Hi friends, I may have complained about this before but I just need to vent. TL;DR: cooking for my family sucks and I give up!

My family is quite picky, not easy-going about meals, and vocal about their thoughts. DH and DS also like to watch cooking shows and fancy themselves experts by proxy. Meanwhile I am left trying to balance the following:

- I like to eat healthily - lots of veg, leaner proteins, whole grains, etc. Beyond that I am not picky.
- My family not so much - although DH is better these days I will admit. But he LOVES processed foods, lots of sauces, hot sauce on literally everything, fattier cuts of meat, old school roast dinners. DS like noodles and rice, a very few veg and eating at Tim Horton's or ramen restaurants. DD barely eats, doesn't like pasta, chicken, any bread but wonder bread, or most veggies (she does like fruit). None of them like casseroles, chile, stews. Kids won't eat soup. Etc. Etc.
- DD is a competitive dancer and so burns through energy like no one's business. She's going to an arts high school so she'll be dancing for a few hours every day at school on top of her training.
- DD and DS are both teens with huge appetites
- DH has high cholestrol and blood pressure
- the cost of groceries is over the top right now
- the imperative to eat less meat and more plants, and reduce food waste for environmental/ethical reasons

Now how in the **** does one cobble this together into a meal plan without going over the edge???

I have tried everything:
- making deconstructed meals so everyone can pick the bits they like
- making the processed food (e.g. chicken fingers or whatever) but adding veggies and dip
- making whatever I think will make at least someone happy and then telling whoever isn't happy to eat cereal instead
- making them do the meal planning for some of the meals
- having DH cook sometimes
- throwing a complainers meal over the balcony into the backyard (true story)

The end result is always the same - family tolerating what's on their plate (I've at least trained them to keep their complaints to themselves), me feeling attacked and not eating what I want to eat (it's at the point where I just don't even like food; it's just stress to me), DH being the hero with his once a week meal that conforms to literally no health requirements which ends up with my feelings hurt and frustrated as he garners praise for his expertise (and gives it to himself, quite frankly).

I woke up this a.m. still so angry about dinner yesterday that I think my new strategy is to cook what I like. Family can eat or not as they prefer, and if someone requests a meal I'll make it - but I won't plan around trying to make anyone else happy. There is always cereal, eggs and bread on hand so no one will starve. Family still won't be happy and it will still be thankless - but at least I will be eating in a way that I enjoy ... it seems like trying to make everyone else happy hasn't worked so I may as well!

If you made it this far, you're amazing ... thank you for giving me this room to vent! xoxoxo