Meals and relationships
This isn’t about the The Game Changers documentary. But yes, I have seen it. It’s about what your partner eats, and how it impacts you.
Very different, or maybe not, to veganism versus meat eaters.
Relationships can be great, especially when they involve a whole heap of food, cooking and eating together, Sunday morning brunches and going out for dinner.
And happy days, many couples are aligned in their food choices.
Potentially unhappy days – one of the duo has a limited palate, only eats takeaways, or starts on ‘keto’ when you love hot chips.
Does it matter?
Well, I’m sure in the early stages it’s not a big deal because of love and stuff.
But a lifetime of food you dislike or making multiple dinners is bound to get old.
In no way am I suggesting couples should eat and enjoy the same food.
That’s outrageous, you are your own person.
But we all know how easy it is for your partner’s food choices to start becoming your food choices.
Just saves time, right? Saves heated discussions, right?
So if you want your partner around long term, but not necessarily their taste buds, what you eat together is important, especially if your taste buds are health conscious but theirs aren’t.
You want your food to tick the nutrition and the flavour box.
What this means for each person is likely to be different – that’s OK.
Find a time to sit down together to make a meal plan and from that establish a shopping list and who’s cooking what.
Each person could pick their night where they choose a meal.
You could make ‘build your own’ kinds of meals i.e. tacos or wraps.
You might cook enough of the food you both eat, and each person adds their own things, such as more vegetables.
Also consider the chef, their cooking capabilities and time availability.
We want this to work so it needs to be realistic.
If neither of you enjoy cooking or even thinking about food, something like ‘My Food Bag’ or ‘Fresh Start’ could be a good option.
We know one way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, but if you’ve found a different route, nice work – just don’t downplay the importance of the food you choose to eat together.
So, this is not an article about veganism. It’s more one about a relationship game changer.
Rotisserie chicken is available in most major supermarkets and some Four Squares in New Zealand.
The ease, price and taste make it a popular choice among families, people learning to cook, athletes trying to hit protein targets and people who, in general, like chicken.
A lot of the appealing factors are based on ease. In other words, convenience. I get it and have used hot chicken as a go-to myself.
The reality of using convenience foods, like hot chicken, often symbolises not having enough time to read nutrition labels. So, I picked a hot chicken up from Countdown today to learn more. I didn’t go for a stuffed or flavoured chicken, just a one labelled ‘‘Roast Chicken’’. It was $11 and I’d hope to get 6-7 portions out of it, making it $1.60-1.80/ serve. Very reasonable.
There is a list of ingredients, a nutritional breakdown and the allergens are highlighted. I am interested in fat, protein, sugar, sodium and additional ingredients.
According to the label this chicken is around 10 per cent fat, 25 per cent protein and contains next to no carbohydrates.
Each serve provides around