Picky Eater

tenathequeena

One of the hardest things for me to deal with is being a very picky eater. I have "mouth feel" issues with certain textures and other foods I just dislike. To make the list short, the veggies I like are : carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce. I dislike all salad dressings, so if I make a salad, it's pretty bland and boring. I don't like lemon or balsamic vinegar either. Even though I live in Costa Rica, where tropical fruits are abundant, I don't like many of them. I'll eat apples, oranges, pears, grapes, strawberries, bananas, and pineapple, period. According to my nutritionist, I need to eat 4 fruit servings daily, so I get pretty bored with that too. I have tried to acclimate my taste buds to other stuff, but just end up gagging. How do I stick with this plan when it's no fun at all?

Jade0529

You prob have some form of Sensory Processing Disorder. A lot of people do. Food issues are a common element in it for many people. The way to deal with it is trying to slowly add new foods in over time. Try raw veggies instead of cooked.

Info on SPD

http://www.spdfoundation.net/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html

Look up recipes that involve fruit. Apples work great with pork, pineapple and tropical fruits with chicken is delicious !
you don't need dressing on your salad if you hate it. Just eat it plain or add some interesting elements like nuts, seeds and proteins

tenathequeena

Good ideas! Thank you.

mfoulkebrown

One of the hardest things for me to deal with is being a very picky eater. I have "mouth feel" issues with certain textures and other foods I just dislike. To make the list short, the veggies I like are : carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce. I dislike all salad dressings, so if I make a salad, it's pretty bland and boring. I don't like lemon or balsamic vinegar either. Even though I live in Costa Rica, where tropical fruits are abundant, I don't like many of them. I'll eat apples, oranges, pears, grapes, strawberries, bananas, and pineapple, period. According to my nutritionist, I need to eat 4 fruit servings daily, so I get pretty bored with that too. I have tried to acclimate my taste buds to other stuff, but just end up gagging. How do I stick with this plan when it's no fun at all?

I like the last poster's ideas of cooking fruit with meat. It's one of my favorites! I love a sweet/savory combo.

I'm not a huge fan of many veggies, either, so one of the things I do is try to include them with foods I do like. I add lettuce to every sandwich, or veggies to pizza or burgers.

One thing I love to do (since you said you like potatoes) is to make mashed potatoes with half potato and half cauliflower. You can't even taste the cauliflower! In fact, most things that use mashed potatoes can be made with cauliflower instead.

And think outside of the box! Make a homemade tomato sauce for pasta and add a bunch of veggies, diced finely, to the sauce. You won't taste them, they'll add nutrition, and even lower the calorie content of the sauce! Heck, then serve that over some spaghetti squash and you've got a delicious, under 100 calorie meal!

I suggest Googling for low calorie food substitutions. You'll find many ways to add veggies and reduce calories overall.

Thaeda

I think it CAN be fun-- but it takes work to make it so. When you have a little time, try perusing the "Cooking Light" website to see if you can pick up a recipe or two-- they do a very nice job of tweaking recipes so that it doesn't taste like bland rabbit food, but is good for you. You have to watch portion sizes though because some of their recipes are so tasty, you will want to eat it ALL!! Pinterest is another place to find delicious recipes. For me, I find "real" food far more satisfying than a lot of lowfat, "sugar free" processed foods, so sites like the ones I mentioned can guide you to making healthy "real" food that can be very satisfying.