Just wondering?....

B

Beets

Cathlete
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Mar-29-02 AT 06:59PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi all,
I was just cruising through the whole wheat posts and I was wondering---for those of you who are married or living with your significant other, does your mate like the whole wheat recipes that you make--or even just the healthy, clean food you make? My husband is a die hard meat and potatoes, white bread, white flour everything, Wendy's, etc kind of eater. I, of course, am into healthy eating which I can do during the week because we have opposing work schedules. I am so concerned with his health because of his crap diet but he can tell if I substitute whole wheat or veggies or anything healthy and he complains. I am getting tired of making his and her meals on the weekends! Any suggestions? :(
 
My husband doesn't seem to complain when I serve a 'clean' meal with chocolate milk (for him) or when I mention that there is ice cream in the freezer for him later. Okay, sometimes I have the ice cream too! At least this way, we can still enjoy the same entree (ha! since when is a tuna sandwich on rye bread an entree? Who am I kidding?) and he still gets a bit of fat or sweets since it apparently has no friggin affect on his body or weight at all! But I digress...
 
Jillybean: I had to laugh at what you wrote about fattening food not affecting your husband--I get so envious when my husband sits and eats a half a bag of full-fat chips, huge bowl of ice cream, etc., while I sit there with my pitiful little cup of fat-free yogurt. This man has a beautiful, toned, body and he sometimes misses weeks of exercise at a time when he gets too busy with work. Okay, I'm grateful for the nice bod, but geez! It doesn't seem fair, does it?
Denise
 
I have finally convinced my DH to eat clean--at least cleaner. I "mistakenly" bought a multi-grain french bread & he loved it! I explained that whole wheat bread is tastier, he tried it,he liked it (hey mikie!).

I enjoyed a good chuckle about your husbands not gaining weight while eating whatever they want. Are they under 45? Mine just turned 45 & all of a sudden his metabolism has taken a nose dive! He got a little roll around his belly & love handles. I was so pleased! Of course, he bought a home gym & off they came no problemo, while I kill myself with Cathe & the Firm. Dirtbag!
 
haha! You are too funny! They just don't realize how lucky they are! Mine is 41, and he is just a little too cocky about his physique, so recently when he went from a 31 to a 33 waist and was upset about it, I told him how much I sympathize--but inside I was smiling away! And of course, after about 1 or 2 weeks of (mildly) watching his diet and exercise--poof--gone! Now he is all proud of that great bod once again, while I continue to pulverize myself with Cathe just to maintain! So I will look forward to the day he turns 45 and watch for that little roll...:)
 
Sorry to report, mine is in his mid-fifties & he STILL eats anything he fancies in any amount with little or no exercise & doesn't gain an ounce.
Actually, sometimes he loses a little (!!!) & the whole family gets on me for "starving" him! Never mind that he's the cook in the family. The women are ALWAYS TO BLAME!!!
;-)
 
Beets:

I am amazed you are cooking religiously for this guy. After all, you also work!!!!

Quite honestly, my solution number 1 would be: you cook your meal and I would leave him to cook whatever protein-dense, potato and white flour dinner he wants. He knows where the kitchen is, right?

Solution number 2: eat out at weekends where each can pick from the menu whatever they want and he foots the bill as punishment for complaining about your attempts to keep him healthy!

Solution number 3: leave lying around the house open copies of Men's health and Fitness or some other similar magazine. These magazines amaze me: they seem to work on the premise that a guy will spend any amount of time taking care of his body because the number one payoff will be getting more women into bed and/or greater and more sex!!! Hey, maybe it will work!?!?!?!?!?!

Feel free to ignore all of the above if it doesn't work for you!!!

Clare
 
I just made a pizza tonight using whole wheat dough, and we just tried whole wheat pasta this week, and surprisingly my husband's getting used to it - he's definitely a white bread kind of guy. But he's starting to give in, I'm drilling the benefits of whole wheat in to him little by little.

I'm very jealous of him - he's one of those people that eats like a pig, whatever he wants, whenever he wants - burgers, pizza - you name it - and doesn't gain one darn inch x(

He's 36 but I don't think his metabolism will EVER slow down.
 
I vote for letting him cook for himself. Too many guys think the kitchen is a place where only women belong! My significant other is a lot older than me, and carries a lot of that out-moded baggage. I set him straight every chance I get, including if you make a mess on the floor, you can clean it up.
 
Thanks for all your replies! In terms of my doing all the cooking, that is something I have been trying to get him to do for a loonnng time but... We also have different schedules. He works 12noon to 8pm. I usually clients early morning and late afternoon. We usually have breakfast together so I am the one who makes that. We only eat lunch/dinner together on the weekends but I get tired of his complaining about the Healthy stuff I make. I always say "Why don't YOU do the cooking sometimes then?" but so far he has not taken up the offer. We do usually go out to dinner on Sat nights but not always. I am just worried about his heart and arteries but he can't seem to understand that. I guess I am fighting a losing battle. My stance right now is --if I am doing the cooking, then I am going to cook the way I want to and he will just have to eat it or cook his own food. HA! (Is that a spine I feel in my back?)
 
