Vegetable Meal/Side Ideas for Picky Eater?

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  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Parsnips (not on either list) are related to carrots. If you like cooked carrots....parsnips (look like white carrots) should work.

    Cooked carrots can be added to chili....doesn't change the taste.

    Bok Choy (not on either list) is related to celery. If you like celery....bok choy (looks like white celery with green leaves on the side). This is found in Chinese food....has a mild flavor....great addition to stir frys.

    Brussell sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage & broccoli are all related.....the mildest flavor of them all is cauliflower. Try tossing cauliflower in olive oil & minced garlic.....roast it in the oven. Also, steamed caluliflower mashes well. You can add it to soup.

    Green beans......these have a really mild flavor, but have a very different texture (taste) depending upon how they are cooked. Frozen green beans have a funky texture. Canned green beans (I grew up on these) .....I used to like them......FRESH green beans are so much better (I got spoiled) .....try these again, and again.
  • AmyG1982
    AmyG1982 Posts: 1,040 Member
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    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.

    Most of the ones I can't eat unfortunately make me gag, but I can try the faux potatoes. Sounds like a good idea. Thanks!

    The way I do them is to cut the cauliflower up into even chunks, put in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 2 minute intervals until cooked. (I find if I boil them they're too runny after) then I put them in a big bowl and use a hand/stick mixer to mash them up. I add in some butter, garlic powder, salt & pepper and maybe some oregano (just to give it some pizazz) and keep mixing until is all smooth. Sometimes I'll even add some parmesan cheese and then smooth them in a baking dish and bake til a little golden brown on top.
  • ceruleanjen
    ceruleanjen Posts: 79
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    Do you eat meat? Cheese?

    Grated cheese mixed through helps most things.

    If you like bacon and want to try sprouts with a difference rather than slimy ones steamed or boiled then fry a chopped rasher of bacon and a shredded sprout (if you like it you can add more sprouts next time, but keep it simple to begin with), don't need to add oil, just put in the pan and keep pushing it round until the bacon looks done. If you like it you can increase the quantity next time, feel free to add onions or garlic as well.

    Cabbage. OK not the best veg, but have you tried it braised with balsamic and apple, bit of onion. Delia does one.... http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/party-food/accompaniment/traditional-braised-red-cabbage-with-apples.html
    It doesn't look like that when it comes out of the oven, honest. You can change the vinegar, add cranberries, OK not much good playing with variations if you really can't stand the first one, but worth the first go.

    Another vote for roast cauliflower here.

    Mushrooms, if you fancy another go. Put them in a hot pan (sliced, no oil) and keep cooking them until they release all their juice and it evaporates. This makes them tougher and chewier and not at all slimy.

    Edit: Carrot cake, beetroot cake, courgette muffins?

    Good suggestions. Love most cheeses and meats. Thank you!
  • ceruleanjen
    ceruleanjen Posts: 79
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    Well for my picky eaters who don't like veggies. I sneak them into dishes. Make my homemade spaghetti sauce which has carrots and squash and onions in it. The picky ones love it and don't notice the veggies. I always have to double the recipie. Will post recipe when can find it again. The other way to get the veggies in is to add some to say meatloaf. Just dice the veggies sauté to soften then add to regular recipe. Gives added flavors. Just some thoughts if can't or won't eat them separate.

    I like the spaghetti sauce idea. Not a huge fan of meatloaf, but I get the idea there. Thanks!
  • ceruleanjen
    ceruleanjen Posts: 79
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    Parsnips (not on either list) are related to carrots. If you like cooked carrots....parsnips (look like white carrots) should work.

    Cooked carrots can be added to chili....doesn't change the taste.

    Bok Choy (not on either list) is related to celery. If you like celery....bok choy (looks like white celery with green leaves on the side). This is found in Chinese food....has a mild flavor....great addition to stir frys.

    Brussell sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage & broccoli are all related.....the mildest flavor of them all is cauliflower. Try tossing cauliflower in olive oil & minced garlic.....roast it in the oven. Also, steamed caluliflower mashes well. You can add it to soup.

    Green beans......these have a really mild flavor, but have a very different texture (taste) depending upon how they are cooked. Frozen green beans have a funky texture. Canned green beans (I grew up on these) .....I used to like them......FRESH green beans are so much better (I got spoiled) .....try these again, and again.

