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I'm with tapioca on this one. I think it will only get worse. If you have gone into adulthood still being a picky eater I think it has become ingrained as part of your personality.
I have dated a few guys who were picky eaters, or had some food issues because they were fat kids and as fit adults they saw food as the enemy. I love food, I love to cook, and when you are sitting down to a nice meal that you put effort into cooking, and the person across from you is turning up their nose or just pushing things to the side, it is very upsetting. You will never get used to the faces that he makes, or the rejection of the food you put in front of him, it will not ever feel better to you, or get any easier.
My boyfriend and I both have foods that we don't like, and we both have foods that we just can't eat. He doesn't like melted cheesy dishes, or sour cream, so I keep those things out of recipes and use them as garnishes is I want them for myself. He loves Mussels, but I just can't stomach them, but whenever he has a craving I make him a big pot of them. It's one thing to not like certain foods, but when you have a picky eater that just doubles the stress level.
Dave and I love food and it's hard enough figuring out what we want to eat if we go out to dinner. Where do you even go out with a picky eater?
If cooking is a big part of your life and you get a lot of joy from it (like I do), you should think hard about being with a man that can't at least appreciate trying to enjoy this part of your life that truly makes you happy.

In step 3 it says to beat on medium speed for 15 minutes, could that be wrong? Seems like way to long.

Thanks everyone for the advise. For those who are interested in more details; When Dave and I started dating over 5 years ago, he weighed 135lb (he's 5"9) he was a toothpick, way too thin. Over the last few years since he started working a desk job he has gained about 45lb. He refused to belive that he was getting older and his metabolism was slowing down, up until the last 20 lb he was still eating as if he was 20 not 34.
I honestly didn't care about his weight much until I noticed that he was becoming sluggish and unhappy. At first he thought it was awesome that he was finally able to gain weight because that was always a problem for him, but as he's gotten bigger it's no longer fun or cute.
The reason I turned to all of you is because I dont want for him to go on a "DIET", he is very good about exercising daily, and we both know the basics of nutrition enough to know what he should and shouldn't be eating. But what I really needed where some good recipes to help me along.
arm1970- I like you idea of the bento box, but we haven't had much luck with bringing lunch from home, half the time when I pack him a lunch he forgets it in the fridge. But I think I will have to get more diligent about him taking lunch to work, because that's where he's eating all his calories, BBQ, Sandwiches, and Italian food from Aurthor Ave in the Bronx.
To make things a bit more complicated in our house; I was sick this passed Spring with some intestinal issues. I have always been petite and hovered around the 100lb mark, when I got sick I dipped from abt 98lb to 82lb in a matter of 2 weeks, it was very scary. So the last months have been a mission for me to gain the weight back and keep the weight on.
So you see, one person trying to gain, the other person trying to loose, and I am the sole person cooking. I really need healthy meals more than diet meals, that way we can both eat the same things (in different portions) and achieve our weight goals.

Oh man, this is my biggest food pet peeve.
Never ever go into my plate unless I offer you a piece of my food, even than don't go into my plate, I will cut you a piece of what I am offering and put it on your plate.
I honestly don't know where this comes from as I'm a pretty giving person and have no issues sharing otherwise, but the picking from the plate has bothered me for as long as I can remember, even as a kid.
There are situations when my BF and I are out with friends and we all agree to order family style or to share a bunch of appetizers, that's fine, but actually taking food off of my plate without being offered is just a NO NO.
My BF and I share food off each others plates at home, but never when we're out, cause we dont want to open that up for others at the table.

I have bought eggs at the Union Square market on numerous occasions, I can't remember the name of the farm, young girls always run the booth. I have purchased eggs from them in the summer, and have never had any issues with them.
They have eggs on the table, but they also have eggs in coolers behind them, if you are worried I would ask for the eggs from the cooler. Also I tend to go to the market early in the summer, it's sort of a drag since I live in Brooklyn and have to take the subway in, but it's quiet and you have your pick of the freshest produce.

I have never had an eating disorder. But just like jo_jo_ba I have always I have always been scrutinized for the way I eat. If I dont like the food, I just wont eat it, it's been that way since I was a child. I remember when I was in kindergarden my teacher complained to me mom that I wouldn't eat the school lunches, and they made a deal that the teacher would sit with me at lunch time and make sure that I ate.
About 5 years ago I lost a lot of weight due to a hyperactive thyroid. I am petite and have always been fairly slim, so it was visible on my frame. What I hated most was when people would say that they wished they could be as slim as me. My body was going through such mayhem in that year that I found out I had that disease, I hated everyone that made that comment to me. It was so difficult to get back up to a semi healthy weight in the last few years since my digestive system was never the same since the sickness, food has been a real struggle for me.
Just a few weeks ago I was hospitalized, I had become sick but didn't know what was wrong. By doctor finally convinced me to go to the emergency room because I had lost 15 lb in 2 weeks. It turned out that I have colitis. Colitis is a disease of the intestines, at it's worst you get cuts on the intestinal walls which seep out all the nutrients and liquids before they could be absorbed. By the time I went to the hospital I was completely dehydrated, vitamin depleted, and just a general mess.
So now I have a goal of gaining 20 lb, which is harder than it sounds when your body just wont cooperate with you. It has been a challenge every day to figure out how I can cram enough calories in me without overloading my stomach or making it sick with the wrong foods.
I have always wondered myself how many foodies there are out there that have eating issues, be they emotional, or physical. I have eaten out in so long, since there are so many things that I have to watch out for when I am out, that makes me sad.

