What can i feed the fussiest eater in the world?

Bogof_Babe

Can't really help as I have the opposite "problem" (veggie husband). I just wanted to say though that I totally agree about the salad cream - it is the one thing that must be Heinz for us. I bought some own label (Co-op I think) once and it was vile.

[Deleted User]

I think the sausage casserole I am doing today would be acceptable. I took the skins off the sausages and rolled them into balls. I also used lots of veg, tinned toamatoes and tinned oxtail soup. You should get enough for two meals from 6 good quality sausages. You could also add a tin of heinz beans


Re the ham. Get a piece of ham from the supermarket and cook that from scratch. Get him to slice and freeze it in sandwich portions

Try giving him the money, in cash, to get the shopping in for a couple of weeks. Stay at home with the baby and set it as a challenge for him ie he to do the meal organising/planning for those two weeks. It is only reality that is going to change his way of thinking and maybe he has no real idea how much things cost. He could very well enjoy the challenge

moggins

I have the same problem with a chronic meat eater although he doesn't worry about what cut it is or whether it's frozen. He just has to have his meat.

What I would advise is going to Aldi or Lidl for your cooked meats like Ham etc. They do a wonderful variety of top quality meats in there at bargain basement prices. Also their sirloin steaks (fresh not frozen) are fantastic, so tender they melt in your mouth and £2.99 for 2 good sized ones.

Heth_2

Could he have something different in his lunches sometimes, maybe tuna? I do understand his problem with ham, I used to live in Italy where we always had fresh ham and the packet stuff in England just looks terrible. We never buy it because unless we spent a fortune on the best stuff I wouldn't touch it, so we often have canned tuna mixed with yogurt if making sandwiches. If you have meat for dinner than you're still having meat that day anyway.

recovering_spendaholic

Have you thought of buying a ham shank and using it for boiled ham? I get a couple of ham shanks for about £1.50 each and boil them and remove the meat and it is really lovely - hand carved ham off the bone no less!!! Also I always look out for BOGOFs on gammon joints in the supermarket and get those and do the same thing. I never buy any cut meat nowadays, I always use my own cooked variety (usually chicken or ham). I make my own coleslaw and use Aldi bake your own baguettes (39p for 2) - the sandwiches cost less than 50p and are just like the ones you get in fancy sandwich shops for £3.50+! I also buy spare rib chops and make a barbecue sauce for them - a less fatty and more substantial meal than ribs and better value for money. Braising steak is also good value for money and any leftovers you can put in home made pie or pasty. Also, being from Liverpool I make scouse which is really cheap and very tasty - you just use 1lb of stewing steak, a large onion, two carrots, two or three sticks of celery, half a swede, 1 tsp of dried thyme, 1 tsp of marigold veg stock powder, a beef stock cube, salt and pepper and 3 lbs of potatoes (weighed before peeling). You chop all veg except potatoes and put it in a very large pan and add about 4 pints of water. Bring to boil and simmer for 3 hours and then add peeled potatoes, cut into large chunks. Cook for another half hour or so and serve.

seraphina

For dressings and salad cream, how about getting him involved in making his own? You can spin it as a high quality approach to salad dressings - using free range eggs and good-quality oil for mayonnaise, for instance, still works out cheaper than buying it.

Not sure about salad cream but I think there's an Eliza Acton recipe for something similar.

I second what other people said about Lidl's/Aldi's cooked meats - in general, they are superior. Also try your local farm shop - ours have a huge range of sliced meats which are cheaper than the supermarkets.

mummysaver

Great tips above! If he is a snob about his food he may be awkward about Aldi and Lidl, though I agree that their sliced meats are much better than the usual supermarket meats, but you don't need to tell him where you bought it, most of the stuff has manufacturer's names rather than Aldi/Lidl, so it'll just look like "posh" ham from the supermarket!

If he is fussy about condiments you could try making your own, or look out in Moririsons if you have one nearby, as they often seem to have BOGOFs on the more expensive brands. Or if you think he may not be able to tell the difference, you could try just refilling an old bottle with the supermarkets' own versions!

If it was my dh, I'd make him go shopping with the £35.00 in his pocket in cash, that way he'd realise how incompatible being too fussy is with budgeting! Luckily my dh is usually just pleased that there is something cooked!

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi

Aldis do lovely ham in posh packets...LOL. They are excellent quality and I love the gammon ham and the maple ham-6 slices for £1.10 and one slice would be enough for 1 sarnie as they are big slices. There cheeses and meats are of excellent quality too. Gammon joints (£3) are lovely and I SC these with apple juice or beer and will make 6 meal size portions. I normally serve with mustard mash and veg, and is great in sarnies.

Salad cream-I actually only like the low fat one in Tesco or Asda. Think its 35p for a smallish glass bottle.

Bread from Aldis is 25p for a thick white load and is delish and stays soft and fresh.

I would suggest anything in the SC would be good and he wouldnt know what your putting in there either IYKWIM. I like lamb and normally add things like carrots, spuds, swede, peas, peppers, onion....anything really and always add a tin of baked beans in for taste and to bulk out a little. You could also do chicken, pork or beef in the SC and add whatever you have in the cupboards or fridge. You really cant go wrong with the SC and you can either serve by itself or sometimes I serve with mash or rice. Stews, curries, hotpots,chasseurs etc etc are all very easy meals and can be adjusted to how you want it.

Good luck. Men are worse than kids..LOL.

PP
xx

tallulah_beaulah

Hi, I've also got a fussy-eater dh, he moans if there isn't meat with every meal.

For a while I added TVP (Soya mince) in with real mince, to keep the cost down a bit, but after a while dh said he knew I was up to something and could we have "normal mince" back! :rolleyes:

I also find that curries are great for meat-eaters coz you can use the strong taste of the sauce to cover how little meat is in it. Lots of veg and just a little chicken and call it chicken curry.

I would agree with above posters about putting gammon or ham in a SC, I tried gammon hock for the first time recently, it was very cheap and lasted ages, great for sandwiches.

Also putting a whole chicken in SC, brown it quickly first in a frying pan then put in SC with some stock and herbs, once its cooked the whole carcass just falls apart and you have tonnes of meat. The meat is so soft it easily comes off the bones and you don't waste any of it. One medium chicken does about three main meals, sandwiches, soup, and can use bones for stock, (and a couple of mini-meals for fussy-eater 2yo ds)

Oh, just thought of another one. If you SC left over bones to make broth then you can use this for veg and pulse soups that will taste "meaty".

HTH.

jennet1

Buy a little funnel and refill your Heinz ketchup bottles (or whatever) with cheaper stuff, replace the cornflakes innerpacks with cheap and bin the outer box!