Last night Tim got home, as I was preparing dinner, and declared he didn’t feel well. Here’s how the conversation went:
T: I feel awful.
Me: Really? I’m sorry. What hurts?
T: My stomach. I ate McDonald’s for lunch.
Me: Why?
T: I was desperate. This is horrible.
I’m pretty sure I heard a chorus of angels singing as Tim equated feeling terrible with eating McDonald’s. You see, Tim hasn’t always been the eater he is today.
Early in our marriage we attended the wedding of one of his high school friend’s that I’d never met. It was shortly after my mom’s cancer diagnosis and I was a vegetarian at the time. His friend remarked, “Wow, how is it being a vegetarian and having to cook for someone who doesn’t eat vegetables?” I replied that he did eat vegetables, even if there were only a limited few that he liked. Surprised, he answered, “Really? I don’t think I saw him eat one vegetable all through elementary school, middle school, or high school.”
Getting him to the place where he will happily eat all the meals you see on here has taken time and effort. In our early dating days, his pantry was filled with Ramon noodles and Hamburger Helper, and those were the meals he preferred. If Tim can change his eating preferences, any husband can. Check out these tips to help you break your picky-eater husband:
1. Give it time.
Tim and I have been married almost five years now, and he has only gotten to the place where he’ll eat whatever I make him (within reason) in the last year or so. It didn’t happen overnight. I suggest starting with one or two healthier meals a week and working from there. When you find healthy meals that he enjoys, make them often. In time you will find more and more meals that he likes and before you know it all of your meals will be healthy.
2. Make healthy foods taste good.
Get acquainted with your spice cupboard. Become intimate friends, because they are key in making healthy foods taste delicious. Not everyone appreciates the flavors of plain vegetables, but add a decadent sauce and they become more appealing. And yes, decadent sauces can be healthy. If you need some inspiration, a few cookbooks I like that have decadent, yet nutritious recipes include Vegan Yum Yum
, Clean Food
, and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
.
3. Pull on his heart strings.
Our kiddos are highly influenced by what we eat. Remind him that he is a role model for your children and what he eats is going to have a direct impact on how they view food. What he eats will influence the food choices they make later in life. Be dramatic. Tell him the health of his children is in his hands!
4. Knowledge is power.
What he doesn’t know can kill him. As I learned more and more about nutrition and its powerful impact on our health, especially long-term, I shared this knowledge with Tim. I made it clear how much I want us to both be healthy and vibrant in our 80s, but that doesn’t happen by luck. Genetics will only get you so far.
Sometimes it takes him hearing it from another source to really sink in. A few months ago Tim came to me after reading an article in his Men’s Health magazine. “Did you know processed meats are bad for you?” Duh. I had been telling him that for years. He doesn’t ask me to buy him lunch meat anymore.
If your husband isn’t listening to you, see if you can get him to hear it from a different source, whether it be a magazine or doctor or trusted website.
Tim was in bed the rest of the night last night, certain the McDonald’s had done him in. I woke up not feeling well either, so it’s unlikely that it actually was the Mickey D’s, but I can’t help but still be grateful that he is in a place where he understands the connection between the food he eats and how he feels. He understands that he once had to regularly pop antacids, but doesn’t now that his eating habits have changed. When he does eat processed junk, he feels poorly and knows why. Your husband can get there, too. Just give it time and don’t give up.
Is your husband a picky eater? Do you have any tips that have helped break him of his picky eating?
well my husband always ask what is that ? when im cooking something different and when I say the name of it , he is like a toddler no , im not eating that . and then I end up making what he likes all the time and there is no talking to him because his mother ingrained in him that he did not have to eat , anything he did not like or want to eat . He wont even do a pure fruit smoothie made with just fruit , water and ice . It is a battle all the time . His mother made things so difficult for me and I did not do that to my sons who are grown now and their wives always tell me thank you so much for not raising a picky eater .So tell me what am I supposed to do when I fix it and I get a no im not eating that .
My husband at time can be picky like he doesnt like meatloaf says its not meaty enough for him, whatever! says he wants a pot roast but wants it made in the oven not crockpot. Sorry If I have to make it I am making it the way I want to make it and thats the crockpot!!
