4 Easy Ways to Get Your Spouse to Eat Healthy Food

Getting your spouse to eat healthy food can feel like trying to convince a cat to take a bath—challenging, but not impossible! Whether they’re a die-hard fast food fan or just skeptical of anything green, there are simple, loving ways to inspire healthier habits without turning your dinner table into a battleground. In this post, we’ll explore practical tips to make healthy eating more appealing (and even fun!) for your spouse, without the nagging or guilt trips.

Trying to get your spouse to eat healthier can feel like climbing a mountain. In a mudslide. In the rain.

I get it. I really do, because I’ve been right where you are now.

But we’re not alone—honestly, it seems many people have a strong dislike for eating healthy food, especially vegetables.

As a nurse, I hear patients and clients talk about their spouses not liking healthy food (or not wanting to give up eating their favorite fast food and unhealthy proteins, because it tastes good!) all the time. 

I don’t know what’s prompting your desire to change your spouse’s eating habits. But if I had to guess, it might be that your spouse recently got a new diagnosis or has a new health symptom.

That’s hard to ignore.

And shouldn’t be ignored. We should support our spouses’ self-care. 

That’s why I’m sharing what has worked for the patients and families I’ve worked with (and what’s worked for us).

I hope you find some helpful tips.

And if finding time for self-care is a struggle for you or your spouse, this Self-Care Starter Guide will show you 3 simple steps to take RIGHT NOW to have more me-time. You can get it free HERE.

The 2 Biggest Hurdles to Eating Healthier

There are two hurdles to overcome to ensure success when learning to eat healthier.

1. Knowing exactly where to begin.
2. Knowing which proteins to eat ‘more of or less of.’

No one realizes this at first, but not knowing these two things will be paralyzing to you and your spouse! And your loving attempts will feel like pushing or nagging, especially in the beginning. I’ll help you with these two hurdles in this post.

Also, there’s something you must understand.

You can’t make your spouse eat healthier. You can’t control your spouse’s actions.

But there are ways to offer healthier food options for your family meals without seeming naggy or pushy.

4 Ways to Get Your Spouse to Eat Healthy Food

Here are 4 simple ways to help your spouse eat healthy without being pushy.

Start Here

Do you ever notice how nobody says they hate to eat fruit? And very few give a thumbs down to protein.

Dairy and grains get nary a mention.

So, do you know what I do?

I don’t serve ‘only’ vegetables to people who don’t like them.

I didn’t even consider changing my spouse into a strict vegetarian or trying to get him to start eating a vegan diet. That’s not where we are as a family yet (and maybe we never will!).

It’s also not where other people are, especially while eating a typical Western diet.

So the first way to get your spouse to eat healthy food and help them overcome the stress and fear of change is to start small and exactly where they are.

It’s totally okay if vegetables are the end goal of changing your lifestyle. It still counts whether you get there first or last.

If you’re working to get your spouse to eat healthy food, I highly recommend that the protein be the place to start.

Especially for the husbands.

Many men (particularly men over 40) in America are still meat and starch fans. They don’t even like to think about living only on salad (or tofu, and why do they always say tofu?).

The other reality is that most people are not going to be on board if they think they’ll feel super hungry. I’ve learned that the statement “eating more vegetables” makes many people think “eating less food”.

So if your spouse is in that camp, starting somewhere other than vegetables is a huge way to get buy-in.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, DO NOT START BY REMOVING THEIR FAVORITE FOOD FROM THEIR DIET!

That will backfire!

Easy & Simple Protein Swaps Will Get Your Spouse to Eat Healthy Food

Cooking a proper serving size of protein is an easy way to help your spouse eat healthier. Your spouse can eat what they’re already eating, but you’ll serve it in the right amount!

Believe it or not, this small change can bring substantial health gains, saving 200-300 calories daily!

The proper serving size is usually on the package (or use an online diet tracker or an app like Lose It or My Fitness Pal).

An inexpensive digital kitchen scale is your best friend when you work with protein because it’s hard to ‘eyeball’ the proper meat serving (3-6 ounces). Honestly, often I underguess the leaner proteins like chicken and turkey.

Then, switch to leaner, lower-fat proteins.

After you start serving proper serving sizes, you can try offering leaner proteins. For example, add chicken, turkey, salmon, or fish to your diet to enjoy.

Salmon and tuna burgers can be purchased fresh from the meat section of many grocery stores and taste amazing when dressed up and in a bun.

