Cooking to My Husband's Tastes

Opposites attract.
I want to share a struggle that I went through when my husband and I first married. At that time I ate: no red meat or pork (still don't), whole wheat only (even pasta noodles and such), mostly balanced meals.

My honey however was a live-hard meat eater (still is) and felt that fruits and veggies are always optional.

Cooking was a challenge.
It was very challenging trying to cook in those early days. My husband agreed to try ground turkey and eat whatever I fixed. However, once he realized I fixed the opposite of what he liked to eat we had a problem.

I'm sorry to say that for quite a while I tried to force healthy foods on him. And when he made requests for certain dishes or to have his food prepared a certain way I pretty much ignored him.

Well, fast forward a couple of years into our marriage. I finally had a "eureka" moment. I trust him to provide for our family - and he meets our needs. He trusts me to take care of the matters at home, including food preparation. But I wasn't really meeting his needs in that area.

So, I decided that I would start cooking all meals to please my husband. Yes, that means that sometimes I prepare two variations of the meal - one beef and one turkey. But it's worth it. My husband enjoys mealtime so much now. And he's constantly telling anyone who will listen what a great cook I am.
It's not that I fix gourmet meals for him.

Honey, Is it good?
But I learned all of his favorite dishes and I season them according to his tastes. This meant that I had to ask him, "Baby, what do you like to eat?" And then I'd prepare the dish or find a recipe for it and learn how to fix it. Then I'd serve my husband the meal and ask him how he liked it. This was the tough part. It was a learning experience not taking the constructive criticism personally. Then the next time I made the dish I would incorporate the changes that my husband had requested (i.e. more salt, no green pepper). I kept tweaking the recipe until I heard the magic words "baby, make it like this every time."

These days I have about a month's worth of recipes that my husband really enjoys. When he comes home I fix his plate and mealtime is pleasurable for him. And, it gives me a lot of pleasure because cooking is such a simple thing that I can do to show him that what he wants matters to me, that he matters to me. And this has strengthened our relationship.

Healthy eating habits take time to acquire.
Of course it would be great if my husband ate as healthy as possible; because, I love him and want him to be around as long as God has planned. But it's really his responsibility to choose a healthy eating lifestyle. I do cook some healthy sides for the children and myself. And sometimes my husband eats some of them. And I trust that he'll continue making healthier and healthier choices.