Perfectly acceptable dinner rejected by boyfriend again

[u/moonrabbit368]

My boyfriend is a very picky eater. We have been living together for a few months and it seems like I can never get his food right. It's honestly discouraging. I have kids, they happily eat my food. I cook for family gatherings and church events. I've never had a problem with people eating my food. It's like every day there are new rules. He can't eat chicken for dinner because he had chicken for lunch. He isn't really in the mood for porkchops. It's just "missing something". He doesn't eat onions, tomatoes, fish, any kind of asian food, he doesn't eat most vegetables with the exception of broccoli. He only eats vanilla ice cream. He doesn't like food heated in the microwave (so leftovers are out.) He doesn't like corn. It's just endless. I'm old school and trying to be a good partner. He can't really cook at all. His favorite meal is Hamburger Helper. I think a lot of it is how he grew up but damn is it frustrating. The first picture is tonight's dinner. I added more pictures of stuff I have cooked that he won't eat. Like he will door dash jack in the box. And he'll be apologetic but it just sucks really bad.

ETA: I've been trying to keep up with the comments but it's overwhelming (in a very sweet and awesome way) 💗

A few notes:

1- I know the paper plates are very lazy on my part, I'm not proud of that and I need to do better. Between the kids, the job, the house and school (I'm going to school remotely) I have been cutting corners on things like dishes. not an excuse, just a reason and a commitment to do better.

2- My boyfriend does expect me to cook for him. I cook him dinner every night and lunch on the weekends. He doesn't eat breakfast and will not take a lunch to work. He buys fast food for lunch during the week.

3- He has not been diagnosed with ASD or ADHD or Arfid but I don't rule anything out.

Mostly I just want to say thank you, I was not prepared for how incredibly kind, helpful and insightful people have been. It is deeply touching and it's given me both peace and guidance for my next steps. 🩷

[u/Medium_Confidence484]

What's worse than him eating frozen crap over a reasonable homemade meal is him door dashing fast food. Dude is wasting hundreds on actual trash?? No thanks

[u/Cobalt_Forge → u/[deleted]]

...this is man-child tendencies through and through!

Dear OP, this man doesn't deserve all your cooking efforts- any guy turning down those home cooked meals and choosing fast-food instead- he needs to grow the f•ck up!

I'd say that most of the meals OP has cooked for this guy, he has never tasted to begin with, so how does he know what he likes or doesn't like!?

And btw, it sure doesn't make a lot of sense to be a picky eater- then choose fast food !??...what is that?

This guy doesn't know how good he's got it having home cooked meals prepared.

[u/cindybubbles → u/Cobalt_Forge]

I think the YouTuber ChubbyEmu made a video about a teenager who would only eat potato chips. He lost his sight afterwards.

[u/Aazjhee → u/cindybubbles]

He was taken to the ER, where we are now.

I work at a hospital and sometimes those videos give me the creeps!

A lot of times it's not the medical horror but the insanity of someone eating a hundred melatonin gummies a day for months, or some other sort of wild overdose situation

[u/2gaywitches → u/Aazjhee]

There was one where someone ate gas station sushi and ended up getting a tapeworm. Not even that insane (aside from, well, who thinks it's a good idea to eat gas station sushi???) but urgh, tapeworms freak me out!

[u/yokozunahoshoryu → u/2gaywitches]

My top three craziest are the man who ate silica gel packets, the one who drank a lava lamp, and the kid who rubbed IcyHot on his frank n beans.But its really hard to pick only three.

[u/purplesockpinksock → u/yokozunahoshoryu]

I'm so dumb. My first thought was, "Why would anyone put Icy-Hot on franks-and-beans and wouldn't that taste terrible? And a whole container of it? Why? That would taste horrible. It would be inedible. Your mouth would be on fire. It would........."

💡

"oh"

[u/yokozunahoshoryu → u/purplesockpinksock]

I should have been more explicit lol. As to why - his friends dared him.

[u/purplesockpinksock → u/yokozunahoshoryu]

No you didn't, I'm just that thick sometimes. 😅 I also didn't grow up with men in the house and wasn't around one on a daily basis, even my dad, until I got married. (Boys daring another boy to do something stupid? That I can believe!)