    Thanks for the suggestions. I think typically Fresh is always best.
  • ceruleanjen
    ceruleanjen Posts: 79
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    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.

    Most of the ones I can't eat unfortunately make me gag, but I can try the faux potatoes. Sounds like a good idea. Thanks!

    The way I do them is to cut the cauliflower up into even chunks, put in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 2 minute intervals until cooked. (I find if I boil them they're too runny after) then I put them in a big bowl and use a hand/stick mixer to mash them up. I add in some butter, garlic powder, salt & pepper and maybe some oregano (just to give it some pizazz) and keep mixing until is all smooth. Sometimes I'll even add some parmesan cheese and then smooth them in a baking dish and bake til a little golden brown on top.

    That sounds pretty good. Thank you for sharing. Seems easy enough. :)
  • bohemian124
    bohemian124 Posts: 153 Member
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    I agree with those who say to roast veggies - it brings out completely new flavors, especially in things like cauliflower, asparagus, brussle sprouts. I have rediscovered a lot of foods I hated as a child because my mom boiled them to death instead of roasting them.

    Have you tried roasted beets? They are beautiful and taste so good! They need a really good scrubbing first. I like to roast beets with a little olive oil (no salt, though I salt most other roasted veggies), then add to a salad with a few dabs of goat cheese, maybe some orange segments. It is classic and delicious. You can also saute the greens (wash thoroughly) with garlic, though you may want to work your way up to that. Beet greens can be pretty bitter.

    You may also want to try juicing or smoothies to get some extra veggie goodness into your system.
  • ElizabethIrish
    ElizabethIrish Posts: 32 Member
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    Yes I was a very picky eater from childhood - my entire life. Liking or disliking a food is not a physical phenomenon, its purely mental. I know that sounds strange but its actually true. Overcoming my pickiness was more about making a decision than it was actually eating the food. I would literally talk myself into liking a food, sometimes for months. This was not a slow or easy process but has taken many years and determination. Yes I had some episodes of vomiting too - as a child I would be eating the school lunches and pray I would not throw up because something grossed me out.

    I encourage any picky eater to try this - pick a food, think about it, watch youtube videos of people cooking with this food. Find a recipe that uses the ingredient in a small amt, where you will barely be able to taste it. At this point its a mental thing, you have to calm yourself, be a grown up and realize that foods will not hurt you and cannot conquer you. Slowly build from there and free yourself of being picky.

    If I did it, ANYONE can.
  • scthemis
    scthemis Posts: 6
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    When I am focusing on eating veggies for healthful purposes, I try to avoid corn and potatoes, because of the amount of starch compared to vitamins.

    I saw cauliflower is on your no list. Do you like buffalo chicken? I've seen some recipes I want to try for roasting cauliflower and coating it with buffalo sauce. If I can make some homemade lower calorie ranch, that might be my super bowl snack, and not even be able to taste the cauliflower.

    Good luck!
  • nikibean123
    nikibean123 Posts: 81 Member
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    Just FYI, potato isn't a vegetable - it's a carb

    Get a dictionary, look up the word vegetable and then look up the word carbohydrate. Please, for your sake and the sake of others.

    1. Chill. No need to be so ridiculously rude. Maybe you get off on having a go at strangers on the internet - personally I find it childish and counterproductive.
    2. I'm in England. The NHS do not count potato as a vegetable portion. Botanically, it is a vegetable. Nutritionally, it cannot really be counted as a vegetable. It is poor advice that potato is a vegetable as it has very different nutritional values and is much higher in calories etc. In terms of suggesting veg, potato doesn't offer the same benefits.
  • nikibean123
    nikibean123 Posts: 81 Member
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    Just FYI, potato isn't a vegetable - it's a carb

    And I wouldn't count baked beans as a 'healthy veg' because of the sauce etc.

    Since when is it not a vegetable? A carb isn't a food group :/

    In England (where I am), our health service does not consider potato to be a vegetable as it's nutritional values are closer to pasta, rice etc. Just saying :) Here, it's not considered one of your 5 a day etc.
  • jessicameadsstephens
    jessicameadsstephens Posts: 56 Member
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    I used to hate mushrooms but after sauting them in a little olive oil and putting on my burgers or in stuff now I can eat them cooked all day long they are so yummy I feel like I missed out before by not eating them so you might try different types of cooking them etc and see if you will like them.

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