Vegetables?

rebeccarivey

I really, really hate vegetables. But I want to love them and incorporate them into my diet. Do you guys have any suggestions for getting to that point? What do you find to be the best vegetables and the best ways to cook them?

Aaron_K123

I really, really hate vegetables. But I want to love them and incorporate them into my diet. Do you guys have any suggestions for getting to that point? What do you find to be the best vegetables and the best ways to cook them?

Yeah I hate vegetables too. I eat a whole crown of broccoli every day these days. I eat it raw, don't bother cooking it. I do so with willpower.

Is that necessary? No. But I find its a good way to exercise my willpower in addition to my body and it certainly doesn't do me any harm to get some regular vegetables. Figure working out my willpower and strengthening it will aid later on both in maintaining at a healthy weight as well as in many other aspects of my life.

rebeccarivey

That makes sense - thanks for the response! I would try to do something similar, but I've trained myself to hate them so much that an attempt to eat them results in a gag reflex. Pathetic, I know.

Kamirose9047

One of my favorite snacks is salsa, and instead of tortilla chips I dip carrot slices in it.

What kind of veggies do you think would be easiest for you to start with? Sweet? Bitter?

rebeccarivey

Do you make the salsa at home or buy a certain kind?

I'm honestly not sure. I would be happy either way, I just want to get to a point where I'm eating as healthy as possible and I know I can't do that with no vegetables.

alereck

Choose vegetables that have a lot of flavor or combine them with things that have flavor that you enjoy. I cook any bitter vegetables like carrots or brussels sprouts with once teaspoon of brown sugar dissolved in water and it makes them taste sweet, I also add just a bit of honey.

I sautee vegetables like bell peppers, onions, squash and mushroom together, add enough spices and they should taste good. I also add paprika to a lot of my vegetables.

If you really don't like the taste then add some protein like ground turkey or egg whites. You can also find some great recipes online for things like egg custard cups where you incorporate any kind of vegetables in it and it takes great.

Good luck

ecc4912

Sneak the veggies in...like a mom would do to her children. Shred a carrot or zucchini and mix it in with other foods. I put spinach in fruit smoothies. Looks gross, tastes great though. There's V-8 splash juice that has veggies & fruit in it. Make it a goal to try at least 1 new veggie a week. Sugar snap peas and baby carrots are fairly sweet tasting. If you dip them in hummus, it might cover the veggie flavor. Good luck

Kamirose9047

Do you make the salsa at home or buy a certain kind?

I'm honestly not sure. I would be happy either way, I just want to get to a point where I'm eating as healthy as possible and I know I can't do that with no vegetables.

I buy them. Try to look for salsa without added oil or sugar, it comes out to a very low calorie count that way

TheVirgoddess

I stick with raw veggies, because the texture of cooked *shudder*

Every Sunday I cut up cucumbers, carrots, onions, spinach, etc and store them in my fridge for easy snacking. I also hard boil eggs.

For lunch sometimes, I throw the fresh veggies together with an egg and some light vinaigrette and toss - it's a quick, easy lunch.

You don't have to love every veggie out there - just try to find a few you do like and incorporate them into your diet - fresh or cooked.

You can also throw stuff in smoothies to hide the taste (hello, Kale).

beabria

Some great suggestions here! I also used to hate veggies, but I have learned to like them (even to LOVE some). The biggest suggestion I have that I don't think anyone has made so far, is to start cooking them yourself. Being super-freshly cooked is much more important to the texture and taste of veggies than meats and starches imo. And, many restaurants prepare veggies in a way that is easy for them (like steaming or boiling), but which might not help the veggie live up to it's potential. Find a simple recipe (roasting with olive oil, and salt and pepper is great for many veggies) to start with. If you don't like them, keep trying others. I usually find that it takes a "gateway recipe" that really highlights the great flavors of a veggie to make me like it. Then, having tasted it at it's best, I can start to also appreciate it in other recipes. That said, there are still some veggies I haven't been able to convince myself to like (raw onions are still something I can't warm to).

