I HATE VEGETABLES!!!
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Try roasting vegetables, it makes a lot of vegetables delicious that you might think you don't like. Start with the potatoes and cauliflower you know you like, those are both great roasted. Cut them into chunks the size of a large bite, and add some some chunks of red bell pepper and onion even if you don't eat them, for color and aroma
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Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with a seasoning mix, like greek seasoning mix, or just salt/pepper/.garlic. You can even buy "roast potato mix" in all kinds of varieties. Use whatever seasoning you want. Roast at 425 for about 45 minutes while you are making the rest of your dinner. It should look at least a little crispy. Notice how different roasted onions taste, you could never eat raw onions but you can eat those roasted and they're not bad, right?
After you feel confident roasting veggies you already like, then branch out.0 -
Changing your diet doesn't happen overnight. Well, it can, but you're less likely to stick with overnighting it. It's a lifestyle change which took decades to get where it is now. It's tough to change it overnight. Not only does the "lifestyle change" deal with food consumed, preparation, calorie counting and putting yourself on a eating schedule...but accepting how food taste, it's textures and overall perception.
That lifestyle/food change is like eliminating your bad highschool and college buddies. You don't hang with them because you know they are going to get you in trouble. They're still experimenting and over indulging with "drugs" (bad food, soda, etc); going to bed with strangers (goin' "ugly" at bedtime - fridge raiding); overspending/going in debt (eating at fancy places, way over calorie, salt and fat), getting into drunken fights (poor decision making); asking you to identify puss filled bumps (I feel funny, Doc - don't know what's wrong) and wake up feeling like crap (judging yourself in the mirror).
...you want better for yourself so you make an effort to distance yourself from them. You learn to become "responsible." Same thing with your diet. More veggies, less meat. Better preparation and ingredients - cut out fried foods, fat, salt and sugar. Sure you can hang with your friends every "blue moon." They're fun, but somehow you spend more time observing than participating. Then you notice that what they're doing looks more "stupid" when you're sober and you no longer want to do it. Sometimes you are reluctant to cut off the fun and after waking up dissappointed in yourself you realize there are two choices - (1) Keep on acting like a derelict or (2) Straighten yourself up and leave those dingbats behind. Sure, it's not as fun, but you know you will be better for it in the long run. So will your wallet (less doctor bills), your children (adopt healthy attitude and lifestyle) and your life (longer, avoid meds, less pain).
Seriously though, start by changing how you prepare your veggies. Use less salt and adopt a better oil (say olive or grape seed) or use a little butter. In addition to steaming or boiling, try roasting them. Most of us over indulge in our meat portion. Cut down on the size of your meat proportion and increase the size of your veggie portion or add another side of veggies. Try different veggies. Avoid cans and choose fresh veggies when you can, frozen veggies when you have to. Their variation of colors makes your plate look a lot more appetizing.
Wean yourself off of fried meat and traditional breading/coatings. Start by adding baked meats into your diet. Sure, you can bake a hamburger, plus other things like chicken, chops, fish and steaks. Soon you will be baking/broiling meat 6 out of 7 days and minimum of 2 meals per day. When you must fry...do it in a pan that will allow it to fry in it's own fat or add just a little. Put your deep frier on Craigslist or Ebay - haha. Throw out that gallon jug of oil you have over in the corner.
The main thing is to stay persistent. You may or may not see the results you want at first, but don't give up. A few months into it and it will all become normal. Then you will see and feel the benefits of your lifestyle change.0 -
I used to hate peppers of any kind. Didn't matter what color they were, if they were bell, Cubanelle, or tiny little sweet ones. But I decided that I don't like being "picky". I don't like being the only adult pulling pieces of food from her dish in public. I don't like having the palette of a child and not being able to relate to what my friends and colleagues are discussing when we talk about food. I don't like offending my friends and potential friends, by telling them what I won't eat when they make a meal and invite me over.
So I sat down with a cut up green pepper and ate it in tiny bites, tasting every single flavor for what it is, not what I wished it would taste like or what it tastes similar to. I ate bigger bites, and I started adding that to other food, like eggs and stir-fry. I started eating them along side other things. I didn't hate them anymore. I tried different ones, I grilled them. I stuffed them with awesome stuff. And guess what? I actually love peppers. I would gladly grow and eat them.
If you really want to change your habits, you have to actually do something about it. You can't expect it to change on its own. There's a big world out there full of other cultures and foods. Good luck.
Great story. You nailed one of the problems of picky eating--wishing the despised thing tasted like something else. Good for you figuring this out. It gives me hope that my son might get to this point when he's older.
