Whole Foods Lifestyle For discussion of whole foods and more natural diets.

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Old 07-31-2006, 03:22 PM   #1  
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Default Training my Hubby?

I bought the SuperFoods book yesterday. I haven't started it yet, because I also bought a book on putting - priorities, you know.

I am working on my head right now, in terms of getting ready to change my eating habits, and I've already been making some better choices. Once my daughter arrives (9 days to due date and counting), I am expecting that my routine will be so different that a new eating and shopping and planning routine will just be one more thing.

My question has to do with my husband - he can be a bit stubborn sometimes in terms of what/how he wants to eat. I am willing, if need be, to just deal with my own food and let him deal with his, but I would prefer if we could eat together and the same. Does anyone have any suggestions for training him, slowly if need be, to change how he eats and cooks?

For example, he is Chinese American, so white rice is a huge staple. I have brown rice in the house, but it rarely gets made (he does the cooking), because "he likes his white rice." ...sigh. I will make my own food if I have to, but if he could change, it would be helpful.

Maybe if I have him read the SuperFoods book he will want to change...?

-Sara
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Old 07-31-2006, 03:26 PM   #2  
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Having him read the book would be a great idea, if he seems open to improving his own diet. Otherwise he might need to just 'discover' the book himself.

I'd start by creating a list of all the superfoods you both will enjoy, and start asking him to make those as often as possible. Then I'd start incorporating the other ones into meals that you don't share. Cook some brown rice and have it in the refrigerator on hand to add to your food when he makes his white rice. And maybe you could start offering him some of your superfood meals to see if he likes them.
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:11 PM   #3  
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I tell ya, the frozen brown rice is a LIFESAVER to me. 3 minutes, perfectly cooked, no messy pot. I get it at Trader Joe's, maybe check the nicer/trendier grocery stores in your area to see if they have it?

I don't think white rice is a "bad" food, if you eat a healthy stir fry with broccoli, orange peppers, tofu, mushrooms, carrots, snow peas over brown rice, it's a big winner dinner to me. Is brown rice better, sure, it's less processed has more fiber. Is white rice evil? It's not like a double bacon cheese burger.
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:17 PM   #4  
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You know I do most of the cooking in my house so that is not as big of a problem. I have just slowly had to show my husband how much better it is for him to eat like this. He is not nearly as good about it as me. For example he will eat out, but he just does it for lunch. If he wants me to cook for him he eats what I cook. He is slowly getting more used to the food. As far as breakfast goes that is kind of a fend for yourself type of affair anyway. He eats the processed stuff I eat the good stuff. I can usually get a good super food dinner in though, so...
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:20 PM   #5  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rabbitt
For example, he is Chinese American, so white rice is a huge staple. I have brown rice in the house, but it rarely gets made (he does the cooking), because "he likes his white rice." ...sigh. I will make my own food if I have to, but if he could change, it would be helpful.
My husband has always been serious about his short grained sticky white rice. I began slowly by mixing just a little brown rice with the white in the rice cooker. Then I started adding quinoa sometimes or millet.. its hard to even see the small quinoa or millet grains now that my husband is used to seeing the brown rice. Suddenly one day my husband remembered that his mother used to add barley to the rice and he actually asked me to do the same... I nearly fainted! So most days I add a generous portion of barley and other days some of the other grains.

I've heard that many brands of Asian short grained white rice are a lot less processed and polished than American long grained rice. I've looked at the individual grains and it appears to be so.
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:22 PM   #6  
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My DH is the opposite of Sara's! He loves whole foods. Always wants a salad with his meals, eats his veggies first, and prefers brown rice. Of course, he also loves ice cream, cakes, pies and cookies. He weighs all of 140, with excellent cholesterol levels, and runs several days a week, so I guess I shouldn't chide him about his treats.
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:24 PM   #7  
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Yeah, I don't think white rice is necessarily "bad" either, but I just think the brown would be healthier. I never thought about making it ahead of time or using frozen. (There is a reason my husband does the cooking ).

I actually think he will ultimately enjoy eating this way. He sort of grew up eating more this way, and is certainly open to a lot more foods than I am. And he wants to lose about 20 pounds or so, which is not going to happen the way we eat right now.

Now if this darn baby would just come so I can breathe again.

-Sara
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Old 07-31-2006, 05:14 PM   #8  
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Sit down with some paper and start making a master list of all the foods you enjoy eating (that would be within this diet) and then in an offhanded manner go down the list and ask him what he would be willing to eat. He might suprise you. Don't forget to include alternatives or better ways to cook what he already enjoys. You may not be a low carb dieter around him. Find a diet that matches your lifestyle. If you don't, you won't be able to keep it for life.

Also the big word in dieting is PORTION CONTROL. All of these things, including white rice aren't bad things in moderation and in better portions.

