I don't really like veggies or fruit

econut2000

I agree with all the above! Unfortunately for your taste buds, but great for your health, you need to learn to like fruits and veggies. You can totally retrain your tastebuds! For the longest time, I only liked corn, green beans and tomatoes. Now I eat all sorts of fruits and veggies! You just need to keep making yourself eating them. Eat them in chillis or soups. I add a handful of raw spinach to a lot of my meals (they wilt way down when you cook them so they aren't as noticeable).

I'd suggest pick one fruit or veggie that right now you don't "hate" but isn't on your current list of foods you will eat and make an effort to eat it everyday for at least a week. At the end of that week, it will start to grow on you. You might not "love" it still, but you will like it more than when you started eating it. If you keep doing that, you will find that eventually your tastebuds will automatically "adjust" and it won't be that much effort to start liking more fruits and veggies.

The other VERY important step is to *eliminate* processed foods! I am not sure how much processed food you currently eat, but I can guarantee that is what is killing your tastebuds if you are eating it. You need to eat clean food. That doesn't mean a boring piece of grilled chicken and some steamed broccoli, it just means that very, very, very few of the foods you eat come out of a box or bag. They should be as close to their natural state as possible - the only processing that should occur is what you do in your own kitchen.

antipanic

Get a juicer and just force it down. That's what I did, because I want the nutrients but detest veggies.
Eventually, I learned to like them more.

i have the same problem but just with veggies. I'll eat romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, spinach and carrots raw and the only veggies ill eat cooked is corn and peas... would a juicer help with just veggies?

I juice primarily vegetables, with some lemon thrown in to make it more interesting. You can check out the Join the Reboot web site for a bunch of vegetable-only combinations. Be sure to dilute the fresh juice with water until your stomach gets used to it. Otherwise you might get an upset stomach.

jenharrio

I am a picky eater. I am trying to change that but so far not so good.
When it comes to fruit I like:
How do I eat healthier and lower calories? I am willing to "sneak" healthy food into meals like I do the carrots. I am the only picky dieter?

No, you are not the only picky eater. I'll join that boat with you. I'm more picky on the veggies than the fruit though. When I finally convince myself to try something, I buy it, then it just goes to waste. I think I would be way better off if I could cram in more veggies. It's aggravating and I know I'm missing out on something great. I've even tried cutting veggies up real small, but the fact that I know they're in there deters me from eating. uugh it's aggravating

ashley516

I won't be much help here. I was really picky. I loved just about every fruit, but hated just about every vegetable. I just started eating vegetables even though I didn't like them at all, and you do get used to it.

Mirabilis

If it's a question of getting used to eating them, take a positive approach. Just think how much better that green leafy thing tastes than sea urchin. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to a sushi restaurant and order UNI. I think it's quite possibly the vilest thing I've ever tasted, principally because of the texture. I'm sure somebody loves the stuff, but I just don't get it.

For the longest time I hated fresh tomatoes. Then I found grape and cherry tomatoes, which don't have all the liquid and seeds inside (smaller and less). They're a fruit too and they taste sweet. All I did was switch from hothouse tomatoes to the smaller cousin.

You need fruits and veggies (veggies moreso) because of the fibre that fills you up and makes you not hungry. I'd try salads with no more than 1 tbs of dressing (and balsamic vinegar is a better bet if you get the right one).

Once you lose the heavy foods from your diet, you will probably find the flavours of veggies pop right out at you in a good way.

wftiger

Mix them in with other ingredients. I used to hate veggies (and still mostly do) but have gotten used to mixing spinach or cabbage into ground beef when making burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, etc. I also started by adding hot spices and/or cheese to just get used to the taste.

Hambone23

Peas, corns, carrots. That's like the growing up "blech" triumvirate. I'd say broaden your horizons. Personally, I find canned veggies a huge turn off. They're mushy to me and gross, or they're way over cooked and, again, mushy. I can't afford fresh, so I buy frozen and steam them just enough so they're still crisp. Makes a /world/ of difference in texture and taste.