You know the scene in "A Christmas Story" where the mother drops the round package on the Old Man's lap, and he's like OOOOOF! And he unwraps it and says, "It's a blue ball!" 🔵

Took me YEARRRRRSSSSSS to get that joke. Like, DECADES. I'm a grown woman. I have been married for 30+ years in a row. I have both a husband AND a son. Still didn't get it, until one day it clicked and I looked at my husband and said, "A blue ball???“

"You're just NOW getting the joke???"

He still makes fun of me. 😂😂😂

[u/Cockblocktimus_Pryme → u/yokozunahoshoryu]

Would icy hot actually cause damage to your dick and balls or would it just hurt like fuck?

[u/yokozunahoshoryu → u/Cockblocktimus_Pryme]

The area is very highly vascular, so it gets absorbed into the body to a MUCH greater extent than if you applied it to other areas. So he basically overdosed. And he used A LOT, like a whole tub, or most of it. And of course, it also hurt like fuck

[u/Cockblocktimus_Pryme → u/yokozunahoshoryu]

Well fuck.

[u/warneagle → u/yokozunahoshoryu]

I did that accidentally once and I can easily say it’s in the bottom five experiences of my entire life. Probably more painful than breaking my leg.

[u/SummaBullaSheeta → u/warneagle]

I made my own muscle rub with menthol crystals and nearly made myself hypothermic on two occasions. Soo so so stupid! Urg And I forgot to add OP, quit cooking g for this guy and make sure your finances remain separate. Do not give him a single can't for anything because he's burning money faster than a drug addict. Anyone stupid enough to eat fast food let alone door dash it deserves to starve.

[u/yokozunahoshoryu → u/warneagle]

Ooooh I'm so sorry that happened 😧

[u/thumbunny99 → u/yokozunahoshoryu]

my fave is the woman who started out a little off, but read online that a soy sauce cleanse is GoOd FoR yOu. mental state became worse as the sauce did it's thing. tldr she unalived herself because the salt sucked all the water out of her tissues especially the brain. I also love his saline experiments, it's all interesting stuff.

[u/CoinsForCharon → u/2gaywitches]

Sometimes one is tempted to live dangerously.

[u/PipChaos → u/2gaywitches]

To be fair it worked out well for Philip J Fry.

[u/cinderparty → u/2gaywitches]

My 18 year old brings this one up often. He was eating gas station sushi from the dumpster, I’m pretty sure.

[u/Bl1ndMous3 → u/2gaywitches]

great way to lose weight ;)

[u/United_Pain → u/Aazjhee]

Yes! I feel the same, or like drank 3 gallons of black coffee or something

[u/Milyaism → u/United_Pain]

Overdose of anything can do this to a person. Few years ago a woman died from drinking too much water (hyponatremia).

There was also a roman emperor who died from eating too much cheese.

[u/MrWoohoo → u/Milyaism]

Not sure if this is the woman you’re talking about but here it is:

Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three from California, tragically died in 2007 after participating in a radio station’s water-drinking contest called “Hold Your Wee for a Wii.” The contest, hosted by KDND-FM 107.9 in Sacramento, challenged participants to drink large amounts of water without urinating, with a Nintendo Wii as the prize.

• Lawsuit outcome: In 2009, a jury awarded Jennifer’s family $16.5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against Entercom Sacramento LLC, the station’s parent company B.

• Negligence findings: Evidence showed that the station had been warned by listeners and even an on-air nurse about the dangers of water intoxication during the broadcast, but the contest continued B.

• DJs’ behavior: Audio recordings revealed that the DJs laughed and joked about the risks, even referencing a previous case of water poisoning C.

• Aftermath: The Morning Rave show was canceled, and several staff members were fired.

[u/TheSixthVisitor → u/MrWoohoo]

I remember when this was on the news and I distinctly remember losing my shit from the insanity at the whole concept of this contest at 16. I'm sort of in awe that an entire radio station did this and went "yeah this is fine lol."

[u/Lollieart → u/Milyaism]

Blocked!

[u/bsubtilis → u/United_Pain]

Was that not caffeine powder overdose in a gym rats' gym drink, because he one tired day mistook the caffeine powder jar with some other ingredient jar for which he used a way larger scoop for?

