Hate vegetables
mallycat1013
Posts: 27 Member
I'm trying really hard to find recipes that are healthy. But I HATE vegetables. Every. Single. One. They are the nastiest thing ever to me. I hate the flavor and even more the texture. I tried choking down some asparagus but I couldn't do it. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
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One way to get started if you're trying to lose weight, is take a multi vitamin and simply focus on calories to get the hang of weight loss. Then, as the weight starts to come off, you can experiment with recipes to include veggies. "Healthy eating" alone will not result in weight loss, only a calorie deficit will. Most of us here on MFP achieve that by weighing our food portions on a digital food scale and staying within the calorie allotment MFP gave us for our weight loss goals.
Some of my favorite ways to eat vegetables without noticing is to put spinach into a smoothie with strawberries and bananas and yogurt. It tastes very fruity. Another way I do it (and this is gross, but effective), is chug a super cold low-sodium V8. It's low calorie and gets the veggies in.
Theoretically, you could lose all the weight you need to lose without touching a single vegetable. Might be quite the experiment.1 -
Asparagus is an acquired taste. Lots of folks who love vegetables hate asparagus. As veggies go, asparagus is strong tasting, has a funky smell, and gets slimy at the least bit of overcooking. I love it; hubby hates it.
Different vegetables prepared different ways have very different tastes and textures. There's an almost infinite variety of vegetables and ways to prepare them. You have every right to like some and dislike others. It sounds like you need to find the ones you would like.
First is to get over the idea that you hate "Every. Single." vegetable. That idea in your head could be preventing you from enjoying some of them. I am an old fart who believes no good music happened after about 1975 -- and even then disco was in the process of destroying music. Hubby keeps making me listen to current things he says are good but I just don't like Any. Current. Music. I'm perfectly happy with my belief but, unlike hating vegetables, limited musical taste does not cause health issues.4 -
I feel your pain. I hate most green vegetables, too. I like corn, potatoes, peas and edamame - the vegetables that people decry as starches.
For a long time trying to eat vegetables would actually trigger a gag reflex for me. I started trying them without actually swallowing them. Took a bite, chewed it, tasted it, spit it into a napkin. Obviously I only did this in private. I still don't like most of them, but I can eat most of them in public now without a physical reaction (except onions) which has massively reduced my stress level when eating socially. I can also tolerate many vegetables mixed with other foods now (by themselves I still this they taste terrible).
I still don't eat anywhere close to my daily recommendations, but I bought Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook on how to hide them in food for kids and when I have time for the prep I'll make some of those recipes.
Sorry I don't have a quick fix for you.1 -
mallycat1013 wrote: »I'm trying really hard to find recipes that are healthy. But I HATE vegetables. Every. Single. One. They are the nastiest thing ever to me. I hate the flavor and even more the texture. I tried choking down some asparagus but I couldn't do it. I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
All vegetables don't taste the same. All vegetables don't have the same texture.
Raw, steamed, roasted, pureed. Starting with fresh, starting with frozen. These are all things that change texture.
Do you have to like vegetables? No it's not a requirement. However, know that they are often high volume, lower calorie. You could use them to fill up your plate.....OR you could just eat small portions of calorie dense foods forever.
There are veggies with strong flavors.....like Heidi said, asparagus is an acquired taste. I wouldn't start there. For me the most "mild" veggie is green beans. The best texture (to me) is to start with fresh and then steam them, but still leaving them a bit firm. Then add butter & salt. Canned green beans are just nasty IMO, but other people like them. We all like different things.
Cauliflower & broccoli are related to cabbage. Cauliflower has the most mild flavor of these. Roasted cauliflower is yummy. Take a bit of fresh cauliflower, drizzle with oil, add salt & seasonings (I like garlic) and roast in a hot oven (450) for 20 minutes, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Root veggies (like carrots) are also very good roasted.