Also, my boyfriend is picky about his veggies. So I sneak some peas into a chicken risotto. Or I make a low-cal cheese sauce to disguise broccoli. My friend sold me on Spaghetti Squash. You cook it, remove the inner pulp and seeds, and drag a fork down it to get these spaghetti-like strings of squash. Drench it in pasta sauce and some Parmesan or chili topped with onions and a little shredded cheddar, and you can hardly tell you're eating squash. Crisp green beans in a little butter, lemon, and slivered almonds tastes great. Half the battle with veggies, for me, was that I never learned how to season them so they tasted good. Branch out. Cucumbers are a great snack -- just scrape off the green rind so they aren't bitter -- and make a cucumber sandwich. You can find lots of recipes for them. You can also puree cauliflower with laughing cow cheese, and it's like a veggie creamed potato side dish. Lemon pepper spice -- without the salt, which you can add later or to taste -- makes a great addition to giving veggies a little oomph. Or try zucchini pancakes with a little sour cream (you can find these in the freezer section out here already prepared). Spring for a veggie pot pie. They have individual ones that easily fit within a reasonable dinner's calorie limits. Even veggie pizza. A stir fry can be another great way to get some veggies as long as you use a low-cal recipe. Same with fried rice. Eggplant Parmesan is delicious. Bread a slice of eggplant, bake it, smother it in pasta sauce, add some Parmesan. There's spinach ravioli and tortellini too. You can drink low sodium V8. Throw some diced celery in a tuna salad sandwich. If you get a sub, make sure you load it with veggies. Or if you like sandwiches, slap on a leaf of fresh lettuce (not the gross wilted kind you get from drive-throughs) and a slice or two of tomatoes. Like another poster said, if you don't like regular tomatoes, try plum tomatoes, which are firmer and have less seeds and what not. Really, there's so much you can do with veggies that I never even realized until I started looking at healthy recipes. I don't know if that gives you any ideas or helps, but I hope so!

If you google "veggies" and "picky eater," a lot of recipe sites pop up with ways to sneak veggies into food recipes. That's not to say that you can't juice them, mix up powdered drinks, etc. But really, until I started learning what to /do/ with veggies, I hated them myself. But now I know there are things you can do to make them quite delicious. And it's really not that hard. My boyfriend even eats them now.

Luthorcrow

The cold hard truth is you are not going to be healthy if you do not find a way to increase your vegetable and fruit content. You also are unlikely to be successful in your weight loss goal over the long haul unless you do. So the question you have to ask yourself is do you wan to be healthy and maintain your weight loss goal over time?

From the list of foods you listed it sounds like you have a sweet tooth. From your diary you are eating a lot of fast food and processed foods. So there two be facts you have to remember:

1) You have to eliminate all artificial sweeteners and most sugar otherwise you will never like natural fruit. Nature just can't compete with those sweeteners which are sweeter than sugar. Right now your taste buds are programmed for sugar and fat. Your taste buds will adjust if you cut out the processed and sugary foods. Mixing the two will never work because you will always feel like you are denying yourself what you really want to eat.

2) On an extreme calorie restricted diet you always at a risk of not getting enough nutrients (fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc.). The only way to ensure you not malnourished is to only eat whole foods, no processed foods and raw whenever possible.

Keep in mind too you have only scratched the list of possible fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. you could be eating. But as long as you eating fast food and Oscar Meyer, you will never be able make the switch because those foods are engineered by food scientists to make you crave them despite the fact that they are bad for you. Your will never be better than the food scientist working for McD's. It is not different than alcoholics can't drink and except to stay sober.

PJilly

The cold hard truth is you are not going to be healthy if you do not find a way to increase your vegetable and fruit content. You also are unlikely to be successful in your weight loss goal over the long haul unless you do. So the question you have to ask yourself is do you wan to be healthy and maintain your weight loss goal over time?

Not that I'm trying to talk anyone out of eating fruits and veggies, because I'm not, but I beg to differ that one would be unlikely to be successful in reaching and maintaining a weight-loss goal without increasing them. I suppose if you replaced all your fruits and veggies with fat- and sugar-laden foods full of empty calories, that would be the case, but I don't think you can make the leap that that's what happens. I agree that getting plenty of F&Vs contributes to good health, but there are a good many other factors that determine one's overall health.

cramernh

If it's a question of getting used to eating them, take a positive approach. Just think how much better that green leafy thing tastes than sea urchin. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to a sushi restaurant and order UNI. I think it's quite possibly the vilest thing I've ever tasted, principally because of the texture. I'm sure somebody loves the stuff, but I just don't get it.