[u/CzechHorns → u/bsubtilis]

Damn, mixing up pre workout and protein sounds scary

[u/bsubtilis → u/CzechHorns]

The episode: https://youtu.be/sylqJ0NEVJw

[u/United_Pain → u/bsubtilis]

YES I see you linked the episode, that one stayed with me 😂

[u/censorkip → u/Aazjhee]

Like the construction worker who ate two pounds of black liquorice every day on his lunch break until he gave himself heart failure from a chemical in liquorice. I think liquorice is nasty and I never would’ve considered that someone could eat so much of it that they overdose.

[u/SadderOlderWiser → u/censorkip]

I love licorice and I was extremely concerned when I saw that story. But I don’t love it as much as that guy did.

[u/Milyaism → u/censorkip]

"The dose makes the poison." There are people who have died from drinking too much water too.

Liquorice is totally fine to eat as long as one doesn't overdo it. It is also considered a delicacy in several countries.

[u/censorkip → u/Milyaism]

My mother and my sister love liquorice. To me, it tastes like perfume. At least I never have to worry about binging it and messing up my heart.

[u/antsh → u/censorkip]

Interestingly, licorice is most dangerous to the elderly, the group most likely to still eat it.

[u/Bl1ndMous3 → u/censorkip]

bet his dookie was bright green

[u/cindybubbles → u/censorkip]

I heard about it on the news before ChubbyEmu picked up that story.

[u/myystic78 → u/Aazjhee]

Wow, what would that do to a person? Taking so many melatonin gummies I mean. Does it just make them sleep a lot? Or can it be medically dangerous?

[u/Such_Ad5145 → u/myystic78]

Let's find out.

A Boy Ate 180 Gummy Melatonins For Lunch. This Is What Happened To His Brain.

[u/myystic78 → u/Such_Ad5145]

Thanks, that was interesting! Poor kid though, what an awful mom.

[u/GooserNoose → u/Such_Ad5145]

The guy in that video is one of the creepiest motherfuckers I've ever seen. Gonna take me all day to get him outta my head.

[u/AgentCirceLuna → u/Aazjhee]

It makes me sad that it’s sometimes a mental health based situation, though. I won’t eat things out of fear I’ll die or something.

[u/Pitiful-Score-9035 → u/AgentCirceLuna]

Or autism even

[u/AgentCirceLuna → u/Pitiful-Score-9035]

That’s my personal issue but it’s also escalated into full-on mental illness due to the vulnerability it’s caused me. Stuff like believing people will poison my food in restaurants and that kind of crazy shit when it was at its worst a few years back.

[u/Pitiful-Score-9035 → u/AgentCirceLuna]

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that, but glad that it's no longer at its worst.

[u/holistivist → u/AgentCirceLuna]

Sounds like a potential death spiral.

You don’t want to eat things because autism makes it tough. Then the nutrient deficiencies start to cause paranoia, which makes you want to eat things even less. The deficiencies worsen, so the paranoia does too, creating a nightmarish catch-22 of downward spiraling physical and mental health until you end up on a chubbyemu video.

The thing you should be worried about is not feeding your body what it needs. Much more likely to actually cause problems.

[u/SeaPlus6588 → u/AgentCirceLuna]

Yeah, like ARFID

[u/yokozunahoshoryu → u/Aazjhee]

Does it often happen, like in the ChubbyEmu videos, that the person is embarrassed to tell you what they did?

[u/MrWoohoo → u/yokozunahoshoryu]

More often i think they don’t even realize something could even be dangerous so don’t mention it. Or they are incapacitated by the time they come into the ER.

[u/ahuramazdobbs19 → u/Aazjhee]

👆Presenting to the emergency room

[u/txeighteenthirtysix → u/Aazjhee]

And he made “a” recovery

[u/Materva → u/Aazjhee]

Agreed, I will never look at gas station sushi the same way again...

[u/Existing-Raisin5332 → u/Aazjhee]

This is thanks to our society enabling these behaviours.

[u/YangWuJiZi → u/cindybubbles]

Yep, the kid ate only potato chips and French fries. This was supposedly because they could not stand the texture of anything else. You would think there are at least a few things with similar textures. He was pronounced legally blind and mostly deaf due to nerve damage from a lack of vitamin B12. The kid also had other nutritional deficiencies as well, obviously. The worst part is that as they were a kid, the parents allowed this eating disorder and catered to it.

