Any good healthful recipes for picky eaters?

katie001x

Hi all! My husband and I are adult picky eaters. There are very few fruits and vegetables that we will eat, and it seems like most of the healthful recipes I find online contain 2 or more things we won't touch. Does anyone know of some good recipes that we could use? Pretty much the only veggies we will touch are: green beans, peas, raw carrots, and lettuce. I will eat corn, but he won't. He will eat olives, but I won't. I'm getting pretty tired of pork chops and chicken with potatoes, a veggie, and a salad. Some of the things we have made at home that we like include Creamy Cheese Potatoes and Ham (potatoes, ham, velveeta, and white sauce gravy), Ham Bread (homemade dough you roll out, put cubed ham and cheese in the center, braid it, then cook), Biscuits and Gravy, Potato Soup, and burgers. Other than that, everything else comes out of a can or a box. I want to actually make something from scratch that is different, and a lot more healthy, from what we usually make. Examples of things neither of us will touch:
onions, tomatoes (unless it is a sauce), asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, raddish, sour kraut, spinach, artichoke, beets, etc. We suck, I know. If you can't think of anything, can you at least provide another way of dressing up our meats? Sometimes I just use Worchestire sauce, sometimes I do a marinade of that, liquid smoke, Cookie's All-Purpose Seasoning, and beer. Can't do anything sweet. Got sick on honey-glazed ham when I was younger, and anything mixing sweetness with meats makes me feel sick. Lol. Thanks!

contingencyplan

Based on my experience you can eat pretty much whatever you want to as long as you prepare it yourself and know what ingredients you can substitute out.

For veggies, nothing beats spinach, and you can make it taste great when you use it as an ingredient in a homemade pasta sauce. I'm like you, a picky eater, but when you think of your veggies as ingredients used in cooking a meal rather than something you have to stomach as a standalone food it gets a LOT easier to deal with. I've figured out how to make burritos, burgers, and pasta dishes that will fit into pretty much any diet plan. Contact me if interested.

ariant23

I would retry the foods that you dont think you like. Many people think they dont like most veggies because they've always had them poorly prepared. or poor quality to begin with. Find a farmer's market or a friend who gardens and get things REALLY fresh. Tomatoes are best with a sprinkling of salt and pepper (S&P). Asparagus is phenomenal marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and S&P. Grill on BBQ until almost limp with a bit of char.

DONT BOIL ANYTHING unless it's to blanch (which is quick minute or two boiling and then plunge into ice water bath to stop cooking). Saute, roast, grill. Your food will taste great.

Find a true foodie friend (or even acquaintance, those of us who truly love food will be happy to help you enjoy it too) to take to the grocery store and learn how to pick good produce. Or ask the farmers at the farmer's market.

If all else fails, I assume you'll eat spaghetti and meat sauce, you can finely mince anything green and leafy, or grate on the big holes on the grater almost anything else (zucchini, broccoli, carrots, etc), saute, and dump your jarred sauce on top.

katie001x

For us, it's not really that much about taste, and more to do with texture. When I have tomato sauces, it can't be chunky at all, same with chili. Broccoli is more of a psychological thing as my daycare when I was little practically shoved it down my throat. Even the smell makes me cringe. I try to branch out, but it almost always ends bad. Lol. Also, when it comes to green beans and peas, I can't stand fresh or frozen. It has to be out of a can. Don't know why. Lol.

SweetxCatastrophe

Just sub it for something you do like. But ick..veggies out of a can is horrible! I'd rather not eat veggies at all than have canned. Maybe each week, figure out a veggie you hate, find a new way to cook it and try it. I used to hate brussel sprouts until I looked for a new way to cook them and now I eat them all the time. Different cooking methods change not only the taste, but the texture

TeaBea

Keep trying new foods - keep trying to cook things differently.

You might find you like something raw & hate it cooked. Some frozen veggies keep a good texture, others I won't touch. You could puree veggies & put them in a sauce.

Roasting veggies in the oven (with garlic & olive oil) are so yummy

Grilled veggies - asparagus with oil & soy sauce

I like to use steam fresh bags (Glad) ... I'm not as likely to over cook things this way. I could live on fresh green beans.