I would very much like some eating advice...

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sheddingthelbs
sheddingthelbs Posts: 26
in Food and Nutrition
Well, I have a lot to say and I'm not quite sure where to start. My food diary is private (and it'll stay that way til I straighten myself out a bit lol) but basically, I don't have good eating habits. I'm staying around 1200 calories a day which I'm proud of but I'm eating things like a frozen mini-pizza, cereal, maybe a pop-tart, a granola bar, and a hot dog or bologna sandwich. Nothing I eat is stellar in taste, I don't even like half of the things I eat, and what I eat certainly isn't very healthy either. I'm aware that my eating habits suck and I'm asking for advice so I can hopefully change that.

The problem is me being a super picky eater. I hate vegetables except canned peas, carrots, canned green beans, and corn. If it isn't on this list and it's in the food, I won't eat it. (Such as onions or tomatoes) I really really hate salad. But I do like fruits though: apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, pineapple, ect ect. I just don't eat them very often. Lastly, I'll say about bread- I despise the taste of wheat bread. I tried very hard to like it, or just get used to it, but it makes me feel sick. Is there a bread other than wheat that's good? White wheat or whole-grain or something that tastes less terrible?

I'm not having any trouble with my drinks though. For the past few years, I've pretty much been drinking a full cup (or more) of sugar a day in a gallon of sweet tea but took the sugar out and am using Sweet and low instead. (Until I can stomach the taste of unsweetened tea.)

Ok, so I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and not sure what to buy. Any advice on things to look for? Or what kind of things do you get? (Things that I didn't rule out already) I know I'm going to look for yogurt and I'll also check out fruits. What fruits are best for you?

Lastly, I really don't like cooking, but since I'm so picky about what I eat, I will do it. So consider me willing to cook.

Very sorry about the length of the post. Thanks for reading. :)



EDIT! One last thing I forgot, I don't eat seafood.
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Replies

  • dawnkitchen
    dawnkitchen Posts: 161
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    My favorite fruits are apples, grapes, pineapple, and strawberries. (Blueberries if I'm in Maine on vacation in the summer!). They're all pretty sweet fruits with lots of flavor (if they're in season). Try fruit with unsweetened yogurt - the fruit should give you enough sugar.

    I think it sounds like you need to adjust your palette. Especially if you've been eating processed foods like you listed for so long. I used to hate some foods until I tried them prepared different ways or served with different foods.

    I will try and think of some suggestions to share with you and if I come up with some, I will post them later.
  • autumn13
    autumn13 Posts: 295
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    U really just have to start making mini changes...If u do it to quick it may not stick.

    Here are a few great buys

    ALMONDS REALLY ANY NUTS AND SEEDS
    LAUGHING COW CHEESE
    LEAN MEATS
    YOGURTS
    SUGAR FREE JELLO
    FRUIT & VEGGIES
    PREZTELS & ANIMAL CRACKERS
  • rodegghero
    rodegghero Posts: 212 Member
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    My advice is skip the store an plan to go to your local farmers market. You can get seasonal fresh produce that tastes much better ( so retry things you thought you didn't like). Message me for veg advice I know how to make them taste good. You can also get, or make white bread with flax or other nuts and seeds that will give you the fiber and nutrients you would miss in plain white bread.
    At the store I get the supplies to make hummus, fruits, veg of all kinds etc....
  • fitoverfifty
    fitoverfifty Posts: 192 Member
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    Well.......I would suggest watching some movies about food....A good start would be " King corn"..."Food Inc"...and " Food matters"

    I think once you get a better understanding of what goes on with the preparation of food, you will want to change the way you eat.

    The only way to change is to have a good reason to WANT to change....If it's only about losing weight...you can eat whatever you want as long as you stay under 1200...... If you also care about your health, you need to make sure those calories are quality calories.

    Lose the artificially sweetened tea to begin with :-)

    Good luck !
  • sheddingthelbs
    sheddingthelbs Posts: 26
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    Not a big fan of almonds, are cashews about the same?

    Thanks for the ideas, I'm writing them down to take a look at in the store.

    Thank you as well dawnkitchen, I'll make sure to get unsweetened yogurt. Let me know if you come up with any suggestions!
  • sheddingthelbs
    sheddingthelbs Posts: 26
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    Crap, messed up my post. Here we go:
    My advice is skip the store an plan to go to your local farmers market. You can get seasonal fresh produce that tastes much better ( so retry things you thought you didn't like). Message me for veg advice I know how to make them taste good. You can also get, or make white bread with flax or other nuts and seeds that will give you the fiber and nutrients you would miss in plain white bread.
    At the store I get the supplies to make hummus, fruits, veg of all kinds etc....