Keep trying new things. You might find a few veggies you can come to enjoy.5 -
Had another thought - Zucchini makes a pretty decent pasta substitute. I sliced 3 zucchini into long strips and used it in place of lasagna noodles. Zucchini flavor is pretty mild and the other flavors in lasagna are strong so that was a winner for me.1
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Honestly I found alot of my trouble with vegetables was not knowing how to prepare them. I bought some sugar pea pods the other day that were amazing. I ended up adding them to a stir fry. Try spiralizing carrots and zuchinni as pasta substitutes or try roasting root veggies. To roast add a tiny bit of olive oil and salt, pepper and thyme. If you like onions throw one in and it adds flavor. I always use a little bit of butter on my steamed veggies with salt and pepper. If you steam then return them to the pot with a teaspoon of butter per serving with some salt and pepper and saute them for a minute or two it makes a world of difference. The butter adds 35 calories and for me it is worth every calorie. You can add a tablespoon of light cheese whiz to steamed broccoli and that makes it much more palatable. You have to experiment. I've started using shredded cabbage on my tacos instead of lettuce. Very filling and super low cal. Some of these suggestions add calories but it is the best way to get them in. I find the more veggies I eat the less hungry I am.0
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Eat fruit0
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Some of us recently did a challenge wherein we ate 800g (10 servings) of fruit and veg a day...not a challenge for me, because I love a wide variety of veg, but I mention it here because one thing I didn't realize is that 1 tablespoon of tomato paste/sauce counts as a serving, which makes sense if you think about it, as it is tomatoes greatly distilled down, yet retaining all the micronutrients that tomatoes are known for.
So, if you like pasta or lasagna, try to increase the amount of marinara you are using, and that will increase your exposure to at least one vegetable. And of course there are additional tricks like increasing the amount of garlic or onions or herbs (or even summer squash or zucchini) in the sauce and pureeing it so it is all masked together in an inoffensive sauce.
Another good puree is something like Julia Child's potato-leek soup, or a squash soup. Vegetables don't have to be whole to get the nutritional benefit from them.
At the end of the day, if you want the health benefit of vegetables, you just need to pull on your big kid pants and figure out what is tolerable. I remember reading advice on getting kids to eat veg, and they say normally after tasting something [x] amount of times, it becomes familiar and tolerable to the palate. So maybe figure out what is least objectionable and work on incorporating that into your diet, then move onto another challenge until you have a handful that are acceptable.
I particularly love root veg that are roasted with oil and garlic, but as noted above, I love veg regardless.0 -
I've been trying for several years different veggies and preparing them differently. I'm having a hard time finding anything I like. Zuccini noodles will be my next attempt. It so frustrating that I can't find anything I like. I feel like the only person in the world that can't handle them.0
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I think asparagus is kind of a "hard core" veggie to like if you're not a veggie person. If it's not cooked properly, it can be gross even for a veggie lover, so I'd avoid it.
When I was a kid, I only liked peas if they were in vegetable soup! Now I love them all. Tastes change.
That said, if it is texture that you object to, are you talking cooked or raw?1 -
How about raw and crunchy and dipped in stuff? Baby carrots with peanut butter is a favorite of mine, or fat free ranch dressing. Cucumbers? Tomatoes? Do you eat pasta with tomato sauce? Try adding zucchini or broccoli chopped small and cooked in the sauce. I used to hate cabbage and Brussels sprouts, but I like them roasted or sautéed. Asparagus, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, any of the cabbage-family really, are strong veggies. Raw tends to be more palatable than cooked. Salads? Cole slaw?