For the longest time I hated fresh tomatoes. Then I found grape and cherry tomatoes, which don't have all the liquid and seeds inside (smaller and less). They're a fruit too and they taste sweet. All I did was switch from hothouse tomatoes to the smaller cousin.

You need fruits and veggies (veggies moreso) because of the fibre that fills you up and makes you not hungry. I'd try salads with no more than 1 tbs of dressing (and balsamic vinegar is a better bet if you get the right one).

Once you lose the heavy foods from your diet, you will probably find the flavours of veggies pop right out at you in a good way.

Ill have your sea urchin...... That is one of my favorites!

LolasEpicJourney

Im a dreadfully picky eater also
I try to force myself to eat things
Or cut the fruit/veg in VERY small pieces

hsmommyofmany

green smoothies, definately the way to go. mix the strawberries or other berries (blueberries are very sweet and great for you) in and some banana and the veggies are not detectable. you could even add splenda if you need to for sweetness.

jeninabilan

Fruits and veggies have a lot of carbs, fruit has a lot of sugar.. I'm a HUGE fruit and veggie fan, but have cut a lot of it out of my diet due to those facts. You can still eat healthy and limit your veggie and fruit intake.. Try a high protein diet or explore "clean eating" and eliminate processed foods.

Luthorcrow

Fruits and veggies have a lot of carbs, fruit has a lot of sugar.. I'm a HUGE fruit and veggie fan, but have cut a lot of it out of my diet due to those facts. You can still eat healthy and limit your veggie and fruit intake.. Try a high protein diet or explore "clean eating" and eliminate processed foods.

No wait a minute. I can agree that some fruits are high in calories such as bananas but many fruit are quite low in calories such as apples, berries etc. All fruit is much lower in calories than their sweet processed equivalents and more importantly are packed full of great nutrients. Keep in mind we are talking about whole fruits, not juices or canned fruits which are not natural really more like soda and deserts.

Vegetables on the other hand are largely as close to calorie free or light as food gets. Particularly when we are talking about dark vegetables and "greens". I ate 8 oz of cauliflower with lunch for 72 calories. You couldn't eat enough cauliflower to gain weight and when you have high fiber, nutrient packed vegetables like that in your diet it is easy to stay on track both for your health and your weight.

Now, I will agree that many diets would benefit from an increase of lean protein and healthy fats. But it is not fruit and vegetables that wreck most peoples diets. Instead it is more often than not grains, corn syrup, sugar and processed combinations of that mix.

Let's not make claims that are just not true.

amdwrn

go keto. you can eat meat, fish, cheese, and nuts with some limited vegetables. you don't eat fruit. or bread. it's really not bad at all.

www.reddit.com/r/keto

sonician1974

I've seen a few comments about cauliflower, so I wanted to provide *THE* way to prepare it.

Take a full head of cauliflower (or equivalent frozen) and steam it until it's tender. Drain and then puree it in a food processor (or mash with a potato masher). Add about 1/4 cup of unsalted butter and about a 1/4 cup of milk (or almond milk is even better).

Once mixed sufficiently, plate as much as you want, and cover with bacon bits and shredded cheddar. I guarantee that you will swear you're eating loaded baked potato mash.

Nutritional info:

200 cals, 16g fat, 14g protein, 2 net carbs (It's Keto-riffic!)

sonician1974

Fruits and veggies have a lot of carbs, fruit has a lot of sugar.. I'm a HUGE fruit and veggie fan, but have cut a lot of it out of my diet due to those facts. You can still eat healthy and limit your veggie and fruit intake.. Try a high protein diet or explore "clean eating" and eliminate processed foods.

No wait a minute. I can agree that some fruits are high in calories such as bananas but many fruit are quite low in calories such as apples, berries etc. All fruit is much lower in calories than their sweet processed equivalents and more importantly are packed full of great nutrients. Keep in mind we are talking about whole fruits, not juices or canned fruits which are not natural really more like soda and deserts.

