey and no beef. I always use whole grain pasta instead of white, I personally cannot tell the difference, he has never said anything about it, also using brown rice instead of white. Two huge things with my husband were drinking Whole milk and eating white bread. He now drinks skim milk and eats whole grain/low carb/high fiber bread! A huge part of it is, I want my kids to eat healthy as well. One thing I do though, is make different veggies, for instance he hates broccoli, I love it. I eat it often but I'll make him green beans or corn instead, and also he still has his junk food snacks and pop but as far as cooking goes, he eats what I make and learned not to complain.

~Ari

Oh but one more thing have him watch "Supersize me" he may get a different perspective of all that junk he's taking in!!!

Isaacsmama · June 2009

I have a similar problem ... kind of. My husband is actually deployed right now. Before he left, we were both very unhealthy. But whie hes been gone Ive totally changed the way I eat. Yay me! :bigsmile: However, he'll be coming home soon (yaya again!) and Im a bit worried. He says hes been working out, but mostly bulking up. And I know hes still eating junk. Especially with all the care packages he gets from his family. Im really worried about how his progress is going and what will happen to my resolve when he comes home. But I dont want to feel like Im trying to pry into what hes doing or be over bearing about it. Plus, hes sensitive about it. Blargh! Idk what to do. I guess just wait and see ... and try to hold my ground. :ohwell:

arewethereyet · June 2009

I would just like you to know you are setting a precedence for the rest of your lives. Here is where you start the training:laugh: :laugh:

I was such a good wifey when we married, that he does absolutely NOTHING now!! (ok, let me change that-he does the big jobs like re-roof the house, put in windows, stucco the house....so he earns his man points!!)

My point is have him help you cook. When he sees how much goes into it he may think differently.

I do certain things to help my DH work with me. I add a pat of butter to his portion, whereas with my food I use only Olive Oil...stuff like that.

But I have found many wonderful recipes that fit both his and my taste. When he wants BK or Micky Ds............he can go get some, but he hasnt had this type of burger in months!!

1 healthy person / 1 not so healthy person

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