It is a great story and an example of how you can get a child to widen his/her palate. The poster went about it deliberately but you can do it in a much more subtle way with a child. You take a tiny little dab of the food that they refuse to eat and put it on their plates without comment. If they try it, fine, if they ignore it, fine also. You keep doing this every time you have the "offending" food. Once they try it, you put a little bit more on their plate the next time---also without comment. Eventually, they will be hungry enough to eat it all and then they will eat it every time thereafter (this is presuming you are not dulling their appetites with junk food). This is called "habituation" and it works.0 -
Research has shown that we crave the foods we are used to eating. Also that the mind is a powerful tool to help or hinder us. To change your diet, change what you say to yourself and others. Instead of saying or thinking, "I HATE VEGETABLES", try saying I like a few vegetables, then work on expanding that list. Fresh produce is always better than canned or frozen, so stick with fresh vegetables for this process.
Pick a vegetable that has high nutritional content for this experiment. I'll use carrots as an example since it is often one of the first vegetables that are given when introducing infants to whole foods.
Although you can hide carrots in many foods, the point of this process is to get you to expand the variety of vegetables you will eat from just potatoes, tomatoes and corn.
Go to a store that has really good produce and buy a small quantity of carrots - no more than a pound.
On the first day, prepare a meal that you like. As part of meal prep, take half a carrot, slice it crosswise (into "coins").
Steam the carrots until they are fork tender.
Put one coin on your plate with your other food. Add salt, pepper, butter. Put the rest of the carrots in a container and refrigerate tem.
Eat something that you like from your plate
Tell yourself that the carrot looks really good
Tell yourself that the yummy carrot on your plate it will help you to improve your health and keep you healthy as you age.
Put the carrot in your mouth, chew and swallow.
Eat something else from your plat that you like.
Tell yourself that carrots are good. it doesn't matter if you are lying to yourself at this point, we lie to ourselves all the time in destructive ways, so it's okay to lie to yourself for a good cause.
Finish the rest of your meal.
Next day, make another meal that you like, and reheat two carrot coins in the microwave
Repeat the process of telling yourself the carrots look really good, etc.
Eat one carrot coin, then eat something you already like, then eat the other carrot coin
Tell your dining companions that the carrots are good. Tell yourself that the carrots are good, Cross your fingers if you must while saying this.
Continue this pattern every day for 3 weeks, working your way up to the standard 1/2 cup serving size.
After three weeks, try a different way of preparing the carrots or try slicing them into sticks and eating them raw.
Research various preparation methods on the internet and try them until you find three different ways to prepare carrots that will become your FAVORITE ways to have carrots.
When discussing vegetables in future, include carrots as one of your favorite vegetables, along with corn, potatoes and tomatoes.
Select a new vegetable. Since you should try for variety in color, try fresh green beans.
Start the process with steamed green beans - Just one small piece of green bean.
Increase the portion size of the green beans every day for three weeks, up to the 1/2 cup serving size.
After three weeks, try a different way of preparing green beans - steamed green beans can be dressed with olive oil, vinegar and garlic and served cold. Or you could combine them with steamed carrots. Or serve them with roasted almonds.
Continue trying different ways to prepare green beans until you find your three FAVORITE ways to serve green beans.
Even though they may never become one of your favorite foods, include green beans as one of your favorite vegetables in your thoughts.
Every few months, try a new vegetable using this process.
Hope this helps you.0 -
I don't know how to eat right, I am seriously at a loss with this diet crud! I HATE vegetables. My idea of vegetables are corn potatoes tomatoes and cauliflower...... That's it. I am the pickiest eater ever, I hate shellfish! I hate most fishes unless its on my pole. I have no idea how to get myself on a regime. All I want to yeast is Mac n cheese fries burgers pizza...... Anyone want to point me in the right direction?? :-/
You need to eat your vegetables. Try different vegetables prepared in a variety of ways. You don't like vegA raw? Steam it. Still no? Roast it. Still no? Try it in a casserole, omelete or sauce. Still no. Move on. Repeat this with other vegetables.
This is a good resource for general nutrition advice: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/0 -
For starters I'd say just eat the foods you enjoy within your calorie goal. Then if you want to add more veggies you can do it gradually. IMO it's ill-advised to change too much at once.
