Navigating Foodie Polar Opposites [General]
2009 Jul 8
Smellanie - I feel for you. Your hubby officially belongs to what my generation called the "Meat & Potatoes" group... my Parents (and based on past stories, many other Foodies here have sad stories from our childhoods that included shoe-leather meat and boiled grey veggies).
As a kid at least once a day we had meat, potatoes, a canned veg and gravy, followed by tea and dessert (usually pie). Same thing 18 years of my life. Rarely deviating from the plan... no pasta, no ethnic food, an occasional salad (it actually was a "cold plate" served only on the hottest days in Summer... based very closely on what the Brits & Scots - my heritage - call a "Ploughman's Lunch"). Once in awhile fish, but never seafood... lordy who could eat scavengers?
Fresh veggies were rare... and then it was mostly corn on the cob, turnip, carrots, peas or green / yellow beans. I think I am veggie scarred for life... I won't eat anything out of a can (and never will eat creamed corn again). And the above mentioned fresh veggies although now I do eat, I swore off of for about 10 years because they were so boring (later I discovered that was because they were boiled to death).
Somewhere in the mid 70s (when I was a teenager) I discovered Pizza and they (my parents) discovered Canadian Chinese Food. I thought I had gone to heaven!
Anyways, the point of this story is there are ooodles of Foodies here who now love food because of the fact that we had very little choice as kids... doors for most of us opened up after we left home.
As for your current dilema, I don't have much insight... My GF's Hubby is the same way... very much a Meat & Potatoes kind of guy, he doesn't like veggies at all (how healthy can that be?)... it limits where we all go to eat together as a group, but I will say that the more we go out and the foodies among us find new things, the more willing he is to at least try something new. And occasionally he finds something that he really really likes. I have to give him full marks for trying... we've really done some things in recent years that I never thought he could have done say 5 years ago (having a Chef's Tasting Menu at Hillebrand Winery would have to be our proudest moment so far).
So I say hang in there... I think your joining a supper club could very well be part of the "motivation" he needs. Like I said my GF's hubby expanded his horizons directly in proportion to her interest in trying new things.
As a kid at least once a day we had meat, potatoes, a canned veg and gravy, followed by tea and dessert (usually pie). Same thing 18 years of my life. Rarely deviating from the plan... no pasta, no ethnic food, an occasional salad (it actually was a "cold plate" served only on the hottest days in Summer... based very closely on what the Brits & Scots - my heritage - call a "Ploughman's Lunch"). Once in awhile fish, but never seafood... lordy who could eat scavengers?
Fresh veggies were rare... and then it was mostly corn on the cob, turnip, carrots, peas or green / yellow beans. I think I am veggie scarred for life... I won't eat anything out of a can (and never will eat creamed corn again). And the above mentioned fresh veggies although now I do eat, I swore off of for about 10 years because they were so boring (later I discovered that was because they were boiled to death).
Somewhere in the mid 70s (when I was a teenager) I discovered Pizza and they (my parents) discovered Canadian Chinese Food. I thought I had gone to heaven!
Anyways, the point of this story is there are ooodles of Foodies here who now love food because of the fact that we had very little choice as kids... doors for most of us opened up after we left home.
As for your current dilema, I don't have much insight... My GF's Hubby is the same way... very much a Meat & Potatoes kind of guy, he doesn't like veggies at all (how healthy can that be?)... it limits where we all go to eat together as a group, but I will say that the more we go out and the foodies among us find new things, the more willing he is to at least try something new. And occasionally he finds something that he really really likes. I have to give him full marks for trying... we've really done some things in recent years that I never thought he could have done say 5 years ago (having a Chef's Tasting Menu at Hillebrand Winery would have to be our proudest moment so far).
So I say hang in there... I think your joining a supper club could very well be part of the "motivation" he needs. Like I said my GF's hubby expanded his horizons directly in proportion to her interest in trying new things.
2009 Jul 8
that's a hard one Smel...
at the resto I deal with alot of that so for staff meal, i make alittle bit of a few items they can pick and choose from
when I was married with kids, I made something generic the kids would eat, make something for the wife (which might also appeal to me, if it didn't I make something quick for myself)....I cooked, they cleaned up so I did not care
one trick is to make a large batch of a fave and dole it out over a period of time
good luck
at the resto I deal with alot of that so for staff meal, i make alittle bit of a few items they can pick and choose from
when I was married with kids, I made something generic the kids would eat, make something for the wife (which might also appeal to me, if it didn't I make something quick for myself)....I cooked, they cleaned up so I did not care
one trick is to make a large batch of a fave and dole it out over a period of time
good luck
2009 Jul 8
Your husband doesn't sound like a picky eater...he sounds like someone who has some serious issues with textures in food.
I can relate, my youngest child has autism and there are a lot of foods he just won't eat(or can't abide the texture of) and it can be really difficult to cook for him.
Almost everybody has a least one food texture they don't like. For me it's ricotta cheese, it just looks like it's already been chewed and spat out. Completely unappealing. My son has a lot more things he'll avoid, like rice, he's never eaten it and probably never will. For years I thought he hated vegetables but he just didn't like the way I was cooking them. He likes them roasted and heavily caramelized with a lot of garlic. But eating them that way led him to accept them steamed. Learning to like corn on the cob (at age ten) led to acceptance of corn niblets so I keep a bag in the freezer because it's the one veg he'll hoover off the plate no matter what. Even the pickiest eater can change, but it takes time and patience...and observation. Finding out what someone does like about food can guide you in how to cook for them.
