There is no way you have tried all recepies on the planet of healthy food yet.
Make it a new hobby together with your hubs to try new foods. I call it food adventure with my fiance. It is a rare healthy way to have fun with weird flavors and unusual textures.
Choose options with lots of interest and less calories.
If you can't see that doing it for you then there is ONLY one thing I'm afraid: portion control. Start counting your hub's daily intake and make him look at it and ask him where he wants to cut down.
From what I know from my relationship: Plans made alone FOR the partner never work. Plans made with the partner are like double strong and certain to succeed.
Find out what you both want from your life together and achieve it.
I LOVE cooking for my boyfriend (er, fiance, we just got engaged this weekend!) so I totally get it. I enjoy cooking in general and being able to cook for him allows me to be appreciated for getting praise for something I love and for him to feel appreciated because I am doing something for him.
I may be off-base here, but if you are cooking whole foods for him, is what you are cooking really terrible? It's not like you are bringing home huge bags of chips and boxes of Oreos. I personally don't see anything wrong with eating a slice of homemade pie with fresh ingredients if it fits within your calorie range (and our guys' calorie ranges are probably around 2500-3000 a day) and is complemented by other higher-nutrient foods.
I sometimes make full-fat versions of foods (from alfredo sauce to apple pie) but I often substitute (yogurt for sour cream/mayo, mashed bananas for oil) and he doesn't even notice a difference. Either way, as long as the ingredients are fresh and whole (we almost never use canned or frozen foods) and he's not eating mountains of food, I'm not worried.
I guess I didn't give you any advice really... hm. I guess my question to you is, do you need to be serving him lower-fat foods and he won't eat them if they are lower fat?
Well last night was a success! He wanted popcorn loaded with butter after a big dinner and I said no. He whined but I stuck to my guns and we went to bed 2 hours later without eating Like I said, if I won't make it, he won't bother to go make it himself. He was of course, not hungry! A little pouty though. Haha.
Indieblue: The cookies he wants are about 2700 calories for teh whole batch that he will eat the entire thing, so it's homemade and fresh yes, but honestly calorie-wise better off with oreos! He won't eat healthy alternatives.
Ah I see. I understand the challenge a bit more then. At least, like you said, if you don't make it for him he won't make it himself. Congrats on the success of last night!
I'd suggest lots of healthy treats. Something that feels luxurious is key, along with things that are fun or attractive to look at, and of course you'll want to make at least some things where you can put some effort into cooking them and enjoy feeling that you're making him a nice meal.
My partner and I love to eat fruit when we're curled up to watch TV before bed, typically strawberries, raspberries with grapes, cherries, that sort of thing. We keep an eye out for the special offers at the supermarket. Strawberries with the odd bit of chocolate thrown in can be good as well. The flip side is that I'm having to get quite good at getting raspberry stains out of the bed linen! Anyway, washing and dehulling a bowl of strawbs isn't quite the same as lovingly making a batch of cookies, but it's enough work that you definitely feel you've made some effort, especially if it's late in the evening when you're both feeling lazy and disinclined to go to the kitchen.
The other day we were both lazing around the flat feeling exhausted, and he was muttering about going out to buy some crisps. I suddenly remembered that we had houmous in the fridge and suggested that, and he said, Oh yes, that would be lovely. So I peeled and cut up a couple of carrots, washed some sugar snaps (think they're snow peas in American, or is that mange tout?), and we curled up on the sofa and noshed those. There's something very fun about dips, especially when you can jokily fight each other to get to the houmous tub at the same time, and they're pretty to look at and fresh tasting and slightly sweet. He actually said how thankful he was that he has a lovely girlfriend who makes him great snacks like this. Cherry tomatoes are good with this as well, and again they are relatively sweet and have that visual appeal.
I went to a friend's garden party over the weekend and while she'd cooked loads, the thing I really noticed everyone eating was a large packet of peas in the pod. Tasty, plus it's fun to shell them. Her six year old daughter adores them, and she's holding her breath in the hope that the girl won't figure out that they are vegetables.
Other nice foods which are a big success in this household: falafel with wholemeal pitta bread, some chopped veg (cucumber, tomatoes, sometimes lettuce), and dips (houmous, baba ghanoush, yoghurty dips, chilli sauce if you fancy). You can bake the falafel instead of frying them. They're street/fast food in Israel, which shows that they have that sort of appeal, but really healthy.