I agree with this ^
As you get more comfortable with your goal, try sneaking in small potions of veggies to your favorite meals. If you decide to eat some rice one night, throw in some peas and carrots. You won't even know your eating them. 0 -
A really good idea (that I used when I first started) is to get a book meant to teach little kids the basics. It won't be full of any propaganda and it wont be trying to get you to buy into any diet program and it wont use big sciency words that will purposefully make you feel unintelligent.0
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If you can get hold of it (try Amazon "used and new" if its out of print" is the Usborne Beginners Cook Book - It teaches the basics but not for tiny kids - more aimed at teenagers - and has a whole section on vegetarian dishes which are easy and tasty - as you're not veggy you can add in some lean meat/fish if you like. It also includes cakes, cookies etc. - yes I KNOW they still have calories, but if you make your own you won't be tempted down the naughty aisles of the supermarket, and you'll know what goes into them - no hidden transfats. And most are freezable, so you make your batch then separate them into freezer bags so you only take out say one serving per day.0
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Probably my entire LIFE - I've hated every kind of pepper (green, red, yellow, etc..) People would sneak them into recipes, but I could always taste them and then spit the food out. These days however, I still hate them..but if they are in something I can eat it.
I also use to hate tomatoes (only one in my family that did), I could eat tomato sauce and such but not a plain tomato. When I hit my 30's for some reason I craved them and began eating them. When I discussed this with a co-worker one day she told me she had just seen something on TV that said that your body changes every 10-15 years and thus what it needs changes too - at one time there was nothing in a tomato my body needed, now it does. I don't know if that study is true or not (probably not) but I know there are many foods I would never eat when I was little, that I love now.
My favorite veggies are peas, corn and potatoes (all the starchy bad ones); but I can do raw cucumbers, carrots, celery; salads, etc. Some veggies I prefer raw, some cooked, some either way. You can hide them in a smoothie as well.
If you're refusing to at least try any of the mentioned methods, then there is no point in this thread at all - but if you are going to try, a lot of good ideas are listed here to make it easier.0 -
In all honesty you sometimes have to eat what you don't like to start liking it.
I didn't always like seafood/fish or all veggies, even some meats I wasn't very happy to eat but over time I got used to having them and learned to enjoy them and now I found that I more than enjoy a few of them... I love them!
I grew up a steak, potatoes and carrots girl (my dad made it quite often) and breakfast was toast with PB, Jam or Cheese Whiz to give you an idea of how expansive my likes were back then.
I've done a lot of this. I was a very picky eater because my older sister always was. She's famous for telling people she's allergic to nuts just so they won't bother her about eating something with them. My family's meals were definitely just meat and potatoes - very rarely vegetables, usually corn. My mom yelled at my dad whenever he'd try to spice up a recipe, so I just didn't grow up as an adventurous eater. Going away to college helped.0 -
Cut out sugar or drastically reduce the amount of sugar you consume then vegetables will taste a heck of a lot better. This is the same advice I received a few years ago from one of the owners of a Jamaican restaurant that lost over 50 lbs. It did it and now I crave what I once thought was bitter and yucky. It just took several months of reduced sugar intake for my taste buds to adjust. Hope this helps.
I found that, when I cut out sugar (from all sources--you'd be surprised at how much is in processed food), it opened up a lot of new food experiences for me. Before that, vegetables were like, "meh" to me---now, I LOVE THEM (I even crave them at times). Eating sugar and starch distorts your appetite. :frown:0 -
i dont believe you. There is no way you hate sugar snap peas, cucumbers or fresh green beans.0
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I found that, when I cut out sugar (from all sources--you'd be surprised at how much is in processed food), it opened up a lot of new food experiences for me. Before that, vegetables were like, "meh" to me---now, I LOVE THEM (I even crave them at times). Eating sugar and starch distorts your appetite. :frown:
This is so true!0 -
EXACTLY. Don't give yourself excuses to not eat them. Learn to like them. Learn to love them. You need them. It's not negotiable!
If someone doesn't like them, they don't like them. You don't suddenly "Learn" to love them. There's no way that telling myself "You LOVE broccoli" will convince me that I love it. I do not. Never have and nothing anyone says or does will make me eat it.
This is just not true. I have my own taste preferences changes as proof for myself and you can even see from reading this thread that the same thing has happened for anybody here who made an effort to eat vegetables/fruits that they previously disliked.
However, you are right...if you don't *try* to change your eating preferences, you will continue to hate the same healthy foods.0 -
Sometimes, the difference between what you will and will not eat is 36 hours. (No, I am not suggesting you starve yourself. It's just that the word "hate" seems awfully strong for one's feelings towards foods.)
Yes. If you've ever been truly hungry...like two or more days without food hungry...lots of foods you thought you didn't like start looking pretty darned appetizing to you.