If you need to take it slow, you can substitute chicken or turkey in a chili recipe. Then try recipes with the leaner option after your spouse has eaten and approved the leaner protein. 

Got a big beef eater? Buy leaner cuts of red meat, but it’s important NOT TO OVERCOOK THEM. Leaner cuts usually have round, loin, or sirloin on the package.

Leaner meats taste better with less cooking time and on lower heat (ground beef and all ground meat should always be thoroughly cooked).

Also, marinades on leaner steaks can make them tender, even with less cooking.

For juicer chicken, bake it until it is about 75% cooked, then put it on the grill just long enough to get the grill marks. It’s ready when a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

We’ve tested several meat thermometers , and this one is our favorite. You need to experiment, but we’ve found that taking the meat off the heat and allowing the meat to reach the recommended temperature while it is resting works best.

We were the champions at overcooking chicken.

Use healthier cooking methods.

The healthiest ways to enjoy meat and proteins include:

• baking
• grilling
• broiling

You’ll also need to learn how to ‘jazz up’ the leaner meat.

If your spouse is used to the flavor of the fattier cuts of meat, you’ll need to get creative with seasoning.

Invest a few minutes to watch a couple of YouTube videos, a cooking show, or use recipes to liven up your newer proteins.

Lean meats have less fat (and less flavor to some), so sometimes you must promote flavor by adding herbs or seasonings. 

The flavor is the satisfying part.

A Tip: cook & season with herbs and spices you know they love. If they like to eat garlic in food, season the meat with garlic.

Unfortunately, salt is typically not an option for people with high blood pressure and heart disease. And, sauces may contain a lot of sugar and not be an option for those with high blood sugar.

So use fresh or dried herbs in new recipes to add flavor, or try serving it with side dishes that have strong (and familiar) flavors.

Eventually, you may even want to move toward bringing a meat substitute into your meal plan.

For example, try using frozen soy meat substitute instead of hamburger in chili or tacos. These products have improved a lot in the last few years.

Think Small to Get Your Spouse to Eat Healthy Food

Remember to use the vegetables they DO LIKE to increase the number of vegetables they will eat.

Raw carrots or celery, your only option? No problem!

Put them on a serving platter with an assortment of hummus, dip, and even guacamole at mealtime as your vegetable or snack.

That’s two vegetables you can use to replace a non-healthy option!

Do this 2-3 times a week and see how that works. Try adding a new raw vegetable to the mix once a week.

Finally, you and I know how hard it is to change habits.

Helping a spouse make lifestyle changes can be worrisome and even frustrating. But they need our support to keep going.

So, embrace the power of small.

Embrace the power of pure and familiar tastes.

Embrace the power of fun and adventure!

This evolution doesn’t have to be a huge announcement.

The best way to help your spouse transition to something new is to make it a regular habit to try new foods, restaurants, and recipes. 

It becomes an adventure to taste new foods (that you know are healthy). It’s fun to taste new flavors or try old foods in new ways.

But you still want to keep it simple.

You’ll succeed even if you make one lean protein swap a week.

When you find something everyone enjoys, put it on an ‘approved meal list’.

In just a few months, you’ll have a nice list of healthy protein options, and you can move on to something else.

Pray for Your Husband and Yourself

Learning to eat new foods isn’t an easy task.

It can create anxiety and negative emotions or feelings.

It can even cause irritability.

Improving self-care as a couple has numerous benefits. Intimacy is one often thought about but not mentioned.

You can bring healthy eating into your prayer time for encouragement and strength. 

Prayer will be helpful in many ways for both you and your spouse.

Before you go, be sure to get your Protein Cheatsheet! 

This cheatsheet lists 36 examples of the leanest proteins and how much of them to eat in a serving size. 

The easy-to-use list of proteins is categorized by:

• Which proteins should be eaten more often?
• Which proteins to eat 1-2 times per week?
• And which proteins to only be eaten on special occasions or a couple of times a month? 

And don’t forget your FREE Self-Care Starter Guide! Get it HERE.

Thanks for reading! Know someone who would benefit from reading this post? Share it on social media!

Ready for more? Here are my latest posts!

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• 4 Easy Ways to Get Your Spouse to Eat Healthy Food
• 5 Easy Ways to Find Me-Time in Your Busy Schedule
• How to Try New Vegetables When You Hate to Eat Veggies

Post originally published June 15, 2018