Incredibly Pampered Chefky Husband .. Help!

[cathyskitchen]

I like Linda's idea - have him look up some recipes for you to try. My DH was getting tired of the "usual" stuff, so I told him to give me some recipes and I'd try them. He found some really great ones in "Men's Health" magazine and some other online resources that had the kinds of food he enjoys, and a lot of the recipes are his new favorites. Of course, anything too difficult or with crazy expensive ingredients I immediately outlawed, but the ones I tried have been big hits! This also puts the problem back on him to find a solution to, not you. Good luck!

 

[Chocolatejunkie]

Blindfold and earplugs maybe?Seriously, if you get a blindfold and earplugs then he can't see it, can't hear what it is, so then he'll have to at least taste it. When you give him the blindfold he might think that your considering a firing squad which may make him act more kindly towards you.

I had a friend who was severely allergic to anything containing gluten (anything w/ flour basically), nuts, and a whole slew of other things. Whenever she went on a weekend trip she would have to lug her own food along, couldn't ever eat out at restaurants as the only thing she could safely order was a glass of water. As your dear hubby doesn't have this problem he should feel himself lucky.

My hubby is the one who does the majority of the cooking as he cooked professionally for several years prior to us getting married and as I worked at nights for the longest time and was dead exhausted when I got home. Whenever I get squeamish about something he cooks and give him the I don't want to try this look. He comes back with the I slaved over a hot stove you will at least try it look. And I try it and usually love it. I have enough respect and love for my husband to try something and if I don't like it then I cook something myself, eat cereal, or starve. The only time this rule was adjusted was when I had horrible morning sickness (every hour of the day for entire pregnancy, not fun let me tell you) We stopped going out to eat as I usually "wasted" the meal a few minutes to an hour after it was eaten. I subsisted on rice crispies, toast, roast beef, and gatorade for a majority of the time. Not because I love those things, but because everything else (including water) turned my tummy.

I suggest you take your husband aside. Do it at a time that is not mealtime, have someone else watch the kid(s), set the time aside for several hours talk, turn off the phone-computer-cell phones and anything else that could interrupt you. Tell him you need to talk and that it is very important. Now I don't know if the cooking thing is the only issue in the marriage, if there are other things this is the time to bring them up. This is not a vent or rant session, no attacking just calmly stating the facts. It is a "this is how I feel and things need to change" session. You mention that he is the world's greatest husband except for this one issue, so he should have the decency and respect to hear you out.
So ground rules:
Rule 1: No attacking or yelling at each other
Rule 2: No interrupting, first person is allowed to finish what they want to say first, then other person can calmly state their point of view.

So calmly explain your point of view. Listen to his reply. Keep the dialogue going. Hopefully you'll be able to work something out.

Now if he is not willing to work anything out, if he has the attitude of "I can be picky if I want, it is up to you to cook according to my whims and be psychic and not give me something that I feel is "yucky"" - then you have a larger problem.

At this point in time you will need to decide your own solution to the problem, advise him what it is, and stick to your guns. Now the MOST important thing with this, is that you have to choose something that you will stick to. If you're not going to stick with it, then don't bother and choose something else. You can do this in several baby steps until you get to the solution that you want. This is the messy way to do it and your "brat" of a husband will probably fight it kicking and screaming at every turn, but eventually he will go along with it, if he doesn't then he can starve, do the cooking on his own, or eat cereal. (And if worse comes to worse you can always try a marriage counselor or pastor, and there is always the divorce lawyer if things don't work out)

Best of luck

 

[pamperedpals]

Girl, I give you credit. My pigs aren't even that picky! Neither are my goats, chickens, and cows for that matter.

I don't know what to tell, but I sure don't have the patience you do. My oldest DS is a picky eater and get's that from his father (my ex). If he doesn't like something, he always say's it to spicy or has grisle (sp) in it. My DH and I have told him if he doesn't like what we are having to eat he can wait until the next meal, no snacking. He has actually come around and likes what he hasn't in the past.

I agree with what others are saying about having him look through recipe books are give you solid concrete ideas for meals, better yet, have him cook them himself. Other than that, I would tell him, I am your wife not your personal cook and if you don't like it, you know where McDonalds is.