When my son was little, I made a LOT of carrot cake and zucchini bread - double the veggies - and he loved that, though he wouldn't touch the vegetables plain. Or vegetable fritters, like zucchini/apple. Then again, to this day - he's 22 and thin as can be - he doesn't care for anything but junk food. I'm pretty sure he doesn't eat veggies still.0 -
My brother hated them too (at first) He was a meat and potatoes kinda guy but as he became leaner his tastes changed. I found the same. I really didn't care for certain vegetables which I now love. I wouldn't worry too much at first and maybe start with lead-in veggies like the sweeter ones... sweet peas, sauteed peppers and onion, cooked carrots and hey - if you never love a veggie it really doesn't matter for weight loss. I just find it easier to keep a deficit with more volume so it works for me but it's absolutely not a necessity.0
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First of all, you don't have to eat things you don't like. Try a few different vegetables and ways to prepare them, but if they're just awful to you no matter what, then find something you do like.
I firmly believe that all vegetables should be roasted if possible, especially if you don't think you like them. Of course, this doesn't apply to vegetables that are clearly too delicate to handle high temperatures, but you can roast most things and it changes the flavor dramatically. Cruciferous vegetables--broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts--are especially great candidates for roasting. It takes away much of the bitterness that some people taste with these vegetables. Yes, roasting does require a fair amount of oil, but if that fits into your macros, then go for it. I usually just add salt and pepper, but you can add other seasonings as well.
Soup is also a wonderful option. Throw some peas, carrots, etc. in a soup and let it simmer. They'll take on the flavors of the rest of the soup. The vegetables don't have to be the focus of the soup.
Sauces and dressings are your friend. You don't have to eat your veggies plain. Put a sauce you like on 'em.
Some vegetables work in sweet dishes as well as savory. Sweet potatoes are the obvious choice here, but you can also make maple brown sugar carrots. Many salads include fruit and/or a sweet dressing; spinach is a popular choice with strawberries or oranges, but I also make a kale salad with apples, dried berries, and candied walnuts. I even came across a recipe for corn ice cream, though I haven't tried that yet.
Then there are veggies that just don't get as much love as I think they should. Eggplant, for example. You can roast it, grill it, bread it, put it in a stir fry, make baba ghannouj out of it.
Finally, one option that doesn't get mentioned as often: pickling. It's not just for cucumbers, and you don't have to spend all day with a bunch of glass jars. You can make quick pickles in your refrigerator with very simple ingredients. Pickles can be made out of just about any vegetable and can be sweet or savory. Basically, you cut up the veggies you want to pickle, mix up a brine, pour brine over veggies, and leave it in the fridge for a day or two.0 -
Cooked or raw it's still not good. Ive prepared them diffrent ways and still cant handle it. I'm trying to keep my calories down and heat healthy but there's not very many meals that can do that. I'm getting sick of eating the same things all the time. Like if I eat chicken breast for dinner with rice. That just doesnt seem healthy or filling enough.0
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mallycat1013 wrote: »Cooked or raw it's still not good. Ive prepared them diffrent ways and still cant handle it. I'm trying to keep my calories down and heat healthy but there's not very many meals that can do that. I'm getting sick of eating the same things all the time. Like if I eat chicken breast for dinner with rice. That just doesnt seem healthy or filling enough.
There's no way you've tried all vegetables and all possible preparations of them. I understand it may *feel* like you have, but I bet you haven't.
Chicken breast and rice isn't enough to keep you healthy, your instincts are right. Vegetables are eaten just about everywhere on earth because they contain things that we basically need to stay healthy.1 -
What about tomato sauce? Do you like that? You can add many things into a tomato sauce (I use fresh tomatoes and blend them in the blender) and put half of that in the sauce pan and then add things like fresh parsley, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, summer squash and blend that all up and mix it into the sauce. The flavors blend beautifully and when they are cooked on low heat for a few hours it makes an amazing sauce. (It also makes a great smoothie).
Do you like chips and salsa? Salsa is just some of the veggies above mixed in a food processor rather than the blender... Again, the same principle - just add a little fresh carrot or cucumber to the recipe to start.
