How can I start eating vegetables?

I also had that problem. The worst thing I Know is sallad.

But if one want to be healthy (get vitamins and minerals and good energy)one has to incoorporate it in their foods.

I started making asian dishes, eastern-asian, wok dishes, there's the vegetables are just as important as the meat in the dishes, so it really helped me getting started.

And for fruit you could just make blogilates belly detox water, she has like a few slices of fresh mint, lemon, orange and cucumber with water in a glas for like 2 hours, then drink it. You will have tasty water that has a lot of minerals and vitamins in it!

Good luck!

This. Asian and Indian dishes are how I first introduced those evil plant things into my diet at the ripe old age of 18. A friend of mine would drag me to various restaurants and eventually I developed a taste for them in other dishes or even *gasp* by themselves.

Try to go high quality if you do this, avoid the MSG laced all you can eat places. Since my friend is allergic to MSG, I learned from her. Later, when I ate at places that weren't so healthy, I noticed I didn't feel well after I ate, something to avoid if you're trying to learn to like a food.

Edit in the interests of being totally truthful: I still have a limited repertoire as far as veggies go. Some of them still bother my tummy and others I don't like the texture unless I alter it. And my favorites are the really spicy, pungent ones. However, those also happen to be very healthy.

Some people have reactions to MSG, but for most people, it's perfectly safe and quite a yummy seasoning. In the 70s, my mom used to keep it in the pantry with her other seasonings.

My favorite way to prepare veggies so they are soft-ish but still firm and flavorful is to roast them or lightly saute on the stove top. This works best for peppers, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, fennel, and many more.

The veggies I think are best raw are lettuces, radishes, and carrots.

Steaming is OK, but usually I prefer the flavor of roasting.

My favorite way to prepare veggies so they are soft-ish but still firm and flavorful is to roast them or lightly saute on the stove top. This works best for peppers, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, fennel, and many more.

The veggies I think are best raw are lettuces, radishes, and carrots.

Steaming is OK, but usually I prefer the flavor of roasting.

Sounds like me! I also like to wrap them in foil and throw them on the grill when I'm grilling meats. It tastes very similar to roasting.

I'm going to tell you a secret.

Brussels sprouts are friggin' delicious.

Quarter them, toss them in a little olive oil (or use cooking spray) and salt, put 'em on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. You will then know heaven.

you're a liar.

no such thing. will not eat.


To answer the question- can't believe 2 pages in and no one has said this...

bacon.

bacon makes everything better.

Even my picky *kitten* BF will eat bacon wrapped asparagus or bacon sauteed zucchini. I think he prefers them roasted/seared- but it's still an arm twisting effort to get him to eat them. He's like a child- but he will stomach them with some sort of bacon and garlic.

I like the steamables- easy peasey- little butter on top S/P/G and good to go.

otherwise I cook them stove top with bacon grease and garlic. so delicious.

They're right Jo. Brussels sprouts roasted that way are really good. But now bacon....that sounds like a good addition.

I'm going to tell you a secret.

Brussels sprouts are friggin' delicious.

Quarter them, toss them in a little olive oil (or use cooking spray) and salt, put 'em on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. You will then know heaven.

you're a liar.

no such thing. will not eat.


To answer the question- can't believe 2 pages in and no one has said this...

bacon.

bacon makes everything better.

Even my picky *kitten* BF will eat bacon wrapped asparagus or bacon sauteed zucchini. I think he prefers them roasted/seared- but it's still an arm twisting effort to get him to eat them. He's like a child- but he will stomach them with some sort of bacon and garlic.

I like the steamables- easy peasey- little butter on top S/P/G and good to go.

otherwise I cook them stove top with bacon grease and garlic. so delicious.

As a kid, I used to get mad when there were "things" in my veggies, but as an adult, yep, bacon plus veggies equals omg!

The smoothie approach has really helped me with green leafy vegetables. I take a cup of some kind of cold liquid--typically just water or almond milk--and blend that *thoroughly* with about 1 cup of frozen spinach or frozen kale, and 1.5 cups of some strongly-flavored frozen fruit--raspberries or blueberries work well. When I first started with this, I also added some sweetener (I use the Truvia form of stevia), because the point is to get yourself liking the smoothies--if they don't taste good, you'll just give up on it (well, or I would have). Now I generally don't feel like I need it. Later on you can add nuts and all kinds of other stuff, but this is a simple way to get going.

Tips: if you don't have a super-powerful blender, blend the vegetable and the liquid first--you don't want little lumps of spinach or kale. And drink it right away--as the mixture warms up, the vegetable tastes get much more noticeable. If the color bothers you (some of these things can look kind of brown), put it in an opaque glass…

Thanks, everybody, for all the tips--these are some awesome ideas!

I really don't get it when people say they don't like/can't eat fruit/vegetables!! There are SO many to choose from and they all have different flavours and textures, and those flavours and textures change depending on how you cook/prepare them so how can you not like them all?!

This. Does not compute.

I always have to assume people who say this actually have never eaten vegetables, save for a bad experience with badly cooked slimy spinach as a child, or something. There's no way you can hate ALL vegetables, ANY way they're cooked.

Well there is a way if you have sensory issues. My youngest son has severe sensory issues with food. Unless the veggie/fruit is pureed, he will gag and throw up. Same with pasta/rice. There are legitimate sensory issues, and once people have a bad experience, it can be hard for them to give things a second chance.

This would be a small minority of people. A lot of people have texture issues, but can eat them a different way. There are a lot of fruits and veggies that I *have* to eat raw or I *have* to eat them cooked a certain way. But someone with sensory issues that are as severe as your son's is going to be a rare person.

True, they are rare. I'm just pointing out that it does exist. It can be very difficult to hear all of this advice (as well-intentioned as it might be) when you are dealing with something that is a real issue for medical or neurological reasons. There are foods that I will only eat a certain way, but that is a far cry from what people with true sensory issues experience and the anxiety that comes along with that. I'm just acknowleding that these people do exist and, for them, eating can be a big struggle. It is good to remain sensitive to that.

I'm not saying that *you* aren't sensitive, but I have seen a lot of posters on this thread have very little compassion for someone who may actually be struggling with something that goes far beyond "I don't like it".

My girlfriend and I often boil/steam broccoli and Green beans together, then chop them up so that they're almost shredded and mix them into brown rice, problem solved for me, it's worth a try!

I never thought of this - it would be like a light version of stir fry rice. but then again I love just about all fruits & veggies. I don't care for egg plant, okra, strawberries or kiwi but any other's I love either cooked or raw.

Try different way's of cooking them (or eating them raw), try different toppings. And you don't have to "like everything".

What about the texture bothers you? My parents always steamed veggies in the microwave - it keeps them crisp and flavorful - and I grew up loving almost all veggies. So it was very confusing to me when I would go to friends' houses, eat at the cafeteria, etc. and find mushy green beans, limp broccoli, etc. If that's the texture that bugs you, find other ways to prepare your veggies so they stay crispier! I roast, broil, lightly sautee, and steam veggies a lot, plus eat them raw.

To steam in microwave: put them in a microwave-safe bowl, pour a little water over them (I usually do 2-3 tablespoons, but you don't have to get too scientific), cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 3-4 minutes. Some take longer, some take less, just experiment. I do broccoli, green beans, peas, asparagus, bell peppers, cauliflower, etc. this way and it's delicious.

I love eating veggies raw - even the ones that are typically cooked, like yellow squash, zucchini, and okra. Lately, I've been steaming frozen veggies so they retain the crunch factor. I think that's what helps me - the crunch factor. I don't care for mushy veggies.....