 

[Stampaholic1961]

yup mine too! I have a sign in my kitchen that says

Dinner Choices:
1. take it
2. leave it

and I live by that!

A friend worded that slightly differently. "You get what you get & don't throw a fit!"

 

[stephanieboyd]

So all DH bashing aside...(mine is picky too, but not this picky!!) He's obviously survived this long, so there has to be something he likes enough to sustain health!!

What kinds of ethnic foods does he like? Chinese, Mexican, Italian, seafood, etc? Will he just pick out whatever he doesn't like?

You can make Chicken Parmesan or cheese enchiladas.

How about some fish tacos or just fish and chips? Maybe baked/grilled salmon?

The PC recipe for chicken ceasar salad pizza is awesome!! You can leave out the chicken if he is tired of it.

What about just grilled cheese sandwiches and soup?

What about french bread pizzas? You can make his with just cheese and yours with some meat on it.

Heck, just slap a PB&J down in front of him and walk away!!

If he is thinking of taking an assignment overseas soon, he should really consider where he can live!! While Europe is wonderful for all the sights and culture, the food part may be tough for him!! He can't just hit the drive-thru at Wendy's. The food is wonderful over here and he would miss out on soooo much!!! Dining is really a social event over here, not just a necessity. Europeans really make an entire evening out of just having dinner!!

You can always just send him down to the chow hall and force him to eat there 3 meals a day for a month or so!!! He would come running back to your cooking!!!

 

[chefjeanine]

thanks for some ideas ... i just dont get it, he is SOOO picky, if he doesnt like how something sounds, he wont eat it. if it looks funny, he wont eat it .. i made the summer tortellini salad last week and he didnte ven try it .. hes getting sick of cereal and gets allc rabby if i make something he doesnt like. i ask for ideas and hes like, i dont know ... FOOD! Thanks honey, thats alot of help!

and kitchen guy ... no divorce here .. geez LOL

Have him set the weekly menu before grocery shopping day. If he wants to be picky, than he can come up with a balanced healthy menu for each dinner of the week.

I feel some of your pain. My husband doesn't eat eggs (on their own), tuna or mushrooms. The thing that really ticks me off? He's never even tasted the first two.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Have him set the weekly menu before grocery shopping day. If he wants to be picky, than he can come up with a balanced healthy menu for each dinner of the week.

I feel some of your pain. My husband doesn't eat eggs (on their own), tuna or mushrooms. The thing that really ticks me off? He's never even tasted the first two.

How do you get to adulthood never having had an egg? That is wild! How can you not try "The Incredible, Edible Egg"?

 

[etteluap70PC]

I am in no way bashing here so I think you need to sit down with him. Tell him you really need HIS help on this since there seem to be such limited things he will eat. If he is going to be this picky then it is his responsibility to help you or he will just have to deal.

My husband and I grew up very different. So different tastes. As an Adult he went totally crazy and found out he liked verry spicy foods. I because of health issues can not eat this kind of food. I try to for my cooking to have lots of flavor but not "heat" If he wants it kicked up he adds it to his food. Mealtimes can be alot of compromise.

It is not your fault if his mom (speculating here) let him eat the same 3 meals his entire life or was a "short order cook"

In our family if you don't like something you do not have to eat it but that's what we are having. If we (the kids) are hungry enough they will eat it. If they do not finish dinner then no desert. It took me over 2 years to get to this point and I like it much better than cooking 2 different meals every nite.

Bottom line if he does not like something he needs to take action to change it and that does not mean making you feel bad! He can choose recipes and maybee even do the shopping. If he is not willing to do these things then well TOUGH!

 

[chefann]

Laurie,

I keep reading the above posts and thinking that, taken as a whole, we start to sound a little harsh, and I know that's not our intent. It seems to me that the general theme is that your husband, if he is to continue being picky, needs to provide you some assistance. Whether that's in the form of cooking a couple times a week, or providing you with lists of acceptable foods and recipes.

You seem like a caring person, and you don't deserve to have someone treat you with anything less than respect and understanding.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

The kitchen would be his!

It wouldn't fly at my house sorry! I agree with KG and some others stop enabling him eventually your son will be the same way.