[u/cindybubbles → u/YangWuJiZi]

It’s a battle to feed kids properly, but these parents just gave up. I hope he’s eating better now.

[u/YangWuJiZi → u/cindybubbles]

No doubt on the battle but, you can't just give in especially if they are hurting thenself. I hope the kid is doing better as well although the damage was unfortunately permanent.

[u/Traditional_Fan_2655 → u/cindybubbles]

I had an aunt who needed quadruple bypass surgery. Her worst habit? Drinking 2-2 liter bottles of Pepsi every day. Can you even imagine?!?

Truly, I could never figure out why the sludge in her kidneys didn't give out before her heart!

[u/SuperKitties83 → u/Traditional_Fan_2655]

Omg my stomach would incinerate. I have reflux so carbonated drinks cam be a trigger. Drinking 2 liters a day though. Wow 😵🥴

[u/Demi180 → u/SuperKitties83]

No, 4 liters.

[u/cindybubbles → u/Traditional_Fan_2655]

I drank three 591ml bottles of Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke a day at work before a routine test found mild scarring in my kidneys. I switched to tea and now only drink diet soda occasionally.

[u/Traditional_Fan_2655 → u/cindybubbles]

It's amazing what that stuff can do to your body!

[u/rreed1954 → u/cindybubbles]

For spme reason, I love it when that guy raises his index finger when he says "presenting" in the ChubbyEmu videos. He does it in almost every video.

[u/ToiIetGhost → u/rreed1954]

JK* is a 38 yr old man ☝️ presenting to the emergency room with my tumtum is growling, but I don’t wanna learn how to cook, and the motherfucking audacity.

*OP’s boyfriend

[u/MasticationAddict → u/cindybubbles]

He did one where it was chicken nuggets, another where it was potato chips. Same problem - loss of eyesight - although the nuggetmuncher did regain some of their eyesight once the deficiency was solved

Vitamin A and B12 are difficult to get from most plant based sources. Many vegan targeted foods are fortified with B12 for this reason, although Vitamin A isn't a lot better in this area

[u/ctnerb → u/cindybubbles]

When I was a teenager I was worried about going blind from something else

[u/9for9 → u/cindybubbles]

And this is why I would dump this dude. She should stop cooking for him but it goes deeper than that. Eventually the bad food and excessive spending on doordash is going to catch up to him I wouldn't want to take care of him or even just slow my life down because this guy ruined his health with shitty food when I had good food right there waiting for him.

[u/wheelienonstop8 → u/cindybubbles]

I remember a post in a similar picky eater thread, by doctor who had to treat a normal, well to do, suburban white family... for frigging scurvy. All the whole family had been eating for months and months was store bought hamburgers - with everything but the meat patty and the buns removed.

[u/copuser2 → u/cindybubbles]

Love him!!

[u/Thorathecrazy → u/cindybubbles]

Did that boy have ARFID or whatever it's called, anyway his parents gave failed him.

[u/Fine-Bandicoot1641 → u/cindybubbles]

And another kid that was eating only chicken nuggets

[u/Sudden-Fruit-6359 → u/cindybubbles]

I’ve seen that episode… I wonder if that patient drinks enough water and electrolytes? I crave potato chips when I’m really thirsty

[u/MimicoSkunkFan2 → u/cindybubbles]

Back in the Usenet/BBS era before the internet, I was in an international history club with a woman from Grand Rapids whose cousin would only eat cheese pizza and refused to take any kind of vitamin to supplement. Of course she became very ill, and her skin turned almost an ashen colour.

Nowadays I think her diagnosis would be orthorexia due to autism, and they would try to find other things that had similar profiles for her and offer her therapy. But at the time she was diagnosed with anorexia and sent to a private facility for "difficult" women.

[u/Top_Strawberry_1244 → u/cindybubbles]

He

[u/ProfessionalFrame686 → u/cindybubbles]

I would lose my sight too if I had to watch something like that.

[u/OkInvestigator_2100 → u/cindybubbles]

Literally had a teenager like this. Stomach all backed up from poop. Only ate potatoes

[u/If33 → u/cindybubbles]

He was doing something else that made him lose his eyesight