feeding men!

[sweetpea]

This morning i asked my younger son, who still lives at home, what he would like for his evening meal. Last night i had made fishcakes, which he said were very nice, but that he would like some 'man food'. I asked him what he meant by that (knowing full well that he meant meat of some sort, potatoes and vegetables). My husband doesn't like salad, although he will eat coleslaw but only if it's homemade and my sons are pretty much the same. Tonight i have planned bangers and mash, which has met with approval. I shall have a salad, which i love. Do any of you have the same problem as me. Do you think that men really like traditional old fashioned cooking and tolerate our need to try out new recipes. I love cooking and am always experimenting and the men are always very polite and say it is lovely but deep down i know they are just humouring me.:confused:

[fife]

Yes with two men in the house i have the same problems, i love stir fry's and salads but neither will eat that then you end up making two lots of dinners which i hate.

[Crocus]

With 3 men in the house well, need I say more! Hubs and one son loves strong spicy stuff, other son doesn't eat meat with even the slightest bit of fat or the slightest little bone in it! He prefers "white" food, like potatoes, rice, pasta, mayonnaise, cauliflower, sweetcorn. Oh and pumpkin and sweet potato. No salads except for potato salad. Chicken breast with the skin off and all bones removed.

I like salads, soups, stir fry's, etc. So it's quite difficult to prepare healthy hearty meals that everybody likes. If we have potato and leek soup, one son will have it all if he could, other son I have to make something different for. And it's not as if they didn't have all veggies, meat, etc. to eat when they were little. I prepared veggies and chicken almost everyday for them - never gave them ready made meals or any babyfood when they were babies.

[sweetpea]

Funny isn't. We bring our children up on home made food, filling them with all the good things and then they go on to develop their own taste and poo poo our offerings. Mine eat loads of vegetables luckily but as i said, not salad. They do also eat stirfrys. Anyway, like you two, i often end up cooking what they like and i am more than happy to eat a salad with ham and cheese or if i feel like really treating myself - prawns and avocado - yum! At least we are still cooking and havn't resorted to ready meals. I have to confess i have occasionally had a ready meal when perhaps we've been too busy to cook but a ready meal (often a curry) is a treat.

Anyway, back to the gardening. I like this site. Friends on tap. lovely!

[Ivy]

Hubby and son eat and like everything salad, veg, meat, fish, traditional, exotic as long as it is either home cooked or top quality (best both)the only thing my son does not eat is broad beans whereas hubby feels physically sick if a dish contains raisins. My daughter is much more fussy and is not too keen on salads whereas she loves soups of all kind.

[eleanor2]

i have bought mine up with a cross mix of foods.man food one night salady or stir fry the next.no alternatives.they have all got used to it.not one of my family only me would eat liver.so sadly that went off the menu.men pulled their faces at fish but then hubby created garlic salmon butter.we all love that even grandson.when we go out hubby always has a steaky meal i always have a fishy meal.

[franbee]

I think in general men like food that has 'looked over a gate', or is easy to eat, like sausages, pies and puddings. My OH eats almost anything, but as he is the househusband, does most of the cooking. He's not at all bad, but tends towards fried food or things that I wouldn't think particularly healthy. He doesn't do dishes with rice or pasta, prefers potatoes. But we both eat salads every day.

[Crocus]

Me and hubby really love soups, vegetable soup, lentil soup (which is my favourite of favourites, but not hubby's) potato and leek soup, sugar bean soup and dried pea soup. We love salads, pasta. A proper chicken, pork, beef or lamb roast, with vegetables and rice or potatoes are still the best. My boys love it too, although they like all youngsters like pizzas (something we eat very rarely). Oh to satisfy them all! Compromises upon compromises eh?! xx

[jazzactivist]

My partner and I both eat the same types of food, and like to experiment aswell. Our favourite is Indian food. However, when we are in on our own our tastes do differ. He makes himself pork pie or haggis and eats it with just potatoes, whereas I don't eat meat at all and prefer making food with lentils / beans and a range of vegetables. So, at heart we are probably not all that similar and he would prefer to eat 'man food' even after all this time!

[sweetpea]

well, i have just come back from a very naughty lunch with a girlfriend - just up to the local pub. I am so full right now i don't ever want to eat again (i wish) and i have had to come back and cook for the boys - eek! So, they have lamb chops, mashed butternut squash and potato, carrots and broccoli. So, they have their manfood tonight and i shall have a small salad, if i feel like it later.

[Oola]

I eat mansized portions, and have the veggie equivalent of man food too I think! I may be just about the only vegetarian on the planet that doesn't enjoy salads. Mum can't get her head around this, she adores them.

[Katelb]

I have a similar problem with OH in that he likes just plain food 'meat and two veg' sort of idea,so when there is just the two of us,I'm happy to go along with that;we have fish at least once a week in amongst the other plain meals.When the family come ,we have either a chillie or a curry on saturday and a roast on sunday and OH will show willing and have a little chillie or curry.He's not keen on salad either,but I love salad so I often make a small one and he has a token amount!
I can't imagine how you cope Crocus with all the different fancies but I think you deserve several gold stars!!!

[Crocus]

Why thank you dear lady! Must say it's quite a palava when I switch on hob and oven in the afternoon. There's always something that we all can have, and if the boys don't like the veggies, I give them fruit in stead.