Vegetable Meal/Side Ideas for Picky Eater?

I'm a very picky eater too. For me I just keep trying anything that I just "didn't like" but not the ones that would make me gag (I learned to like carrots and raw broccoli and cauliflower but still can't handle yams or other squashes). If you think there's any way you could tolerate cauliflower I'd suggest giving that a try again, its SO versatile. I do faux mashed potatoes with them, chicken fried riced cauliflower (I haven't tried the pizza crust yet but I totally will!) and even roasting them makes them taste very different. My husband used to hate cauliflower but after having the faux potatoes and fried rice he's in love with it now.

Your list isn't so bad, you've got a bit of variety even. And kudos for you trying new things, I always try bites of food I hate when they're prepared differently in hopes that one day they won't be so bad. I can eat rutabaga/swede now from doing that. Tip for your onions: have you tried rinsing them (while they're raw) before using them? Just thought I'd throw that out there. And roasting pretty much everything makes it delicious... just a little oil and salt (if you want) and it makes so many veggies better, including radishes.

Have you tried pumpkin or squash soup? I know you said it was a no but there are so many different kinds, not to mention winter
(acorn, butternut, etc.) and summer (yellow and zucchini).

I'm a fan of cooked cabbage and cabbage in slaw. Have you tried broccoli slaw?

I'm not much for recipes for veg... I mostly like mine simple. Steamed or roasted or raw.

Not sure if any of that is helpful but I wish you luck!

ETA: I'm all for "hiding" to a certain extent. Mostly in soups, or sauce. Just do one veg in a small amount to try it out and slowly increase the amount and texture of the puree as you go. Roast or steam before adding to your recipe. I love acorn or butternut squash in mac and cheese. Just roast or steam veg until super tender and throw in a blender or food processor. If needed add a small (a tablespoon or two at a time depending on the veg) amount of water. I also enjoy, finely grated zucchini in muffins.

I know you put squash on your 'can't eat list' .... However, I hate it too, but my husband found a recipe that I LIKE with it. Assuming you are like me and Like Chinese food, that is.

Squash fry: (I think this is how he does it, I'm not 100% sure and he's asleep right now)
2 Medium Yellow Squash
1 Onion
1 Green Pepper
1/2 A container of fresh Mushrooms
2 Stalks Celery
1 lb Hamburger
1 Can Baby corn
1 Can bean sprouts
Stir fry Sauce
Soy Sauce
Olive oil

Dice the Green Pepper, Onion and Celery. Make sure your Mushrooms are Bite size and cut the squash into bite size pieces. Cook Hamburger in a separate pan. Then in a large frying pan; Fry the celery in a bit of olive oil, Once it is partially cooked add the Squash. When the Squash is partially done add Pepper, Onion. Once the Onion is tender Add the Mushrooms Last. Then, mix in the Hamburger, and Sir in a Generous amount of stir Fry sauce. Add soy sauce to taste (we cut down the soy sauce to lower salt).

And I know, there are several ingredients that may make you go O.o 'you really think I'll like that?' But trust me... I thought I would HATE it because I don't like some of the things in it... but its good together with the stir fry sauce. Also, it throws things that aren't on your list at you too. If you would like You can probably cut down the ingredients you don't like (like peppers by half) and see how you like that. And Maybe try it with the Purple Onions you prefer more instead of Yellow ones. (it would be very colorful with the red onions and very good). Also, I would recommend chopping all the ingredients smaller since your a picky eater, that will allow for more flavor mix per bite and more stir fry sauce.

Also, I would suggest you try other stir-Fry's. We also do a Cabbage stir fry with brown rice, that is very good. But there are tons of stir fry recipe's that have tons of different vegetables in them.

There are some excellent recipes in It's All Good (Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook). Some that you might like to try are:

Baked Beans (so much better than canned)
Korean Grilled Corn
Carrots with Sesame & Ginger
Beet Fennel & Apple Soup (trust me, it's good and a pretty pink colour)

I was once a VERY picky eater. Could barely eat any fruits, vegetables or seafood. I think this is quite common in people who are overweight - we like the good stuff, probably ate too much junk, sugar and salt growing up so our tastes for healthier foods did not develop. I grew up basically eating sugar cereals, hot dogs and Campbell's chicken noodle soup.

I don't have recipes for you but I'll tell you how I overcame being picky. As hard as it seems, it really is mind over matter. I remember gagging and throwing up food I found disgusting, it was that severe. Being so picky is very embarrassing, and lets face it, childish.

I would pick one food, the one I thought was perhaps the "least disgusting" and focus on that one until I could tolerate it. Started with "deciding" or "choosing" to like that food. Would tell myself over and over "I like green beans. I eat green beans, etc" Kept eating it until I liked it trying different ways to fix them. Would start with hiding the taste by adding to other dishes, sauces. Pepper and hot sauce are great way to hide taste. I remember when I was "conquering" shrimp (which I found unbelievably revolting) the ONLY way I could eat it was blackened so I couldn't taste the shrimp at all. Next I would drown it in cocktail sauce. Slowly got used to the texture, talking my way though it, "I eat shrimp. I like shrimp. See its not bad right you are an adult and you eat seafood"

This is going on a long time but what I'm trying to tell you is instead of preparing the few foods you like - overcome your pickiness. You can do it. I now love just about every vegetable and fruit there is and my favorite food on earth is crab legs. Now that is a miracle. I no longer force it, that is temporary and you get over it quickly.

Being picky is like love - in the end its not the feeling to love but the decision to love that matters.

Here's wishing you well!