And some people are just hopeless. One of my friends is a grown man who lives on bread and melted cheese, french fries and pizza. Eating with him is a trial, so I make sure I pick the restaurant so I don't have to eat crap even if he does. But I don't take him to Murray Street or Domus.
I can relate, my youngest child has autism and there are a lot of foods he just won't eat(or can't abide the texture of) and it can be really difficult to cook for him.
Almost everybody has a least one food texture they don't like. For me it's ricotta cheese, it just looks like it's already been chewed and spat out. Completely unappealing. My son has a lot more things he'll avoid, like rice, he's never eaten it and probably never will. For years I thought he hated vegetables but he just didn't like the way I was cooking them. He likes them roasted and heavily caramelized with a lot of garlic. But eating them that way led him to accept them steamed. Learning to like corn on the cob (at age ten) led to acceptance of corn niblets so I keep a bag in the freezer because it's the one veg he'll hoover off the plate no matter what. Even the pickiest eater can change, but it takes time and patience...and observation. Finding out what someone does like about food can guide you in how to cook for them.
And some people are just hopeless. One of my friends is a grown man who lives on bread and melted cheese, french fries and pizza. Eating with him is a trial, so I make sure I pick the restaurant so I don't have to eat crap even if he does. But I don't take him to Murray Street or Domus.
2009 Jul 8
I think everyone knows at least one picky person, or has a spouse/roommate/best friend whose eating habits disgust you. In fact, I was going to start a thread on this before I saw this one.
I like to joke about the fact that my fiance, when we met, had a litre of chocolate milk and about 100 grams of salami in his fridge.
I've converted him to a number of things, but I guess the two that will never happen are olives (no big deal) and fish. It leaves me wondering if we'll cook chicken for him when we have kids and the rest of us want fish.
On the other hand, his niece is far worse in pickiness: nachoes, pizza (cheese and pepperoni only please), regular plain carbohydrates, and strangely enough tofu (i guess it makes sense because it doesn't taste like much). she also likes pretty well anything from starbucks, which is //soooo/ unhealthy at age ten. oh. that said, i got her to eat brie cheese at my birthday party. i was delighted.
I used to think that I grew up in a liberally-minded food household: my father introduced me to escargot, sushi and various cuts of meat when I was younger. That said, I discovered that I was merely brought up in an upper-class household when I suggested Thai or Indian to my parents visiting in Ottawa.
As for solutions: with kids, I find letting them help in the menu planning is key, especially for the older ones. As for the adults, I guess my theory is that I'm okay with making two simple mains (ie. chicken and salmon, or chicken and tofu) as long as the sides are most agreeable. Then again, I don't have kids, so I shouldn't be talking (or so I'm told).
I like to joke about the fact that my fiance, when we met, had a litre of chocolate milk and about 100 grams of salami in his fridge.
I've converted him to a number of things, but I guess the two that will never happen are olives (no big deal) and fish. It leaves me wondering if we'll cook chicken for him when we have kids and the rest of us want fish.
On the other hand, his niece is far worse in pickiness: nachoes, pizza (cheese and pepperoni only please), regular plain carbohydrates, and strangely enough tofu (i guess it makes sense because it doesn't taste like much). she also likes pretty well anything from starbucks, which is //soooo/ unhealthy at age ten. oh. that said, i got her to eat brie cheese at my birthday party. i was delighted.
I used to think that I grew up in a liberally-minded food household: my father introduced me to escargot, sushi and various cuts of meat when I was younger. That said, I discovered that I was merely brought up in an upper-class household when I suggested Thai or Indian to my parents visiting in Ottawa.
As for solutions: with kids, I find letting them help in the menu planning is key, especially for the older ones. As for the adults, I guess my theory is that I'm okay with making two simple mains (ie. chicken and salmon, or chicken and tofu) as long as the sides are most agreeable. Then again, I don't have kids, so I shouldn't be talking (or so I'm told).
Smellanie
- do you make seperate meals every night?
- how limited is your dining-out experience?
- what do you do if friends invite you over to eat?
- care to share some strategies?
My husband of four years (together for nine) is the pickiest eater I have ever met.
He does not eat vegetables. Ever. He doesn't like the "green" taste of veggies and the crunch / texture of them makes him gag and heave. I have tried many ways of preparing veggies (cooked / raw / sauces / blended). He will try some in very small doses (I'm not allowed to watch) and even if he's able to choke down one or two bites, he would never eat them of his own accord.
He will only eat meat if it's lean, skinless, and boneless (ie: lean ground beef, filet mignon or boneless skinless chicken breast). He avoids most pork (except for bacon, of course) and does not like seafood.
He will eat pasta and rice (as plain as possible). Sauces and soups can't have "chunks" or bits of vegetable because he will seek them out - push them to the side - or gag. No nuts (as a rule). No raisins. No beans (lentils, garbanzo, etc).
To his credit, and if he's in the mood, he will shock me and himself by doing something completely uncharacteristic. For example, he picked at a Caesar salad a few weeks ago and recently tried foie gras for the first time (and enjoyed it). He says he wants to become more adventurous and puts forth an effort when he's in the mood - but most often falls back to steak frite or chicken and mashed potatoes.
I have grown weary of always frequenting the same "safe" restaurants (where I know he can upgrade to a poutine) and have recently joined a supper club (without him) to broaden my horizons.
My preference would be to include him. Any tips from Foodies in a similar situation?
(Yes, he knows about this post :))