If he lived at my house I'd relinquish my kitchen duties and he'd be responsible for planning, shopping, cooking and cleaning up. Then I'd sit and "%itch" about everything he put in front of me until he got tired of it!!
at our house we live by " What goes around, comes around" & "treat poeple like you want to be treated"

 

[sillylittlechef]

My dh is a little picky. He is more like you with the meat and potatoes thing, I am not. I have started eating more meat, mostly because when I was pregnant, I craved it, and needed the extra protein. He still doesn't eat many veggies or fruit and he doesn't like rice or pasta, but if I fix it, he will eat it and usually just a small amount then later eats something else. I made a rule (and I'm allowed to because I'm the mommy!) that he has to make it look like the food is really yummy no matter what it is so that the kids will be willing to try something. IF the kids see him making a face of disgust or not eating what I make then they will do the same thing, and they will end up just as picky. We usually talk about what is for dinner the next night so that there isn't any dissapointment. I realize that just as I might be really craving pasta, he might really be craving taco's or chicken. So, planning a little ahead works great for us.
One suggestion I have is try ground turkey instead of hamburger. I put it in hamburger helper, spaghetti, and mostaccoli. Pretty much anything that calls for hamburger. It is cheaper, healthier, and might not mess up his tummy. It doesn't change the taste of most foods. In fact, try it first without telling him. He won't see the difference and probably won't even notice. (I do not like most store brands, go for the Tyson...it has a better taste)
Another suggestion is try smaller meals. I got in that habit of fixing meat, potato, and veggie every dinner. Then realized that sometimes, just a sandwich will do, and maybe some soup or chilli. It's cheaper and less time consuming. Not for everynight, but maybe every couple of nights. The less you fret over it, the less fuss he'll make. oh and try some fish. Tilapia is great and can be cooked with just butter or spiced up with jamaican jerk rub. It's quick and easy, and doesn't have the strong strong fish flavor like salmon does. Plus you can buy it frozen and only cook two or three at a time if you want.
good luck.

 

[kisrae]

Can you have him cook for a week?
I have fend for yourself nights at my house. Usally on Saturdays and for some reason Tuesdays.
This goes for all my kids and that includes my husbond. I notice that when my DH cooks I won't eat and it hurts his feeling
He started cooking after I would cook the same meal day after day because I new he would eat it. Then he got so sick of it so I told him to start making the meal plan.
What I say at our house is, if you say your hungry then you better eati what I give you or your not that hungry
I love the dinner choices at reba515's
I don't know if any of this helped but I do feel for you, I would just go on strike. GOOD LUCK!

 

[abrahamlaur]

thanks for all the suggestions, we dont like seafood so we wont even consider making anything fishy or anything. I'm thinking about tonight just making some egg salad and see how that goes ... i think you all are right though, i really need to sit down with him and have him look at recipes and help make the menu plan .. then he can see how hard it is and how time consuming it is to think of foods that he will eat!

ann .. thank you for yoru comment .. i really appreciate it!

does anyone know of any vegetarian ideas ... maybe not full blown veggie, but some ideas on not having meat every night ??

 

[sailortena]

Most of the time its "fend for yourself night" in my house. Once or twice a week my husband will cook for both of us, but most of the time we each make our own food. It works well, since he likes to cook all sorts of fatty ways and I am on Weight Watchers.

 

[ahammons]

One suggestion I have is try ground turkey instead of hamburger. I put it in hamburger helper, spaghetti, and mostaccoli. Pretty much anything that calls for hamburger. It is cheaper, healthier, and might not mess up his tummy. It doesn't change the taste of most foods. In fact, try it first without telling him. He won't see the difference and probably won't even notice. (I do not like most store brands, go for the Tyson...it has a better taste)

I completely agree with this... my husband has acid reflux, and switching to ground turkey has actually helped! I'm not sure how, but it does. We switched to the turkey over a year ago, and we love it. No one can even tell the difference. My MIL is super picky about meat, and DH keeps trying to convince her to switch to ground turkey since it's healthier. He can't talk her into it, so he told me to just make something with it and see if she can taste the difference! lol

 

[MissChef]