I think your bbq veggie meatloaf is the magical, convincing-transition-food into healthiness. If you can make that, and your guy likes it and he doesn’t miss the meat, you know you’ve got at least two feet in the water. He’ll see how wrong he was!
Personally, I think mashed sweet potatoes are just as magical. It’s hard to believe sometimes that something so good can be so good for you!
I tried the sweet chili lime tofu a few days ago and it was delicious! My boyfriend also enjoyed it, but I think he would of prefered the meal with a bit more of the sweet & tangy sauce.
When he’s on his own he usually ends up eating a pizza or whatever is around, but when I cook he’s always willing to eat almost any and everything healthy. The next step I guess, is to inspire him to do some nutritious cooking on his own… 😉
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s one of my husband’s favorite meals. That’s great that your boyfriend is willing to eat whatever you prepare. I’d say he’s a keeper! 🙂 Tim will, too, but it’s taken some time.
As a guy who has never aquired a love, or even a like, for almost all vegetables (save for those wonderful starchy ones like corn and potatoes), I’ve been working to cure myself of picky eating. I do almost all of the family cooking and I’m aware that my pickiness affects my wife and daughter’s choices. I love surfing blogs about issues like this because the provide such wonderful and creative options to get those good things into us. We’ve become addicted to ‘Green’ smoothies of late and have them for breakfast at least 5 times a week. We’re working to add more whole grains. And, the big one is learning to make homemade versions of pre-packaged foods. We can control the ingredients and the flavor. And a little pureed carrot, cauliflower or spinach can easily work its way into the dish. Thanks for the post. Just know that it’s not all guys being pushed to eat healthier by their gals, in some cases, it’s the other way around.
Thanks for giving the male perspective, Erik! 🙂
Great post! I have a very healthy friend who loves to cook and her boyfriend is a picky eater. In fact, I have come across quite a few picky eaters over the last few years. It’s quite a problem, expecially now that more and more evidence is coming out that food is either medicine OR poision for our bodies. I am going to send my friend here to read this posting!
Thanks, Wendy! You are so right about how food can either help us or harm us.
We are meatless at home (I’m meatless all the time) and my husband is fine with it since he’s seen how much better he feels. He doesn’t have much time to exercise between a pretty demanding job and spending time with me and the kids, so he depends a lot on diet to stay healthy and lean. Last week his office did a big health screening and he had the best cholesterol and triglyceride numbers out of his whole group. The next day I got an email from the wife of one of his coworkers asking for vegetarian recipes, as her husband talked to mine and decided they needed to try some new meals. Love it!
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I love that Michelle! Keep spreading the word! 🙂
My husband is not too much of a picky eater, but he is a meat man. I have to have some form of meat for him so I always try to make the best choices available. He is a hunter so we do a lot of venison dishes, as well as fish in the spring/summer. At least I can take comfort in the fact that it is lean, healthy meat.
I don’t think Tim ate one meatless meal before meeting me. 🙂
Great tips! My husband isn’t super picky, but it is sometimes hard to find meals that make him happy AND make me happy!
So true! Even when the meals are healthy, Tim and I have different tastes. I’ve had to work to find a balance of what we both like. Not to mention the 2 year old!!
Oh, how I can relate! My husband isn’t picky, either. However, his first choice for lunch or snacks is fast food and junk food. We’ve had many disagreements, shall we say, about this very subject. Me, pleading with him, to make better choices. Once I started refusing to buy his beloved processed lunch meats and started faithfully packing his lunch for him that included a fruit, protein, vegetable, and homemade treat (carb–mostly no sugar/very low sugar). He did admit to me that he feels better eating this way. We still struggle a bit about what to pack for him. But, all in all, I think he is finally seeing the light. We all drink our daily green smoothie, too. And, that has helped him with cravings.
That he knows he feels better eating healthier is a great step!
My husbands’s not a picky eater, but he does love fast food and junk food. I’m constantly working on him to make better choices. It’s very hard when fast food being easy has been ingrained in his head since childhood.
Kind of like the way it’s ingrained in Tim that cake made from a boxed mix is better than homemade. 🙂 UGH.
What a cute post! Love all the tips too 🙂