Encouraging your significant other to eat more healthy foods
 

Mr. Tau is a very picky eater. He pretty much only eats chicken, potatoes (mashed or fried), burgers, meatloaf and pasta. Not a lot of fruits or veggies (drinks juice though). Drinks a lot of soda pop (especially Coke...that's where he gets his caffeine from). Any ideas how he can widen his palate?

fruits and veggies are for petite clothes-wearing suckas.

ok, seriously. if you do the cooking in the house, then just change how you cook it.

chicken: fried -->baked, broiled
potatoes: fried --> baked (well theyre pretty starchy, so just cut down)
burgers:beef --> turkey, grill them instead of frying.
pasta: tomato/alfredo sauce-->olive oil and spices. or, use tomato chunks (like in the can, or fresh tomatoes) instead of tomato sauce.

as for fruits and veggies, the only way i eat them is if theyre already cleaned and prepared for me to eat. so maybe its worth the $ to buy fruit/veggies already sliced and packaged.

and juice can be just as bad as soda. let him keep the coke, just throw some water in the mix.

now, if its a fend-for-yourself kinda house, well, he's gonna eat what he wants. and to be really honest, he's gotta want to eat better. you just cant go sticking broccoli and stuff in his face.

(realize that it is almost 2am, and im talkin out my @ss. im not in the best shape and i pretty much eat whatever. so take it how you see it)

Why you do you want to change him? Maybe he doesn't want to change. You can't make someone change their tastes in food. Take it from a picky eater who is the child of an enormously picky eater father. I've branched out in my own time.

Just shame him in public when he orders. Eventually he'll become anorexic.

Only try to change his eating habits if you wanna scare him off. Seriously, if you start trying to change this about him, he's going to freak out and think that you're going to want to change more things later on in the relationship and will eventually bolt.

Wait, isn't this Mr. Tau... I don't think he's going to bolt

The only solution is make the meals and only the meals. I was another kid raised by a picky father (and a mom who TRIED to get me to eat green things) and I don't eat veggies because he didn't.

Prepare a meal full of healthy foods for him. Give him options of fruit and vegetables and hope he eats them.

Some guys might think that if you're trying to change their eating habits now, then later on you're going to try to change things like haircut, clothes, friends, etc. Not all guys feel this way obviously, but some do.

I was only suggesting that, while I don't know how long Taualumna and Mr. Tau have been married, I don't think that anyones going to run for the hills over this one :)

They're not married. That's why I suggest she err on the side of caution. Once they're married however, it's a whole other ballgame. ;)

My bad! :)

I don't see much wrong with this. I grew up an extremely picky eater, and still am to a degree. My family members (with food) and some friends (with alcoholic drinks, lol) persuade me to try new things. I'm glad that they do, because some of the things I end up liking. And what's any fun to have a boyfriend (girlfriend or platonic friend) who won't try any new things?

Just introduce these foods slowly and make them tasty. Don't give him boiled broccoli w/ salt. Instead stir fry some broccoli w/ olive oil or something and throw some spices in there. Bland shit like oatmeal and apples taste really good with a little sugar and cinnamon.

I agree with Dionysus. My Fiance had eating habits that weren't the healthiest. I just slowly introduced some new foods, some he likes and some he doesn't. I didn't force him to eat them and there was other food in the house that he could have. He's introduced me to foods that I wouldn't have tried before as well.

Soak fruit in vodka.

MMMMMMMMMMMM delicious.

Some people will get VERY annoyed if you try to force things upon them. I will admit that I learned to like things by someone saying "here, try a bite". But that's different that totally trying to change someone's eating habits, particularly if they KNOW they do not like something. It will piss them off and annoy them to no end. I've had umpteen boyfriends try to get me to drink wine, for instance (which I can't stand, and never have liked). None of them have succeeded. One actually held a glass of sangria to my lips until I took a sip (needless to say he's long gone).

There's a difference between introducing someone to new things and trying to force them to change something so major.

Just like you can't help that you're short, he can't really help that he's a picky eater.

Taualumna,

just do what I do. Beat the ho like they owe you money.


What? WHAT? WHAT!

yeah thats what I thought. Punk Busters!!

What's that Bobby? She beats YOU. Yeah, you're gonna' get it twice as bad tonight as soon as she sees your post.

No no that was my last girlfriend. I asked her to drink wine. She refused. So I got sangria and put it at her lips. Then she actin like she was Christie from saved by the bell and put me in a full nelson . Jesus christ, that hurt man. Needless to say, we broke up after that

lol.