I agree and disagree with a lot of these posts! I wouldn't kill myself trying so hard to figure it out! But I'd still try to some degree! I would try talking to him too, but sometimes I know that can be hard too! My hubby is not the talking type! But he's not this picky either! He was pretty picky when I met him, but me being the cook, I slowly but surely added stuff in and if he didn't like it, I said don't eat it then and I always made sure there was some form of side dish he always liked. Now he eats almost everything, including onions, love that food chopper! I can almost turn onions into water!
Anyway, I'd keep trying to talk to him here and there and tell him you'll try your best and to be patient because he has really tied your hands behind your back, so to speak, with the limited choices!
One thing I do is have some wine or mixed drink with my honey and then he'll open up and talk more and the tempers don't flare so much, I wait until he's really in a loving mood and then talk to him about stuff, but I don't keep going if he starts getting annoyed, I just drop it and bring it up again later!

Now, one thing that I won't be popular about is that I do not agree with other's posts that say, divorce or that he's not a wonderful hubby just because he's picky and asks for some more choices! I'm not saying he has the right to make you feel like you need to be a miracle worker but he doesn't deserve the fact that other people tell you that he needs to grow up or cook himself or that he's not great, or just divorce him. I'm glad you said divorce wasn't an option! I really believe we do what we can to make our guys happy, but at the same time, you can't pull a rabbit out of your hat! So explain it like that and get some suggestions by getting some magazines or go to the library and checkout some cookbooks, vegetarian and poultry ones, breakfast ideas and appetizers. There is a lot to try if we look at resources we don't normally look at! If he still doesn't like the choices, then, you tell him there is nothing left that you can cook for him except the ones you know he can eat and that will be what you will cook..... and when he's hungry....he'll eat!
But I guarantee that if you tell him to cook for himself, if he doesn't want to or doesn't know how, he will get mad and divorce might end up being the result!
I'm a Christian girl and I don't believe in "my way or the highway" for either one of us. It's my job to keep him happy especially when I stay home and he's out working so hard for us, I try hard to make him happy. But he also knows that he can't expect the impossible without being willing to bend a little or if he's not willing to bend, he will get served chicken until he becomes one!
I just had to state what I felt here, because she asked for food suggestions not relationship advice. And if she feels her husband is wonderful, then he is! His food preferences doesn't make him bad, I can think of a lot worse things he could be doing.... cheating.... beating....bar hopping.....verbally abusive.....terrible daddy.... and he's probably not all of these because she said he is wonderful....he just wants differnt food choices. And he probably has confidence in her ablility to produce that for him.....
So, I'm probably not popular now but it how I feel..... Good luck hun, I'll pray for ideas to come plenty to you and peaceful talks with him.... where recipes come a plenty! Oh and if he doesn't mind cooking suggest he help you! Can be a really rewarding experience to cook together! My hubby does not like to cook for me or the family but enjoys helping me and giving his thoughts to me, sometimes he even does take over and do it, and then I make mental notes of what he did... and duplicate it later!
Good luck!

 

[ahammons]

does anyone know of any vegetarian ideas ... maybe not full blown veggie, but some ideas on not having meat every night ??

My SIL's a vegetarian but my BIL isn't (he just doesn't eat meat very often). I could ask them for some meal ideas. I know they make pizza once every couple of weeks, and eggplant parmesan (my 18 mo. old niece loves it!).

 

[jenniferknapp]

I completely agree with this... my husband has acid reflux, and switching to ground turkey has actually helped! I'm not sure how, but it does. We switched to the turkey over a year ago, and we love it. No one can even tell the difference. My MIL is super picky about meat, and DH keeps trying to convince her to switch to ground turkey since it's healthier. He can't talk her into it, so he told me to just make something with it and see if she can taste the difference! lol

....I buy half ground beef & half ground turkey and mix the two before I freeze it, then use the mixture for tacos, hamburgers, chili, etc....and I can't even tell a difference

 

[PamperChefCarol]

yup mine too! I have a sign in my kitchen that says

Dinner Choices:
1. take it
2. leave it

and I live by that!


What about soups or chili with bread or salad ?

That's sort of like our house. He realizes that if he complains, the cooking STOPS! And since he doesn't cook, he would starve.

