Picky Eater Alert ... Veggies are a Problem !!!

cak720

I am officially at my heaviest weight and am doing something about it. Getting back to the gym and am using MFP again for tracking my intake to keep me on track.

My problem, is that I don't like veggies !!!

List of veggies I DO like ...
Green Peppers -- either raw or lightly sauteed (so they are still crunchy)
Sweet Onions -- lightly sauteed
Iceburg and Romaine Lettuce
Cucumbers
Black Olives
Red Onions
RAW carrots
Avacados (in Guac)

My boyfriend steamed some broccoli and cauliflower the other day ... the smell grosses me out, but I chose to try a small bite. I couldn't do it ... I don't know if it's the texture because it was steamed, or if I am just destined to be an unhealthy eater.

Does anyone have any suggestions that could help broaden my horizons ??? Thank you so much !!!

quiksylver296

You don't have to eat foods you don't like. Eat whatever you like within your calorie allotment this site gives you and you will lose weight.

Need2Exerc1se

You are destined to be whatever you want to be. Vegetables are not required for weight loss. Eat whatever you like but stay within your calorie goals and you will lose weight. If you are worried about nutrition, take a multivitamin.

RAinWA

Try some recipes for different ways to cook veggies - my husband is of the opinion that "vegetables are what food eats" but if I roast cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc. he likes them much better. You can also add them to sauces, make soups, stews, etc.

I found pureeing some vegetables and adding them to sauces works really well too.

janejellyroll

Have you given yourself permission to try vegetables different ways?

For example, I think boiled spinach is disgusting (unless it's in a flavorful soup), but I love a fresh spinach salad. I am not a fan of sauteed zucchini, but I love zucchini noodles. Steamed broccoli I can take or leave, but I think roasted broccoli is delicious, etc etc.

Sometimes when we think we hate a vegetable, what we actually hate is the way it has usually been served to us.

(You may have already investigated this, so apologies if it is redundant).

kristen8000

I never eat anything I don't like. Veggies aren't required. Eat what you like, how you want, within your calories and you'll lose weight. There's nothing magic about broccoli and cauliflower.

BUT - have you tried them roasted? Put them fresh, on a sheet pan, drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper them. Put them in the oven on 375 for about 20 minutes. They come out all crunchy and roasty. They are delicous. Steamed veggies TEND to have a smell - roasted don't.

Lounmoun

There ard a lot of ways to eat vegetables that are not plain and steamed. There are probably a lot of things you have not tried at all.
Eat them raw and crunchy- plain or with dips.
Put them is sauces, soups, stews, caseroles, stir fry, eggs, pizza. Grill or roast them. Season them differently. Combine them with other vegetables. Have them with a tasty sauce.
Look at vegetable dishes on pinterest.

Molly Katzen has some tasty vegetable recipes in her books. My carrot hating husband liked the coconut ginger carrots from this book-> https://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Dishes-Cant-Live-Without/dp/1401322328/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/239616/buffalo-cauliflower/
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/classic-creamed-spinach
http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/oven-roasted-broccoli-206184?soc=socialsharingpinterest
https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/turmeric-roasted-green-beans-and-potatoes-recipe
https://www.ciaochowbambina.com/sweet-potato-fritters-sriracha-mayo/
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/summer-corn-salad/#_a5y_p=3883902
https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Classic-Cream-Tomato-Soup?uYGQXdRTTGehVjOP.32
http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/cucumber-and-onion-salad-182382?soc=socialsharingpinterest
https://www.saveur.com/green-beans-feta-mint?gjggVI3tkkKCQsbL.32
http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/copycat-olive-garden-minestrone-soup-by-todd-wilbur-77585

bikecheryl

I hear you!

This has always been my downfall, even my grown kids give me heck for not eating enough "green *kitten*".

I've discovered pureed soups...... West African Peanut is very yummy.

Or try baked veggies........ beans and carrots are top of my list ..... very very light coating of olive oil...toss on your favorite no salt veggie seasonings..... bake in oven.....mmmmm. All the flavor without the mushy texture.

kommodevaran

To lose weight, you just have to eat less. You can eat 1400 calories of KitKats a day and lose weight. I wouldn't recommend it though.

To be less picky, you have to get used to new things. Have an open mind. You may need to try each thing several times before you learn to like it. But there's no guarantee you'll like it. You don't have to eat everything. Almost noone likes everything. I like lots of things only if they're prepared correctly (to my liking). Try new foods in many different ways. Try one new food per week. Try one new recipe per week. Try it when you're alone. Eat it with friends. Try it separately. Mix it with foods you're familiar with.

JeromeBarry1

There may actually be hope for you. When I was cooking vegetables by the method of 'stir fry', my wife had to leave the house because she couldn't stand it. I didn't care. I kept stir-frying my vegetables because I was going to eat vegetables and lose weight. Eventually, she quit complaining and even asked for some of them. Then she threw them away. I'm not yet to the point of having her converted, but she doesn't leave the house while I cook anymore.

