Looking for Veggies for People who Hate Veggies!

Scampimom

You can get a lot of veg into a pasta sauce, especially if you blend it smooth - mushrooms, courgettes and onions will all blend into a tomato sauce without altering the colour too much (and alerting your vegiphobe to the presence of the enemy!).

I find that people who don't like vegetables (particularly kids) will happily eat them on a pizza, especially if cut up small. And kids will also more readily eat vegetables they've had a sticky little hand in preparing - "build your own pizza" can encourage them to use different colours and veggies to make pictures, faces etc.

Another way in for adults who don't like their greens is to put them in curries - the flavour is covered by the spicing but the fibre etc is still there. You can also do vegetable tempura with a sweet chili dipping sauce - most people will yum that up quite happily.

aniahill

TBH some people also refuse to try things because they like being awkward - I know people who screw their face up before something new gets into their mouth. That's nothing to do with taste.

Taste is something that we acquire - babies and young children react badly to vegetables because we're programmed to believe it may be poisonous as so much of the plant world is. It takes around 20 "trys" to get more used to a taste so if your friend is willing to give it a go, do it! I'm trying with courgette at the moment because I'm veggie and everything has them in it.

I don't know if you'll be able to see it online wherever you are, but there was a UK tv prog called "Freaky Eaters" about people who struggled with only eating a few things - you may get some ideas from that? Oh, turns out there's an USA version called the same.

Good luck

laineretail

I have issues with food textures, especially vegetables. I’ve tried to be adventurous in the last couple of years and have tried new things. But I find the best thing for me is to “hide” them into other foods. FYI: Almost anything can be hidden in a red gravy (spaghetti sauce).

Check out some mommy blogs on how to ‘hide’ veggies in your food. The Jessica Seinfeld blog’s been suggested. Here are two others. Even if you don’t use the recipes (some of them aren’t the healthiest or the lowest in calories) but they can give you some great ideas.

http://thesneakychef.com/

http://weelicious.com/

I made the beet pancakes from weelicious this weekend. My kids LOVED them. I thought they were okay – edible but not great.

How about eggs? Your options are limitless with adding veggies to scrambled eggs or omelettes.
I will eat spinach and orange bell peppers scrambled in a couple of eggs. I cut up ¼ pepper and sauté in olive oil in frying pan. I use the bagged spinach found in the lettuce section. I break some up and put in bowl, add water and micro it for a couple of minutes. I find it less ‘slimy’ than sautéing in a frying pan. I drain and squeeze out the excess water then add it to pan. Mix couple of eggs throw it in add sprinkle some pepper. Sometimes I add cheddar cheese.

Here’s a recipe for an artichoke/green bean casserole: 2 cans of green beans and 1 can artichoke hearts. Rinse the snap beans. I don’t have the recipe with me at the moment, so play with the measurements til you’re happy. ½ cup Italian bread crumbs, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and few cloves garlic. Mince the garlic, throw all ingredients in bowl, add ¼ cup of olive oil and mix. Throw in baking pan and cook on @350 degrees for thirty minutes.


Stir fry’s a good option, too. I just found this recipe a couple of weeks ago and it’s so yummy that I have made it three times since. My sodium levels must be sky high. Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp (I use the frozen 51/70 count from local grocery - thawed, rinsed thoroughly and patted dry)
1 bag frozen veggies (I use Bird's Eye steam fresh 12 oz. broccoli, carrots, snow peas and water chestnuts) 1 small onion – chopped 3 cloves/toes garlic – minced 1tbs or so of olive oil
Sauce: 4 tbs. oyster sauce, 2 tbs. soy sauce, and 2 tbs water (try to find low-sodium if you can)

In a large frying pan, saute onion in olive oil for few minutes. Cook veggies in the micro according to the package. Add garlic to the pan and saute for minute or so. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook til they are pinkish. Add your veggies and cook for minute or so while you make the sauce. Add the sauce to the pan and simmer for couple of minutes. Voila!

Serve with or over rice, if desired. I'm sure you can make with beef or chicken instead of shrimp. The original recipe called for mushrooms and fresh broccoli instead of frozen veggies. But I don't like mushrooms and I had this bag of veggies in the fridge when I decided to make it and it worked out nicely.

Slice zucchini and squash and dip in egg wash then a breadcrumb/parmesan mix. Bake in oven at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Smoothies are good and there's a kazillion options there. And there’s always a V-Fusion drink.

Good luck!!