Maybe its time you get him into the kitchen and try cooking with him. He might get excited about food. Maybe not, but it's worth a shot.

Meatless meals... vegetable lasagna, or lasgna with those soy crumbles. If you don't tell him, he might try it.

Does he eat shrimp? There are two or three shrimp recipes in 29 min cookbook that look interesting. Plus that lasgna (not shrimp related) that I amm going to try with turkey sausage.

Grilled cheese with bacon, or tomato or both, and tomato soup.
Spaghetti and marinara sauce (add mushrooms, onions, if you like) and garlic bread.
That BLT pasta in the 29 min cookbook. Once again, don't tell him they are leeks. Besides they are only onions! Not really, more of the lily family but that will just wig him out.

Then there's always, "hey, if you are tired of beef, pork and chicken, then you gotta try new stuff"

You could make a game out of it ... blindfold him and have him taste things. And then reward him for trying something new. I will let you come up with the rewards!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Well said Cathy...and phew, thank god my mom didn't divorce me when I used to be a picky eater!

 

[PamperChefCarol]

Okay, I'm going to actually be serious here for a minute. (But only a minute, then I'll go back to being myself.)

This isn't your problem, it's his problem, and it's time you stop owning it. It's his problem but he has successfully transferred ownership to you, so it's time to give it back and let him own it again. You've tried everything and he's given you no help. I'd tell him that from now on, you're cooking for your family because I'm done. Here's where the cookbooks are, here's where the utensils are and here's the apron.

Make his problem his problem again. Stop owning it.

Tough love KG... but you are on the money.

 

[PCwithStay-C]

hey laurie, you have more choices than me!!
our menu consists of
monday - pizza
tuesday - pizza
wednesday - pizza
thursday - pizza
friday - pizza
saturday - leftover kids dinner at work
sunday - wendys, mcd's taco bell, friendlys (you get the point!!)

 

[MissChef]

Food ideas.....
How about breakfast for dinner! You can always make pancakes or french toast, you can try veggie quiches. Turkey Bacon or Turkey Sausage, Chicken hot dogs mixed into eggs. Breakfast burritos! Omelets. Biscuits with Gravy, just leave out the sausage or add something turkey based. Fried potatoes.... we eat turkey hash. Turkey Bacon anything like that. ground turkey, it probably won't mess with his stomach like ground beef. If he likes seasoning, add those to make the flavors better.
How about bruchetta's. There a lot of recipe choices you can add to french bread. French bread pizzas... with toppings he'd like, foccasia (sp?) breads. There are a lot of salad choices out there to mix it up a bit. Does he like Garlic? Roasted garlic and hot french bread, dipped in olive oil and parmesan cheese. As I think of more ideas... I'll come back and type more.
Go look on food network.... do a picky eater recipes search on google. Go to the library! I have gotten so many recipe books there and really received some great ideas! Find a store that has a lot of magazines and look at those. Buy a few, and show him those, ask him to pick the ones he'd be willing to try! And! They can be write offs too... look through them and find tips to share at your shows!!!!
Again, good luck!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I'm a Christian girl and I don't believe in "my way or the highway" for either one of us. It's my job to keep him happy especially when I stay home and he's out working so hard for us, I try hard to make him happy. But he also knows that he can't expect the impossible without being willing to bend a little or if he's not willing to bend, he will get served chicken until he becomes one!
I just had to state what I felt here, because she asked for food suggestions not relationship advice. And if she feels her husband is wonderful, then he is! His food preferences doesn't make him bad, I can think of a lot worse things he could be doing.... cheating.... beating....bar hopping.....verbally abusive.....terrible daddy.... and he's probably not all of these because she said he is wonderful....he just wants differnt food choices. And he probably has confidence in her ablility to produce that for him.....
So, I'm probably not popular now but it how I feel..... Good luck hun, I'll pray for ideas to come plenty to you and peaceful talks with him.... where recipes come a plenty! Oh and if he doesn't mind cooking suggest he help you! Can be a really rewarding experience to cook together! My hubby does not like to cook for me or the family but enjoys helping me and giving his thoughts to me, sometimes he even does take over and do it, and then I make mental notes of what he did... and duplicate it later!
Good luck!

