Not so much "dieting" but healthy eating help.

[SmartieMeUp]

How the hell can I encourage OH to eat fruit and vegetables?

I've piled on a bit too much weight since being pregnant because our diets aren't exactly the best. Me and DD are having to eat what OH eats because it's too expensive and time consuming to prepare 2 completely different meals.

I'm looking at slimming world recipes and they all sound so nice and appetising. Plus it'll help me either lose a couple of pounds safely or maintain my current weight.

Everytime I shown him a meal and asked "do you like the look/sound of this?" He goes "well I won't be eating it with all that cr*p in it!"

It isn't fair on me or DD cause we both love our veg. The only thing he will eat is potatoes (jacket, mash and chips/fried) and the only time me and DD will get them is if we have a stirfry or a roast.

 

[sequeena]

Tell him to make his own! If he won't eat what you're preparing then he's perfectly capable of doing his own dinner.

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

We're the opposite, and I'm the picky one. I usually just prepare meals the way I like them, and then grill/sauté/cook the extras I don't like on the side, so they can add it to their servings. That way I'm still only making one meal, it's just that some of the ingredients are cooked in a different pan. So far it's worked for us!

I do eat some things I don't usually like if I can mask the taste with some kind of sauce/gravy/cream/etc. Too bad they aren't usually low calorie!

 

[Warby]

Tell him to make his own! If he won't eat what you're preparing then he's perfectly capable of doing his own dinner.

Yes, I agree. You are trying to eat healthy, which is a worthwhile goal. Make the healthy food and he can either eat it or make something else.

If you don't want to do that, what about making a healthy, all-in-one meal? Like, a stir fry with lots of veggies, chicken breast or lean beef, served over brown rice? Or a hearty vegetable soup with lentils or beans?

 

[SmartieMeUp]

Thanks for the replies.

I brought it up to him and he said he would rather go hungry than eat it. Which then he resorts to his bowl of peppercorn sauce and 5 slices of bread and calls that a 'meal'.

When we have a stir fry we use egg or rice noodles, with either chicken, beef, duck or pork and then mixed vegetables. I don't mind doing that as I cook the veg in a separate pan for me and DD but then OH hogs majority of the meat because there's nothing else to fill him up thus having to buy more meat.

I made cottage pie the other night, I attempted to split the dish in 2 so there was just mince on one side then added vegetables on the other, but it failed so had to be mixed together - I told OH at the last second before dishing up that it had ONLY peas and carrots in it and he's like "gee, thanks for telling me right before I eat it" then he ended up picking out the peas and carrots.

It'd just be so much easier throwing everything into one dish and serving it as it comes then scoop out the portions like these:
https://www.slimmingworld.com/recipes/chicken-jambalaya.aspx
https://www.slimmingworld.com/recipes/speedy-chicken-vegetable-rice.aspx
https://www.slimmingworld.com/recipes/black-eyed-bean-and-vegetable-chilli-bowl.aspx

Mine and DD's meals have to be bland with no flavour but a sauce and maybe meat.

He puts it down to texture more than taste, but that began when he was a child and it too stubborn to try as an adult. He won't even do it for DD's sake and she'll soon pick up on it. There's even been the odd time where I've had to blend things into a purée for him.

If he cooks, it'll be something out the freezer but in a concoction, and even then it's "how do I cook these?" or "How long do these go in for".

 

[missk1989]

Im sorry but he sounds like a child. If he is willing to go hungry then let him. He will soon change his mind and start eating. I know it sounds harsh but as you said your dd will pick up on this and that is not fair. Could the two of you eat at a separate time to your OH so she doesnt see it.

 

[sequeena]

Honestly that would drive me mad. Hats off to you for putting up with it. I'd tell him to man up.and eat it or figure out how to cook his own dinner.

 

[Spudtastic]

Wow I agree with all of the above. I know how hard it is to be tough in this kind of thing and stand up for yourself and dd because I'm a people pleaser but this would drive me barmy.
I would like to think I would put dd first and cook healthy foods and let oh make his own or go hungry.
He's not only ruining his own health but yours and dd too. As long as he gets you to cook what he likes nothing will change.
I'm lucky oh likes veg.

 

[jjgreen]

Tell him to make his own! If he won't eat what you're preparing then he's perfectly capable of doing his own dinner.

Yes! OH is perfectly capable of cooking his own meals.