Yesterday I made a delicious pizza with vegetables of onions, green bell peppers, black olives, and also mushrooms. It had meatballs, 1.6 oz cheese, and altogether was 514 calories. That's the sort of fun you can make with your limited selection of vegetables.

nic_27_grassisgreener

It's true that you don't have to eat what you don't like. But I think it's admirable to try and eat more vegetables. Roasting is a good idea if you're not sure how to prepare.
Some veggies that are liked by a lot of people:
Sugar snap peas (raw)
Frozen peas
Roasted potatoes
Corn on the cob with butter and salt
Green beans

KateBoss7521

Veggies can taste totally different depending on how you prepare them. For example, I really don’t like raw broccoli or green beans... but boiled, they taste so much better to me.

One of my very favorite things to make is a bowl of fresh green beans with bacon bits on top. I snap the ends off my beans, throw them in a bowl with some water, microwave on high for 5 minutes, drain the water, add a spoonful or two of bacon bits, heat for 30 seconds (just enough to warm the bacon), and it’s done.

kimny72

Try 'em raw dipped in dressing, hot and topped with tomato sauce and some parmesan cheese, roasted with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper, stir fried with garlic and soy sauce, microwave then mix in a little butter and hot sauce.

maryannprt

Eat the veggies you do like, and commit to tasting a "new" veg every week or every month. (Either something you've never tried, or a new prep method.) Either you'll expand your list of acceptable veggies or you won't. It won't kill you if you don't eat all of the vegetables. Also, periodically try veggies you think you don't like. Our tastes change as we age. Lots of stuff I wouldn't eat I now really like. Good luck!

rankinsect

Well, some tips from someone who was in the same boat. Some of these were covered already:

1. There are tons of great meals (soups, stews, sauces, sandwiches, etc.) that include veggies along with other things that may make it more palatable. I admit I rarely eat just plain veggies, as I think they're often a little boring, but I cook with vegetables all the time. It could be a simple homemade tomato sauce (tomato, onion, herbs, mushrooms, etc.), or meat braised with a french-style mirepoix, or a cajun-inspired gumbo - and two of the three members of the cajun "holy trinity" are on your list already so you'd only be adding celery

2. Try veggies in many different forms. How they are cooked (or not cooked) can alter their flavor and texture completely, as does what you accompany them with. Salt and fat greatly enhance flavor, and acid can often add a depth of flavor - it's no coincidence that oil and vinegar are the basis for many very popular salad dressings. Read about what pairs with what - for example, a somewhat bitter vegetable can pair very nicely with a rich and savory meal, because a certain amount of bitterness has a "palate cleansing" effect that prevents you from getting tired of the savory meal.

3. In terms of trying to be less picky and expanding your horizons, I can definitely offer some advice. I was a very picky eater well into adulthood. I was certainly never as bad as the guy on TV who only ate hamburgers for 30 years, but I was probably closer to that guy than I was to a normal person in terms of breadth of food I'd eat. A little over a year ago, I made a big push to change, and now I can say that when I go out to eat with others, I'm almost always one of the least picky people at the table. For me, it was definitely a phobia of new foods that was at the heart of my pickiness; even the thought of eating new foods would make me nauseous, while now it makes me excited.

My basic method to get over my picky eating was:

I made a list of foods I wanted to learn to eat but couldn't, and sorted the list from least to most "scary". Then I systematically worked my way down the list, so each new food I was trying was always the least scary food still on the list. I would use either take-out or TV dinners for this, as it meant I didn't have to cook. That helped because a) I didn't know what the food was supposed to taste like so I couldn't know if I cooked it right, and b) cooking with a food phobia can often increase anxiety because it means unfamiliar smells for a long period of time, and I wanted to do everything I could to reduce my anxiety. If you have someone else who cooks, have them prepare the meal while you're out of the house.

When I'd actually get the meal, I'd sit comfortably, do anything I could to relax (listen to music, etc.) and then eat at whatever pace I wanted. Sometimes it would mean just smelling the food until I was comfortable with the aroma, or taking one bite and putting the fork down until I calmed back down a bit.

The nice thing I can tell you is, if your problem is also a food phobia, each new food you add to your list gets easier and easier, because these aren't separate phobias, but one phobia that manifests in many ways. The first food on my list (which was a chinese-style chicken fried rice dish) was really hard to eat, to the point that the first two bites probably took me twenty minutes to eat, but each successive food was easier and easier (and I actually do like the chicken fried rice now).

vivalavida82

Like most other people say, try them in different types of recipe. I do t blame you for not liking steamed veggies. They are kind of boring. Just like steamed chicken would be. Learn to cook and season them in interesting ways. What about veggies in curries, on pizzas, in a burger, in soups, in a casserole, in tacos?

Here’s are a recipe I love:
eggplant and squash curry http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/eggplant-and-squash-curry-recipe-2200988

You don’t have to eat veggies to loose weight, but they’ll definitely help you stay within you calories and make you healthy.