What the HELL do I do now? page

[jllundqu]

I am 100% sold on Paleo... The diet, the exercise, the whole thing. I've never felt so good and I am getting in great shape.

My wife, however, is not 100% supportive. First off, she is a vegetarian, so the fact that I just became a serious meat-eater is tricky. She has never minded that I occasionally ate meat, but now I am asking her to cook/prepare it for me in mass quantities (She is a stay-at-home-mom who does most of the cooking). She is hispanic so all she wants to cook is mexican food, italian food, bake breads and cakes, etc. She even has a shirt that says "I LOVE CARBS!" She is in great shape, too. She works out and takes great care of herself.

She will eat fish sometimes (pescatarian?) so there is that, but I am loving my grassfed roasts, my free range chickens, and my pulled pork, and my fish.

There is no convincing her to eat paleo with me, trust me.

I want to stay 100% paleo forever! I can't see myself going back. She wants to be supportive, but is finding it very hard to basically shop for and prepare 2 different meals. One paleo meal for me, and one regular meal for her and my toddler son.

What the hell do I do now? I have no problem making my own meals, but I find that it takes something away from a family meal where all of us sit down and eat together.

Sigh...

[The Return of Dado]

This is a question that will often surface on the forum.

My answer is always this: either force or apathy.

You cannot put the eyes in this woman to see, so let her live.

You can strike her and feed her bacon, but then she will leave you.

Just do your best and live with strength, she will come around eventually.

[primalrob]

meat is great and all, but veggies get the biggest potion of the primal pyramid. as a family, make vegetables the main part of your food, and maybe if your meat is just something that you're eating on the side, your wife might be a little more open to making it, or you can just cook it up quickly.

obviously, the breads and cakes aren't great, but you can probably sit that part out and still have it feel like a family meal. or, pair the baked good with primal foods (like a fruit salad or something) and just stick to the primal stuff when everybody is eating.

[MarissaLinnea]

Prepare your own meal while she prepares her meal for herself and son, then sit down together and eat as a family. My husband and I do this very thing almost every day. Make a deal with her and tell her that if she will buy your food, you will prepare your own meal (I assume she does the shopping as she is a SAHM). I have to admit that if I were a vegetarian, the last thing I would want to have to do is handle and cook meat all the time.

[gopintos]

I would agree with building the meal around the veggies. The meat would be more like a side dish just for you. So it still is basically one meal, but different sides. Maybe she can prepare the other things, like roasted veggies that seem to take a bit of time. Steaks take just a few minutes, well I like mine med. rare so just a few minutes and a few minutes of resting time, so I try to time that at the end anyways. So you can do that yourself. Other meats that take longer, maybe throw the roast on yourself before leaving for work. Freeze the leftovers for another meal another day. Or on weekends, cook up your meats, package into meal size servings, and then freeze them. I like to do this just so I have something quick on hand and only need the time to defrost & warm. That has saved me many times from eating bad stuff. That and removing the bad stuff, but I know there is still some stuff around if I were to go looking for it.

By cooking and freezing ahead, even if she did it, she wouldnt have to cook your meat every single day, and eventually you will have variety in the freezer so you are not eating the same thing for days on end, unless of course you want to.

[CaveWeirdo]

I cook every day for my diabetic non-primal partner. There is no convincing him so I've stopped nagging. Luckily he normally gives most things a try so I manage to cook 1 type of meal with extras for him, rather than doing 2 completely seperate meals. He basically eats what I eat but for him I'll add a small amount of starchy stuff like some beans/potatoes.

I don't have a toddler to look after though.

Maybe you should offer to cook for your family sometimes, and add some of their favourites on to a primal meal? Then your partner won't mind as much, having to cook a bit of meat to add to your meals.

[jllundqu]

Prepare your own meal while she prepares her meal for herself and son, then sit down together and eat as a family. My husband and I do this very thing almost every day. Make a deal with her and tell her that if she will buy your food, you will prepare your own meal (I assume she does the shopping as she is a SAHM). I have to admit that if I were a vegetarian, the last thing I would want to have to do is handle and cook meat all the time.

Yeah... I've suggested that. Her biggest thing is budgeting too. We now have to buy different stuff for different meals.

[jllundqu]

I cook every day for my diabetic non-primal partner. There is no convincing him so I've stopped nagging. Luckily he normally gives most things a try so I manage to cook 1 type of meal with extras for him, rather than doing 2 completely seperate meals. He basically eats what I eat but for him I'll add a small amount of starchy stuff like some beans/potatoes.

I don't have a toddler to look after though.

Maybe you should offer to cook for your family sometimes, and add some of their favourites on to a primal meal? Then your partner won't mind as much, having to cook a bit of meat to add to your meals.

Thats a great idea. Maybe I could just take over a couple meals a week, and cook and freeze enough for other days. Thanks for the good ideas everyone...

[MarissaLinnea]

Yeah... I've suggested that. Her biggest thing is budgeting too. We now have to buy different stuff for different meals.

Yes, the money aspect can be difficult. Eating Primal isn't cheap. I have found that I have had to alter the rest of my family's diet a bit in order to make it work on our budget. But, those alterations mean I don't buy junk food ever, and I always have a supply of fresh fruits and veggies for everyone to eat. So, it has worked out for the most part. I think my husband actually suffers the most, lol!! No more processed mac and cheese, chips, cookies, granola bars etc in the house. Oh well, it's not good for him anyway, lol!!!

[Dr. Bork Bork]

Since she loves Mexican & Italian eats, maybe encourage her to try making some carnitas and paleo lasagna? My husband goes gaga for Hasta La Vista Pasta Lasagna from Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso.