The Way To A Man's Heart Is Through His Gut.......

Sexist, Old School Beliefs or the Truth?...

"If a woman can cook this I'll marry her!" This is a phrase I hear a lot from dudes, especially southern guys. We've all heard a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right?

My grandmother use to always tell me and my sisters when we were younger "You need to learn how to cook so you can cook for your husband" I use to HATE when she said that. It sounded so country, old school & servant-ish. Uggghh!! As we got older she'd still say it but she'd follow it with "....it'll make your Man give you anything you want" LOL BINGO! Now I'm listening!

Thinking back I can now recall how I subconsciously used the power of food on men. I can remember baking my brother some oatmeal raisin cookies in exchange for a ride to the mall. I made my Spanish Math teacher some Sapapillas and somehow managed to pass the class with a D when he assured me I would have to retake the course and I can recall plenty of times when my Chocolate Chips Cookies seemed to turn my wrongs into "ok" with my husband...hmmm is good home cooking really that strong of a "tool"?

I was intrigued by this and hosted a month long poll on my myspace page. I asked over 1000 men this simple fill in the blank statement :

A woman earns major points with you if she can make (fill in the blank).

Now of course being the nasty asses that men can be I got a lot of perverted answers but I also got a TON of unanimous answers and here are the top 10 ladies!

1.) Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing

2.) Chocolate Chip Cookies

3.) Cheesecake

4.) Peach Cobbler

5.) Biscuits

6.) A Good T-Bone Steak

7.) Apple Pie

8.) Pot Roast

9.) Mashed Potatoes

10.) Lasagna

The Runners-Up: Cinnamon Rolls

I went a lil further and asked these helpful fellas if the old saying is true. Can we really get into their hearts or atleast peek their interest by serving up their favorite foods? The answer from almost all of them was YES, I'm sure you can guess what the other "way to their hearts" was.

I had to know the psychology behind this.

I found this interesting article on www.WebMD.com :

"Not to sound sexist, but most men I know really enjoy sitting down to a nice, home-cooked meal -- all the more so when it contains some of their all-time favorite dishes. And who can blame them? It probably goes back to when they were boys, and their mothers or grandmothers would cook up something special just for them.

When you make a man's favorite foods, it sends the message, "You are special" or "I love you" because you took the time to make a dish that you know he loves. Sounds simple, but this premeditated act of kindness can be very powerful.

So what exactly are these recipes that men love? Only each particular man knows the true answer to that question. It probably depends on what types of foods and dishes he was exposed to as a child.

For example, my guess would be that a man who was lucky enough to have an Italian grandmother would probably have a soft spot for all things pasta. My husband? His mother was part of a large family that lived on a farm in Idaho, so he tends to enjoy Midwestern casseroles and country-style desserts. I can work with that!

Some new research has borne out what many women already know: While men often prefer warm, hearty, meat-related comfort foods, such as steak, casseroles, and soup, women tend to prefer snack-related foods like chocolate or ice cream, according to a recent University of Illinois study.

Another article on the powers of food with Men

Study Reveals that Men Prefer Food Over Sex

What do I think? Well....I certainly agree that food has power when it comes to men...(and sometimes even women, hell I love a good meal too!,) but I think that he has to be interested in you first in order for a good meal to really seal the deal. Cooking is that icing on the cake. I didn't cook for my husband until well into our relationship. ("Never show a man EVERYTHING you're working with right off the bat" Mama taught me that!) Ask him, he'll tell you we ate Stouffers every time he came to visit me. Eventually I made him a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies and he proposed 3 months later LOL I'll be posting that recipe soon and telling more about that story, although he denies it! lol

One of my friends parents have been married FOR EVER and they are this lovey dovey couple who are always laughing with each other and flirting (I love older couples who still genuinely enjoy each other) I asked what their secret and she quickly said:

"Good Food, Good Sex & Good Conversation. It really is that simple"

I Love this and Live By It. It's made for a GREAT MARRIAGE so far!!

So there ya have it ladies if you are trying to impress a certain hottie or just wanna make your sweetie pie feel super special,

Cook Him His Favorite Food!

I'm going to be listing recipes for ALL of the above dishes so stay tuned ladies! We GOT this!!