Vegetables on the other hand are largely as close to calorie free or light as food gets. Particularly when we are talking about dark vegetables and "greens". I ate 8 oz of cauliflower with lunch for 72 calories. You couldn't eat enough cauliflower to gain weight and when you have high fiber, nutrient packed vegetables like that in your diet it is easy to stay on track both for your health and your weight.

Now, I will agree that many diets would benefit from an increase of lean protein and healthy fats. But it is not fruit and vegetables that wreck most peoples diets. Instead it is more often than not grains, corn syrup, sugar and processed combinations of that mix.

Let's not make claims that are just not true.

Fruit has full-stopped my weight loss on two occasions. The amount of natural sugars forces your insulin to spike, which in turn stores any fats you take in.

Non-root vegetables (because of their low sugar and high fibre) do not have the same effect.

jaynewould

I grew up in a house where the vegetables had offended somebody and apparently deserved to be boiled to death. I didn't realise until I was 19 and tried proper Thai food that vegies that haven't been overcooked are much easier to deal with. I really like stirfries: I fill them with things I like (chicken/prawns/fish, soy sauce, chilli sauce, tamarind, peanuts), throw in a few vegetables (little bits of broccoli, strips of carrot and cabbage, Chinese greens) and toss in rice or noodles. The vegies are mostly just a nice textural "crunch" amongst all the other delicious things, and if I come upon a too-big chunk of broccoli, I just shovel it in with a big enough mouthful of noodles that I don't notice it :P

You might want to try ordering vegie-heavy dishes at a Thai or Vietnamese place to see if you like how they're prepared and then having a crack yourself. Also I think the spices help make it a bit more interesting: I quite like vegies in a spicy curry (eggplant and potato Indian curry is really good) or in a hot and sour soup.

(Also seconding the other suggestions to hide baby spinach in things like smoothies and pasta. It disappears! Magic.)

TourThePast

You've had some great advice so far about ways to increase your intake, so I'll just add something else to the discussion.

Why is it that you feel that you have to LIKE everything you eat? Food can be a real pleasure, but it does serve an actual purpose too.

Obviously it's wonderful to eat food you enjoy, but that is the reason that many of us are here in the first place, because we ONLY eat foods we enjoy rather than foods we should be choosing. So next time you catch yourself thinking "Oh but I don't like that" - then stop and say to yourself "Well so what, I'll damn well eat it anyway"

The great news is that if you do eat something regularly, you will come to enjoy it, and believe it or not you'll be looking forward to it, not trying to figure out how to avoid it.

Oh, and another thought's just struck me.. You seem to like only sweet things, and fruit and veg with a lot of calories in. Do try cutting right back on sugary foods of all kinds and it will develop your savoury palate a lot more. Plus, the lower calorie veg (eg brassicas) is a LOT more filling for the calories.

jeninabilan

Fruits and veggies have a lot of carbs, fruit has a lot of sugar.. I'm a HUGE fruit and veggie fan, but have cut a lot of it out of my diet due to those facts. You can still eat healthy and limit your veggie and fruit intake.. Try a high protein diet or explore "clean eating" and eliminate processed foods.

No wait a minute. I can agree that some fruits are high in calories such as bananas but many fruit are quite low in calories such as apples, berries etc. All fruit is much lower in calories than their sweet processed equivalents and more importantly are packed full of great nutrients. Keep in mind we are talking about whole fruits, not juices or canned fruits which are not natural really more like soda and deserts.

Vegetables on the other hand are largely as close to calorie free or light as food gets. Particularly when we are talking about dark vegetables and "greens". I ate 8 oz of cauliflower with lunch for 72 calories. You couldn't eat enough cauliflower to gain weight and when you have high fiber, nutrient packed vegetables like that in your diet it is easy to stay on track both for your health and your weight.

Now, I will agree that many diets would benefit from an increase of lean protein and healthy fats. But it is not fruit and vegetables that wreck most peoples diets. Instead it is more often than not grains, corn syrup, sugar and processed combinations of that mix.

Let's not make claims that are just not true.

I said carbs and sugar, not calories I never have a problem staying under in calories, but if I ate all the fruits and veggies I wanted, I'd be way over in carb/sugar every day..

PirateGary

Totally agree.