Hate fruits & veggies!

talexad0731

One of the first things when dieting is eating fruits and veggies! No matter what diet, doctor, tv show...they always say eat fruits and veggies. Well guess what...I hate them all. I have tried different ones and I just can't stand them. I think it is more of a texture thing, but I refuse to spend money on fresh fruits and veggies when I know I won't eat them. I am trying to incorporate V8 juice with every meal but I don't like to many of those either. Does anyone have any suggestions?!?!

erickirb

My suggestion would be to force yourself to eat them. I'm sure many people don't like going to work everyday but they need the money so they go. Treat it as something you HAVE to do, don't give yourself a choice. Try eating them first and only eat your favorite thing once you eat all the veggies on your plate.

There are ways to hide them. If you like pasta, boil veggies then puree in a blender and add to the sauce. Add any type of cooked squash to mac and cheese. I'm sure others will have some more ideas as well.

bonnykate

do you like smoothies? add lowfat yogurt and some no-sugar-added 100% juice to a blend of produce (i like using some assortment of bananas, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, peaches, nectarines, and plums -- i'm going to start adding in some green veggies this next time) -- and you get a (better than, in my opinion) V8 quality blend with more fiber and protein, which will help you feel fuller, without having to spend so much time gnawing on fruits and veggies.

misstabithakan

Have exactly the same problem as you. Its almost on the brink of a phobia... it sucks doesnt it. Sorry I don't have much useful advice but i am going to keep tabs on this message board because I would love a solution too. I guess what i do is juct make sure i eat the few fruit and vegetables that i actually eat as often as possible, and try to convince myself that they are good for me. But i hate the textures too... so i only eat crunchy things like carrots and apples.

ashlee954

Well that's just sad. You hate ALL of them? I find that difficult to wrap my head around. But I know that there are plenty of foods that "hide" the fact that they have veggies in them. Certain children's food for example. Chef Boyardee makes pasta dishes with a full serving of veggies. These may be higher in sodium though. Nothin' beats the real thing. Good luck though!

bonnykate

@ erick

i love that idea!! definitely going to try that the next time i do pasta

lrichardson2360

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but if I were you I would just keep trying it. I hated yogurt for the life of me, but I really needed a healthier snack, so I forced myself to eat it once a day. Now I love it and get very upset when I don't have it. Guess it's an aquired taste.

Mindful_Trent

This may sound harsh, but you may just want to try making yourself eat fruits & veggies. I found that the fewer processed foods I ate, the more I enjoyed/appreciated fresh fruits & veggies. It takes time to change your taste buds after they've been used to processed foods/no fruits-veggies for so long.

They don't have to be boring ("traditional" salads, for example) - try fun recipes. Ex. Spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta - cover it in spaghetti sauce (made with or without meat) and it's delicious! The squash doesn't have much of a taste, so other than a slight crunchiness that regular spaghetti doesn't have, it's not that different. Try making your own smoothies - some milk and fresh fruit blended together make a great post-workout drink. One of my favorites (when I have the calories) is milk, a banana, peanut butter and a scoop of frozen yogurt. Healthy protein, carbs and fats all in one! I've started adding spinach to my smoothies (you can't really taste it) and also to my omlets in the mornings. Another good recipe is eggplant parmasan - coat eggplant slices in breadcrumbs, bake them, then layer them with pasta/marinara sauce and cheese - yummm!

The fact is, is no diet is going to be healthy without fresh fruits and veggies. Things like V8 are ok, but really eating it fresh is best - you get the most vitamins, fiber, etc.

You may want to try the cookbook Deceptively Delicious - it's about how to "hide" veggies in your food - it's targeted at kids, but may work for a picky adult eater as well.

balfonso

Learn to like them.

What are you doing with the fruits and vegetables?

Try eating them in different forms: Canned, roasted, soups?

Mix them up with things you like. Experiment with your cooking. A different seasoning or sauce can perk up vegetables or even a marinade.

If you are really having a hard time with the taste and texture of vegetables, you could try hiding them in your favorite foods.

There are some books and websites on this type of cooking that mainly involve pureeing vegetables and mixing them into recipes before they are cooked, adding nutrients but hiding the taste and texture so that even kids don't know there are vegetables in their food.

Maybe try Jessica Seinfeld and Missy Chase Lapine (the Sneaky Chef) both have several great recipe books available.

It is essential for our body to get its nutrients. We cannot simply live on processed junk foods.

raelbee

I think that this is a common problem for people just starting out. You are going to have to keep trying things out. Start slow - try experimenting each week with 1 or 2 new fruits or veggies.