I was homeless for a couple of years, when I was young. I remember the first food I was offered after having had access to none for 4 days. It was food I'd never liked before, but it tasted glorious on that day...and really, from then on.
It is all about perspective and you can change yours.0 -
The more you eat them and learn to cook with them you start to get a taste for them. Just remember you need to eat them! No matter what! I have a friend who's the same; anti-vege; try chopping them finely and mix them in with your other food (ie chicken mince or something.) I buy kikkomans honey and soy sauce, it's 40 cals for 15mls but it goes a long way. Gives your stirfry serving heaps of flavor and makes it enjoyable to eat. 0
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I don't know how to eat right, I am seriously at a loss with this diet crud! I HATE vegetables. My idea of vegetables are corn potatoes tomatoes and cauliflower...... That's it. I am the pickiest eater ever, I hate shellfish! I hate most fishes unless its on my pole. I have no idea how to get myself on a regime. All I want to yeast is Mac n cheese fries burgers pizza...... Anyone want to point me in the right direction?? :-/
I'm astonished you hate veggies!!! Anyway, one thing I like is baked sweet potato (cut very thinly - like those sweet potato chips you see on TV) with low fat mayo - sounds bad but it's so yummy! Maybe add some salt or eat it with tomato sauce or sweet chilli and Philadelphia (not the best to eat it with but hey! least you're eating veggies) another idea is cut up celery and carrot - then find an AMAZING dip. <----that's the way I incorporate veggies into snacks
Before I enjoyed it normally, for meals, I just steamed my veggies but then with whatever protein I ate with it I made sure it was yummy by adding herbs, salts or nice sauces. That way, if you swallow down the veggies you hate...you can finish off with something yummy.0 -
hey, i like good food too (and fishing). you gotta think of healthy food as not being bad anymore and find ways to make it taster. you gota get creative with it. seasonings always help for me with fish, im not really a fish fan but its so good for you. So i eat tilapia when i want fish because it doesnt have that fishy taste to it. i use lots of spray butter, lemon, salt and pepper. seasoning is important with bland foods. and chicken, i made my own breaded chicken by blending whole wheat toast in a blender, then adding garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano to the bread crumbs, dip the chicken in an egg white and then the bread crumbs, and bake. its also good with lemon. i buy lean hamburger meat (93% lean) and use cheese made from 2% meat and eat burgers on english muffins.. cut up a sweet potato and make baked sweet potato fries, home made pizza with whole wheat crust, tomato sauce, 2% milk cheese, light ranch with carrots, fruit with granola and yogurt. and i make instant chocalot pudding with low fat milk alot, frozen yogurts good with crushed up graham crackers, oh and like my name says Peanut butter!! plain and with jelly n whole wheat toast. just mess around with different health foods until you find out what you like.0
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That's a good idea. Maybe some small dices of cooked sweet potatoes, broccoli in mac n cheese. And as another poster said, try roasting hard veggies in the oven with herbs ans spices you like. carrots, sweet potatoes, and other hearty veggies are great this way. Throw them in with a roasted chicken pan and even better.0
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Also, might look into juicing! Look up some good juicing recipes. Sweeten the juice with apple or something like that if you want. Down it goes in less than a minute and you get your micro nutrients you need. Got to get a juicer 1st. If you like this idea.0
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Probably my entire LIFE - I've hated every kind of pepper (green, red, yellow, etc..) People would sneak them into recipes, but I could always taste them and then spit the food out. These days however, I still hate them..but if they are in something I can eat it.
I also use to hate tomatoes (only one in my family that did), I could eat tomato sauce and such but not a plain tomato. When I hit my 30's for some reason I craved them and began eating them. When I discussed this with a co-worker one day she told me she had just seen something on TV that said that your body changes every 10-15 years and thus what it needs changes too - at one time there was nothing in a tomato my body needed, now it does. I don't know if that study is true or not (probably not) but I know there are many foods I would never eat when I was little, that I love now.
My favorite veggies are peas, corn and potatoes (all the starchy bad ones); but I can do raw cucumbers, carrots, celery; salads, etc. Some veggies I prefer raw, some cooked, some either way. You can hide them in a smoothie as well.
If you're refusing to at least try any of the mentioned methods, then there is no point in this thread at all - but if you are going to try, a lot of good ideas are listed here to make it easier.
