Help with fruits, veggies...

voitdancer

I know how good fruits and veggies are for you and in weight loss but I just don't like them, it's a texture thing for me. I cannot stand chickpeas/garbonzo beans raw but love them oven roasted. I do love Granny Smith green apples, bananas but they cannot be totally ripe, skin more on the green side. As for veggies I love brocolli, cauliflower and fresh green beans (no can stuff) and that's pretty much it. Any ideas/thoughts on other fruits or veggies, preparation of them, where there won't be a mushy texture to them (hate peas, squash)? I am very ignorant of what is out there, trying to educate myself more. I learned of the oven roasted chick peas from someone on this site and hoping to get more thoughts from those I know eat better than I! THANKS ALL!

skonly

I like my bananas with some green on them too. lol.

I'm trying to add new veggies myself. I'm sneaking spinach in too. I'm just trying one new thing at a time. I do eat a lot of the same things over and over. I have tried eggplant many different ways and hated them all. Squash is iffy for me.

Just walk around the store and pick something new to try. Do a search for ways to sneak in veggies.

magj0y

I would try some jicama (yik uh muh)

sounds like you like crunchier veggies. eggplant cooked right can have a meaty texture. Also, if you make marinara sauce
and broths, you can get a load of the healthy stuff in their by making a healthy stock or pureeing the veggies and putting it in the
tomato sauce. If seasoned right, you won't taste it much. You can also "hide" some things in a meatloaf.

check out a parenting website on ways to hide veggies.

ZugTheMegasaurus

For fruit, try citrus fruits (I'm partial to clementines for the easy serving size and portability), fresh pineapple (the canned kind loses texture), grapes, or strawberries. For vegetables, try grape/cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, or sugar snap peas (crunchy and sweet). Those can all be eaten raw, so no prep and not mushy either.

runzalot81

I've made peanut butter cookie dough bites with chickpeas. No flour and such! Great recipe. And I hate chickpeas :laugh:

I love roasted vegetables.

I chop up the following:
sweet potatoes
celery
onion
broccoli
cauliflower
carrots
squash
green beans
and whatever else floats my boat

Lightly coat with olive oil. Add in spices to taste. I use salt, pepper, thyme, oregano. Drizzle on a bit of balsamic vinegar.

Oven at 475.

I like to do the root vegetables first. About 30 minutes. And then I add all the other vegetables for about 20 minutes.

Throw in a meat and you have a whole meal!

I use my huge turkey roasting pan for all this. If you don't have one, you can get an aluminum foil roasting pan from your grocery store. It works.

I takes me a week to eat it all.

runzalot81

Oh! And I've learned to love snacking on sliced tomato and cucumber with a bit a salt.

wgn4166

I am not crazy about veggies either. The only time i can eat them is if I do stir fry, or put them in a salad.
As for fruit, I only like bananas and apples.
I am a picky eater so its hard for me to get them in everyday.

kms1104

If it's more the texture than the flavor, why not try blending them together. Someone said sauces, you can also do smoothies. I mix together banana, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, and a peach for a breakfast or snack...thinking about adding carrots... with ice (no protein powders or anything like that). I get all my servings in one DELICIOUS drink. The fruit "hides" the spinach, eventhough I love spinach anway. If you're just looking for ways to get more fruits/veggies, it's a good way.

Also, I use spinach instead of lettuce on anything I would use lettuce for. I mix spinach into pasta sauce (my favorite is spinach in an alfredo), but it goes in anything sauce (again, masking the flavor/texture if you're unsure). I tear spinach leaves and mix them into eggs while beating them for scrambled eggs, too.

I'm trying to learn more veggie sides too, how to cook them, etc. I found a way to cook carrots, but need some things to vary my veggies, too

heddy90

Paprika, cucumber and red onion are my top 3 veggies. Especially paprika, so fresh and nice, and crunchy
I have about every day Paprika also contains sooo many good vitamins, it has almost everything you need in a day

Oh, and I eat them raw.

RancidPolecat2

I love salsa and chips, but the chips had to many calories. I now use cucumber slices to dip in salsa.

cramernh

I love salsa and chips, but the chips had to many calories. I now use cucumber slices to dip in salsa.

I make my own zucchini chips and kale chips for when I need a crunchy food to dip into salsa

kateanne27

kale chips!

vidchick73

I made some kale chips a while back and was surprised at how good they were. I also used to be weird about squash but find I love sautéed squash. I chop it up, sautée in olive oil, put the lid on to steam and soften it some, then remove lid, crank up the heat and get some brown on the edges. It adds a little crunch. I also peel my squash.

I just found a recipe on Pinterest for cauliflower pizza crust! You basically pulse steamed cauliflower in the food processor and mix with an egg, some cheese,mseasoning, etc, spread on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake. Make sure you use the recipe because I guess there are a couple steps to make sure it ends up being a crust you can slice and pick up with your hands.

tnlamb

I bought a juicer a few weeks ago and use it a lot. it's a great way to get nutrients from fruit and veggies that I don't normally eat. adding a veggie, like a handful of spinach, to a fruit smoothie sounds gross but can be quite tasty...the fruit covers the taste of the spinach.

skonly

I made some kale chips a while back and was surprised at how good they were. I also used to be weird about squash but find I love sautéed squash. I chop it up, sautée in olive oil, put the lid on to steam and soften it some, then remove lid, crank up the heat and get some brown on the edges. It adds a little crunch. I also peel my squash.

I just found a recipe on Pinterest for cauliflower pizza crust! You basically pulse steamed cauliflower in the food processor and mix with an egg, some cheese,mseasoning, etc, spread on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake. Make sure you use the recipe because I guess there are a couple steps to make sure it ends up being a crust you can slice and pick up with your hands.

I'm gonna look up the cauliflower pizza crust! I can't eat wheat. I think you may have just worked pizza back into my life. Thank you.

ShaneOSX

Whatever you don't like just juice it or put it in a smoothie.

voitdancer

I knew I'd learn so much from MFP members, you also pointed out other fruits/veggies I did not think about that I do eat!!! Thanks so much everyone, I am really looking foward to trying the different suggestions and smoothies, great idea! Oven roasted.... Mmmmm!

KSCarnivore

I am lousy with veggies and certainly prefer meat. However, lately I've taken a liking to veggie burgers as a low fat meat substitute as well as a way of getting veggies into my diet.

Kel92676

When cooked right, a portabella mushroom cap can take the place of a burger. Put it on a toasted bun with cheese. On average, are only about 25 calories.

LifestyleChange33

Oven roasted or grilled [insert veggie here]. Even brussel sprouts are magically transformed with this and a little garlic/olive oil~ :smooched:

jawheb

Add spinach to your eggs. Put PB on celey or apple. Cut up apple or banana for oatmeal. Make homemade trail mix with dried fruit. Add raisins to salads. Sneak eggplant into spaghetti or lasagna. Make baked sweet potato fries. Make sweet potatoes with honey olive oil and mash up. Drink wheatgrass. Make a shake using wheatgrass powder.