Taste buds have changed - problems in cooking for family

I have decided to eat healthy and found that I enjoy soups and food that is low in fat. However, my family is not too keen on these type of food. They are screaming for more of the old fat laden food.
I am thinking that I have no choice but to cook 2 sets of dinner. One for myself and another for the rest in the family.
I know that my friends' parents were insulted when she cooked separate meals for herself and her parents.

Has anyone faced the above problem and what is the best way out of it?

Wed. Jan 11, 12:34am

Perhaps you can try introducing lower fat versions of thiings (a little at a time)? It takes a bit of time to acclimate... Maybe if you start introducing the healthier things, their tastebuds will get adjusted?

As they eat more of the healthy foods, they will eventually get used to it--there are lots of really great recipes for flavorful, but healthy food, and ways to cut fat and sugars out of foods without people noticing!

Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 1:13 AM

I agree

Go slow, and they will surely adjust, at least somewhat. When my husband and I started dating, he drank lots of regular coke and whole milk. After eating with me for a while, he slowly switched to diet coke and skim milk and he doesn't even like the full fat/ high sugar versions anymore. Good luck!

Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 10:26 AM

If your family doesn't want to eat the food that you want to eat, why would there be a problem? Or do you mean, if you have family over for dinner? In which case, you can always make several dishes and have people serve themselves what they want, so you can take the healthy stuff and others can take combinations of healthy and hearty.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 10:27 AM

same sides, different entrees

in my case, i'm a vegetarian and the rest of the family isn't. the compromise we came to is that we all eat veggie-friendly side dishes and i make 2 entrees, one veggie, one meat. usually i make enough for us to have a day of leftover entrees as well, so the extra cooking isn't too overwhelming.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 12:00 PM

Can your family help cook?

multiple entrees is a great solution, but it's a lot of work. Could your family help make dinner? maybe you could trade off: some nights you make the "main" meal and they make a high-fat, high-cal supplement and some nights they make the "main" meal and you make a healthy alternative just for you. If you cook in big batches, some nights could be left-over nights, where everyone reheats what they want out of the fridge. At the very least, they might gain some appreciation for what it takes to put a hot dinner on the table.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 3:50 PM

Maybe you should tell your family that it's fine they can have what they want but they also have to pitch in making it. They have to help prepare and clean afterwards.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 3:55 PM

How old are your kids? My mom had a rule- if you won't eat what she cooks, she won't cook for you. Dad learned to eat what she served, or find something else. My brother made sure there was hot dogs and KD in the house.

If your children are young, they should learn to eat what you serve them. If they're older they should learn how to cook. They won't support your healthy habits, why support their bad?

Thursday, January 12, 2006, 1:52 AM

My kids are 15 and 12. My husband is in his late 40s. Sad to say, hubby is the one who is protesting most strongly at home. He said dinner time should not be a battle time and children should be allowed to put aside what they do not wish to eat...
What is frustrating is when we vist his parents, he will eat whatever that is served and would even pretend that the food is delicious.
The children are beginning to act up as well since they have support from their dad

Thursday, January 12, 2006, 6:05 AM

well your husbans is acting like a child...maybe that is why your kids are acting up-By watching daddy. Tell them if they don't like it then they will have to pitch in and if they don't want to do that then you are not their servant to cook all day so they can just be rude in the end. Put your foot down!!!

Thursday, January 12, 2006, 1:06 PM

Yep, there is more to this than just food.

You and your husband need to have a serious discussion and come to a concensus about how this is going to be approached. Then you both need to stick to it and present a united front. He needs to support your efforts and understand that you are not a servant. However I understand not wanting to make your kids eat food that they don't like.

Your kids are old enough to learn to cook (if they don't already know how). how about this? You all plan meals together once a week and each take 1 or more 'cooking day' where that person does the cooking (with assistance if needed). This gives your kids ownership and lets you (as the teacher) teach them about food and nutrition. They agree to help you be healthy and you do your darndest to help everyone find a happy medium. If they are just spectators and not participants it will be hard to get them on board.

I and my siblings did ALL the cooking at those ages. My parents had a schedule on the fridge with everbody's cooking and clean-up days and we ate lots of simple things like roast with braised vegetables, etc. However it was a really good experience - I loved the compiments I got when dinner turned out spectacular and when I moved out I was not helpless in the kitchen and knew what to buy and what to make so my food $ would last. Teaching me to cook and be self-suffiecient is one of the best things my parents did. Kids like some responsibility and they like to have others notice their accomplishments.

