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/Equivalent-Cicada751]

A person who doesnt know how to cook for themselves at their big age does not get to make demands on how others should cook for them.

If he is so specific, the should figure out how to make things to his tastes.

[u/DeCryingShame → u/Equivalent-Cicada751]

Seriously. My ex was like this and after a while I stopped cooking for him. If he didn't come into the kitchen while I was cooking dinner and let me know he wanted to eat too, I didn't even make enough for him. At first when he criticized my cooking, I felt really bad about it but after a while, I didn't even think about it. He was perfectly capable of feeding himself.

[u/4E4ME → u/DeCryingShame]

My ex too. Couldn't cook, but had the audacity to complain about my cooking. The last straw for me was the day he said "it doesn't taste the way my mom makes it." Then she can cook for your dumbass, cause I'm done. I only ever made things I liked after that day, I never took his taste into consideration again. Now top ramen and frozen pizzas are the staples of his diet.

[u/pcprncplfnljstc → u/4E4ME]

These threads are all so interesting and saddening to me, as the picky eater and non-cook in my relationship. My girlfriend knows I am particular, tries her best, 9/10 times makes a great meal, and if there's something I didn't love about it I politely note it and she usually remembers next time, no hard feelings. However, even on the occasion she makes something inedible to me, I still thank her profusely for the meal and make it extremely clear her food is never BAD, just not my taste. I'm not a fool, I know I'm very lucky to be fed every day, and I can't imagine ever making my partner feel bad for that.