Healthy diet, no vegetables???

I totally get it - I used to hate vegetables too, but they really help fill you and it gets easier the more and more you incorporate them into your diet.

Start small - maybe try carrots, onions and peppers to start. Cut them really, really small and incorporate into things like spaghetti sauce, etc and you won't really be able to tell that they're there.

I also love roasting vegetables because they don't get mushy and are quite tasty! Cut up peppers, zucchini, onions and toss it with some olive oil and italian seasoning and roast in the oven at 400 degrees until done.

You can also try raw veggies - although, I personally hate the taste of raw vegetables (except baby carrots and cherry tomatoes).

There's also a book called "Deceptively Delicious" which is all about hiding vegetables in normal food in ways that aren't obvious.

Goodluck!

Juice green leafy vegetables like spinach, swiss chard or kale and add fruit juice to cover the flavor of the greens. Celery and romaine lettuce are great too. That way you get your daily requirement. You can add pineapple, apple or carrots to sweeten the taste or a bit of lemon juice or ginger also gives them a great flavor. You can also make smoothies. You'd be surprised at how good they can taste. Check out some juice recipes: http://www.guidetobodycleansing.com/juicing.html

I'm not a big veggie eater either, but I'm learning to like them. One of my favorites is sauteeing kale in some coconut oil with minced garlic, sea salt, and pepper and mixing in a few tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese. It's really good, and you really taste the cheese over everything else. You could sautee a few big handfuls of kale doing this, but once cooked down it's not a lot to eat.

I'm doing my google reasearch on the very subject. I came across this which is interesting http://www.lacesoutblog.com/colin-kaepernick-says-eating-vegetables-will-make-you-weak/. the man is ripped so maybe he's on to something.

I hate vegs too! I eat raw cartots and raw green beans. That's it!! I Will eat seasoning if cut up VERY small but again. .. that's it!! I will eat salad but my salad consists of lettuce (iceberg or romaine) with carrots and a few tiny shreds of radish. But I will only eat salad with sweet pickles or relish! Itsvery hard to eat healthy when you don't eat veggies!

I only eat vegetables, grains, beans, and fruit!
My tips for anyone who hates vegetables is to experiment with different types of vegetables and get yourself a good cookbook.
I recommend Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian Cooking.
Also, one night go to a good Thai restaurant and select from the vegetarian section.
Wishing you all the best,

Ben

I've been reading these responses, and while I can appreciate people's view that vegetables are essential to healthy eating, as someone who only likes a few vegetables, I can understand the OP's concern. I would hope that some people could offer some advice on how to eat BETTER, not necessarily perfect. My experience for people struggling with their diet is if they try too hard to make too many changes, they run the risk of saying "screw this" and going back to old ways. My philosophy is change can come slowly and that any improvement in eating is better than no improvement.

I for one lost almost 40 pounds in college with almost no vegetables. I'll offer a few tips I found worked for me, and would welcome more people's input (more than just "sorry, you must eat vegetables"). These won't provide all the nutrients you need, but if your goal is reduce cholesterol / lose weight, it should help (note, I am NOT a nutritionist and these are just advice from my personal research and experience):

1) One of my primary, quick and dirty criteria for evaluating food is protein to fat ratio. An item that has 1 gram of fat and 12 grams of protein is probably a good food to add to your diet.

2) Lean chicken (boneless / skinless) is a fantastic source of protein and has very few calories. The same goes for fish and shrimp (although watch the cholesterol levels in that last one).

3) Be careful what you add in your cooking. I like to cook my proteins in a little olive oil and garlic for flavor, but too much oil can provide a lot of fat.

4) I like panko (japanese) breadcrumbs on my porkchops and chicken. They add a little extra fat and calories, but enough flavor to possibly make your panko porkchop actually stand a chance against that steak or burger you might be considering instead.

5) I substitute low or non-fat versions for certain foods. They can take a little getting used to, but make a huge difference. For example, I buy non-fat milk, reduced fat cheese (although I eat small amounts), etc. Little substitutions can add up.

6) Drinking plenty of water is vital, but if you're like me, I don't particularly like the taste of plain water, so I'm often under-hydrated. One option some people like is adding lemon to their water for flavor. Personally, I am addicted to adding Crystal Light to my water (5 calories per serving). I'm sure some people will complain about how unnatural that stuff is, but my view is drinking it is overall better than not drinking enough water, so it's a trade off.

I agree with the other posters that if you want a "healthy" diet, not really going to be able to avoid vegetables, but if you want to eat "healthier", there are lots of ways to start making little changes that can make a big difference. Hope this helped.

I completely understand where you're coming from. I absolutely can't stand most vegetables. To the people out there who are saying "suck it up" and "tastebuds change after so many years," its not all about taste. The texture of almost every vegetable is an immediate gag reflex for me. It's simply not that easy to just suck it up.

I have been experimenting with different ways to prepare vegetables and found a few that I like. I realized the more I steam them, or get them as mushy as possible, the more I like them. I cannot stand the crunchy, juicy texture. Yuck.

I also realize, while preparing them the way i do, i am losing a lot of the valuable nutrients that they contain when they're fresh.

I think the people that have suggested the v8 juice, and the juicing in general are definitely on the right track. This is probably a great way to get the most valuable nutrients out of the vegetables, while not having to deal with the texture.

Green smoothies are a great way to "sneak" veggies into your diet.

There are a ton of recipes on this site: http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/green-smoothie-recipes/

The more your taste buds adjust the more veggies you can add. Most of these recipes are so fruit heavy, that's all you taste.

This is exactly the type of site I've been looking for in regards to green smoothies. I just started getting into them and was finding the options a little overwhelming. These recipes seem easy and like products I'll either have in my house or be able to buy easily at the store. Thanks!

Hahahaha! Boy you're getting blown up! I put the veggies in a food blender/processor and kneed it into meats like meat loaf. you can also add spinach, kale and any other greens to your fruit smoothies without even tasting it. when you blend your veggies into a paste then you can hide it in just about anything. Example:

onion
bell pepper
celery
tomato
garlic
cilantro

Blended, can be added to:

meatloaf
meatballs
hamburgers
dirty rice
lasagna
stew (any kind)

And more!!! Just a few helpful hints