    I don't have a farmers market anywhere near me sadly, it's just a standard Walmart trip every 2 weeks.

    Well.......I would suggest watching some movies about food....A good start would be " King corn"..."Food Inc"...and " Food matters"

    I think once you get a better understanding of what goes on with the preparation of food, you will want to change the way you eat.

    The only way to change is to have a good reason to WANT to change....If it's only about losing weight...you can eat whatever you want as long as you stay under 1200...... If you also care about your health, you need to make sure those calories are quality calories.

    Lose the artificially sweetened tea to begin with :-)

    Good luck !


    I have to say in my defense, if was only about losing weight and staying under my calorie goal, I would not have asked this. I just think asking the community would serve me better than trying to figure it out on my own. As for the tea, that's not a concern right now. I discussed it with my doctor and I'll change my eating habits first then worry about the sweet and low. Thank you for your reply! :)
  • adjones_21
    adjones_21 Posts: 234 Member
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    Good Luck...it is going to be hard to find good foods if you hate all the stuff on your list. As for bread, I like Nature's own sandwich rounds. They are only 100 calories and I think they taste good. I also like Jenno turkey burgers. They are usually in the freezer section by the meats. They go straight from freezer to the grill. There is also sweet potato fries. They are sooooo good. You get your burger and fries in a healthy way. You can check out the Healthy Choice tv dinners. They are pretty good as well. I have been told that there are "The Biggest Loser" pre-packaged meals, although I have never seen them. I hope that was helpful. I know how hard it can be being a picky eater.
  • alacarte
    alacarte Posts: 122 Member
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    You might try baking some chicken, and have a side of one of the veggies you like. Oatmeal is a great way to start your day, or have some eggs. I don't like tomatoes either, but I like salsa so I use that on a baked potato, and on other things. You might also want to check out some organic stuff. Try looking for products called Amy's, they have lasagna, chicken enchiladas etc. They are all great, organic frozen food.

    Not much, but a few ideas.
  • joybell32
    joybell32 Posts: 252 Member
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    We eat Aunt Millies or WOnder whole grain white bread. Its soft like white bread but healthier. It tastes good to me too, I'm not a fan of wheat bread AT ALL!!

    As far as the vegetables go, eat canned, its fine! I eat most of my veggies out of a can. Just rinse them before you cook them to remove some of the sodium. I dont eat reduced sodium ones because they have no taste.

    Cook what you like. I eat frozen pizza and some other stuff that to some is not considered healthy. I pair mine with veggies and a fruit. If you eat pizza, don't eat corn or peas ( too much carbs in one meal). I eat green beans usually with my pizza. And instead of adding cheese, i eat some cottage cheese on the side wiht some sliced pineapple or light peaches or pears. Bam, all food groups in one meal.

    By no means am i an expert, but these are some things that i have found that have worked for me. The most important thing is that if you eat a lot of processed foods or deli meat like balogna (my personal favorite!!!) just balance the sodium with LOTS of water!

    Good luck to you!:drinker:
  • 3LittleMonkeys
    3LittleMonkeys Posts: 373 Member
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    I am going to suggest baby steps as well. You might notice as you lose weight your taste buds change. I was shocked at how sweet all the fresh fruit was last summer. Then it dawned on me, I had cut out white sugar out of my diet! I was finally tasting what sweet was.

    Do you have an Iphone? Fooducate has an app for your phone with a barcode scanner. So you are in the bread section pick up a loaf of wheat bread and scan it. Fooducate will come back with a food grade and offer suggestions on better choices. They have thousands of products listed.

    Can veggies have alot of added sodium to them. You may want to start by rinsing them really well before heating. What about frozen? I am suspecting you don't like fresh or frozen because your taste buds are missing the salt that is in the canned.

    You can do it! I am trying to be a clean eater. I am not there yet. But believe me I have come far in the past year in my food choices. Heck, I will sometimes eat salad without any salad dressing. Even if I do use dressing, it is very little.
  • Diannerv
    Diannerv Posts: 195
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    What about sneaking veggies into other things, I do this with my 10 year old. I mean puree stuff. I can even puree spinach into brownies and he has no clue. Sneaking into spaghetti sauce??

    Would it be easier to start out with 1 or 2 meals a day that are better for you? What about oatmeal, I put 1 tblsp of peanut butter and a slice of banana. This keeps me really full. Heres my list that I can think of:

    string cheese
    fat free milk
    cottage cheese
    greek yogurt
    all the fruit you like
    all the veggies you can tolerate
    eggs, I always have hard boiled in my fridge
    whole grain bread? english muffins??
    whole grain cereals? Kashi brand is good
    peanut butter
    chicken, I grill it on the george foreman and leave them in the fridge to be able to grab.
    what about whole grain crackers? I make a chicken salad and instead of bread just scop out with crackers

    If I can think of more I will repost. Good luck.
  • woja9640
    woja9640 Posts: 450 Member
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    I would say you need to start varying your eating habits. Start with something you'd be willing to try.

