Today we’re excited to announce another NewlyWife Contributor, Jillian from The Humble Gourmet. Jillian is a close friend of mine — we’ve known each other since middle school! — and we both share a love of old movies, home decor and great food. She is known to make magic happen in the kitchen whether it be adorable Christmas cupcakes or a Guinness battered fish n’ chips. Without further ado, please welcome Jillian!
……………………………………………..

So, you’ve had the wedding.  The honeymoon.  The move in and merging of stuff.  You’ve compromised on his collection of 1980’s action movie posters; he’s learning to deal with your obsessive purchasing of bath products.  But one major topic of compromise and occasional contention is…food.

A meal we can definitely agree on (except the tomatoes): Grilled Chicken and Olive Salad.

Everyone has different tastes when it comes to food; no two people are alike.  No matter how much you have in common, there will be something of a battle when it comes to dinnertime.  Does he hate all things tomatoes and you can’t imagine your life without caprese salads?  Are you allergic to wheat and he can’t go a meal without bread?  There are so many ways in which your food tastes can clash, how can you possibly get through a meal that makes you both feel full and satisfied?  Don’t fret my pets.  Part of beginning your married life is learning how to ACTUALLY live together as two individuals.  Those great compromise skills you developed through your dating time will transfer over to your eating habits.  With some work, some trial and error, and some patience, you can both be completely happy with your meals as man and wife.

One thing to establish first and foremost is a cooking schedule.  Do you like to cook together as a team?  Is one of you a budding culinary genius while the other doesn’t know the difference between a whisk and a spatula?  Figure out what will work best for the both of you when it comes to cooking.  Get yourselves some “Cooking for Two” cookbooks and get to sautéing.  When my husband, Shawn, and I first got married, we both loved to cook but didn’t yet have a big repertoire of recipes to draw from.  We picked things online (www.foodnetwork.com and www.sparkrecipes.com are excellent sources), got a few cookbooks and just started having fun in the kitchen.  Slowly but surely, our collection of tried and true recipes evolved.

(Source)

Figure out where your differences lie.  If it’s something small, like a distaste of a particular ingredient, try to work around it.  Shawn hates tomatoes and bell peppers, which I adore.  So when I’m cooking, I cut these veggies especially large so that he can easily pick them out of the dish.  If it’s a spice that’s the problem, something not as easy to pick out, try finding recipes that use sauces or dressings where you can easily make a quantity of one with the spice and one without.  If you’re dealing with a large difference in taste, like one is a vegetarian and the other is not, a little more deliberate meal planning is required.  Try going completely vegetarian 2-3 times a week; there are hundreds and hundreds of fanastic recipe options out there.  You can also try meals like hearty salads or soups that you could easily add grilled chicken or fish to one dish and not to the other.  That way, one person can get their meat fix without compromising the other’s diet needs.  If you just can’t go without a meat and potatoes meal each week, pick one night where you are each “on your own” to prepare your own meal.  This is also a great option when dealing with a spouse with a food allergy.

Don’t be scared to try something new either.  Growing up, I was always accustomed to sweeter spaghetti sauce; I didn’t like anything too meaty or spicy.  But Shawn made me his famous marinara, which is definitely more spicy and heartier than I thought I liked.  And you know what?  I love it.  It’s so different than what I grew up with, but it’s totally delicious, and I request it regularly.  Something I was sure I didn’t like, and it’s fantastic.  So try out some of those tastes you thought you didn’t like.  You may find that with time and age, your tastes have changed and those artichokes you hated as a child are now your favorite side dish!

The important thing is to work together.  You’ll will be faced with enough stressors and challenges in your marriage; the food you feed each other should be part of the pleasure.  So play with your food!  And each other