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risotto with sauted vegetables is a favorite of mine - right now the one has carrots/celery/onion and corn; as well as cheese0
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from a psychological standpoint - did you have a bad experience with veggies as a kid? or something that would cause a negative mental association?0
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mallycat1013 wrote: »Cooked or raw it's still not good. Ive prepared them diffrent ways and still cant handle it. I'm trying to keep my calories down and heat healthy but there's not very many meals that can do that. I'm getting sick of eating the same things all the time. Like if I eat chicken breast for dinner with rice. That just doesnt seem healthy or filling enough.
The more specific you can be, the more helpful recommendations you are going to get. For example, I and several other people have asked you about tomato sauce--if you are eating it, that is a fabulous place to start. If you specifically rule it out, we can quit recommending it. Even providing a scale of less disgusting to more disgusting will get you better-tailored advice.
Also, if you don't like veg, why wouldn't you be eating a big pile of fruit with your chicken and rice? Fruit, although somewhat higher calorie, is going to have the same kinds of micronutrients and fiber that makes veggies so important in your diet. If you are eating a large amount and wide variety of fruit (and whole grains or beans), then you are still getting a very decent, healthful diet.0 -
What have you actually tried? Like others said, they all taste different and have quite different textures, which vary depending on how they are cooked.
Do you eat them in stir fries, pasta, curries, soups, or stews ever?
What about in preparations involving cheese or bacon or creamy smooth soups?
Have you tried roasting them? Do you have a few things you like like, say, potatoes or carrots? If so, other root veg are often an easier step.
I really love vegetables, but learning to cook them properly and expanding my horizons was how I went from "they are okay, but boring" to "I love them."0 -
French_Peasant wrote: »mallycat1013 wrote: »Cooked or raw it's still not good. Ive prepared them diffrent ways and still cant handle it. I'm trying to keep my calories down and heat healthy but there's not very many meals that can do that. I'm getting sick of eating the same things all the time. Like if I eat chicken breast for dinner with rice. That just doesnt seem healthy or filling enough.
The more specific you can be, the more helpful recommendations you are going to get. For example, I and several other people have asked you about tomato sauce--if you are eating it, that is a fabulous place to start. If you specifically rule it out, we can quit recommending it. Even providing a scale of less disgusting to more disgusting will get you better-tailored advice.
↑↑↑This.↑↑↑
Do you eat pasta and tomato sauce? Do you eat potatoes? Do have you tried potato-like vegetables, like sweet potatoes, turnips, winter squash? Give us more than - I hate them all. Are there any you can stand even the slightest bit?
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Try carnivore. Skip the grains with the veggies, and enjoy eggs and dairy. Have the fruits you like.0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »What have you actually tried? Like others said, they all taste different and have quite different textures, which vary depending on how they are cooked.
Do you eat them in stir fries, pasta, curries, soups, or stews ever?
What about in preparations involving cheese or bacon or creamy smooth soups?
Have you tried roasting them? Do you have a few things you like like, say, potatoes or carrots? If so, other root veg are often an easier step.
I really love vegetables, but learning to cook them properly and expanding my horizons was how I went from "they are okay, but boring" to "I love them."
This.
What about smoothies?0 -
I could teach you to hate any food by making you eat it exclusively for ten days.
On a toleration scale, here are the vegetables children generally like. Start from your likes and move onward slowly. Another trick with children is to smother it in cheese or ranch dressing.
Corn
Baby carrots
Cucumber sticks (try salting them)
Celery (fill with peanut butter)
Peas
Iceberg lettuce
Romaine lettuce
Tomatoes
Bell Pepper
Green Beans
Turnip
Beets
...
Asparagus
Brussels Sprouts
By the way, low sodium V8 is vile. Drink regular V8 straight up.0 -
mallycat1013 wrote: »Cooked or raw it's still not good. Ive prepared them diffrent ways and still cant handle it. I'm trying to keep my calories down and heat healthy but there's not very many meals that can do that. I'm getting sick of eating the same things all the time. Like if I eat chicken breast for dinner with rice. That just doesnt seem healthy or filling enough.
