He Eats No Vegetables

Yes, it's true, my long time Bf, eats only meat. Well he has the odd Corn and potatoes.  He plays so many sports and would look good and be so much more healthy. How do i get him out of the habit??

My boyrfriend is very VERY competitive. I bet him he couldn't be a vegitarian from January to the end of April last year (every 6 months or so I stop eating meat to let my body cleanse). He was atofu loving bean sprout eating fool. I, too, love to cook. Cooking only veggie dishes challenges me because I have to make them good enough for HIM to eat (I love veggies). To make it fair, I allowed fish. Eventually, besides sushi, he didn't even want the fish. Maybe try it for a month to begin with. Make sure you make good rich veggie food. Veggie Lasagna is a good place to start because you never really know whats in Lasagna anyway. Veggie-anything with sauce is just plain good. 

lol so true with the Lasagna thing! Also thanks for the tip! it has been very frustrating. I hope to get him out of the habit very soon!

Thanks!

I don't think it's your responsibility to improve his diet, really. You're his girlfriend, not his nursemaid.   Meat, corn and potatoes won't kill him.   What I would suggest, however, is that if you're the one doing the cooking, you simply cook healthy balanced meals with plenty of vegetables etc.  If he turns up his nose he has two choices.... a) go hungry or b) make/buy himself something else.    That tends to focus the mind.

Original Post by gi-jane:

 If he turns up his nose he has two choices.... a) go hungry or b) make/buy himself something else.    

PMSL! I did this when my hubby was complaining he'd packed on a few lbs. He moaned about the smaller dinners & all the veg, but a month later he was 15lbs lighter! LOL! He couldn't be bothered cooking himself, and now he'll eat pretty much anything I put in front of him! 

Good for you irishmum!!  I have a good friend who is what you'd call a 'traditional meat n 2 veg man' whereas I like to cook vegetarian food fairly often.   Being a Yorkshireman with an honours degree in 'hot air' his views about vegetarian food are very rude & very funny but far too un-PC to be published.  Being a Lancashirewoman, if I'm cooking he'll get what he's bloody given.  (You see why we're such good friends)   And yet.... and yet..... last time we were planning our next get-together he let slip over the phone that if I was thinking of making 'those beanburger things' again, that would be lovely... just so long as I never told anyone. LOL!

 Men eh? (no offence to any reading!) I guess in 'famine' times we can get them to try anything eh? As a 'traditional' Irish man- he was unaware that a meal didn't have to consist mainly of meat & potatoes (with a small bit of veg for some colour!) Now I have him eating stir-frys, omelettes & pasta (big achievement! LOL!)

If only my methods of shifting his weight worked for me too- I'd be flying?!

This reminds me of something.  My hubby hardly eats veggies.  He'll eat them if I cook them, but he never asks for them and he never orders them at restaurants.

However, I was shocked the other day when I cooked dinner, realized I was out of veggies and went ahead and just did the meat and potatoes thing.  He actually brought it up and asked where the veggies were.  It was amazing.  It was the first time he'd actually aked for veggies.  I think it's because I got him used to eating them due to my new cooking habits.

Jazz, most guys will eat it if you take the time to cook it and put it in front of them.  have you tried adding them to his plate and seeing what he does with them?

On a side note:  I'm not saying that every woman should be responsible for cooking all of their men's meals.  I'm simply saying that for hubby and I, it works, and if it works for you too, then use it to your advantage by adding those veggies to his plate.

One other thing to try is jazzing up the vegetables themselves. Look for some creative side dishes and play about with them. Cauliflower cheese is your typical example. Or, make a dish that is hearty but uses vegetables as one of its key ingredients. Vegetable stews and thick soups like minestrone, bean salads, or fun foods like fajitas and otherwise.

Incidentally, with my ex-boyfriend: he came/comes from a Chinese family. Lots of being brought up on vegetable central dishes! So he found it hilarious when we'd go out to eat and he'd favour a vegetable or vegetarian dish and my order would be along the lines of, "I'll have the 12oz rib eye, please. Rare."

