High and low calorie versions of the same meal?

findingmyownway

Hi everyone

I thought i'd tap into the general wisdom on this board as I could do with some new suggestions.

Basically, I'm having a nightmare at the moment trying to cook meals which are suitable for both me and my OH as we have such different likes and requirements...

OH:
Has a medical condition which means he is prone to losing weight and really needs 'feeding up' whenever he is not feeling too sick to eat. So I am after ideas of high calorie meals for him - he likes savory, crispy things, likes most meats, his diet needs to be low salt and he doesn't like visible vegetables/fruit. Pre-illness his diet was mainly ready meals, frozen pizzas and the like :eek:

Me:
I have put almost a stone in weight on in the last 6 months, through a combination of reducing the amount of exercise i do and eating much more calorific meals than usual. So I really want to cut down on calories (and up the exercise but thats another story!). I like vegetables, fruits and can take or leave meat in a meal. Pre-OH I would eat omlettes, veggie pasta, curry, chilli etc.


So I'm a bit stuck for meal ideas!! I really want to avoid cooking 2 meals for the hassle & cost factor. I have a food processor if that helps? Up to now I have been trying to give him extras with meals - for example if i make a curry i'll give him naan bread with it to add more calories. I'd really appreciate any other words of wisdom?

quintwins

ok well what abour baked taties? you could have them with healthy fillings and salad on the side and he could have them with loads of cheese and butter and some cold cooked meats on the side

or he could have omlette and chips and u could have just omlette

rozmister

I'd try and make meals that came in parts so he can have more of some parts and you can have less. So for instance make a roast and you have lots of veg, a little bit of lean meat and a few potatoes but he has a big wodge of meat, roast potatoes and some frozen yorkshires. Does he eat NO vegetables at all or a very limited selection (I lived with a guy who only ate carrots and no other fruit or veg)?

You could also make a hearty stew and give him a bigger portion and bread and butter. Or make a low fat shepherds pie but put lots of cheese on half the topping so he can have it.

Could he have Nourishment shakes on the NHS? My godmother was an alcoholic (so not a similar situation to your partner) and she didn't eat a lot but they used to perscribe her those high in nutrients and calories shakes to help build her up. They were vile if I remember rightly but did the job!

Billie-jo

Along with O/H's meals could you get him to have 2-3 snacks as well things like a banana, crumpet, piece of cake, handful of nuts or dried fruit, a yogurt or some malt loaf.
I would try to keep some cooked chicken in the fridge that he can help himself to or some scoth eggs - easy to make yourself.

If you have porridge for breakfast could you add a little bit of cream to his but not yours.
Wholemeal/granary bread instead of white.
Milky drink - coffee or chocolate.
If having an omelette add extra grated cheese to his and use an extra egg.

I would certainly avoid one of the most obvious things like serving chips with everything but aim for little and often and also good nutritional but healthy food.

There will be SO many people who are envious of him but I can understand how to you both this is causing some concerns.
Good luck.

lostinrates

findingmyownway wrote: »

Hi everyone

I thought i'd tap into the general wisdom on this board as I could do with some new suggestions.

Basically, I'm having a nightmare at the moment trying to cook meals which are suitable for both me and my OH as we have such different likes and requirements...

OH:
Has a medical condition which means he is prone to losing weight and really needs 'feeding up' whenever he is not feeling too sick to eat. So I am after ideas of high calorie meals for him - he likes savory, crispy things, likes most meats, his diet needs to be low salt and he doesn't like visible vegetables/fruit. Pre-illness his diet was mainly ready meals, frozen pizzas and the like :eek:

Me:
I have put almost a stone in weight on in the last 6 months, through a combination of reducing the amount of exercise i do and eating much more calorific meals than usual. So I really want to cut down on calories (and up the exercise but thats another story!). I like vegetables, fruits and can take or leave meat in a meal. Pre-OH I would eat omlettes, veggie pasta, curry, chilli etc.