I've also heard really good thing about this cookbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Deceptively-Delicious-Simple-Secrets-Eating/dp/006176793X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284400219&sr=8-1

It was designed with children in mind, but I bet it would be great for adults, too If you don't like the texture, this book should help you with disguising them in foods you already like.

The key is to keep at it - it takes our taste buds numerous times to acquire a taste for new flavors and textures. Don't write off all fruits and veggies on first (or 10th!) taste.

Amarillo_NDN

There are some foods I can not stand to eat and will not eat them what so ever. One day a friend of mine cooked supper for the family and I told her how I will not eat some things. She said that's fine.

After eating a very delicious meal, I complimented her on how wonderful everything tasted. She looked at me and mention how she was surprised I liked it because it had stuff in it I refused to eat. I told her I didn't see or taste any of that stuff.

She explain it was because of how she chopped things so small and mixed it with the other things that I was just hidden.

I guess what I am trying to say, is maybe if you take some of those fruits and vegs and mixed them with things you do like, maybe you can sneak them past the old mouth with out it knowing.

HealthyChanges2010

One of the first things when dieting is eating fruits and veggies! No matter what diet, doctor, tv show...they always say eat fruits and veggies. Well guess what...I hate them all. I have tried different ones and I just can't stand them. I think it is more of a texture thing, but I refuse to spend money on fresh fruits and veggies when I know I won't eat them. I am trying to incorporate V8 juice with every meal but I don't like to many of those either. Does anyone have any suggestions?!?!

Times they are a changin' , time to try out new things.. Veggies and Fruits are very good for us. V-8 juice? Not so much! Tons of sodium and no fiber like you'll find in whole fruits and veggies. Fiber is an important part of eating healthy and your body running well.

You've come to MFP for changes, learning to like healthy foods and giving up the junk will be a huge part of the whole thing called 'healthy living'.

First off toss out that word from your vocabulary 'diet'. You're not on a diet...you're making a lifestyle change that will last you the rest of your life. I can't imagine what you'd eat in place of all the wonderful nutritious fruits and veggies.

So what you're saying is, you have tried EVERY fruit and EVERY veggie and hate them all? I find that really hard to believe, I haven't even come close to trying all of them available yet.

We learn to do what we need to for success, we've all made changes to get where we are today.

You asked for suggestions and mine is ... get over it, and I mean that not unkindly but seriously you're not 3 years old. It's time to learn to enjoy healthy food now and give up the crap. Tough love but it's true, it's what will get you where you want to be HEALTHY

You can't take out 2 full food groups and expect to get healthy....in the end it's up to you of course, none of us can make you do anything you chose not to do. :ohwell:

championnfl

???? What do you eat? Process foods?Red meat,chix, or all suger foods. Your body needs fruits & veggies to sustain life. All other foods clog and disrupt the insides of your body. They also act as a removel process to take out bad cells,clean out arteries, and keeps body running. My advice is go talk to a doctor and a nutrinisionist to get more knowledge on this topic. Could be [are] doing unseen damage to your body. Body gets old inside,out.Don't see the damage until its to late. I'm not a Doctor,friendly advice

ppenton

I don't hate them all but I hate the majority of them. I am making myself eat them. I have been eating broccoli (yuck) and cooked carrots. I only eat bananas, apples, grapes, watermelon, strawberries, canteloupe, oranges so I am good in the fruit department. Veggies - raw carrots, cucumbers, lettuce. This weekend I had broccoli and tomatoes in my salad. I ate them even though I didn't want to. You have to make yourself eat healthier even if you don't want to. My next task is to learn to like yogurt. I cannot stand the taste of it, but I will eat it - I will start by putting it in a smoothie with some frozen strawberries. I love corn but that is a starch so I have to avoid it.

Good luck.

missmaya24

Have you heard of shakeology? It's a shake that's packed full of fruits and vegetables. It's not meant to replace eating vegetables but it will definitely make it easier to get the daily nutrition you need.

