thank you and that other person for advice! it's a little stressful trying to cook for different tastes and needs, especially when my parents are super picky.

my mom will make herself gag eating food if she knows there's something she doesn't like in it (even if she has never actually tried said thing, and only dislikes it because she thinks it will be bad) and my dad is one of those people that always has something to say no matter how much everyone else likes a dish.

they both don't really like the same things I like either (I like a lot more flavor and spice) so they automatically think I'm going to make things the way I like it which isn't what I would do for them 😭

I'm definitely gonna try that recipe that the other person sent!

I've been introducing them to a mediterranean diet (substituting some things to make some dishes less carb heavy for my mom), and so far, it seems to be going well!

I have to be very careful of how I ask about the recipes I want to use, or they will shut it down over something minor, but fingers crossed that this works out lol

it's not a lot but for the anon talking about healthy recipes, I obviously don't know what you would consider healthy or what dietary restrictions or anything that your parents have but I made this veggie soup: https://natashaskitchen.com/easy-vegetable-soup-recipe/

For my family when my mum came home after getting her gallbladder removed because it's VERY low fat and it's become a family favorite

We all loved it from the get go when I made it true to the recipe but some changes I've made since are:

-a lot of the time I make it more or less with whatever veggies we already have but I've found that peas didn't really fit the flavor profile so I try to avoid them

-i blend the canned tomatoes, my sister has sensory issues and can't stand cooked tomato so maybe your parents would like that better as well

-as far a seasoning I almost always use garlic, onion, or season salt instead of regular salt when I cook to add a little extra flavor and, at least for this, I always add some crushed red pepper and basil. I also add a clove(about a tsp) of minced garlic with the onion at the beginning

As far as cooking in general goes I'm VERY white so adding flavor does NOT come naturally but one thing I can recommend is anytime you need to boil potatoes or pasta or anything like that where you're going to dump the water after, SEASON that water, I always put in all three of my big three salts(garlic, onion, and seasoned) and at least for potatoes I add some chicken stock.

I hope you and your parents like the soup and I'm not overstepping and I'm manifesting good, FLAVORFUL, healthy recipes find their way to you 😊🩷 (and I highly recommend this soup to everyone else too, my family range from mildly to very picky eaters and we all LOVE this stuff and it's relatively simple too)

I have been trying to do some healthier recipes (I love lots of veggies and stuff, but trying to get my parents to eat healthier is almost impossible) but I really hate how no matter where I look a lot of healthier recipes are bland! like, I end up just seasoning things myself but I don't always know what pairs well together and I can't really afford to fuck up dinner so I try not to overdo things just in case. I just wish people would stop associating healthy with bland because it would make things so much easier for me but also!! healthy food can be tasty! I think this is one of the reasons a lot of people end up not wanting to eat healthier is because everytime you try to look for an alternative it's made by someone who can't season their food and its sad.

sorry for the random rant, I'm just struggling here. trying to convince my parents to let me make a new dish only for them to look at the recipe and snarl their nose is tough. even if I tell them I will make it tastier, they're just like, "Why not just make something we know is good?" Like!! your doctor said you have to stop eating like that!! 😭

girl i don't know if i'm just late to the party but i swear i saw somewhere that you were from new zealand and so i thought you would have a kiwi accent

the wheeze in the video is sending me