Apocalypz

First thought is "why do you hate them?" For example, did your mum just cook them poorly when you were growing up? Did you never mature (don't hate that word -- I'm speaking from examples of personal friends) to say you might like them? My picky friends simply never grew up, so they continue to say "veg is disgusting" out of ignorance rather than experience. Not saying this is you, but something to ponder.

My mum always destroyed veg to the point where it tasted like raw sewage. It took me preparing it myself from on-line recipes to find what I liked.

For a laugh, have you ever gotten a friend involved for a blind taste test? Have your trusted friend go to the market, pick up some random veg, dice it up, blindfold you, and you taste them for experience sake? Similar to "I dare" or whatnot. Could be a bit of fun.

BroiledNotFried

Start with what you like. I like seasonings. Add salt and a pat of butter to your veggies. Find a great salad dressing that you like. Just measure it.

What my kids will eat:
Zucchini fries made in the oven. Ketchup.
Sweet potato because it's like a dessert. Topped with a teaspoon of brown sugar and a pat of butter isn't going to hurt a diet.
kale broiled in the oven with a spray of cooking oil and salt.
Asparagus broiled in the oven with a spray of cooking oil and salt.
Lightly steamed broccoli, mixed with cooked penne pasta, a little bit of butter and olive oil and salt.
Lightly steamed green beans, stopping cooking with ice water bath, a little bit of butter and salt.
Peas made in the microwave with poppy seeds, salt, and butter.

Ok, a lot of salt and butter listed above But, it will help you develop a taste for vegetables. There is a lot of good nutrients in each veggie.

ajff

I agree with the person who said make them yourself! Try a new vegetable each week, try it raw, steamed, roasted, and especially grilled - yummo! Also, try a farmer's market -- those veggies are fresh and you can usually get the portion size you want. The vendors may have suggestions for ways to cook them!

shawmutt

Find yummy recipes with veggies and cook them. Try a variety...I find it hard to believe you hate all veggies. I make my own salsa from time to time. There's a yummy mango salsa I make for fish tacos:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mango-salsa/

OMG so good!!!

shawmutt

Sneak the veggies in...like a mom would do to her children. Shred a carrot or zucchini and mix it in with other foods. I put spinach in fruit smoothies. Looks gross, tastes great though. There's V-8 splash juice that has veggies & fruit in it. Make it a goal to try at least 1 new veggie a week. Sugar snap peas and baby carrots are fairly sweet tasting. If you dip them in hummus, it might cover the veggie flavor. Good luck

This too. I have a 5 and a 6-year old, hiding veggies in my cooking is one of my specialties. One of their favorite soups is coconut milk soup--blended with carrots and onions and just a pinch of real curry powder:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/soupsstewsandchili/r/carrotcoconut.htm

Aaron_K123

People seem so fixated on avoiding things they don't like they miss opportunities for personal growth. Longterm succesful weightloss or any longterm goal driven venture takes willpower. Willpower like anything else is gained and strengthened through exercising it. Eating something you dont particularly like the taste of because on an intellectual level you want to for your health does not take that much will and is a good place to start. Everytime you do so you exercise your will and strengthen it which will build your ability to handle challenges you are likely to encounter that will take considerably more willpower to overcome.

Not every challenge calls for avoidance. Dont have to trick yourself to eat vegetables by slathering them in seasoning and butter. Now and again small personal challenges should be embraced as opportunities for self improvement. A person who can summon the will to jump out of a plane even though they are scared of heights wasn't just born with that level of willpower, they got it through repetition and practice with something as mundane as eating vegetables even though they didn't like the taste.

ElidaBravo

I am firm believer in knowing how to season your food, and knowing a few different cooking methods for vegetables especially. For instance I converted a friend who hated spinach, into loving it, just because of how i cooked it. Same thing for mushrooms, or kale....veggies that are pretty hateable if you dont know how to flavor them.

Most people know how to steam veggies, and thats a great way to cook them. But, there are other ways of preparing veggies.

Roasting certain vegetables in the oven will really change their flavor profile. Easy recipe: tossing in small amount of olive oil, adding sea salt and or garlic powder....and placing in oven at 400 degrees...turning once or twice.