So I'm a bit stuck for meal ideas!! I really want to avoid cooking 2 meals for the hassle & cost factor. I have a food processor if that helps? Up to now I have been trying to give him extras with meals - for example if i make a curry i'll give him naan bread with it to add more calories. I'd really appreciate any other words of wisdom?

I think you are doing ok. If it helps you to know we are in much the smae position...I am overweight ad have to eat a very restricted diet to mintain not gain more weight, where a DH has a normal requirement. Making things you can scoop a portion out of before adding to his, or serving theirs with appropriate extras...

the no visible veg makes thing much harder though....can you encourage him to work with this?

Kitchenbunny

Is homemade soup a good idea? You could serve his with extra croutons and a bread roll (putting in any kind of veg as long as it's blitzed to puree) and not have so much of the carbs yourself. Or, you could make a minestrone that has pasta in - put more of the pasta in his bowl and perhaps add some extra veg to your own. Best of luck with it, as I know how difficult it can be to cater for differing needs.

Making a sweet and sour sauce from scratch isn't too difficult, and if used with lean meat or fish wouldn't be too calorific (making sure it's used as a cook-in sauce rather than a dipping sauce for the battered kind). Just give your OH a little bit more noodles or rice than your own. Sometimes I'll dish DH up the most meat and very little veg (he's good, he will eat it) but keep most of the veg for myself. Sorry I can't think of anything else at the moment.

KB xx

adelight

Load up his meals with more carbs, ie extra pasta/rice/potatoes with curry/spag bol etc things that are easy to hide veg in and vary the portion size of. Do chicken with two big baked spuds for him and a small baked sweet potato and salad for you.

lostinrates

Kitchenbunny wrote: »

Is homemade soup a good idea?x

I was just coming back to edit my post to show how I'd wrok it tonight.....veg soup night!

For me its a fatless soup, liquidised and quite thick...what I think of as pottage rather than soup...

if sh were here I'd have added to his bowl a drizzle of olive oil and a couple of baguette slices toasted with cheese, or high fat croutons, then he'd probably also have some salad and lamb jobs...while I would have salad to keep him company if he were here, and a chop if I'd worked harder than I have today . hen he'd have cheese and an apple...I'd have an apple...or we'd have something like spiced stewed fruit, which I'd have with yogurt and he'd have icecream or cream and probably sweeten the fruit too.

Cooking separate meals wouldn't work for me...so portion control and ''gumphing'' his portions and mine differently....so we are both having a lovely meal but I'm not eating more than I should and he's not going without.

rachbc

I'd serve him more and with high cal additions - so you have spag bol (with hidden veg!), he has a bigger serve of pasta, some grated cheese on top and a slice of garlic bread.

Lunches- you have a ham and salad sarnie, he has ham and cheese with butter on the bread.

Make individual pizzas - pile his with ham, salami, bacon and cheese, you have veggies and less cheese - hide extra veg in the tom sauce too to keep up his vit intake.

weezl74

you've had some great suggestions already! My DH is 6ft 4 with a speedy metabolism and I am 5 ft 5, so we have very different calorie needs. I always find it psychologically hard to eat with him but eat 2/3rds of the portion size, so I tend to eat a different breakfast and lunch, which are lower calorie (me poached egg on toast- him porridge with golden syrup, for example) and the same at lunch, he takes 2 HM sandwiches and a muffin and I have soup. Then we eat the same dinner, but later in the evening he has cake. I don't feel deprived, but he doesn't get too skinny.

triticale

I have no suggestions as such, but am thoroughly enjoying this thread - OH burns food off like rocket fuel whereas I have to keep an eye on eating too many calories. Glad (if you know what I mean!) to see other people have to deal with this conundrum.

OP - have you thought about puddings as an option? So occasionally the main meal could be fairly low in calories, then bulk him up with a big bowl of something (preferably in pastry :rotfl: )with custard/cream maybe?