Kminor67

I'm assuming that you like potatoes, because I don't know anyone who doesn't. My suggestion would be to disguise your veggies in other things. When you make Mashed potatoes, put in some lima beans, cauliflower, or another pale veggie, and use an electric mixer. This way, the potatoes disguise the taste of the veg, but you're still getting some.

jacgray

I hate them too, apart from potatoes I hate all veg and it's definitely a texture thing more than a taste - although there aren't any that taste great to me, just a few that are tolerable! I make shepherds pie/pasta sauce by putting veggies in and wizzing them through the blender. I can't even bear tomato sauces so my pasta sauce is meat based. I do the same with veg soups, if I wizz them I can eat them, as long as there aren't too many "sweet" veggies in there. I don't find stews/casseroles too bad but only put in onions/carrots/swede. Everyone tells me I am unhealthy but I've got to 58 without any major health issues and am not grossly overweight now (its more that the menopause has caught up with me!). I've found that as long as I stick to the calories I can lose weight, its slow, but it is coming off. I try to stick to foods with less that 5% fat as advocated by Rosemary Conly Slimming Clubs as less fat means less calories. Good luck, it's nice to know there is someone else like me!

HealthyChanges2010

One of the first things when dieting is eating fruits and veggies! No matter what diet, doctor, tv show...they always say eat fruits and veggies. Well guess what...I hate them all. I have tried different ones and I just can't stand them. I think it is more of a texture thing, but I refuse to spend money on fresh fruits and veggies when I know I won't eat them. I am trying to incorporate V8 juice with every meal but I don't like to many of those either. Does anyone have any suggestions?!?!

Just browsing your profile for a moment.. One thing that concerns me is you have 2 children, it would be terribly sad to see them grow up unhealthy not eating veggies and fruit because Mom doesn't like them. They'll need to see your example to learn to enjoy them and experiment themselves to grow up to be healthy adults.

I think that's the main reason so many kids grow up thinking they hate this and hate that...they weren't exposed to it ...or said they didn't like it and no one made them try it again..

klmmoore

I am also a very picky eater, but I have found a few fruits and veggies that I like and eat those like crazy. I can't stand carrots (wish I did) so instead I snack on celery. Its not my first choice of a snack but I know I need these. I also found that aspargus can taste good when adding a little EVOO and some spices and herbs. I have the cookbook others are talking about that and it is great. I try to make 1 recipe a week since my husband refuses to eat veggies of any kind too.

themommie

I agree with alot of the other posts you need to find ways of cooking vegetables and fruit that you will like. Have you tried slicing cucumbers up and marinating them in italian salad dressing. Have you tried making dressing and adding small pieces of celery, carrots and apples and cook it down, or making a marinara sauce or maybe you can put some in a soup. Maybe you would like apples if they were dipped in peanut butter.maybe you can add small chopped carrots in your meat loaf. I hope this helps some

carly708

i am an incredibly picky eater! i love fruit but I hate most veggies. I really will only eat lettuce, cucumbers, raw carrots, corn & of course potatoes. My other problem is protein & "good fats". I eat nothing from under the water & I do not like soy or nuts. So many diet suggestions include veggies i don't like & fish & soy & nuts....its hard when one is used to surviving mostly on carbs like potatoes & pastas & rice. If anyone has any suggestions for substitutions or is what i eat enough to supplement my diet?

HealthyChanges2010

How can you hate these cute lil critters?

championnfl

Right on!!!!

stormieweather

My husband doesn't like veggies either, and doesn't like most fruit (I love them all except avocados and bananas). We've been working at incorporating them into his diet. So we bought one veggie per week and tried different ways of cooking it. We actually compete with each other. There is just SO many ways to cook veggies, I would be totally amazed if you'd tried them all and disliked them.

For example: Kale. We put it in soup. We put it in an omelette with cheese and mushrooms. We made kale chips by roasting it with olive oil and garlic. http://steamykitchen.com/6926-crispy-kale-recipe.html.

Another week, we bought Asparagus. We tried the traditional /w hollandaise sauce. We grilled them with cracked pepper and olive oil. We chopped them and used in stir fry with beef or chicken.

Then you can disguise them or mix them with other things. You can put mushrooms and spinach in omelettes. You can put beans in chili. You can put finely shredded cabbage in fried rice with egg and peas. You can mix cooked cauliflower with mashed potatoes. You can make a stew and throw tiny bits of veggies into it (they'll boil away to nothing eventually).

Point is, he does get his veggies in now. One way or another, he gets several servings a day.

But the biggest favor you can do yourself is to stop with the self-talk. As long as you go around saying, I HATE veggies, you've closed the door to any alternative. Maybe you could say instead, I'm looking for the right combo for my taste buds!

tater8589

My husband does too. I buy V8 smoothies for him and at Cosco they sell a gummy snack that has a serving of both in 5 small gummies. They taste so good too... they taste kinda like fruit roll ups.

chrisdavey

I just don't understand what you eat if you don't have any fruit or veggies?