Husband is a Picky Eater!!

Teresa - posted on 04/26/2012

I am at my wits end when trying to keep my family and husband happy at meal time..My children grew up eating a variety of meals. My husband who is from England is very picky about what he will eat. Since he doesn't like any type of sauce, he will only eat beef, chicken,or fish. with either plain rice, french fries, or mashed potatoes, for veggies string beans or cabbage. He wont touch any type of salad weather a green one or things like potato or pasta salads. He wont touch anything with the name BBQ in it. With eggs he will only eat them one way. He doesn't like any type of soup..except canned. I have always enjoyed cooking meals making everything from scratch even my soups..I have been told that I am a excellent cook by many. But now the idea of cooking isn't as appealing as it use to be..because three times a day I end up cooking two meals the same time. One for me and my kids and another for him.



My oldest boy is starting to get upset about it. He had cooked a fantastic meal one time Pot roast with potatoes and carrots cooked in the broth. My husband wouldn't touch any of it because of all of it being cooked in the beef broth. I ended up having to make him rice and chicken.



At family get together s BBQ's along with pasta, potato, and fruit salads are the norm. Also BBQ beans etc...He will not touch any of it and then complains that he is hungry.."why cant anyone make anything he likes"?



I just don't know what to do anymore as i said i no longer enjoy cooking and dread meal time.



Does anyone have advice?

Tanya - posted on 05/27/2010

After almost 18 years of marriage and going through the same situation, I recently started doing what Bethany Eaton suggested in her post. I've started Thrive! Weightloss and decided to cook meals according to my "new lifestyle" ONLY. Yes, we have protein, but rarely his red meat. After about two weeks of constant complaining he's started cooking his OWN meals or eating what I cook. AMAZING!!!! ALSO, I cook only the correct servings needed per person, per meal - WHOA- - he doesn't like it at all! I make each person's plate, also. I do the grocery shopping too :)--- see where this is going... BUT you have to continually be strong! It's like a rebellious teenager and your the mom- terrible I know- BUT unfortunately the truth. God b w/ u!

Rachel - posted on 05/27/2010

You can't change your husband or his habits, the only thing you can do is communicate your feelings and make sure your son is eating healthy. Just because your husband is drinking soda doesn't mean you have to give your 18 mo. old soda, but you have to be firm. Don't give him a taste sometimes, and then other times say he can't have it. If your husband is giving him unhealthy foods, you should talk to him about your feelings of healthy eating habits for your son. If you want an example, you be the example. Cook the foods you want in your home, and usually everyone else will follow. Plan healthy meals and make out your grocery list, and be mindful to not completely cut out your hubby (get him his frozen pizza or whatever) but keep meal time together with a variety of healthy foods. And remember, as long as you are eating healthy MOST of the time, then you are doing fine! Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 05/26/2010

i tell my hubby that if you dont want to at least try what ive made, your free to have a bowl of cereal or a pb&j sandwich. and bring up the cost too... like Jen said. all men truly care about is $$

Jennifer - posted on 05/26/2010

tell him to compromise! That is what I had to do with my husband. He never ate any kind of veggies before me. When he was younger, his mom never made him eat anything he didn't want and she continued that through adulthood (he was 27 when we met and still living at home with his mom making his dinner and breakfast and packing his lunch!) He was so bad, that when he would order a burger at mcdonalds, he would tell them to make it without any veggies. At first I tried to cook to please him, but then I decided that since I was the one working my butt off in the kitchen, then I should at least want to eat the meal too. So, I finally told him that I was going to make healthier meals. I told him that he really needed to try the veggies, to teach my kids (from a previous marriage) to eat right. I told him we would still have spaghetti and that other stuff sometimes, but not all the time. After he agreed, he tried them, and guess what, he liked them! Now, he begs me to cook balls (the loving name my kids gave to brussle sprouts hahaha) all the time. With the whole drinks thing, if he doesn't throw too much of a fit about it, try to explain how much that stuff costs. A lot of men don't care about nutrients, but they do care about money. Tell him you will buy a little each time you go grocery shopping, but to cut back on the bill, you aren't going to buy quite as much. Tell him that if he gets thristy, then there is still water at the sink.

Ashley - posted on 05/26/2010

So funny...I was reading through here last night and my husband ended up gettin on the laptop right after and read through everything. now he says today is the last day of soda and he's cutting back on his junk food. Guess we'll see how long that lasts :)

Lillie - posted on 05/16/2010

tell him to fix his own dinner if he doesn't like what you cooked. you are the one that is the one to teach your child most and if he doesn't want to help by eating healthier then he should eat by himself. cooking seperate dinners is not an option.

Tabitha - posted on 05/16/2010

Wow, Your situation sounds a lot like mine! My children's father drinks a case of pepsi a week. Yes that is 24 cans minimum in a week. It's gross considering he is only home about 4 hours. I do all the cooking and he is a huge meat eater himself. Mine hate tomotoes. Only eats potatoes. And everything I make, he takes back into the kitchen and adds cheese. I make steak and he slathers CheeseWhiz all over it! At first it drove me crazy and I was just as concerned as you with my boys' eating habits. Turns out, they eat like me! I cook everything, not fearing the waste. Set it all on the table and ask them to try a bite of each food then get piles of what they think is best. Mine make HUGE piles of veggies! Now one does enjoy the cheese and once in a while ask for sprinkle chees (shredded) on top. I've found lots of recipies that we can all enjoy. If you'd like any suggestions just let me know!

