Can you help a picky eater?

sbfreak17

It time to grow up and try some new foods. What are you 5 years old?

Ha! Thanks.

sbfreak17

What do you like to eat? That's a good starting place.

Why do you think you don't like veggies? I used to think I hated veggies, but then I started having them when they were prepared better than what I was used to. When I was growing up, my mom would stick a frozen birds eye mixed veggie (usually corn, peas and carrots) into the microwave and then serve it to us plain. No salt or pepper, nothing. Gross.

I've learned to cook veggies with more flavor and use other methods than microwaving.

A few ideas:

When you're having spaghetti or anything else with red sauce - put a carrot, celery, onion, cauliflower florets in the food processor and pulse them until they're pretty finely chopped. Add to the sauce. Also, you can add frozen spinach.

Use the same trick when making turkey meatloaf or meatballs. Add some very finely chopped veggies.

Roasting - we love roasted cauliflower. Cut into florets. Toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Sprinkle on some thyme. Roast at 425 until they're starting to turn brown on the outside. They're a little crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. So good. My 3 year old will eat half a head of cauliflower if I cook it like this.

Thank you so much for taking the time to offer to legit suggestions. I really do appreciate your time and I'll definitely give your suggestions a try.

sbfreak17

I was thinking about this a bit and thought of something I wanted to add. In the beginning especially, it's a mind over matter thing. I don't fill my plate 1/2 way with broccoli because I prefer broccoli over lasagna (or whatever we're eating). I do it because I know I should and I know the nutrients in broccoli are what my body needs. I also didn't like most veggies when I was younger - they're an acquired taste. The human palate naturally prefers things that are sweet or salty than the slight bitterness that most veggies have.

If you decide you are going to add more veggies to your diet, you will probably have to force yourself in the beginning. Convince yourself somehow. If there's a veggie I don't care for on my plate (asparagus, lima beans, kale) I usually make myself eat it before anything else. I will eat every bit of whatever I don't like first and then finish the meal with the meatloaf or chicken and rice or whatever.

I had a similar discussion to this with my mom recently and she said something to the effect of "it's easier for you because you like vegetables, you're so lucky". I'm not lucky. And it wasn't easier for me in the beginning. I worked at it. If it's something that's important to you, you can change your palate preferences, but it'll probably be hard at first.

Thank you. And yes, I've noticed that sometimes repetition is the key to being able to "stomach" certain things but I was basically looking for suggestions on how I could add certain things into my diet without the torture of eating things I'm not fond of. Yes, I understand some things are just a must but I should still be able to enjoy my food while eating healthy.

sbfreak17

I'm also a pretty picky eater when it comes to vegetables, but I agree with everyone that you have to keep trying things. I hated peppers for the longest time because I got the stomach flu right after eating stuffed peppers as a kid and they made me want to throw up. But that was so long ago that I tried them again recently and actually don't mind them. I also notice that the vegetables I don't like raw (IE onions and tomatoes) I don't mind when cooked in soup or something. The things that make you literally gag to try and eat (avocados for me) aren't really worth forcing down as long as its just a few things. Everyone has stuff they don't like, its natural. But you need to find the veggies that fall into the "I can eat this and neither enjoy it nor hate it" category and try cooking them in different ways and such so that you can learn to bump them into the enjoy category. I don't think I'll ever love vegges as much as I love pizza, but that doesn't mean that I can't have the willpower to choose the right option.

Oh, as you people who are being insulting about being a picky eater, 1) that's not really going to help, people have been rude to me about it for years and it only encouraged me more to be picky to show them that they didn't affect me with their rudeness and 2) people actually do have different levels of taste buds as well as some people having the genes to taste or not taste certain molecules found in various foods and veggies, so for some overcoming being a picky eater is a lot harder than others. And while I'm happy that I'm overcoming some of my aversions because it will make it easier to eat healthy, as long as you are getting the nutrients you need and finding food that helps you stay within a healthy diet, I don't think it really matters if you like every veggie out there.

Anyways, good luck its always a frustrating thing to deal with!

Thank you. You're post provided some encouragement and I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

sbfreak17

We are kindred spirits. I wish I liked certain foods. Tomatoes for instance - they are so beautiful and juicy and I've tried them over and over and I don't like them I imagine there are people who can gut it up, but I have found that you're not going to last long if you aren't enjoying the process which I believe means enjoying the things you are putting into your body. Apples are okay in my book and so I try to eat them slowly and pay attention to the flavors and remind myself that this is a positive step for health. I do not like pomegranate and I will not force myself to eat them. Give me a banana and I'll scarf it down The same holds true for me with vegetables (not my favorite) I love doing zucchini on the grill in the summer and picking green beans from the garden. Peppers aren't great for me, but when I grow them I'll slice some up for lunch with my family and eat a few slices now and then.

We picky eaters can do this!

Someone who understands! That's great!