need help with veggies

bnorris2013

So I am crazy picky about the veggies - I mean I can eat raw carrots but not cooked carrots - I can eat green beans or peas if I have to but generally don't unless I am forced to - and I eat corn - I also don't mind ceaser salad and if I eat a cucumber I have to cut them like you would an apple to make sure the seed part of the middle is not part of it because i cant stand the seeds and so that is about it - I think its a texture thing like crunchy i am ok with but soft and mushy is weird and makes me wanna gag - and definantly nothing spicy - so I really want to eat more veggies how can I bring myself to do this

Mihani

Blend up (as in pulverize) greens and other veggies and add them to soups, stews, smoothies, etc.

SnicciFit

I do best when they are mixed into a dish with meat...etc. For example, I put chopped up carrots in my spaghetti sauce. I also eat my spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash instead of noodles. I make a dish called "ground beef & cabbage" (recipe below). Another thing I have found is that eating less "junk food," my tastes have changed and I enjoy more veggies now


http://fastpaleo.com/recipe/ground-beef-and-cabbage/

krugms00

What about juicing? Check out the documentary called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." It's about a guy from Australia who embarks on a 60-day juicing fast. Obviously that's pretty hard-core, but the movie gives some amazing insight on juicing in general, which I'll be embarking on within a week or two. A great way to get all of the nutrients from veggies (and fruit) in a juice. If you use a true juicer (not a blender), you only get juice and no pulp, which makes it easier to take. I'm a texture person too, and am not a fan of pulp or seeds in any way.

Michelle_Padgett13

Maybe start with finding new ways to eat the ones you already know you like? For example, instead of eating plain raw carrots, maybe shred some up with a tablespoon of raisins and a tablespoon of your favorite salad dressing?

Peel, seed, and chop that cucumber, then marinate it in some vinegar, salt and pepper. Or make slices to dip in hummus (or other dip).

Blended soups are a great way to sneak extra veggies in. Just google "blended vegetable soup" and click one that looks do-able.

Do your best to try new veggies, but don't beat yourself up. You've lost quite a bit already, so clearly you're doing something right.

SnicciFit

Oh yeah, another thing I recently discovered! Broccoli slaw and rainbow slaw. I saute them and add a little frank's red hot sauce You can cook them until they are limp and mushy or until they are crispy tender. I usually eat it with meat over it (like taco meat or buffalo ground chicken).

enchantedgardener

So, if you like crunchy... how about branching out to new crunchy veggies besides carrots? Raw fennel, celery, sugar snap peas, and sweet peppers are favourites of mine.

As other folks have suggested, you could try adding more veggies to foods like soups, chili, and pasta sauce. You can puree the soups and pasta sauce if you don't like a chunky texture.

Stir-fry is another idea, and since the cook time is short the veg don't get mushy. Try baby bok choi with peppers, snow peas, and thinly sliced carrot.

Try a new vegetable every week. You'll find some new ones that you like, I'm sure of it!

PatriciaTousignant

Everything that the girls above said. I have started doing Meatless Mondays and it forces me to try veggies in a different way. I've also started eating more veggies by mixing them into things. I am not fond of spinach but I eat it with eggs, mixed in stir-fry's or soups. I also tried Avocado the other and fell in love with it so definitely try new veggies. Remember that it can take at least 27 times to try out a food before you like it.

Mangopickle

French people don't eat cucumber peel or seeds either, and they always peel and seed their tomatoes so don't feel weird about that. Many foods can be eaten raw. Just shred them and dress them with dressing or use them like lettuce in a wrap. I do not enjoy broccoli raw but quickly stir fried til it goes bright green but is still crunchy is yummy. You might like some veggies just briefly barely cooked in boiling chicken broth, just enough to take off the raw edge. Add 2 cups of frozen mixed veg to spaghetti sauce or Mac and cheese. Easily blends in. Your palate is always changing. As you expose it to more and more complex favors you will grow to appreciate them

michelleamhill

Here are some ways I get my picky eaters to eat their veggies:


Pasta Sauce
I peel a whole eggplant, cube it and steam it.
Next I puree it with my favorite (homemade) pasta sauce and my kids have no idea they are eating eggplant. You can do the same with zucchini too.

Omlete

Grate zucchini or chop fresh spinach and add it to your scrambled eggs

Soup

I love roasted veg soup. I roast red, yellow and orange peppers under the broiler until the skin is black and puffy. Once cool, peel. Meanwhile slice zucchini and yellow squash (about 2 or 3 each) sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper and dry oregano and thyme and roast in 400 degree oven until lightly browned.

Saute an onion and 4 cloves of garlic in a bit of olive oil until golden, but not too dark. Add salt & pepper and dry rubbed thyme.