Cathy, I agree with alot of what you said, especially about divorce (divorcing over food choices sounds silly doesn't it?
) - except for this statement. It bothers me to hear you say it's your job to keep him happy - because you stay home and he works so hard..........In our household, I also stay home - but I am also a hard worker, keeping our household running, doing errands for DH, and taking care of our son....and running my own business from home. My DH appreciates my efforts and my work - and appreciates that I try hard to have healthy, tasty meals for the family. Because he appreciates me - he doesn't complain.....the extent of his comment, if he doesn't like something - is to say "You don't have to make that again just for me".....and then I know that is not a favorite. We both work hard to appreciate and value each other. Making our meals is one of the everyday parts of my job - and I take great pride in it - if my DH were to continually complain about meals - they would come to a stop until he could be an adult about it. It's not my job to keep him happy - Happiness is an inside job, and if the job of keeping him happy fell on my shoulders - that would be a weight too big to bear. MY JOB is to be his help-meet - to help him in his work & to work together to create a good marriage and a good home for our son. Part of that is to be the iron that sharpens his iron - not to be his coddler and enabler. Now, do I do things because I know it will bring him happiness? YES! But just because I love and respect him.....not because I am trying desperately to make him happy. He is my husband - not my spoiled child!

 

[MissChef]

Cathy, I agree with alot of what you said, especially about divorce (divorcing over food choices sounds silly doesn't it?
) - except for this statement. It bothers me to hear you say it's your job to keep him happy - because you stay home and he works so hard..........In our household, I also stay home - but I am also a hard worker, keeping our household running, doing errands for DH, and taking care of our son....and running my own business from home. My DH appreciates my efforts and my work - and appreciates that I try hard to have healthy, tasty meals for the family. Because he appreciates me - he doesn't complain.....the extent of his comment, if he doesn't like something - is to say "You don't have to make that again just for me".....and then I know that is not a favorite. We both work hard to appreciate and value each other. Making our meals is one of the everyday parts of my job - and I take great pride in it - if my DH were to continually complain about meals - they would come to a stop until he could be an adult about it. It's not my job to keep him happy - Happiness is an inside job, and if the job of keeping him happy fell on my shoulders - that would be a weight too big to bear. MY JOB is to be his help-meet - to help him in his work & to work together to create a good marriage and a good home for our son. Part of that is to be the iron that sharpens his iron - not to be his coddler and enabler. Now, do I do things because I know it will bring him happiness? YES! But just because I love and respect him.....not because I am trying desperately to make him happy. He is my husband - not my spoiled child!

I agree with you completely and you took one statement and thought I meant to make him happy was my only job. But if you look at what you said, it's exactly what I'm saying, just stated differently! What you do, makes him happy, enough said! You do it because you want to and it makes you happy to make him happy by just doing what you do and it is your job. Being a wife is your job. I'm not saying you don't have any other jobs, because your life is my life almost to the T! Everything you said is what I mean.... you two respect each other and in turn try to make each other happy. It's part of loving each other, making each other happy. I don't cater to my husband and I don't coddle him or enable him, but I do go out of my way to bring him happiness and he doesn't even ask for it. My husband doesn't eat what he doesn't like and eats what he wants. I don't center my life around making him happy. What I do for him makes me happy and in return makes him happy, and as a result he does stuff for me that makes me happy! Like pick up his dirty laundry! When I try to do things for him that I don't like to do a whole lot..... like drive around during the day for him for things he needs me to do, when I want to be doing something else.....like my business or whatever.... I still do it for him and he apppreciates it.... it makes him happy and then he does something for me in the next day or two that he doesn't necessarily feel like doing but does it because he knows it will make me happy. (you know those Honey Do lists can get quite long!!!!) It's a give and take relationship and we do it because we know the rewards will be plenty.... and we both are happy!

