Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Battle of the Picky Eater

     Ever heard the phrase, “Choose your battles”? Well, this statement is very true when it comes to the YoungMarried life. I’m not talking about a nagging battle over when the trash needs to be taken out or getting into a fit about clothes left strewn on the floor … personal vent. J The particular battle I’m writing about applies if you live with a picky eater too.

     Packing Derek lunch is an Olympic challenge. Scoring a perfect 10 is easy rare. More times than not, his lunch bag will come home just the way I sent it, without him having touched a thing. To successfully know that he will eat what I pack him requires strategic planning! This morning I thought I would try again. Aside from last night’s leftovers I added a few snacks inside his bag, peanut butter crackers and a cheese stick, secretly hoping they would find their way into his belly.  I knew better…
“Babe, if you pretend the snacks are unhealthy I might eat them.”
     *Sigh*... he wasn’t feeling those today. Yes, I have fought the good fight with my picky eater and just learned to embrace his cinnamon roll loving, BBQ Pringle snacking, don’t-give-me-veggies-everyday fighting ways. I still love him!


     If you’re like me then before you were married one of your many daydreams was about cooking meals for your man-but, envisioning making the foods WE like. I just thought that Derek would savor every dish that I made, no matter what! That didn’t play out so well when I figured out quickly that Derek’s veggie corner only included (if he’s in the mood) broccoli, peas, baked potato, and green beans. Let’s not forget he only likes green apples, oranges, and grapes on occasion.I almost had a heart attack that he wouldn’t touch carrots, any type of squash or sweet potato, eggplant, kale, onions, etc. GASP! To be fair, I had some sneaky wins though. For example, I successfully tricked him out of eating beef in spaghetti and switched over to ground turkey. He didn’t figure this one out until he saw the package in the trash one day. Haha. A less successful try was thinking I couldn’t finely dice up onions for the sauce and not get caught. Fail.

     The advice and opinions I received early on to remedy this new challenge weren’t exactly helpful: force him to eat it, don’t give him options… I’ll spare you from the rest. The truth is that I want Derek to look forward to eating at home, knowing that I’ll take his likes into consideration and make us both happy at meal times. I do believe that a couple can talk it over and come to a mutual understanding on leading a healthy lifestyle but you, pretty wife, don’t need to dictate with an iron fist. Choose your battles. He’ll be more willing to adapt to new and healthier changes when you’re willing to work with him too.J Here are some tips for you when deciding to let go of the battle with your picky eater:

1)      Figure out what your spouse already likes- there’s no way of knowing where to start and build from if you have no clue that he hates something from the get go.

Derek still doesn’t like bananas…

2)      Introduce major new items simply- if your spouse feels forced to try something new then chances are he won’t even sniff it, let alone try anything new from you in the future.
 
Derek loves pita and hummus now! Yay!
 
3)      “His and hers”- sometimes you just have to be willing to customize a dish to your and his individual likings. An easy place to start this is with spaghetti. There are tons of recipes that can easily be tweaked to make two separate dishes. Have fun getting creative. You might even be surprised if he ends up liking your dish better! Oh, the art of compromise.


I like olive oil, Derek prefers dense sauces on his pasta.

4)      Allow yourself to enjoy HIS foods too- Listen, I am all about clean eating and wanting to maintain your weight. I get it! But, there are the occasional times where you just need to have fun. Derek sometimes gets embarrassed when I blot pizza grease with a napkin or skip dessert, but he doesn’t bother me about it because I can easily enjoy a meal splurge with him on date night.

Krispy Kreme is one of his favorite places!

5)      Mind your body first- Be careful how you present healthier changes to your honey. If your reasons come across as poison in criticizing his physique, you might have a whole new issue at hand than just trying to give him fruit. 

I encourage Derek to eat healthier for his health, not to drop weight. Weight loss is a benefit and perk of a healthy lifestyle anyway! 

6)      Trickery is allowed- it’s ok to make simple changes to dishes that your spouse won’t even catch on to. Sometimes I substitute coconut oil for butter; he never knows. I have used Greek yogurt as a base for a pasta dish too instead of heavy cream and the plate came back clean. ;)

Smile if you get caught. J

 
     It takes patience to feed a picky eater, but take the mini-wins! Never be forceful, and see how much easier it is for your honey to adapt to a healthier lifestyle. It’s ok to let him enjoy his Golden Oreos and tall glass of milk as a snack, get over it. I did. J xoxo.

P.S. Get some ideas from The Sneaky Chef!

2 comments:

  1. Yay, welcome back! What an awesome post. Partly because I can relate to the picky eating and I love your yummy instagram food posts :)

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  2. haha Kenny is very picky as well! Try onion powder/flakes when you need onion- Kenny never knows and onions are his BIGGEST no-no! I know you are a great cook and Derek will try more and more as the years go by!

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