To refuse to cook low carb meals for DH

[AhBiscuits]

I do the cooking. We're both happy with this arrangement, DH does more than his share of other household chores.

From time to time DH will decide he needs to go on a health kick. He's not overweight but still wants to lose a few lbs. He'll ask me to give him smaller portions and ask me to give him no carbs. Often this is fine and I can just give him more meat and vegetables, but once or twice a week I might make a pasta dish and there really isn't a low carb option. I'd have to make him something else. I would do this except that every evening, without fail, he will snack on bread and butter, crackers or sweets. I bought a giant bag of fizzy gummy worms last week and he has eaten all of them over the course of a week. I'm not putting myself out making a special meal, even though cooking is my chore, for him to just eat loads of carbs anyway. He says at least he would be having fewer if he wasn't having them at dinner too. I just think it's a waste of time, eat proper dinners and stop eating loads of shit in the evening.

He can make wholemeal pasta if he likes. Or just have smaller portions.

I think maybe you can say that your contribution to his low carb diet is hiding the sweets and other junk.

You could try Mindful chef- very healthy and good recepies out there.
They have already made, frozen ones so every time when you make yourself a more "unhealthy" (like pasta) dish, you can microwave him a frozen meal, so he won't be able to complain.

We used it for a while, but they were very low calorie and ended up snacking more 😂
But if he wants healthy options where he can track his calorie and fat intake, I would definitely recommend it.

Pasta as part of a meal rotation is perfectly reasonable to put in front of him. If he doesn't want it, then he can make himself something else. He's a capable adult.

I eat low carb. I don’t have any pasta or rice and very few potatoes . I eat cauliflower rice, courgetti spaghetti, roast celeriac, cauliflower mash etc. As with other PP the fast 800 cook books are great. We eat from them every day as the recipes are so tasty (& healthy) & find it easy to adapt recipes for family members who aren’t following low carb

Do you have a recipe for cauliflower mash?
I used to buy it frozen and loved it but can't seem to get it any more.

Yes or at least he could find his own substitution and ask her if she'd make that instead (if the OP was willing).
Personally I don't mind cooking or changing things around but what I hate, hate, hate is always having to be the one to decide what other people want 😅

Boil or steam cauliflower until soft. Mash...

Unfortunately this results in a watery granular mess which doesn’t resemble “mash”. The cauliflower absorbs water it seems however much I drain it and when smushed up - it doesn’t coagulate like it would with potato - just becomes a semi watery mess

I make it all the time and get perfect mash. Try putting a tea towel over the cauliflower when it's drained. This absorbs the steam.

Steaming it is better than boiling.

He’ll only get into ketosis if he’s eating below 50g of carbs a day. Anything more and he won’t lose weight. Ask him to record his carbs throughout the day so that you know how many carbs he can have in his dinner and for any evening snack. It’ll probably be an eye opener for him.

I’ve not read the whole thread but if he microwaves the pasta you have already cooked it reduces the GI so will affect his blood glucose level less. Might offset a few gummy bears 😀

I do the cooking in our house and I probably would just shift the menu if my other half wanted to suddenly go low carb because it’s no real skin off my nose and I get to try some new recipes/play around with my menu. A few months without pasta won’t kill me and god knows, he has to deal with my cooking fads on a regular basis because I’m the cook. Even if he was nailing Dominos and cookies at the same time, it just wouldn’t bother me. But if it bothers you, then it’s a red line and you tell him to make his own dinners on those nights.

@Movinghouseatlast
Thanks. I will probably make some and try out a few combinations with different things added. Do you ever freeze any?

@Kwasi
She didn't say he was trying to get into ketosis though, and people can lose weight without being in ketosis.

No, I've never frozen it. I sometimes add a little cheddar cheese.

I’d probably tell him to do himself an omelette

True, but she said he was trying to lose weight by going low carb. I got the impression he was only doing it for a short period to lose weight quickly. I probably thought this because it’s what I do once or twice a year. Apologies if I’m wrong.

So many negative comments on this post! I can’t imagine being so unhappy with my partner that I’d not cook what he needs or him what I need.

As someone who has been on a diet since the age of 13 and has also been the person responsible for cooking in our household for 50 years, I've always offered my family two options at every meal - either eat it or fucking well don't! I suggest you take the same tack and if he wants anything different he should cook it himself. You're not his or anyone's personal chef.