I'm so picky, you don't even know

Jeepfreak81

Hey all, in my new found quest to get healthier and fitter I've decided I need to suck it up and change my eating habits for good.

The problem. I'm finding is simply that I'm a pretty picky eater. I switched most of my ground beef to ground turkey and that was kind of a big deal for me. I eat garden salads, no tomatoes, but only with ranch dressing (lite of course). For fruit I eat regularly it's apples, bananas, and grapes. Not real keen on many veggies either. I eat alot of chickem, pork, and ham.

I'm thinking of trying quinoa, but I barely eat parboiled rice and enjoy it. I'd like to expandy horizons and eat better food but wondering what a picky guy should be trying. I don't have money to waste buying them ngs just to feed them to the garbage disposal.

Any suggestions on where to start? Unfortunately I'm trying to beat a major sugar addiction too, always been an issue for me. Cutting the sugar obise on my coffee by half was a big step, lol.

JeromeBarry1

Just eat the food you like in the portions suitable for your fitness goals. Be sure and get plenty of protein and fat. There are no awards for eating perfectly clean or whole.

pierinifitness

Hunger makes a good chef so try new foods when you’re hungry and you might surprise yourself about your real ability to try new foods.

Lounmoun

I would start with making sure you are meeting your basic nutritional needs with the foods you do eat rather than start with changing to new foods.
https://mynutrition.wsu.edu/nutrition-basics/
Try to get enough protein, fats and fiber each day. Eat some fruit or vegetable with each meal.
Try more variety of fruits.
There are many types of vegetables and how they are prepared can make a difference in how they taste. Think about if you dislike vegetables because of flavor, texture or preperation. My picky daughter will eat vegetables if they are in a soup, sauce or casserole rather than just plain on her plate.
There are some vegetables that can have a sweeter flavor like sweet potatoes, carrots, corn, beets, onions, some squash, sweet peppers, some tomatoes. Cooking can make some vegetables taste sweeter.
Try some vegetable recipes out. Mollie Katzen has some tasty recipes for vegetables.
http://www.molliekatzen.com/archives.php

Jeepfreak81

Thanks for the tips and links guys. I'll have to take a better look at my macros, usually I know my percentages are close but not sure about actual amounts. Just trying to create some new habits and expand my food options s if I can. And I'm similar with veggies, I tolerate more when they are in soups and things, especially when chopped up smaller.

try2again

Lounmoun wrote: »

There are many types of vegetables and how they are prepared can make a difference in how they taste. Think about if you dislike vegetables because of flavor, texture or preperation. My picky daughter will eat vegetables if they are in a soup, sauce or casserole rather than just plain on her plate.

This ^ Roasting vegetables is often a completely different sensory/taste experience than eating them boiled, steamed, or raw. You can "hide" so many vegetables in soups, sauces, & skillet dishes. The ones my kids never notice or complain about are finely chopped zucchini, chopped spinach or kale, and shredded carrots. They also like their fruits & veggies in smoothie form as a side with some kind of protein. A favorite is skim milk or soy milk, spinach, a container of vanilla greek yogurt, and frozen strawberries, peaches or mangoes.

Running2Fit

I used to be a picky eater then I met my husband who is a total foodie and in our early dating days I of course wanted to make a good impression so started trying a lot of things very much outside my comfort zone and was surprised at how many things I didn't think I would like but did end up really enjoying. Now I'm a pretty adventurous eater and will try anything once.

I've learned that you should really try any food more than just once to decide if you like it or not. And you have to try it cooked different ways. Like brussel sprouts, my mom used to steam them all the time when I was growing up and they were so gross. I determined that I hated brussel sprouts. But I don't, I hate the way she cooked them. Brussel sprouts shredded and sauteed with a bit of bacon are amazing. For so many foods it's all about how you cook them so you have to just keep trying.

AnvilHead

IMO, the best strategy is to make changes you find sustainable. If you start trying to choke down foods you hate, it'll usually just lead to a crash and burn. You don't have to make huge, sweeping changes all at once - make conscious decisions to eat a reasonable diet and refine it as you go along.

Don't sweat hitting your macros down to the gram - my strategy is to eat a reasonably balanced/nutritious diet and make sure I hit/exceed my protein goal. I get plenty of fats so I don't even worry about that, and I just let carbs fall where they fall. There's no one particular macro ratio/combination that has been proven to be 'ideal' for health/weight loss, and MFP's default macro settings are just a reasonable starting point (although I, and many others, believe they're too low in protein). I have my macros set at 40%C/30%P/30%F (because that closely matches the recommendations in terms of grams found here, and I find that I'm reasonably close to those values almost every day without having to make conscious food decisions to hit them.

aokoye

In terms of trying no foods, buy small quantities of things. You don't need to buy an entire box of quinoa, find a grocery store with bulk bins (if the ones you go to don't have them already) and buy a cup. You want to try say, eggplant? Buy a single small eggplant.

Do you like cooking? Are you comfortable in the kitchen? If not this might be a good time to start honing your cooking skills and looking for recipes that look or sound interesting. If it's from a site that has comments, do read the comments. Also don't be afraid to half a recipe (unless it's a baked good - that's a bit more tricky). Sites that I like that aren't frequently listed here are:
Serious Eats
Simply Recipes
Viet World Kitchen
Bon Appetit (they also have a fantastic youtube channel)
Taste
The Guardian's cooking section
NYTimes Cooking (this is paywalled I think, though if you have a digital subscription to the NYT you can access it)

MelanieCN77

You'll have to spend some time experimenting. Like someone mentioned above, just the preparation style of a lot of foods can make them radically different. Like sauteed zucchini just makes me wrinkle my nose, but grill me some of that and yes please. Add a dusting of parmesan and you got me 100%. Steamed broccoli - yawn. Juice a little lemon over that or a little soy sauce? Like night and day. Also it doesn't hurt to just get something boring eaten if you've prepared it and it's fine - once in a while you strike out and maybe prefer not to waste or have to prep and cook something new. Then you get to eat the thing with a cranky face and move on a little wiser.

nowine4me

Potatoes. Always start with potatoes. The gateway to vegetables. And beans. So versatile

Jeepfreak81

Awesome suggestions everyone. My wife is an amazing cook, she's part italian. But she likes alot of foods that I don't. Might be time I did a little cooking of my own to try things a different way, or a new food. I'm not looking to completely turn my diet on it's head. Just add some things or substitute some the ngs to start eating better.