What did you eat before you started trying to lose weight? Most people don't do well when they radically try to change their whole diet, unless they're really excited about making that kind of a change.0 -
mallycat1013 wrote: »Cooked or raw it's still not good. Ive prepared them diffrent ways and still cant handle it. I'm trying to keep my calories down and heat healthy but there's not very many meals that can do that. I'm getting sick of eating the same things all the time. Like if I eat chicken breast for dinner with rice. That just doesnt seem healthy or filling enough.
What did you eat before you started trying to lose weight? Most people don't do well when they radically try to change their whole diet, unless they're really excited about making that kind of a change.
This is good advice.
I am a huge proponent of eating vegetables, but many, many people have too limited an idea of what eating healthfully is (and for weight loss you just need to control calories anyway). I ate pretty healthfully when losing weight and 1250 calories for part of that time, and yet I don't think anyone would have realized I was dieting if they'd seen my menus, because they were quite varied and not stereotypical diet food at all.0 -
The crazy thing is that the same vegetable prepared a different way will not even taste close to the same. A raw radish has a bite and can be hot, while a roasted radish is mild and tastes potato-like, while a roasted/broiled balsamic glazed radish tastes different yet. Mashed cauliflower can be masked as mashed potatoes or you can broil cauliflower bites marinated with wing sauce, or coat it with almond flower for mock onion ring. Or try fried green beans with lean ham & parmesan -- it is different texture than a boiled mushy green bean...Maybe try not to overcook veggies if the texture is bothersome? Mixed vegetables can be mixed with brown rice and soy sauce for a fried rice take......Kale can be dried into chips with tons of different seasoning options, but it can also be blended into a berry smoothie and not even know it is there. Make a BLT with Romaine instead of bread and boring nutrient- starving iceberg and then add some garden tomatoes instead of the woody flavorless grocery store version.
My point is, I would keep trying - boil, broil, blanch, fry, roast, puree, eat raw, grill on charcoal, dress with sauces and dressings, throw it in a wrap, toss it with rice, or chop it over your cottage cheese. You might acquire a taste for it ...you literally have so much variety that theoretically you would never have to eat it the same way twice.1 -
The crazy thing is that the same vegetable prepared a different way will not even taste close to the same. A raw radish has a bite and can be hot, while a roasted radish is mild and tastes potato-like, while a roasted/broiled balsamic glazed radish tastes different yet. Mashed cauliflower can be masked as mashed potatoes or you can broil cauliflower bites marinated with wing sauce, or coat it with almond flower for mock onion ring. Or try fried green beans with lean ham & parmesan -- it is different texture than a boiled mushy green bean...Maybe try not to overcook veggies if the texture is bothersome? Mixed vegetables can be mixed with brown rice and soy sauce for a fried rice take......Kale can be dried into chips with tons of different seasoning options, but it can also be blended into a berry smoothie and not even know it is there. Make a BLT with Romaine instead of bread and boring nutrient- starving iceberg and then add some garden tomatoes instead of the woody flavorless grocery store version.
My point is, I would keep trying - boil, broil, blanch, fry, roast, puree, eat raw, grill on charcoal, dress with sauces and dressings, throw it in a wrap, toss it with rice, or chop it over your cottage cheese. You might acquire a taste for it ...you literally have so much variety that theoretically you would never have to eat it the same way twice.
This is great advice. I thought I hated bell peppers until I tried them roasted or charred, but I couldn't get enough of them the first time I tried them in fajitas. My husband thought he hated broccoli until he tried it steamed and lightly sauced instead of just boiled in plain water (the way his mom made it). There is so much variety available. Plus, many times when I find a way I like a vegetable, it eventually "unlocks" it so I can enjoy it in other forms. I now eat bell peppers all kinds of ways, including raw. I never would have done that before.0 -
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