Add a can of whole peeled tomatoes (or roast and peel your own) including the liquid. Add the peeled peppers and the roasted squash. Add about 4-6 cups chicken stock, (preferably homemade). Now, I use a stick blender and puree the whole thing. If you don't have one, just pop it in the blender in batches. Be careful if it's too hot, the lid will fly off! Blend until very smooth. THis soup is delicious.

If you like salad try to use it as a vehicle for adding crunchy veggies. You say you don't like mushy, so try just blanching broccoli, asparagus, green beans or others in boiling salted water for 30-50 seconds. Immediately plunge into ice water after. You will have palatable tender-crisp veggies to top your salad. Also, if you cut all your veggies and your salad up in small pieces and put your favorite dressing on it, you will like it better. Don't inspect every bite, just eat it.

I love a zucchini sandwhich

Toast whole grain bread, spread with hummus on one side, avocado on the other.
slice zucchini the long way, sprinkle with salt & pepper and pan saute quickly in a little olive oil until just heated, not mushy

Slice red onion, tomato and build your sandwich. I add sprouts, lettuce and lots of black pepper and sometimes a dash of vinegar. It's so tasty. It's crunchy. It's filling. You can add a very thin sliver of swiss cheese if you like. If you prefer you can make this sandwich into a wrap with Lavosh bread.

Cut up raw asparagus, carrots, bell peppers and dip in low fat homemade ranch (ranch packet, low fat buttermilk, non fat greek yogurt) or hummus.

Roasted veggies:

In a 13 x 9 casserole add cut up potatoes (large chunks, skin on, golden beets, brussel sprouts and yams. Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, crushed thyme and roast on 400, mixing occasionally for about 35-40 minutes. You can experiment with dif veggies and see which ones you like. If you add red beets, add them last after you mix everything together or it will all turn red.

Drink green smoothies. Hide your veggies with sweet fruit.

I promise you if you cut down on anything processed and start eating lots of homemade stuff and fresh veggies, you will start to crave veggies and lose your cravings for anything not so healthy. Just try one of my recipes and let me know how it goes. If you don't like any of the recipes, let me know, maybe I can come up with something else : ) Best of luck to you!

Rocbola

Seek out higher quality vegetables. Farmers market season is almost here. Gardening is another way to get the good stuff. It really makes a huge difference in whether of not it's tasty. I used to hate kale, until i started buying organic or growing my own. Same with celery.

Lettuce is super easy to grow, and you can grow it on a balcony, in a window, on a porch, etc. Fresh cut lettuce tastes AMAZING!

michelleamhill

I love all these ideas. Yum! You people are all awesome.

charlieibeling

calorie free walden farms dressings on broccoli and green beans

be hungrier- when i diet hard i will eat anything i can put in my mouth.

ParkerH47

If texture is an issue blend it up in soups or smoothies - if you are comfortable cooking - try buying a hand blender and just throw some stuff in a pot, boil, season, blend - there ya have some yummy soup

OR just try other raw crunchy veg - jicima is very neutral tasting, add shredded carrots to your salads. what about raw cauliflower? raw peppers?

Also I wonder if you would really like to learn to like veggies - just keep trying new things - don't box yourself into your preconceived likes and dislikes. maybe your tastes have changed since the last time you had it? maybe your tastes will adjust after having it a few times? sometimes its mind over matter - if i told myself i hated certain things, I might start to believe it too!

Good luck, take baby steps, and just try keeping an open mind

Satiable

I think its a texture thing like crunchy i am ok with but soft and mushy is weird and makes me wanna gag

Have you tried lettuce wraps? Fill a lettuce leaf with almost anything - raw or cooked, chopped or grated, meat or vegetable - add some salad dressing, sauce, herbs or cheese for flavour, then roll it up like a spring roll. They're always crunchy due to the lettuce on the outside.

wannakimmy

Lot of great ideas here, thanks everyone!

writergeek313

I think a lot of people don't like vegetables because they've eaten too many sad, mushy, overcooked vegetables. Vegetables don't always have to be like that! My favorite ways to cook vegetables are by roasting or grilling. Both of these methods turn the outside of the vegetables nice and brown, which brings out the natural sweetness. I never really liked cauliflower (unless it had cheese sauce on it) until I roasted it. Stir frying and sautéing could also be good cooking methods for you, because the vegetables will still be crunchy.

scottkjar

Since you like them crunchy, eat more raw veggies. Carrot, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, etc., are all great raw. Just wash them and eat them.

bnorris2013

ok so went to store picked up fresh broccoli, cucumbers, some other little things that look like cucumbers but they are smaller, celery, carrots, apples, bananas, and my lettuce .... I like apples and bananas and carrots so not worried about that and I am good with lettuce at least for a salad ... so figured of all the veggies these were the least scariest so gonna try these this week