I'm not going to claim we were the healthiest family on the block, but we did cook and eat together and us kids did not have weight problems. I and my mom still like to cook together - only now I am the one teaching her healthy recipes :-)

Thursday, January 12, 2006, 2:12 PM

Many thanks for all your feedback. They have been useful. I happened to watch Jamie Olivers' School Dinner Menu with my daughter last night. It documented how awful the school dinner were in some English schools with mainly fried stuff and loads of chips. When Jamie removed the items on the old menu and introduced his menu, there was massive rejection. He had to experiment with many different menu to find what the kids like and the documentary ended on how he trained 60 dinner ladies to cook for 20,000 children per day at a borough.
I am in a better position to move from here. Thanks a whole bunch!

Thursday, January 12, 2006, 11:13 PM

Just a thought - there have been so many good ideas - maybe mom needs to go on strike until she get some appreciation! Bring sandwish making supplies to the table and say - fix your own! Just a thought! Good luck!

I have one serious suggestions though - often I cook a bunch of the meat together with herbs and onions, then take half and make it in to meat and loads of veggie soup for me, take the other half and that becomes a higher calorie/fat entree(chop up, add cheese and rice for example).

Friday, January 13, 2006, 5:38 AM

I keep educating my family and we've had progress over time. It's all about compromise. I have a meatless meal one night, a soup & salad night. I let them pick what they'd like on a couple nights and then I either eat small portions of it or I have left overs or if i'm just not that hungry i'll eat a small salad. One of my kids is trying to change her eating habits along with me. Hopefully when she is my age she won't have the same weight issues.

Friday, January 13, 2006, 7:36 AM

I too have been surprised at how my tastes have changed since I reformed my eating habits -- I can't even eat Campbells soup anymore, it all tastes so sugary! And I have had problems with both my boyfriend and my parents over this. To his credit my boyfriend is really trying to support me, and gradually eating healthier too (slow but steady changes). My parents, on the other hand, threw a huge fit when I threw out a half box of sugary cereal that they'd left at my house over a month. To them, wasting food is the greatest sin -- even if the food is bad for you.
To the mom trying to cook healthy -- please stick to your guns! Your kids will appreciate it years down the road, because a) they'll be healthier and b) you and your husband will be healthier for longer. It is clear to me that my lifelong weight problem (and my mom's) stemmed from family meals that were designed to meet my father's taste (50's style meat and potatoes) plus a "clean your plate" mentality. And IMO it is impossible to sit at a table full of yummy junk food and only eat the healthy stuff -- it creates a feeling of deprivation and backfires, and makes the "dieters" feel unworthy of a comforting meal -- much better to see a table of healthy food as your friend.
Lastly, I've found that to make eating healthy appealing, you simply have to spend more money and time. eg, To eat more fruit, buying berries got me into the habit, apples wouldn't have worked (now I eat apples too). Also, a few meals out at a nice vegetarian restaurant can give you a lot of cooking ideas.
Good luck, you're not alone on this!

Friday, January 13, 2006, 12:13 PM

cook one entree!!

Different entrees? don't even go there - its way too much work and spoils the " togetherness" of dinner anyway. Surely there are some compromises? Lean meat with sauce that everyone else eats but you skip? salad instead of fries? Baked potatoes instead of fries or mashed? eveyone else can still cover them in butter / sour cream etc if they want to. Steam your veges and let everyone else pour gravy all over them. Good luck - I know it can be hard pleasing everyone. Its worth giving your kids healthy habits for the future though.

Saturday, January 14, 2006, 2:32 AM

I agree!

Our family is one of those with the "rule" mentioned above - I cook one meal and if you don't eat what I cook, you don't eat. I agree with the poster above - my kids may gripe about some of the things now, but I think they'll thank me in the long run. My mom (who is quite thin, oddly enough) didn't cook the most healthful foods when we were growing up, but has switched to healthier cooking and foods since my dad came down with high cholesterol a couple years back. I learned to cook from her, and I am overweight (don't get me wrong, I am fat because I eat a lot, not because she taught me to cook well). I want to prevent this from becoming a burden for my children (who are 6 and 8 right now). I started to lose weight for my health, and my husband has just been diagnosed with diabetes, forcing further positive changes in our eating habits. It is my hope that if I can remold their eating habits from now forward, they won't have to struggle with their weight in the future. Chances are, if I let them make something for themself for dinner, they'd eat something not necessarily the best for them, so I'd rather insist that they eat what I cook. Stick to your guns - I am sticking to mine - and I know they'll come around!

Tuesday, January 17, 2006, 8:10 PM

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