Health nut and a Taco Bueno fiend: a love story

**I asked my sister and her fiance to write something for us about how they have managed to reconcile thier food differences.  Here is the piece they so kindly wrote.  You can read more about them at their wedding blog, or on twitter #kcalways.**

Cara and Kris fell in love, but it wasn’t because of their mutual taste in cuisine. Kris’ idea of a fantastic meal consisted of Taco Bueno and Dairy Queen, while Cara would prefer roasted brussel sprouts and vegan brownies. But through trial and error in the kitchen, they have managed to find meals they BOTH love.

From Cara — the health nut
When we first started living together, I cooked meals that catered to Kris’ tastes — meat, potatoes and cheese. But I could only handle it for so long.

I don’t expect Kris to eat some things I love — kale, beets, prunes… some things just aren’t worth the effort. But even as I get more adventurous, Kris — Mr. Meat and Potatoes — loves meals he would never pick out on a menu.

First I began adapting meals Kris already likes to be more healthful. For example, swapping steak for bison, blending our own ice cream using Stevia, almond milk and vanilla, and making a healthy version of Kris’ favorite Caesar salad with homemade dressing and croutons.

Then I began to get a little more courageous. I don’t want to give too much away — because Kris doesn’t know everything he eats — but let me just say that he eats a very healthy diet. I don’t tell him everything that’s in a meal, because if I did, he would shrink up his nose like a fourth grader and say “ewwwwww.” But when he tries it, then goes back for seconds and thirds… I know he isn’t just eating my food to boost my self-esteem.

My advice to anyone who wants to have a healthier household is to take control of the kitchen. Just cook want you want, or want to experiment with. Period. Try new foods. Pick up vegetables you can’t pronounce and have never tasted before. If you cook the food, your family will eat it (or they won’t eat! Or they’ll prepare their own meal!)

Cooking has changed from a chore to a new-found passion. I get excited for weekly menu-planning and get excited for new seasonal produce. I know, I’m pretty cool. For me, it’s not so much about eating “diet food.” I hate that term. We eat well. We eat yummy food that just so happens to be healthy.

And every once in a while, we have Dairy Queen.

From Kris — the Taco Bueno fiend

I have always been a very simple eater. I know what I like and I eat it. Cara always called me a picky eater because she thought I was too scared to try new things. What she didn’t realize was I went with the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it eating strategy.

I loved Taco Bueno. Taco Bueno loved me… I mean my business. And I ate Taco Bueno. All. The. Time. In high school, I once ate Taco Bueno every day for a month, took two days off and ate it again for the next two weeks.

Wow, did I really just admit that? Seems gross just saying it now. To be honest, I never really thought about the way I ate. I played baseball through college so I always burned a ton of calories and never really gained weight… until I finished playing.

Even then, I never gained a ton of weight but I did gain weight. Still I didn’t make a change. Slowly, Cara made the change for me. Actually, getting engaged made the change for me. Seriously. Once that ring was on her finger and we were living together, Cara had a lot more control over what I ate and she knew it.

She does the grocery shopping. She buys the groceries. And somewhere along the way, she started the “Eat What I Cook or Fix Your Own Damn Meal” method of cooking. Pretty bold, right?

Well, for us, it worked. I have discovered I love spaghetti squash pasta, Green Monsters, natural peanut butter, English Muffin pizzas and an array of other healthful food I would have never tried without Cara. Even my beloved quesadillas are 10 times healthier these days. Hell, most of my meals are vegetarian or vegan meals with chicken on top. And, you know what, I’m cool with that because I have more energy and feel better every day.

But just for fun, I still enjoy shrinking up my nose like a fourth grader and saying, “ewwwwwww” from time-to-time just to keep Cara from going _too_ crazy with my food.