I'm lucky because my BF understands this sort food insanity, we like a lot of the same foods, so he gets to enjoy the bounty too. We live in Brooklyn, NY and don't think anything off going into Manhattan on a weekend for brunch. We live about a 35 minute commute into downtown Manhattan, if that is any indication.
If we find a great food store we will travel to it, pretty much until we get tired of it. Luckily we dont own a car, so we have to contain ourselves to only buying small amounts of food at time.
We really like to shop ethnic stores more than large supermarkets. I've been buying meat recently only from the Turkish grocer, for fish we go to the Asian grocer, for cold cuts we go to the Russian deli. Not all of these places are necessarily amazing bargains, but there is something at every place that is so much better than anything else around. Actually the last few Saturdays the BF and I have taken a 20 minute walk to the Chinese bakery to get dough wrapped hot dogs, he is in love with them and has craved them for breakfast.
There is nothing wrong with traveling for food, shopping, dining or whatever else. Most people in the NY boroughs don't have a super market right next to where they live, I sure don't, the closest supermarket is a 15 minute commute on the subway. My entire childhood my parents drove to the supermarket, than the Costco opened in Long Island, so we drove to Costco so we could buy bulk...I guess everyone just draws the line somewhere. How far would you travel? For what items wont you travel?

I was just in Florida last month renting a house with some friends. We had a grill though, that helped a lot.

As someone who once lived in Fl, I would suggest that you check the local Publix supermarket for some deals. Most of the prepared deli food is exceptional, breads and pastries are always fresh, I dont know if all of the stores have fried chicken, but I remember the fried chicken being cheaper and tastier than KFC. Also don't hesitate to buy any items that are Publix brand over brand name, there were a few items we got, frozen food, snacks, canned good, etc. and we all thought they were just as good as the name brand products.

From our experience just make easy meals, your on vacation, no one cares what they are eating as long as there is a meal being served. If your kids have sandwiches for lunch every day at school they really wont care, they are used to it. Stock sandwich bread, meats, and cheeses. Buy lettuce, tomatoes, and whatever else your family normally puts on their sandwiches, but make sure to cut everything up right away, so when someone wants a sandwich it will be very easy to put together. Also buy snacks and leave them out if possible, if everyone has access to snacks all day, they wont be so hungry at every meal.

Our main thing was that we didn't want to spend more than 30 minutes in the kitchen making any meal. All meat that we brought was very thinly pounded so it cooked fast, if you want to do fish just buy one long fillet and bake up with lemon and some seasoning. 1 day we peeled and cut enough potatoes for 2 breakfasts, we put the portion for day 2 in a bowl with water and put in the fridge for day 2, that worked really well. Bagels are great for breakfast because you can just put everything on the table and everyone helps themselves. Even though we had a grill one night, we just boiled up some hot dogs and ate them at the table outside (were just all to lazy to fire up the grill), just having the opportunity to eat the hot dogs outside was nice. Rice is good too, we made one big pot, had it with beans one night, and with some sauted veggies second night.

Hope you can enjoy the rest of your vacation!

The best turkey I've ever made was a Bell and Evans, hands down for taste and moistness. They are expensive but absolutely worth it, in my house we only roast a whole turkey once a year, so I don't feel bad spending the money on a nice bird for the occasion.

This is the reverse of your question, sorry; I have always bought ceasar dressing in the store, I finally made it from scratch for the first time a few weeks ago.
I don't know, I thought it would be such a hassle to make for some reason.
Anyway, it was so good and easy to make, that I vowed never to buy the store bought again. Store bought isn't even close, not even the expensive fancy pants ones.

I make 2 things with ground chicken.

Chicken cutlets-
about 1lb ground chicken, 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, small onion grated, salt, pepper, drop of garlic powder, splash of milk.
Mix till combined, form 1/2" thick patties and fry in oil in a non stick pan, about 3-4 min per sides.
Once all are fried, I pour some liquid into the pan (enough to reach about 1/2 way up the cutlets), stock, white wine or even water, if I have capers or olives on hand I chop a few tablespoons up and throw those around the pan into the liquid, cover the pan, turn to low and let simmer for 10-12 min. Serve with a rice or mashed potatoes, also like this cold the next day.

My mom taught me how to make chicken meatballs for soup a while ago, her trick is to cut up some cold butter and mix it into the ground chicken. This gives the fat you need and adds some nice flavor. Always cook the meatballs in a seperate pot so that all of the scum that comes off of the meatballs when boiled doesn't end up in the soup.

chicken liver, so important to have the chicken fat, we free the livers in the chicken fat ,than use the fried skin pieces as a topping for the finished dish.

jellyfish