How to make veggies palatable?

366to266

I want to increase my veg intake. However, I hate most of them, find the rest boring, and need to disguise them or swamp them in something to make them bearable.

So far all I have in my arsenal are: Bisto gravy to smother over them, butter or oil or mayo or salad cream. But I don't want to waste calories on those things.

What low calorie, low fat ways are there to smother/hide/disguise veggies?

366.

ahamm002

A few things:

1. Over time your taste buds will change. Right now you don't like veggies b/c you haven't been eating them enough. And who cares if they're "boring?" Every snack you eat doesn't have to be hyper-palatable.

2. Why don't you want to "waste" calories on butter or oil? You NEED fat in your diet, so you might as well mix it in with the veggies. Olive oil and vinegar with a salad is super healthy and tastes great (at least it will eventually).

3. Roasting veggies with a drizzle of oil and salt is easy and very tasty. Look up roast cauliflower!

madhatter2013

I use celery salt. It's awesome.

FatFreeFrolicking

Roast them. Add olive oil and garlic powder.

Erfw7471

I really can't think of any ways to "disguise", I always try to enhance flavors...with butter and olive oil especially.

Play around with different herbs and seasonings. Cook or steam with stock and/or wine. Roast in oven. Add some (low fat) cheese maybe?

leggup

Have you tried cooking them different ways and trying new ones? I recommend making a list of vegetables available in your areas, including some that you've never had. Then pop over to pinterest or allrecipes or food blogs and look for different ways to cook them.

A few winners that I love that don't pack on the calories too much:
-roasted brussels sprouts with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
-steamed spinach with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese powder
-fresh broccoli with light italian dressing
-baby carrots with greek-yoghurt-based dips
-salsas
-vegetable lasagna made with zucchini instead of pasta or with 1/2 the normal pasta
-pizzas

XxQueenMxX

Tajin, its a mexican chili/lime powder its so yummy we use that for fruit and veggies! And if you get the low sodium one, its only 8 cals/teaspoon I believe. Or you can just squeeze lime juice and a TINY hint of salt if you must. But that chili powder is the best!

futuremanda

Roasting them is my fave. I do use oil but I use a controlled amount (fat is important anyway, so it isn't a waste, you do need SOME there).

Frying pan with oil, onions, garlic, and spices and/or herbs is another great way. (Again, just portion the oil.) I also use salt and pepper, but I add it to my plated veggies so I know I'm not overdoing the salt.

You can work more into pasta sauces, soups, stews, curries, etc -- use a food processor or chop finely if need be. Add more to pizza, burgers, sandwiches, and the like. Making grilled cheese? Add some onion and tomato (or whatever). That sort of thing.

Veggies can go into omelettes if you like eggs.

Some veggies can go into shakes or smoothies without affecting the taste. I used to use frozen zucchini to give my milk-based shakes an ice cream texture -- did not change the flavour at all.

Salsa and mustard are low cal. I think Frank's hot sauce is also. There are a few good low cal salad dressings around, but I can't recall the brand. Newman's Own? Maybe? And check your gravies because some are surprisingly not that bad for calories. (Can't remember if canned or from a packet.)

Eating it with cheese can be nice. Cheese is caloric so weigh it, but if it's your main protein source, you can have quite a bit of it with your veggies. I like feta with broccoli and cauliflower that have been roasted, then heated up with oil, spices, salt, onion, garlic.

All else fails, and you're faced with eating something you don't overly like, mix it when you eat it. I get through a lot of stuff by making sure to cut my meat small, then each bite has a bit of meat, a bit of veg I don't love, and the mixture helps me. (Or potato, or cheese, or whatever is the more palatable item on the plate.)

You can also try various recipes. Skinnytaste gets recommended a lot around here, and includes nutrition info too.

mpat81

roasted veggies are so yummy, especially eggplant, butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. Also, make extra of whatever veggies you eat at dinner and have them for breakfast in an omelet.

mpat81

puree roasted veggies with broth and a little cream for delicious soups

TeaBea

Work on learning to like/tolerate veggies. This is a lifestyle change. Low calorie, filling foods are going to be valuable "tools" to prevent the weight you lose from coming back.

Cook veggies many ways: roast, grill, steam, eat then raw. Try fresh, frozen, and canned. The textures will be different depending upon how they are prepared.

Disguise veggies in sauces. Puree carrots and add to marinara sauce. There is a cookbook "by" Jessica Seinfeld with lots of ideas about getting children to eat veggies.

If you eat mashed potatoes, mash steamed cauliflower in with them.

Non-fat Greek Yogurt with powdered Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix...there's Italian dressing mix too. These are good dips for raw veggies.