Sushi: home-made sushi is actually pretty easy to make. I'm vegan (he isn't, one reason why we eat separately a lot), so I make vegetable sushi, e.g. with avocado and red pepper. One time I was out of pickled ginger and the shops were shut, so I decided to try making my own pickled ginger. To my delight, it's dead easy to make, pretty quick, and tastes out of this world. Whenever I make sushi as part of a Japanese meal, I generally have to put them in the fridge and stand in front of the fridge door to stop himself from wolfing them down before the meal.
Actually, Japanese food might be a good avenue to explore: madly healthy, and there's huge stress on making it attractive. Go and get yourself some cookbooks, whether they're about healthier world cooking traditions, or perhaps something about desserts/snacks which are good for dieters.
Sometimes it's more about the feeling of pampering someone than it is about exactly what you do for them. I give my partner little foot rubs or head massages, maybe just for a couple of minutes when I happen to be passing that way, and he loves it. We also have a tradition of me making him cups of tea. (NB: as I'm seriously disabled and need a lot of looking after, it's important to us that I turn round and pamper him so that it feels balanced and I can return the love and support he gives me. And it has to be little things because I get exhausted quickly.) We've made a joke of it, he will wave the mug at me and make a cute face and perhaps say, "Minion, fetch me my tea!" And if he forgets to do this, I will tell him that he's not getting any tea unless he waves the mug at me in the approved fashion (which he can also do without actually having a mug there, he just mimes it).
I have this issue to a lesser extent with my family. I am happy to makemyself a salad, for example, while making them hotdogs. But for me, I view it as balance. None of them struggle withtheir weight, portion control, or eating an excess of junk food. So cinnamon rolls for breakfast every few weeks, or a cheesy casserole? It isn't impacting their health negatively, because it is balanced with heart-healthy bean dishes, raw carrots for snack, water instead of juice to drink, etc etc.
I cook healthy food for my family probably 90% of the time, some pizza or baked chicken nuggets for a meal a week isn't what is going to break the bank with their health, and I know they enjoy a good variety of food, both more healthy and less. I have changed my husband's diet through my own - the entrees are healthier, more veggies, more whole ingredients even in the desserts I make, etc etc - and he has dropped about 20 pounds just naturally through the last two years, due to these changes. I don't need to have them all on a calorie restricted diet like mine, because they don't have the same problem I have. So healthy, whole foods, including a little natural sugar and a fair bit of fat, is fine for them.
For me, I am giving them lessons in portion control (my kids are so great at this, they'll stop eating the moment they aren't hungry, and my husband as well!) and providing them a variety of foods to choose from, including the occasional junky option. Their diets are balanced, their habits are solid, their bodies are healthy. I had to find a balance between pleasing their palates and considering their health, and doe me that didn't include never baking again. I also refuse to buy diet cheese or organic veggies, for cost reasons, so we make due with the inexpensive, standard alternatives and use them in smart ways.
Just do the best with what you have. Change your husband's diet slowly, make healthier desserts, or relegate them to a special day of the week (like Friday night is pie night, etc). Make a cheesy casserole, but serve it with fresh strawberries and a salad, and make up the first plate for him. My husband likes being served by me, especially when I do it with a smile and a kiss, as it makes him feel special and loved. This gives me some control over his first helping, at least, and I can give his plate a nice balance of nutrients to start off with, helping him fill up on more than just the high calorie main course.
Little things like this make the difference in our family. I don't put my family on a diet with me, per se, but the basic habit changes I have undertaken do trickle down to them and impact them. I have no desire to make them eat rabbit food every day for the rest of ther lives, but neither will I allow them to dine on hohos and soda either! Knowing their like their sweet and savory dishes, the best I can do is make them as healthy and tasty as possible, balancing them with whole grain sides, lightly cooked veggies, and a cornucopia of fresh fruit. I control what is cooked in this house, and have a responsibility to balance the needs and wants of all those involved. That means I don't enable them with cookies daily, but don't make them set kale or starve, either. You'll find your balance too, just make it a priority to show your husband love in ways other than comfort food, or put those foods on special days where they can be had, but aren't a regular feature in the daily diet of your home. It has worked marvelously for us
Like I said, if I won't make it, he won't bother to go make it himself. He was of course, not hungry! A little pouty though. Haha.