Original Post by lalabanana:

or fun foods like fajitas and otherwise.

 I made bean burrito's for years without my hubby realising there was no meat in them! LOL!

One of my favourite dinners is a big plate of baby potatoes, baby corn, sugar snaps, mushrooms, & onions mixed with 1/2 packet of cheese sauce made up with water. I have this with either wholewheat pasta or a salmon/chicken fillet. VERY filling, and my 5-a-day in one go!

Irish: I got my dad to eat a completely vegetarian Shepherd's pie containing lentils and various other veg alongside, and in his words: "I can't tell much of a difference". He is perhaps one of the most hardcore meat eaters I know. Amazing what you can do with a layer of mashed potato and carrot. >_>;

I looove new potatoes. One thing, though: you know potatoes are a starch and not a vegetable, right? xD

Sure I'll throw in another vegetable then - thats my carb portion sorted! (one of my dietitians recommendations- to have some form of carbs at each meal- dinner was my problem as I tend to have veg & fish/meat!)

Don't forget, other root veg and beans also provide complex carbs. And they're a vegetable serving!

why don't you flatten a steak out, stuff it with mushrooms and onions, and make it that way? season the steak/pork/chicken with a bunch of seasonings/spices... no necessary fats except maybe a little EVOO and I don't see him complaining!

Mmmm...that sounds good. And again would please my dietitian (eat at least 1-2 red meat servings a week)!

I'm not a vegetarian, but I love vegetables and cannot imagine not eating them every day.  You can't tell him what to do, but you could look up the many stories online that link eating green vegetables with better health, longer life, cancer prevention, etc.  Eating just meat potatoes and corn will definitely create nutritional imbalances that will become more apparent as he gets older.

To the stuffed steak idea, I also recommend doing that with chicken breast and some pancetta/lean bacon. Cut a slit in the breasts, fill them with veggies or a rice vegetable mix, and then wrap a couple of slices of bacon or pancetta or lean ham (also works) around the breasts and bake them for 30-40 minutes.

Original Post by lalabanana:

To the stuffed steak idea, I also recommend doing that with chicken breast and some pancetta/lean bacon. Cut a slit in the breasts, fill them with veggies or a rice vegetable mix, and then wrap a couple of slices of bacon or pancetta or lean ham (also works) around the breasts and bake them for 30-40 minutes.

 I just flattened some big chicken breasts last night... stuffed them with a low fat feta cheese and some canned spinach... put some salt and pepper on.. Yummmm!!

My mum's trick is usually cooking meat on a bed of white cabbage. It's got the meaty juices all over it and it's not green. It's a good place to start with people who dislike veggies. She's converted a lot of picky eaters that we've had round.

Edit: I've also heard that some people dislike veggies because of their texture. I know people who don't eat soft/overcooked veggies but will eat them el-dente . Maybe experiment with that?

Scjf: XD The bacon/ham wrapped chicken is about the only way I like bacon, I don't much like it otherwise. Always goes down well, though.

Thinking on it, to the OP and anyone else who has someone who is veg-resistant, any stuffed vegetable recipe might be worth considering. Peppers, mushrooms, squash, aubergine, cabbage... stuffed with rice, couscous, quinoa, cheese, meat/mince, beans, other vegetables...

Anyone got a hubby/partner/fussy other that likes chinese but not so much veg? One other thing I know my dad absolutely loves is making mu shu pork but eating them in lettuce leaves and not pancakes. Same with hoisin duck! Works well for any sort of stir fry, really. Yum!

Omg you guys are amazing.. lol i made a dish and went to his house about an hour ago (It was stuffed veggie chicken, and veggies on the side) he played with the veggies but woofed down the chicken mind you it was the same veggies and he asked if there was anymore, lol. I do feel kinda dumb tho i mean i thought about the meat thing for so long and i even thought about  the meat thing and i never did anything about it.. that is so changing.

Thank you!