It's great that you're willing to try new things, and the list you already eat is pretty good -- you've got most of the bases covered (cruciferous, legumes, alliums, leafy green, orange/yellow, red, white). You can certainly make a variety of salads, pasta salads or hot pasta veggie toppings, stir-fries, soups, and veggie-heavy stews, chilis, and curries with that list.

When you say that you can't tolerate squash, do you mean summer squash (e.g., zucchini, yellow crookneck, courgettes)? It would seem odd if you mean winter squash, since they're very similar in texture and flavor to pumpkin and sweet potatoes, which you can tolerate (in fact, pumpkin is a squash). So if you haven't tried other winter squash (acorn, butternut, etc.), you might give them a chance. (If you only eat your pumpkin from a can, I think roasting and mashing would give you closest to the same texture when starting with whole squash -- they'll be more watery if you boil them. But you also may be able to find frozen squash.)

When you say that you can't tolerate cabbage, is that just the large round heads of white/green/purple cabbage? (Have you tried them stir-fried?) Have you tried Savoy cabbage (the ruffled kind), Chinese cabbage, Napa, bok choi?

Just a few veggies I don't see on either your don't-eat or do-eat lists: avocado, beets, edamame, black beans, chick peas, white kidney beans, lentils, leeks, garlic, turnips, parsnips, tomatillos, mushrooms, cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, escarole, endive, kale (try these last three both raw and cooked, since you might like them one way and not the other).


Here's a corn chowder recipe that uses a couple of veggies on your good-to-go list (I can't remember where I adapted it from; it was originally a slow cooker recipe). These are the ingredients and exact amounts I used. Most of the amounts don't need to be that exact (I just did it to get the exact counts for calories and other nutrients). You obviously can use any brand/style of bacon you prefer (from your names for veggies, I'm guessing you're from the U.S., but if not, what I used is "belly" bacon; I'm not sure how less fatty varieties would work. You could sub purple onions if you can tolerate them cooked, or try pureeing them after you cook them. You could skip the bell peppers, or try using roasted ones and puree them along with the onions after cooking. Might as well puree the celery too if you're going that route. I like this with hot sauce (tabasco or similar) added when serving.

Coleman Natural - Uncured Hickory Smoked Bacon, 2 slices
Potatoes - Russet, flesh and skin, baked, 440.0 g
Onion - Red or Yellow Onion, Raw , 1 cup
Generic - Sweet Corn, One Medium Ear, 6 Med. Ear, 6.75-7.5" long, 90g
Vegetable - Red Bell Pepper (Raw), 0.88 cup, chopped (149g)
Celery - Raw, 56.0 g (2 oz.)
Spices - Pepper, black, 0.5 tsp
Nature's Promise - Organic 1% Milk, 16 oz
Butter - Unsalted, 1 tbsp
Per one-cup Serving (makes about 8, depending on how much liquid you use): 174 cal., 5 g. fiber, 4 g. fat, 7 g. protein, 33 g carb, 540 mg potassium

You're going to want about a quart of stock made from boiling corn cobs. This is better suited to the early fall when you can still get fresh corn, but you could use frozen. Save the water you cook the corn in, and after you cut the corn off the ears, return the ears to the pot (along with inner leaves of husk, if you have them) and cook another 20 to 30 minutes. (If you want, you can continue boiling the stock to reduce it to about a quart, or just use a quart and save any remainder for another purpose. Strain it.)

Peel, chop, and cook the potatoes (you could cook them in the corn stock, if you've got that ready ahead of time, but water is fine). Chop onions, peppers, and celery (chop fine or at least very small if you're not going to puree, otherwise a small to medium dice should be OK). Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven, or other heavy-bottomed, large pot (doesn't need to be oven-safe). Remove slices, drain, and reserve. Drain most of the fat from pot (or leave it, but realize you're adding some fat and calories), but not the little cooked bits of bacon stuck to it. Add butter, and saute onions, pepper, and celery over low to medium heat. When done (onions are translucent, or you could even go beyond that to where the edges are starting to brown, but I don't care for that in this recipe), remove the veggies with slotted spoon if you're going to puree them in an appliance with a base. If you have an immersion blender (aka stick blender), leave veggies in the pan. Deglaze pan with a small amount of the corn stock (i.e., add a half-cup of stock and turn up heat to medium or medium high while scraping cooked on bits off bottom of pot. Add the rest of the stock. If you're pureeing with an immersion blender, do so at this point. Add milk and potatoes, and heat through. Dice the bacon (small dice) and return to pot (or alternatively add a small amount to top of each bowl, if you're going to serve it all).

vegetable fried rice you can get it pre made or you can make it yourself at home. it is a little high in sodium but a good way to get veggies in like carrots, peas, and onions. You can also have pasta salad. I put olives, pickles, cucumbers, and sliced carrots in it. Just chop up the veggies and put in cooked pasta that has been drained and cooled and i also put in mayo and ranch for ranch pasta and i also add ham. but you can make it the way you want lol also you can make healthy pizza with spinach and alfredo sauce. or you can make regular pizza and add pickles olives onions peppers or whatever you want. or you can get the frozen meals that have veggies in it. like the other day i had healthy choice beef pot roast and it had veggies in it and there was gravy so the veggies were soft and delicious lol and i am pretty picky when it comes to veggies too but when there is other things i like in it i can sometimes eat the stuff i don't like when it is by itself. oh and tuna fish pasta salad is also another good one. i could keep going on for forever there is lots of stuff you can do to get more veggies in. you can also just try eating them raw with ranch or something and you can also cook them by themselves with a little brown sugar like cooked carrots those are so delicious with a little butter and brown sugar lol anyways good luck hope i helped