I like veggies. Do I like ice cream more than veggies? Of course. But veggies are high in fiber with lots of micronutrients and I can use them to reduce calories in many foods I like. Example: chicken alfredo.....yum, but calorie dense. I add steamed broccoli to it and the calorie count for the "same serving size" just went down.

mulecanter

a slice of American cheese melted in does it for me, 60 calories.

tayloreddiee

I really like the website skinnytaste.com! She has a lot of different ways to make veggies. You can make Spaghetti Squash and put whatever topping you want on it, make sweet potato fries, you can bake zucchini with a light breading and it's really yummy! She even has recipes for zoodles (zucchini noodles). It's all amazing.

Leana088

Mm. Well I add cheese and ketchup to my mixed veg.

4leighbee

The mind is a powerful tool ... if you intellectually understand the benefit of vegetables, and you are committed to making a healthy change by including them in your daily caloric intake, then stop badmouthing them to yourself (I say that with respect - I used to as well, and now, I hardly recognize myself with all the veg I eat in a day) ... and choose them as your mid-afternoon (or most anticipated) snack. Look forward to that cucumber in the office fridge. The other thing about eating raw peppers or carrots or cukes is that you can have as much as you want without wrecking your evening. (There's value in not feeling restricted as you're eating when you're eating in a deficit.)

LovelyIvy466

Roasting veggies with salt, pepper and a little bit of parmesan cheese. SHOCKINGLY delicious with broccoli or cauliflower.

I also add them whenever I cook any kind of meat- adding carrots/squash/sweet potato is healthy and they taste amazing thanks to the meat and marinade.

ETA: I also hide them in my morning smoothie. I can't taste spinach or kale at all when it's added to berries, yogurt, protein powder and PB2.

jgnatca

Gotta work on making those veggies more appetizing. Steam or roast them while still crisp. Add spices, a little olive oil, a little garlic, or cheeses like Parmesan.

When I went low-salt I found that vegetables tasted a lot different. I hated them at first, missing the salt, but then I started to notice the subtle flavours of the vegetables themselves. I then gravitated to stronger tasting vegetables like Parsnip and Fennel.

See if you can enjoy something like this:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/361132463845704981/

Or as others have suggested, this:

Megatoine

Sometimes it is about presentation! I'm more jazzed about eating something healthy when it pleases the eye! Thie is ratatouille - squash, zucchini, tomato and potato - drizzled w olive oil and seasoned w salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Roast until tender. YUM!

rhtexasgal

If you like the vinaigrette dressings, you can marinate your veggies. I will slice mushrooms and soak them a day or two in the dressings. It also works for almost any veggie like carrots, onions, green beans, cukes, etc.

kozinskey

Yes yes yes to Skinnytaste! She has about a hundred thousand ways to cook vegetables in a delicious way. Two of my favorites:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/11/cilantro-lime-roasted-cauliflower.html
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/08/baked-eggplant-parmesan-boats-with.html

In general, though, you're usually best off buying fresh vegetables and roasting them or steaming them. Adding garlic, olive oil, and/or salt and pepper is almost always a safe bet. Sweet potatoes and acorn squash can be eaten with brown sugar and cinnamon. And it's actually a good idea to make sure you eat some fat with your veggies so that you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins.

Angelfire365

I julienne carrots and zucchini and saute them with finely diced onions before mixing in a marinara sauce. Use it for everything you would use spaghetti sauce for. It is fantastic!

kozinskey

Megatoine wrote: »

Sometimes it is about presentation! I'm more jazzed about eating something healthy when it pleases the eye! Thie is ratatouille - squash, zucchini, tomato and potato - drizzled w olive oil and seasoned w salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Roast until tender. YUM!

I know I'm a fat kid because when I look at this I think, "Wow, that looks delicious, but it could totally use some fresh mozzarella slices in there too....."

4leighbee

kozinskey wrote: »

Megatoine wrote: »

Sometimes it is about presentation! I'm more jazzed about eating something healthy when it pleases the eye! Thie is ratatouille - squash, zucchini, tomato and potato - drizzled w olive oil and seasoned w salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Roast until tender. YUM!

I know I'm a fat kid because when I look at this I think, "Wow, that looks delicious, but it could totally use some fresh mozzarella slices in there too....."

I was looking for the andouille sausage ...

GBrady43068

ahamm002 wrote: »

A few things:

1. Over time your taste buds will change. Right now you don't like veggies b/c you haven't been eating them enough. And who cares if they're "boring?" Every snack you eat doesn't have to be hyper-palatable.

2. Why don't you want to "waste" calories on butter or oil? You NEED fat in your diet, so you might as well mix it in with the veggies. Olive oil and vinegar with a salad is super healthy and tastes great (at least it will eventually).

