i want to try some new foods

[icedgem30]

Hi everyone.

Right, I love my mum dearly but I was brought up on a diet mainly consiting of frozen convience food and a form of potatoes with every meal.

Now I am in my own home I tend to cook home made meals but theyre still very boring. Everything with some kind of potatoes, meat and veg in different styles. No sauces apart from gravy or cheese if doing pasta, absolutely nothing interesting ,I've never tried most of the stuff I see on here and its a hard habit to break.

Dp is very picky, onions, tomatoes and cream just top the huge list of food he doesn't like.

I dont like tomatoes,mushrooms or anything hot/spicy or fish, but I'm a bit more open to try something new. I dont want to be stuck with the same foods/meals over and over and I want my dd to have the varied diet I didn't.

So can anyone recommend food to try for a 'beginner'? I see things like chorizo and cous cous mentioned a lot on these boards but I have never dared to try them.

Thank you

Do you eat out? Have you eaten something in a restaurant or pub that was different, that you enjoyed and would like to recreate at home? Have you seen something on a TV cookery programme that looks interesting? That's often not a bad place to start because at least you know what kind of finished dish you're aiming for.

Chorizo is a dried Spanish sausage flavoured with smoked paprika and it's used in relatively small amounts as a flavouring in various dishes. Unfortunately if you're saddled with a DP that doesn't like onions and tomatoes, that lets out a huge swathe of Mediterranean dishes .... most of which are very easy to make, quite healthy and taste good.

A chorizo omelette is a good easy start, dice a chorizo, dry fry until the oil comes out, then add the eggs.

Try replacements for pasta/potatoes/rice such as lentils, cous cous, noodles or quinoa.

A sticky barbecue sauce on pork ribs with salad and coleslaw.

Chicken satay with rice.

Good for you! I was also brought up on very straightforward food, largely because my dad is very fussy (another one who won't eat onions) so we had a lot of meat and two veg, although my mum is a great cook.
I started branching out young, I first tried pizza when I was 17 I think and at a boyfriends house. I would definitely encourage you to try anything and also try it repeatedly. It took me about a year of trying pizza to get to like it for example, and even well into my 30s there were things that I'd previously tried and hated (like olives) that I now love. I'm trying now to branch out into seafood a bit more, there's loads I've never tried.
Anyway, how about trying something like sweet potatoes instead of potato? Cut into wedges and roast in the oven, they're delicious.
Couscous we eat a lot of, but I think it's hard to get it really good yourself without a load of spices. You could try the ready-flavoured packets. How about a tagine? They're spiced (but not usually hot) meat and vegetable (and fruit sometimes) stews. Very very tasty and maybe easily accessible if you would normally eat stew?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I feel really stupid about this, I've never tried a lentil or cous cous and have no idea what quinoa is! I am willing to try though :)

My dp likes savoly and likes paprika so that looks like a good place to start. We love omlettes but cheese and bacon filling is standard.

Dp is a vegetable avoider but loves fruit, whereas I dont like fruit particularly I love veg.

I love stew and curry whereas dp doesn't, I know I'm fussy but he is worse than me, and sometimes I will just do him something different to me otherwise it would just be chips every night!

I just want to make sure my dd doesnt end up like this, being 23 and never eaten a bluddy lentil. But I am off to go buy a chorizo :-)

Quinoa is a sort of grain, I am lazy time poor so I tend to buy both lentils and quinoa in two minutes in the microwave pouches.

For fruit lovers sweet and sour works well with chicken and pineapple. You could even try Chicken Maryland.

Icedgem, just seen that you love curry, why don't you try a dhal next time you are having curry? It'll give you a really good introduction to something new (lentils) but that's related to food you already like.

He hates sweet and sour he hates everything! I love curry but it has to be mild, a korma is usually my limit (wuss).

Chorizo has been added to my shopping list, it looks nice.

Been looking at couscous and it scares me! Nobody likes peppers and i've never tried basil or coriander. is it like rice?

Dhal is not usually hot, give it a try!
Couscous is not really like rice, it's cracked wheat I think. You can get plain if you would prefer, I like to put cinnamon, cumin and raisins in.