Bethany - posted on 05/16/2010

there are cookbooks designed for kids, with ways to hide veges in pasta sauces and things that you could try out on him. You can hide all sorts of things in tomato pasta sauce, and in lasagne and in gravy if you process in first. Like zuccini, carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, pretty much anything can be pureed, then mixed in to a sauce or a pasta bake. You can mash sweet potato along with the potato, and with gravy, you wouldn't even taste it.



As far as setting an example is concerned, start with yourself, and make what you want to eat, and leave him to boring meat. Your kid is young enough to want the exciting, colourful food. You can even just put a little dash of grape juice in his water and it'll go purple for him. Your husband is a grown man, if he wants to die young of a heart condition, that's his decision.



Let him know to stop blaming mummy and take responsibility for his own body and his own son.



I agree, if you're doing the shopping, then you make the culinary decisions.

Louise - posted on 05/13/2010

My husband is the total opposite he prefers to eat a cooked roast dinner than anything else and even in the summer in 30 degrees I am in the kitchen cooking roast beef and veg. All I can advise is to disguise vegetables in pastas. Grate carrot or courgette into the fried onion and ground beef mixture before adding the tomatoe sauce. If he can not see it he will not complain! Make your own pizza topping of roasted vegetables, red onion, peppers, courgette, eggplant and any others you fancy. Just drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for about 45 mins until vegetables are soft and put them on a pizza base cover with ham and cheese and again he will not notice. Add swede or sweet potatoes or carrots to mashed potatoes. You need to train your husbands palete. Introduce things slowly. You are right to think that your son will only want to eat what you do so a healthy diet is important to all of you!

Ashley - posted on 05/13/2010

I've tried educating my husband a lil bit but he seems to really not care. I tell him even though he's skinny that doesn't mean he's healthy. I don't see how he can possibly be healthy anyways b/c he doesn't eat a very healthy diet. Some nights he'll eat a whole bag of potato chips w/dip. He drinks 2 or more sodas a day...just the other night i asked him why he doesn't get a glass of milk to drink with dinner. You know what he said?! Who drinks milk with dinner? You are the only person I know who drink milk with dinner. Apparently his family has tea with dinner. UGH drives me crazy!! Thank you for the Shepards Pie recipe it sounds super delicious I will def. be trying it soon. My husband really does need to watch what he eats and does b/c my 18 mo. old does everything his daddy does. I mean everything! My husband belches my son is trying to do the same thing! Blending veggies I think will be the only way I can sneak them in. I used cream of mushroom soup in something one time and my husband noticed the tiny specs of mushroom in it so he started picking them out. It's seriously pathetic the way he is about food and it drives me crazy!!! Oh anybody have any recipes dealing with tofu? I've never tried it but read that you can make that stuff taste pretty much like anything...and it's healthier than fatty meat. And if you have any other good recipes with veggies blended into it I'm all ears!! :) Thanks!!! :) :)

Kelli - posted on 05/12/2010

I was like your husband when I got married (although not quite so bad) but I never ate veggies, but he was like, come on just try it, and you know what? I love broccolli, spinach, yellow squash, and a few others.... I'm still picky. But I still pretend to eat the good stuff so my son will. I would say talk to your hubby about the situation. Tell him that you don't want your son to have poor eating habits, he should support that, even unhealthy eaters know that veggies are best! Tell him you want him to at least make an effort to eat the good stuff in front of your son, if he absolutely needs to make a $1 double cheeseburger run after the little one is in bed so be it. But I'll bet that if he at leasts start tasting some of that stuff then he'll like it. You can't really change your husband, he's a grown man, however tell him you DO NOT want his habits being passed along. Also, you could do like Rachel said and look up good casserole dishes that include vegges, if you put seasonings and sauces and stuff on veggies, they can't even taste it. I like allrecipes.com they have tons of recipes for anything your looking to cook. Also try ground turkey instead of beef, and do shake n bake instead of fried, it's a little healthier. Good luck, and hey if you need any good recipes, let me know, I love to cook!

Rachel - posted on 05/12/2010

how about trying to educate your husband on the damage he is doing not only to his own health, but to the future health of his child. not to mention, just because your husband has decided to take this stance on food, he's forcing his son to take the same stances. It's ultimately his decision to eat or not eat what's for dinner, but it's ultimately up to you as the grocery shopper to keep the right foods at your house. My husband is extremely finicky, but I was a chef, so I made it clear to him that food was a priority to me, and out of respect, he tries new things. You just have to make sure that when you get him to try new things, they have to be knock your socks off yummy, so get a good recipe, or let me know and I'll happily share some of mine with you.

you can also hide nutritious foods in some dishes that he won't even realize!

for example:

easy shepards pie

1-2lbs steak cut into cubes
1/2 yellow onion diced
5-6 garlic cloves, smashed and diced
1 cream of mushroom soup
3-4 carrots diced
1 cup peas
4-6 potatoes (make in to mashed)
a dash of red wine if you wish

carmelize the onions and garlic, add the soup, carrots and peas, when the carrots are tender, put all in to the blender and puree. brown steak, then add soup mixture. add cornstarch if you'd like to make it nice and thick, and salt/pepper to taste. put in pie pan, top with mash and cook until just golden brown and bubbly.

this was one of the first one's I tried on my husband, and the kids couldn't believe that they liked it with mushrooms and onions- usually a dealbreaker- and now they ask for it...

I would replace the kool aid with crystal light, and tell your husband it's because you love him and want him to be around for your grandkids that you're doing it.