Hey Beets:

good for you! I see no spine....

I was thinking of you when my copy of health mag arrived yesterday. There's a smal column near the front that addresses this exact same issue. Men are apparently short changing themselves as a growing trend, in comparison to their health-conscious partners. Take a look at the piece. Photocopy it on enlargement and paste it to the fridge. Another solution would be to call his PCP and make an appt for a general physical and then let the PCP suggest diet changes. It can't be nagging from a PCP: it becomes reason and science...

Good luck

Clare
 
My family complains loudly because I buy many types of lovely whole grained breads. I make small conscessions like preparing french fries occassionally and cooking white pasta for them as well as white tortillas. But I mix it up alot. But overall they have to eat what I cook-- or not-- it's up to them. They can always opt for a bowl of cereal. We eat out once a week, usually pizza or Mexican food. The truth is 500,000 deaths per year are directly attributed to diet. Eating all the refined food and not eating fruits and veggies is a great way to die of cancer and cancer is not a great way too die! And being thin is no guarentee you are healthy on the inside expecially if you are sedentary. My hubby is also slim although his fat to muscle ratios have changed, he is the same weight he's always been and that's great. But he smokes and he's sedentary so I worrry like crazy! So I tell my family sorry, I love you too much to serve you foods that'll kill you! Except occasionally and in moderation. I eat most of the stuff myself but I know my dedication to a healthy diet is going to pay off in the long run. Encourage them by modelling the type of eating that's heart healthy!

Bobbi http://www.plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif Chick's Rule!
 
My DH and kids all love whole wheat, or 12 grain, or flax bread (I buy no other kind), and my kids love all fruits in abundance.

BUT, when I make pizza on whole wheat pita shells instead of white, DH doesn't like them; whole wheat pasta - DH doesn't like it, tomato sauce instead of white - DH doesn't like it, beans several times per week instead of meat - DH ... you get the picture! My tastes lean towards the beans, whole wheat, salads, etc, but he is more meat and potatoes and plenty of them! He is turning 43 this week and has smallish love handles. He also smokes, which he does outside - our kids barely even know he has this disgusting habit.

I am sometimes "bad" and make my kids PB & J sandwiches, on whole wheat of course, (or something else they will eat) if I'm making something I know they won't like (I don't want them to starve :)), but I know it's better to give them what the family is having and they will eventually learn to eat what is on their plate.

They see me eating stuff like tonight - a salad with lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, celery, topped off with warmed mixed beans mixed with hot sauce & a bit of low-fat mozza cheese melted in. DH says DISGUSTING, I say GOOD :)! You know, one of my daughters said, "That looks good!". Maybe next time, she'll try it!

Sandi
 
I went on strike and stopped cooking when my ex-husband and kids complained about my cooking, so they had to fend for themselves. The kids were early-teens, so they learned how to read recipes, bake and cook. They even ventured into donuts and suckers! I stuck to it, and they just had to make do. I would had them the grocery store ads on Sunday and had them make up a shopping list.

That's what I did, and both kids turned out OK. They are employed, not living at home, and have nice families. So there. The ex.....he has stopped drinking and has remarried. He is in his early 50's with heart trouble, smokes and is very overweight. He's someone elses promblem now. I know his eating habits still stink.
 
I guess I'm lucky. Mine is a health nut. He will eat anything I make, shovel it down like it's ambrosia. My only complaint is he eats so much, the food bill is high. He's not overweight but he has an enormous appetite. Thank goodness I don't have any kids to feed.
 
Sorry if this is long, but this thread has brought back memories!! My DH grew up in a very meat and potatoes household (with an emphasis on MEAT). I was in college when we started living together and tried to regularly cook the meat/starch/vegetable dinners every night, but as a college student found I just couldn't afford it.

I still remember the night I made a fabulous eggplant parmagian (high fat and cheesy) with white italian bread. DH came into the kitchen...looked at dinner...looked at me...looked at dinner and said, "Where's the meat?".

I'm happy to say that we both laugh at that moment now. It didn't happen overnight, but I was able to change his eating habits. We both eat a LOT healthier than we did 10 years ago. I found that he was much more receptive to healthy substitutions as long as they tasted good.

I'm really into all kinds of ethnic cooking - Indian, Asian, Mexican, etc. - and I think that has helped. I started out with stuff like stir-frys, where you could use more veggies than meats but keep it flavorful and tasty, and he really liked them! We just kind of moved on from there. I don't think I'll ever completely sell him on tofu, but I did get him to eat it (and like it!) when I put it in Pad Thai.

He now prefers whole grain anything over white, with the exception of pasta, and has become a much more discriminating eater all-around. He still eats too much cheese and ice cream, but he refuses to eat at McD's, BK, or KFC.

Anyway, Beets, don't give up. Just try to change his taste in baby steps. I have a Cooking Light year end compliation cookbook that has a lot if revamped recipes that taste as good, or better, than their originals. Maybe that could help.

Good luck and take care.
 
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