Okay I think I will try lentils too. But they look awful, what do they taste like?

Chorizo is lovely and very versatile. I like it diced up and gently cooked so it goes a bit crispy and the red juices come out, in another pan cook some halved new potatoes for 15-20 mins. When the pots are done drain and add to the chorizo pan, coat in the juices. Throw some black pepper over and leave for five mins. A poached egg on top of this (cooked separately) is gorgeous on top of this. Yum, fancy this now .
Also chorizo is lovely in a chicken based paella, I've got a recipe somewhere which I'll take a photo and link to if you're interested?

So many things depend on how you cook them. I'm not keen on raw green or red pepper. But slice up and put with chicken in fajitas and they are really sweet and lovely.

Same with tomatoes, I'm not that keen on raw toms unless its summer and they are really ripe and they have a nice dressing on them.

But I love a soup or a stew with a tin of tomatoes in - my husband finds them a bit acid so I use less than I would if it was just me and cook them down longer so they are sweeter. Also love a slow roasted tomato.

My husband, despite having a job that took him round the world eating in far flung places was fairly conservative in his tastes and also had a habit of saying he didn't like things. So I just cooked him stuff that was tasty and he ate it then asked what it was - so he happily now eats lentils and goats cheese etc that he'd never looked at before... Apparently he hated mushrooms but can't get enough of them roasted in the oven with lemon juice, chilli and garlic and with breadcrumbs and parmesan on the top even though he doesn't like cheese.

Recommend something like the Hairy Dieters or a Jamie Oliver book for trying out new tastes and ingredients.

What are the things which you do make? If there are a lot of likes and dislikes it can be easier to work on variations to your existing list. Chorizo is good in omelettes. Cheese omelettes can be jazzed up with chopped chives. For those who like them cooked and chopped and seasoned broccoli and mushrooms are also good in omelettes.

You say that you sometimes do pasta. If you fry a little clove of garlic (chopped) in olive oil and add chopped cooked broccoli and perhaps some chorizo and salt and pepper, then add more olive oil and grated parmesan, you will have a delicious sauce. It will seem less stodgy if you serve with a salad and follow with fruit

My father professes to hate onions and my son won't eat visible onions, so sometimes I cheat by liquidising them before cooking. If you liquidize an onion, a stick of celery and a carrot then fry with some oil and chopped bacon and garlic until the water has mostly boiled off and the vegetables just begin to colour you have the beginning of a casserole. Brown and add chicken thighs and a glass of white wine, a knorr stock cube and a bit of water, cover and cook gently in the oven for about an hour, then season with salt and pepper and serve sprinkled with parsley. This (in which the onions are indetectable) can be served with potatoes or rice.

If your partner doesn't like cabbage etc., try boiling lightly and draining well then frying it very quickly in butter with a bit of chopped ginger or garlic and lots of salt and pepper. He may change his mind!

I do things llke omlettes, jacket potatoes, toad in the hole, pork/chicken/lamb witb veg and potatoes, spag bol/lasagne very rare because dp doesnt like it and I have ti fancy it iyswim. Pasta bake goes down well, as does pie but I'm trying to be healthy, sometimes do paninis and home made wedges, homemade burgers.

problem is that all veg is boiled with salt, meat is plain, gravy is plain, nothing is at all seasoned ginger garlic etc is all off the bluddy list.

Chicken paella sounds good thank you x

No need fear cous cous, OP. It's the quickest, easiest carb ever - put some in a bowl, boil kettle, cover with boiling water, season with salt & pepper, cover with cling film and leave for about 5 mins till the grains have plumped up. It goes well with Moroccan/Middle Eastern-type stews.

Buy a couple of recipe books and try the types of recipe you haven't tried yet. Then photocopy and stick in a book if the recipe worked and was popular. You'll soon have a good repertoire.

Lentils are somewhat over-rated imo unless they are acting as somewhere comfy for a nice piece of lamb to sit and rest
BUT they are very nutritious and tend to take on the flavour of the rest of the food so a useful alternative to potatoes and rice etc to bulk out a meal.

