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possible meal planning for picky spouse
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So here's the thing. My husband doesn't eat enough veggies. If I made a meal and set it in front of him, he'll eat them.
The other thing. He doesn't like leftovers, maybe once. So making a big batch of "X" and eating it 4 days in a row is a no go.
Are there meal planning resources out there that we could use for him, that use a similar combo of ingredients but isn't the SAME exact thing for the whole week?

What I do for me is this: I have cooked protein in a bag (like chicken breasts) in the fridge and veggies on hand and then I throw something together quickly depending on how I feel each day. I don't think I could do serious meal planning where you have the same lunch 5 days either. For example.
So I've got myself taken care of.

But the spouse!
Plus he's rather picky. So I'd have to test run these meals first and see if he likes them.

We don't typically eat at the same time and he's extremely lazy. Heat and eat would be his ideal.
I'd love to get him off the chips and cokes. He still eats like a teenager. We'll have plenty of food in the house and he'll have cereal for dinner (like frosted mini wheats).
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [determination] [ In reply to ]
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I share this frustration! I try stock our fridge with healthy core ingredients that require minimal effort (chicken + veggies x grill = dinner) but some days even that seems to be too much effort for him and he'll just eat junk after I go to bed.

I'm not sure if this is an option but I have a weekly meal swap with other athletes one night a week to keep things interesting. Instead of eating the same thing every night, we each make 6 servings of a meal and then we swap so we all have a different meals each night. From there, he will pick a few from among those premade meals and I'll prep myself additional food for me since I can happily eat the same "X" every night.

Good luck, I am sure he appreciates your efforts.

(Formerly SoCalTricurious, now in the PNW).
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [determination] [ In reply to ]
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You can make a big batch of something then freeze some of it in sizes that can be reheated for one meal (make 3-4 meals worth of one food) Do this 5 times and you have 10-15 meals in the freezer that can be reheated. Eat those 2-3 times a week and you cook other stuff the other times and there should be enough variety.
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [determination] [ In reply to ]
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My husband doesn't cook either, but he can operate the grill, so on nights I know I will be late it's either burgers, steaks or sausages for dinner. Can you prep veggies ahead of time and put them on a plate in the fridge so he's more likely to grab it (e.g. on steak night have steamed broccoli and cauliflower ready to go) and throw something right on the plate?

If that's too much work I'd just make a few easy dinners on Sunday and plate them all up for him to grab and throw in the microwave: Grill up a few sausages, chicken thighs, maybe pork chops, etc., and then plate them with a mix of green beans, mashed potatoes, squash, etc. so there is a bit of variety from day to day... like do-it-yourself microwave dinners, but in the fridge instead of the freezer.

I do like the idea of a few freezer meals for emergencies. Make a big batch of veggie-heavy chili and have that once per week. He can have crushed Fritos in the chili IF he eats his chili. =)

Will he take veggies out of a crock pot? Like if you did a roast with potatoes and green beans one night, would he just take the roast and leave the veggies?

http://mediocremultisport.blogspot.com
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [Midtown Miles] [ In reply to ]
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He'll take veggies out of the crock pot if they are in there. So there's that.

He won't take veggies out of the fridge, and won't think to look for stuff in the freezer - unless I tell him to.

Basically, unless I ask him at some point in the evening "Hey, can you grill up those steaks?" he doesn't even make food for himself.
once in a while he'll make himself spaghetti.


We talked, and I think one of the keys will be getting him involved in the process. It's mostly dinners I'm concerned with.
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [determination] [ In reply to ]
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Would making up protein + veg skewers for grilling in advance work if you switched up the protein?
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [determination] [ In reply to ]
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My husband is similar. He pretty much eats boxed frozen meals he puts in the microwave, cereal, candy bars, cookies, ice cream. He cooks broccoli or frozen vegetables from the bag (MW) for the kids only and "cooks" them frozen pizza.

But he WILL make salad!

So we always keep a variety of fresh greens (easy, bagged stuff), baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, mini peppers etc and he does make a salad several times a week.

Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [DrTriKat] [ In reply to ]
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he will make salads!!!
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [determination] [ In reply to ]
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I just made pasta last night with finely chopped peppers and zucchini in the sauce. If they are chopped finely he won't even notice. Make a batch of something like that and he'll likely grab it.

I cook ahead as much as I can. It makes it easier for work lunch. Even batches of pasta.

I'm not a big fan of salads because I've eaten so many I literally got burnt out on them. You can throw finely chopped veggies in almost anything. I mix them in refried beans for burritos, chili, whatever is saucy.

My ex husband was the same. If I made it he'd eat it otherwise it was cereal and mac & cheese every day for him. I eventually stopped cooking with him in mind and made what I wanted for dinner. If he'd eat it, great, if not, he was on his own. After 10+ years it got really old cooking everything and worrying about whether he'd like it. But, I get it. You want him to be healthy and gold star for you for trying.

Does he like fruit? That can give him quite a bit of good stuff too.

I have a vegan food Pinterest board that you might find some inspiration from. I know he likes his meat but you can always add it if he insists. Not everything on here is "healthy", it's vegan.

https://www.pinterest.com/...l/vegan-main-course/

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
Last edited by: JenSw: May 7, 16 10:20
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Re: possible meal planning for picky spouse [determination] [ In reply to ]
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determination wrote:
he will make salads!!!


This! Make sure to at least have the bagged (cleaned and already cut) salad mixes in the refrigerator. Prepared dressing from a bottle is about as easy as it gets...baby steps...

DFL > DNF > DNS
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