You can also snack on raw veggies throughout the day to get your fill. I eat baby carrots almost daily because they are so easy and make fresh vegetable juice from time to time as well.

 

[lola_90]

I started slimming world three weeks ago and have lost 11lbs! It honestly is brilliant and I am cooking great meals for us all. Last night was coq au vin with potato, parsnip and celeriac mash. On the menu this week is chicken chow mein, macaroni cheese, steak salsa and roasties.

Who does the food shopping? I do the main shop so i control what we are getting. MyOH is Nigerian and eats a lot of traditional meat stews and rice so he either has a plate of whatever we are having or sorts himself out.

It's hard as I definitely wouldn't want to cook two meals but it's unfair that you and LO aren't eating as well as you would want to. My OH is a big meat eater but I try to buy cheaper cuts like Turkey mince or thigh, lamb neck for stew etc. I find chicken breasts really expensive so don't buy them a lot but have been using a lot of Turkey steaks.

 

[OmarsMum]

Cook for 2 or 3 days and keep leftovers in the fridge, DS is the picky one at home, I cook separate meals, there ks always a salad or a soup in the fridge, I prepare my salad without dressing and I keep it in an airtight container in the fridge, I also prepare blended veggie soups. Starting any meal with a salad or a soup is healthy for your and your daughter.

You can also look into lentils and beans dishes, they are nutritious and healthy. Adding veggies to tomato sauce and blending it is also an easy way to hide veggies.

When we dont have veggies (rarely) in a meal DS gets a green smoothie to make sure he gets more nutrition in his diet.

Strews is another way to add veggies to meals, look into Mediterranean dishes they are mainly stews served with rice, DH hates steamed or grilled veggies but he loves veggies in stews. Dips like salsa, homous, guacamole, etc are also nice, you can add cooked beetroots or avocados to homous

Lentil soup and potato soups are yummy, both are blended soups and you can add many veggies to them.

 

[jd83]

I think he's been pretty childish to outright refuse to eat if you don't make it the way he likes it. There are more people than just himself to think about when meal planning. There has to be compromise. yes, sometimes you can make things to his taste. But other times they can be to suit you and dd. That shouldn't be that big a deal, tbh, and for him to say he'd go hungry rather than eat it that way is just ridiculous.

I cook things to suit everyone's tastes at different times throughout the week. Sometimes I make things that Dh loves, and I may not be a huge fan of it, but I eat it anyways. Sometimes its things I love, and DH eats it even if its not his favorite. Sometimes its a kids' favorite night. No matter what, its still a meal. If its something one of us outright hates though, that person knows where the kitchen is and how to make an alternative meal, like a sandwich, lol.

I like OmarsMom suggestion of having soups and salad mix ready in the fridge for starters; those are good ways to get those servings in to a meal.

 

[OmarsMum]

I wouldnt call it childish, I am a health coach and I have many clients who have issues with certain textures, it is sensory. I work on the things they like and add nutrition to them, I do the same with my son and husband, I am not picky but I prefer raw foods unlike my son and husband. The way food is cooked makes a huge difference to accepting new tastes.

Today I cooked a soup with buckwheat, sweet potato, pumpkins and onion, my husband doesnt eat any of those separately, but he likes lentil soup, buckwheat tastes like red lentils but it is higher in protein and it has less carbs, I blended the soup and he didnt even notice what was in the soup. I usually cook lentils with carrots to give it some sweetness, the sweet potato and pumpkins gave a similar texture and taste to carrots.

I dont show my hunsband the ingredients, I just experiment with different veggies, and I put the dish on the table, I always have an alternative when I cook something new but I encourage him to take a taste

 

[jd83]

Oops, I think I missed the part where it mentioned it being a texture thing, but I just read back and see that now. I think I'd still find that pretty frustrating, tbh, since his example is obviously going to influence your children at some point, but at this point in his life, I'd say its not likely something he'll change or even be able to change if he tried. With that in mind, probably what may work would be to fix the same meal, but cook it in 2 pans/baking dishes; one with veg added for you and DD, and one smaller dish without those items for your DH. Maybe bake his in one of those personal sized crock dishes? I don't know, just a thought. The only dish I've ever had to do something like that with is chili. My DH hates kidney beans, and flat out will NOT eat it if they are in there. So when I make chili, I make the majority with kidney beans added, but before adding them, I scoop out several portions for him into another pot on the stove.