Roasting veggies :
Califlower head
brocolli
sweet potatos
baking russet potatos, or red potatos
red peppers
zuchinni
brussel sprouts

Same goes for grilling certain vegetables. They get a more intense flavor, the sugers in them may caramalize. Toss them with olive oil for cooking, any seasoning you like and voila la.....i have loads of seasoning ideas for each veggie listed.

Grilling Veggies
asparagus
red/green peppers
sweet potatoes
potatoes in general
zuchinni
onions/green/sweet

cucumbers ....slice in strips, drizzle with fresh lime juice, add sea salt, then sprinkle with chilli powder....everyone i know loves when i make them this way as appetizers

carrots, cauliflower, jicama, jalepeno, garlic cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, pickling salt....with 1 part white vinegar, 3 parts water, 1 part oil....equals pickled, crunchy, spicy mexican style veggies.....

shredded cabbage salad (sooooo good) greek style salad, asian style, or sweet and sour....very filling and excellent nutrition.

Colored Veggies
spinach sauteed with olive oil and fresh lemon, sea salt, or sauteed with olive oil, garlic, then add some sour cream or greek yogurt ......or hidden in soups/stews, casseroles, salads, undetectable in smoothies, or raw juices

kale can be baked with oil and seasonings to make kale chips, sauteed, juiced, smoothies, but dont eat it alone/raw,
greens (southern style greens cooked with smoked meats are sooo tasty)
celery very diuretic, great in raw juices, in stews, cooked, raw is hard for me though
parsley for cooking, adds iron to everything
cilantro for cooking, juicing, adds loads of flavor, minerals
onions/garlic

I love vegetables raw and plain and when cooked with the above methods. But for someone who doesnt, you must experiment, find ways of cooking them that might take away their blandness, figure out how to season them.

Trick your palette, good luck!

Chrissy8172

I don't particularly love them myself but I make myself eat them (lol) because I want to be sure I'm getting all my nutrients in. It's kind of a mind over matter thing for me!

KylaDenay

I love vegetables, however there are some that I do not like celery, cucumber and avacado. I will have them if I put them in a smoothie. They are so yummy with tons of fruit, kale, spinach or anything you want. You can hardly taste the veggies. Also maybe look up ways to incorporate veggies in food for kids. That may be a good way to help you.

lswatson111304

Be brave. The veggies that you never would have imagined eating are actually good!
Roasted Broccoli with garlic and parmesean cheese is yummy.
Cauliflower is good cut very small and made like fried rice.
Brussel sprouts I can just steam and eat with some spices but I also love to saute them.
Asparagus is good grilled or sautéed
Stir frying veggies are good. ..
Also I love to make plain steamed veggies and a meat like chicken breast or blackened fish. I'll dish them up together and eat a bite of veggies with the well seasoned meat.

bwogilvie

I really, really hate vegetables.

That's like saying, "I really, really hate meat," or " I really, really hate fruit."

What does that mean, though? I know plenty of people who don't like beef or pork but are fine with chicken, lamb, turkey, etc., or who enjoy bananas, blueberries, and oranges but don't like apples or pears.

Point being, there are many different kinds of vegetables. Even at my pickiest, I ate carrots, celery, and iceberg lettuce. Now I eat most vegetables. It took a while for some; I was over 40 before I learned how to cook eggplant and cauliflower to make them enjoyable.

You're within your rights to say that "I really, really hate [vegetable A]," and "I really, really hate [vegetable B]." But until you've tried them all, saying that you hate [all] vegetables suggests that you've allowed your prejudices to limit your palate.

rebeccarivey

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful suggestions. I will try a bit of everyone's and see what does best for me.

Bwogilvie - I am also well within my rights to say I really, really hate vegetables. I didn't feel it was important enough to be overly concerned with semantics. I fully admit it is my prejudices that are keeping me from trying ones I haven't already tried, but the point of asking this was to gain advice on how to fix that. I would be interested to know what helped you acquire a taste for vegetables outside of carrots, celery, and iceberg lettuce.