So, maybe my sentence was not worded right..... it is our job to be a wife, partner, friend.... it's my job to respect him and love him, these are in the bible and my wedding vows!!! LOL!!! And when I do these things for him.... it makes him happy and vice versa! Basically my point here was that it definetly is not our job to tell him to deal with it.... unless he just doesn't bend at all, then as I said.... feed him chicken until he becomes one! If he's hungry he'll eat it and if he doesn't like it then he needs to help her figure it out.... in the mean time she can follow some of the other advice I and others said about trying to work through it together not divorcing or telling him to cook or telling him to deal with it.... that will just buy her a divorce!
I think you and I are are saying the same thing........ you just took what I said and thought I mean something else and I didn't elaborate enough to get my true thoughts out. So..... we are on the same wave length here and I agree with your whole post.... I just didn't write it as well as you did!
Two books I've been reading are ..."The Propper Care and Feeding of Husbands and The Propper Care and Feeding of Marriage.... both of them are great and really show what it's like to really have a great marriage! And it supports what each of us is saying here.... which basically is the same thing!
Anyway..... I agree with you and I hope I explained myself better here!

 

[MomToEli]

does anyone know of any vegetarian ideas ... maybe not full blown veggie, but some ideas on not having meat every night ??

The Meatless choices at the back of the 29 minutes to dinner cookbook has lots of ideas. If you don't have the cookbook, I'll be happy to post recipes for you. The Spanish-Style Stuffed Peppers looks really good ... Pan-Fried Polenta with Vegetable Marinara ...

Also friattas (like a baked omelet) can be made with just about anything added in. Or how about just omelets?

There are tons of vegetarian (just no meat, but still allows dairy products and poultry) recipes - cookbooks and internet ideas are everywhere.

Does he like fruit? If you will list 3 or 4 ingredients he WILL eat, I'll bet we can come up with ideas for you.

 

[abrahamlaur]

Cathy, thank you SO much for what you said! I too am Christian and feel that it is my JOB to take care of the house, our daughter and my husband. He works HARD in the Army, out in the hot sun all day long and the last thing he wants to do when he comes home is argue over food or something stupid like that. Divorce is not even an option, I'm glad you said that also, and everything else you said ... I dont have the *balls* to say something like that. But thank you!

Thank you for all your suggestions .. I'm looking on food network right now. I do make the Fantastic Foccacia bread alot and the BBQ chicken and pineapple pizza thing (cant remember the name), we have grilled cheese and different things like that .. including breakfast for dinner alot. I will take alot of those suggestions and put them to use!

Again, Cathy ... THANK YOU .. you spoke my mind and exactly what I was thinking, feeling!

 

[MissChef]

chefbeckyd.....boy..... typing just doesn't get my point across like talking!!!!!! What I meant about staying home being my job while he's out working so hard is.... he works all day and doesn't like to cook. I think it would be wrong of me to tell him to go cook then.... and your thoughts of you trying to provide a healthy great meal for the family is exactly what I'm trying to say.... again..... you just said it better than me!

 

[jenniferknapp]

Pizza.....you can do SO many variations with toppings...you don't always have to do the pineapple and all of that jazz, just do bbq sauce, chicken pieces, and cheese....or tomato sauce to make it "chicken parm" like...At my last show, the host made a bunch of "bruschetta" type of toppings....basically just fresh salsa but with different ingredients, and that was yummy!You can also grill the pizzas to get a different flavor. And, I really like the Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough, because it rolls out into a rectangle that fits perfectly on to the med bar pan, or do two sideways on the lg bar pan!

 

[MissChef]

Cathy, thank you SO much for what you said! I too am Christian and feel that it is my JOB to take care of the house, our daughter and my husband. He works HARD in the Army, out in the hot sun all day long and the last thing he wants to do when he comes home is argue over food or something stupid like that. Divorce is not even an option, I'm glad you said that also, and everything else you said ... I dont have the *balls* to say something like that. But thank you!

Thank you for all your suggestions .. I'm looking on food network right now. I do make the Fantastic Foccacia bread alot and the BBQ chicken and pineapple pizza thing (cant remember the name), we have grilled cheese and different things like that .. including breakfast for dinner alot. I will take alot of those suggestions and put them to use!

Again, Cathy ... THANK YOU .. you spoke my mind and exactly what I was thinking, feeling!

Oh my gosh..... thank you! I am happy you are happy that I wrote this!!! Because I was going out on a limb here hoping that you'd agree and see it the way you do! I hope my other posts help explain myself even more!!! God bless you! I will pray for you and I'm sure it will all work out fine!