Good places for recipes are
www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/#UDUR0KqjpSJedOLg.97
and the BBC website. I'd pay the annual licence fee just for this alone.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes

One option is to sign up for a weekly veg box - when the odd weird and wonderful veg turns up you have to find a way to eat it, it's like a weekly challenge. I'd certainly never have bothered to buy a kohlrabi or even heard of one beforehand. This is quite an established company but there are lots of small local companies dotted around that do it now too. They have a recipe section on the website too which is quite handy www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes
www.abelandcole.co.uk/

I grew up as part of a large family so not a lot of adventurous foodstuffs were served. I think the first time anyone ate pasta was when I came home from uni and cooked it. It's more about developing an openminded mindset towards food.

I've got two small children who will eat a lot of unusual foods and I think a lot comes down to not making a fuss if they don't like something and a lot of praise when they try something new.
Starters are a good place to start as there's not a lot of food wasted if everyone declines. Calamari with lashings of garlic mayo goes down a treat, as do mussels with a garlic butter and breadcrumb topping [not the nicest thing to look at served without the topping for a child]
Sticks of raw carrot/pepper/cucumber with hummous or garlic mayo again. Peppers are not usually the favorite but it gets them eating them if they are thinly sliced.

Annabel Karmel recipes [for weaning] might give you some inspiration for the vegetable avoiding DP

Try borrowing cookery books from the library.

I would explore rice - it's such a great taste and adds a lot to your repertoire - great with chicken. I'd also say, try one new thing alongside favourites, so the chorizo omelette sounds like a great idea. You could do chicken and rice?

Easy rice recipe - use basmati or Thai jasmine rice. One measure rice, two of water. Bring to the full boil, then move to the smallest burner/lowest heat you can manage, cover tightly and leave for 12 mins. Turn the heat up, then take right off the heat and leave for 12 minutes. It's now ready to eat, no draining or rinsing needed.

Nothing to stop you cooking a curry in two pans, one for the curry for you, and just cook some plain meat in the other pan, perhaps with peas or something? Minimal extra effort, then you get a lovely curry, and he has plain meat. He might get interested in trying something new if he sees you having nicer food.

I know someone who is allergic to onions but can eat leeks - does he like leeks? You can do a lot with them.

I think cogito has it right. When you go out to eat, do you see anything new you might want to try? Maybe just a new starter? How about tv cooking shows and look up the recipes online? You slowly increase what you eat by exploring.

I was brought up to not say 'I don't like x or y'. Like someone already says, there are so many ways to cook a food surely you can't hate all of them? And besides you can't say you don't like something without trying? Basically it is about an open mind towards food. I get frustrated with DHs food phobia and he's really not that bad. It's just my family is very adventurous.

If you see something you fancy there are tons of recipes online. Like bbc good food etc.

Do like fish OP?
Kedgeree is a delicious mild curryish rice dish with smoked haddock and hard boiled egg.

...and you know your chorizo omelette? If you put some sliced cooked potatoes in before you add the egg, then cook it until the eggs are firm all the way though, you have made a Spanish tortilla? How cool is that?

Do like fish OP?
Kedgeree is a delicious mild curryish rice dish with smoked haddock and hard boiled egg.

...and you know your chorizo omelette? If you put some sliced cooked potatoes in before you add the egg, then cook it until the eggs are firm all the way though, you have made a Spanish tortilla? How cool is that?

I dont hate all the food, i dont like tomatoes and fish which I have tried but other than that it's just I havent tried any, and I'm completely unadventurous.

I will be trying everyones ideas out thank you all for your help.

I love lentils, they're sweetish but red ones do go to mush a bit. I have a big bag of red lentils in the cupboard and put them in loads of things - curries, shepherd's pie, bolognese etc. it bulks out mince meals really well, as well as being lovely in their own right.

How about potato fritters? They would be similar to what you are eating already but a different texture? I will see if I could find something on bbc good food.

Like this one
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2427646/potato-fritters

You can use normal White flour instead of gram flour.