3. Roasting veggies with a drizzle of oil and salt is easy and very tasty. Look up roast cauliflower!

I (mostly) agree with the above...except about the "boring" part, I'm a foodie for better or worse.

I'll add 4 more:

4. Hide them in other foods (you can use pureed vegetables to add to things and you can get the benefit without having to necessarily like them.) See books like "The Sneaky Chef" (note: This is a bit high maintenance...this might be an "if all else fails" option.
5. Smoothies..you can add greens like spinach and kale to these and not taste 'em through the fruit.
6. Swap less nutritionally-dense veggies for ones with more "oomph". An easy swap is to ditch lettuce and replace with spinach. Honestly, you can't tell the difference on a turkey burger..it's just there for texture anyway...so why not get some spinach (or kale) in while you're eating your burger?
7. Use salsa as a dip for carrot and celery sticks (seriously..really good if you're never tried.) You get the crunch of the tortilla chip without the fat...and unless you're getting the fruit salsas, you can eat a whole lot of salsa and veggies for minimal calories.

Megatoine

kozinskey wrote: »

Megatoine wrote: »

Sometimes it is about presentation! I'm more jazzed about eating something healthy when it pleases the eye! Thie is ratatouille - squash, zucchini, tomato and potato - drizzled w olive oil and seasoned w salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Roast until tender. YUM!

I know I'm a fat kid because when I look at this I think, "Wow, that looks delicious, but it could totally use some fresh mozzarella slices in there too....."

I'm with ya!!!!!

Megatoine

4leighbee wrote: »

kozinskey wrote: »

Megatoine wrote: »

Sometimes it is about presentation! I'm more jazzed about eating something healthy when it pleases the eye! Thie is ratatouille - squash, zucchini, tomato and potato - drizzled w olive oil and seasoned w salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Roast until tender. YUM!

I know I'm a fat kid because when I look at this I think, "Wow, that looks delicious, but it could totally use some fresh mozzarella slices in there too....."

I was looking for the andouille sausage ...

And THAT sounds amazing too!!!!

Megatoine

Along the lines that 4leighbee and kozinskey were thinking - this should have some rosemary grilled chicken! However, adding fruit and nuts made the salad more interesting AND colorful!! If I can't entice my eyes, my palate will not cooperate.

Lourdesong

I like veggies a lot, but honestly I often eat frozen mixed veggie medley's, nuke in the microwave, and then top with a Kraft cheese single and some yogurt to make a cheese sauce of sorts.

Also cayenne pepper is a must.

If I don't want to spend 60 calories on a cheese single, I might use a laughing cow wedge, or just sprinkle the veggies with popcorn cheese seasoning.

If I want to get fancy, and I usually don't, I will roast fresh veggies with olive oil and seasonings.

I also make something like ants on a log, but with laughing cow cheese, to have a low calorie snack with celery. And I will often use cucumber slices instead of crackers, and will make salad sandwiches with various fresh crisp veggies.

4leighbee

Megatoine wrote: »

Along the lines that 4leighbee and kozinskey were thinking - this should have some rosemary grilled chicken! However, adding fruit and nuts made the salad more interesting AND colorful!! If I can't entice my eyes, my palate will not cooperate.

Oh you would be so bored with my "meals" (a banana. a pepper. some dry cereal. a steak. with some potatoes.), lol ... You have gorgeous meals! Your family must love you! xo

jgnatca

I think it is important to eat fresh. Or frozen. I avoided veggies for a long time because when I went to get them they were old and icky. Now I buy small amounts in season and at the top of their game and eat within a few days. If it looks a little off, out it goes.

dawnmcneil10

I revisited the veggies I didn't like, there weren't many for me but I've discovered some of the things I didn't like were preparation related.
For example:
I hated radishes raw but tried roasting them in olive oil and seasoning and found I still didn't care for them, tossed them into a frying pan and sauteed them for a bit and voila now I can't get enough of them. My favorite is to mix with onions, peppers and fresh spinach which I then top with an egg for breakfast.

Sweet potatoes I never liked until I just cooked one without anything added, I just baked a potato and ate it, turns out I love them as long as they're in their natural state. I even top them with cheddar cheese, pulled pork or chili and chopped onion.

Broccoli steamed in lemon water is fabulous.

Cauliflower I steam then bake with pineapple, cheese and ham or bacon bits.

Meatloaf or meatballs - I finely chop carrots, onions, peppers, mushrooms and mix right in with the meat, some parmesan cheese and whatever seasonings strike my mood.

Shredded cabbage and carrots sauteed with onion and ground pork will taste like a pork egg roll, just add a little orange juice or balsamic vinegar just before you turn off the heat and mix it through.

Those are just a few ideas that pop into my head.