I would say that there is a partial truth to your body "needs" sorta leading your to certain foods. But I also think that your taste and preferences change more so. You can get many of the nutritional needs say from a tomato in other frutis and veggies that have a different taste/texture. Some of which you might have liked before.0 -
what kind of juicer do you have? ive wanted one for awhile but my friend bought a really nice/expensive one and it broke the day after she bought it0
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My brother is exactly the same as you. For the first thirty years of his life nothing green went down his stomach. One day I brought home some Indian curry and he tried it, and loved it without realizing it had a ton of veggies in it. But Indian curries cook them long enough that they break down. Now I make him a big batch of some sort of curry once a week, I make the sauce first with onions, carrots and celery and than purée it. The texture is hid, it blends completely smooth, and so is the taste. Curry flavor will hide anything!0
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I have three recommendations:
1. Grill or broil some veggies - it makes them sweet tasting. Try zucchini, yellow squash, onion, asparagus and tomato. You can coat them with olive oil and sea salt.
2. Make kale chips. If you like potato chips, I'm going to bet you'll like this. Take a bunch of cut up kale, throw into a bag with olive oil and coat. Place on cookie sheet, sprinkle with garlic salt (if you like garlic) or sea salt and bake at 225-275 degrees for no more than 20 minutes or until very lightly browned.
3. HIDE the veggies in a smoothie. My FAVORITE (super sweet - a trainer friend tried it recently and he can't get enough of it) is to blend the following 6 items: 1/2 c. frozen pineapple, 1/2 orange, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 1/2 handfuls of fresh spinach, 1/6 bunch of parsley (stems removed) and 3-4 large fresh basil leaves. Blend really well. Though it's green, you will NOT taste the veggies!0 -
Also think it helps if you go into it with the right positive attitude. If you cook up some veges and go into it with a 'yuck, this is gross, sooo don't want to eat this crud.' attitude, it's gonna be a lot harder. If you prepare them, cook them yourself or even try a new recipe, and you're really open minded to giving it a go, it's easier to start appreciating what you're eating. And the sugar thing is so true! Over use of seasonings and artificial flavorings tend to wreck your taste buds a bit. A week away from overuse of sugars/salts/fats and starchy potato-veges might help your sense of subtle flavors redevelop 0
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try sweet potatoes and carrots boiled in apple cider with nut meg and cinnamon.. it sounds weird but its sooo good0
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Go to the library and pick up Jessica Seinfeld's cook book "Deceptively Delicious" and start there! I have fallen in love with her recipes and so have my picky, picky kids.
She steams and purees veggies and ads them to every day meals, burgers, spaghetti, breads, pancakes etc. Simple yet effective. And the best part, you never know that you are eating more veggies.
You already like cauliflower so start with that. Steam and puree it and put 1/4C puree in a 6 egg deviled egg recipe. I make deviled eggs for pot lucks and no one ever knows there is veggies in it.
It's hard to do when you cook for yourself and you know in your head you don't like something yet here you are putting it in food you are going to eat. If you can get someone else to cook for you the first few times so you don't see it go in, that might be a good start. That way when you go to make it you'll be like "really, this was in there?".0 -
Experiment! You'll find some palatable veggies and a palatable way to eat them. And don't freak out too much because you aren't a fan of a wide variety. Sure that'd be great, but my grandparents lived healthfully into their 90s on meat and potatoes their whole lives. Sometimes we're so hard on ourselves. A nice crisp salad. Some of your favourite veggies raw with dip. Stir frying with a sauce I love works for me! Asparagus is so nice and mild-tasting - great in a stir fry. I discovered grilled veggies are delish on the side of a steak. Now I don't want a tiny mouthful of steak unless there is a piece of red pepper on the fork, too! Even a baked potato has great benefits - load it a little with bacon and chives if you want. Make your own sweet potato fries (so good!). Mix something into a more palatable fruit smoothie. Go to a really nice restaurant and order a meat and veggie meal. I bet you'll like the way they do the veggies. Go home and try to replicate. Make your own spaghetti sauce or buy a good one from the local organic market - okay, okay, tomatoes are a fruit but they're still good for you! Oh, oh... my favourite - make SOUPS!!! Chock full of good stuff and they taste GREAT! I slow cook mine in the crock pot all day. Endless possibilities there and every lunch could be packed with the good stuff! Anyway, don't beat yourself up over it. Find what you like and eat more of that. If you're missing something in your diet, take a supplement and don't lose sleep over it - life's too short.
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You can hide almost anything is spaghetti sauce. Grate up yellow squash or zuchinni into it. Carrots, grated up.
Ground mushrooms and tomato sauce are easy to hide in meatloaf.
Try sugar snap peas raw. delish0 -
Try mixing both? A slice of pizza loaded with veggies? Or maybe have a meal that is half what you like to eat and half vegetables. Eat the vegetables first and your reward can be your preferred food!0
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