My husband likes meat. I cook lean/white meats and he is happy because I've included his love for meat. He hates a lot of veggies so I include 1 veggie he will eat (and me too), 1 favorite (like mac and cheese) that I wont eat but he and the kids will and 1 veggie that I give him a spoon ful of but mostly I made it because I like it and it replaces the heavy starch item for me (like broc). Sometimes I make the 2nd item for both of us. It's flexible, but my point is sometimes i have just ONE thing on the plate that only I will eat and still manage to sit down to a dinner that is mostly "ours". Over time I have converted him in a few things like white bread to wheat. I never asked him to. I shared what I had if it looked good or he was out of his and tried mine. Also many many many of my good stuff in the day come from my snacks (so the meals can be mostly ours). I keep healthy stuff around like fresh fruits, ready to eat sugar snap peas or other raw veggies, diced ham, etc.

Having a baby and starting a diet is a VERY hard thing to do. I've never done it. Maybe you can just journal and not concentrate too much on what you are doing at first until you get a clear picture where your weaknesses are, then work from there. Concentrate on that baby.
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Old 07-31-2006, 11:20 PM   #9  
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My advice, LEAD BY EXAMPLE!

My hubby grew up and currently lives on junk food, everyday! Fast food, soda, candy, pastry, you name it, he'll eat it. A few months ago, I got him to cut out all of that junk. He has NEVER done such a thing before in his life! We were eating whole grain foods and drinking lots of water. No dieting or exercise. In just a few short months, he had dropped 36 pounds! (Of course, I lost nothing, but that's another rant...) He felt great and looked quite good! He is a firefighter and was weighing close to 255 pounds. He had gotten down to 219. He eventually went back to his old eating habits and has regained most, if not all, of the weight. He feels like crap right now. It's hot and humid outside and at work, he has to put on all of that heavy, hot gear and run into buildings that are on fire, for pete's sake! His job is very physical, and his weight is taking its toll on him. And he's always very tired and irritable. What is annoying is that he is never ready to make changes with me when I want him to!

But this time around, what I am finding is that he is seeing all of the changes in me right now and it is convincing him to come aboard! He sees me losing weight, eating really good food, having tons of energy, being less stressed out, happier, etc. I stopped trying to convince him to do this with me and just did it by myself. And that seems to be what made him take notice.

Sorry for the long post! My point is: LEAD BY EXAMPLE and if he can see positive changes in you, he'll likely give it a try! I don't know if your DH has health issues or a weight issue that makes you really want him to eat better, but MY hubby certainly does! Good luck to you!

**Oh, one more thing. Since he loves to cook, give him a challenge to incorporate some of the SuperFoods into a dee-lish dish for you. You pick the ingredients, as many as possible. He won't be able to resist a cooking challenge (I know I can't!), and he'll of course want to taste his creation! Bam! He's hooked on SuperFoods! Sounds like a fairytale, but it could happen....

Last edited by olivia627; 07-31-2006 at 11:25 PM.
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Old 08-01-2006, 09:04 AM   #10  
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Olivia- I like your post...Lead by example...It is so true. You can't force anybody to change. Nobody can force you on a diet (at least it won't be successful unless you want it to work). Subliminal messages work MUCH better...lol
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Old 08-01-2006, 09:34 AM   #11  
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Quote:
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Subliminal messages work MUCH better...lol
Especially when working with HUSBANDS!
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Old 08-01-2006, 05:37 PM   #12  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by olivia627
**Oh, one more thing. Since he loves to cook, give him a challenge to incorporate some of the SuperFoods into a dee-lish dish for you. You pick the ingredients, as many as possible. He won't be able to resist a cooking challenge (I know I can't!), and he'll of course want to taste his creation! Bam! He's hooked on SuperFoods! Sounds like a fairytale, but it could happen....
This is a great idea. I know he will take "requests" from me on what he is cooking, so I think if I have a few good ingredients on hand and ask him to incorporate them in my food, he will probably eventually just use them, period.

At least, that's what I hope.

-Sara
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Old 08-01-2006, 05:43 PM   #13  
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Pat, are you sure we aren't married to the same man? Ok I'm not married yet but our men sound very similar. My DF (at 140) loves veggies and brown rice and loves salads. When I presented the idea of cutting down on meat drastically, he was all for it. He does seem to love certain items though like peanuts. I swear a big jar of peanuts disappeared in a week but he denies it was only a week. (And I wasn't eating them!) It does make life easier to have someone who wants to eat healthy. If only I could get him to cook... Actually I like cooking.
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Old 08-01-2006, 07:14 PM   #14  
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Nelie! Mine DOES NOT cook either. When I leave him at home alone, I leave lots of stuff made up, and my friends take pity on him. Otherwise he eats sandwiches or cereal. He used to always tell people we were "economic vegetarians" - we just couldn't afford meat! (Thinks he's such a wit, too )
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Old 08-01-2006, 10:54 PM   #15  
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He used to always tell people we were "economic vegetarians" - we just couldn't afford meat! (Thinks he's such a wit, too )
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