So I told my girl she needed to lose three pounds so she could get to 110 and she got pretty upset about it. I told her I was looking for a breeder and all.

I think she's just too sensitive at times.


lol, seriously though my girlfriend eats better than I do. I workout often but I eat like crap and I really want to change that.

Hey wait, I have an idea. Tell him you don't want the, um, byproducts of unhealthy food when you, um, you know. That's how I've been turning guys into vegetarians since 1993.

JUST KIDDING.

NOT UNTIL MARRIAGE. TRUE LOVE WAITS.

I had another idea! Plate sharing at restaurants. Both of you order something with plans to share. That way maybe he only tries a bite, but he should at least be able to try that!

You're all pretty gay.

I agree with adpiucf though. I publicly shame any girl I'm with if her body shows more than skin or bone.

-Rudey

Great idea! :) Thanks

Umm...how long have you two been dating?

9 months.

I've been with my guy a considerably longer time, and no way would I do this. It sounds way too motherly. I'm his lover, not his mother. When I cook for us, he eats everything, but that's about it. This early in the game, it's a bit off-putting. If it's an issue of health, it's one thing--but if you want him to try food that he's not comfortable with because you think it's classy or sophisticated, that's just pretentious.

Seriously,

So my husband likes meals all done up with gourmet flair like his momma... Dayum momma's boy... :mad:

Anyhow, when I cook him his breakfast, I add a teaspoon of flaxseed oil to his eggs before I scramble them, along with a dash of cayenne pepper, wasabi powder and garlic because it is suppose to alleviate sinus allergies...

Then I make him drink a mixture of orange juice and pineapple juice in the morning when he has his beverage. Otherwise, I will hear him snorting all through the day... That boy does not know how to just be so quiet that no one can hear you...

I cannot feed him my type of diet, vegetarian--almost vegan, cuz well, my husband gets too musical at rest... He just toots and toots...

This is going to sound bad, but back in October I sat my ex-fiance/now boyfriend type thing (who was a meat and potatoes only kind of guy) down and said:

"I love you, and even though women typically live longer, I don't want to out live you by twenty years or more. Please eat some veggies that are not full of starch, and please be more conscious of what you eat. Your metabolism is going to slow more as you age, and your eating habits are already affecting your appearance. I love you no matter what, but you've said you don't like the fact that you're putting on weight. A more balanced diet in addition to your current workout will go along way."

He still eats mostly meat and favors potatoes, but he will eat more veggies and fruit if it is around. He also stopped eating fast food all the time and started buying leaner cuts of meat and drinking skim milk. While that isn't a huge change, it's a change that he's managed to stick with.

I agrree with KDDani. I've been dating my boyfriend for nearly 5 years now. When we started dating, he had the worst diet in history ,was a very picky eater, hated veggies/fruit and had never eaten a salad. It frustrated me at first, but over time, we've both changed our diets for the better by trying new things together, working out together, and sharing meals at places where the portions are huge (see also: Mad Mex burrito). It can be frustrating, but my suggestion is maybe make the option available, but don't push it.

I just started cooking meals instead of going out. If he didn't like it, he could go get something else. Living in a small town like mine, there are few options (Dairy Queen and Mexican places get old after a while) and he gets lazy and doesn't want to go get anything else. He also hates to grocery shop. So, he eats what I make or he fends for himself. It is working pretty good.

Hang out with people who are vegetarians and know how to cook veggies etc to make it really delicious...not just steaming stuff. I went to a cookout w/ the ex a few years ago and we didn't notice till afterward that except for the wings, the whole cookout was vegetarian because everything tasted so fantastic.

Very good point. And maybe he just doesn't like her cooking.

I think it is a requirement...if you're veg or vegan, you've got to be a good cook. A friend of mine I stayed with in Scotland was a strict vegan, and with the exception of his tea (decaf tea w/ soy milk= not good), was an amazing cook. He just whipped these awesome meals up from stuff that you wouldn't think of combining...and he made the best Thai green curry I've ever eaten. I refused to eat mushrooms until he made them in a stir fry for me...delicious. Since coming back to the states, I've gotten much more adventurous with veggies, even exploring the treacherous world of asparagus (mmmm).

And if all else fails, use olive oil, I swear, it's the solution to every culinary problem.

I love asparagus. I have some great recipes for it.

When I moved in with my husband I did the cooking, so I would just prepare veggies and more healthy choices. We found out that way what he did and didn't like.

But 9 months in... I might just go the route of plate sharing. 9 months is still early in a relationship - we were on year 6.