    I can't recommend any foods or recipes until I find out what you're wiling to try. Sorry.

    The website allrecipes.com has a ton of recipes out there for people to look up and try. Maybe something there will look good to you.
  • Lulumaguloo
    Lulumaguloo Posts: 80
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    Nature's Own has regular white bread that only has 35 calories per slice. It's hard to find but look for it! lol I get white wheat when I can't find that one but I'm picky too and i remove the crust. Still really good tho. Good Luck!
  • Risabamfo
    Risabamfo Posts: 9 Member
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    Try not to replace unhealthy foods with processed "fat free" or "sugar free" version of the same food. Your taste buds with start to change after you cut out junk food and processed sugar. If you are only eating 1200 calories and you are getting them from pop tarts and such you probably are not getting enough nutrients. Start introducing more fresh ingrediants and more veggies you will get over some of your dislikes. Also you make want to look into some of the cook books where they hide veggies in your food and you can't tell. Becareful with yogurt because it has alot of sugar or fake sugar. I strongly discourage sugar substitutes! just my two cents.

    "Nothing will work unless you do"
  • MommaToFour
    MommaToFour Posts: 106
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    Instead of using Sweet and Low...try Stevia. It's a natural sweetener and my guess is you won't even notice the difference.
  • sheddingthelbs
    sheddingthelbs Posts: 26
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    To anyone I didn't quote below, I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am writing down all the suggestions, there's just too much to reply to.

    Good Luck...it is going to be hard to find good foods if you hate all the stuff on your list. As for bread, I like Nature's own sandwich rounds. They are only 100 calories and I think they taste good. I also like Jenno turkey burgers. They are usually in the freezer section by the meats. They go straight from freezer to the grill. There is also sweet potato fries. They are sooooo good. You get your burger and fries in a healthy way. You can check out the Healthy Choice tv dinners. They are pretty good as well. I have been told that there are "The Biggest Loser" pre-packaged meals, although I have never seen them. I hope that was helpful. I know how hard it can be being a picky eater.

    Sweet potato fries sounds really good. Thank you!

    It is difficult. I think the worse part is going out and not finding anything on the menu that I'll eat. or going to a friends who cooked something and having to say 'no thanks'.



    Can veggies have alot of added sodium to them. You may want to start by rinsing them really well before heating. What about frozen? I am suspecting you don't like fresh or frozen because your taste buds are missing the salt that is in the canned.

    You can do it! I am trying to be a clean eater. I am not there yet. But believe me I have come far in the past year in my food choices. Heck, I will sometimes eat salad without any salad dressing. Even if I do use dressing, it is very little.

    About the frozen and fresh, yeah, it's probably because it lacks the salt and tastes just blah. Also, frozen tends to have an odd plastic taste every time I eat them. While I do hate salad, I hate dressings and condiments even more. So if I ever do work my way to not hating lettuce, I know I won't really have to worry about the dressing.

    What about sneaking veggies into other things, I do this with my 10 year old. I mean puree stuff. I can even puree spinach into brownies and he has no clue. Sneaking into spaghetti sauce??

    I can't even eat spaghetti if there are pieces of tomatoes in the sauce. For some reason my stomach rebels against tomatoes. It might work with lettuce though, so thank you for the idea!

    Nature's Own has regular white bread that only has 35 calories per slice. It's hard to find but look for it! lol I get white wheat when I can't find that one but I'm picky too and i remove the crust. Still really good tho. Good Luck!

    I'm definitly looking for that!
    Instead of using Sweet and Low...try Stevia. It's a natural sweetener and my guess is you won't even notice the difference.

    I'll try to find it tomorrow, thank you. :D
  • amber_hanners
    amber_hanners Posts: 388 Member
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    sara lee whole grain white bread is yummy i dont like wheat but love this also i dont like sweet and low at all but i found some stuff at walmart called truvia its wonderful on cereal or in tea plus 0 calories
  • pretentiouskate
    pretentiouskate Posts: 186
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    Ya know, I feel for you, I really do.

    I grew up hating fish. I mean - really hating it. In a family of avid fishermen. I hated the smell, the taste, the texture...

    I cooked Tilapia last night. I sat down to it, referred to it as "vomit on a plate" a couple of times, laid down in bed for a while, got into a fight with my bf ... and finally ate it. It was disgusting. Gushy. Salty.

    I'm cooking it again next week. It's good for me, I eat tuna sandwiches, there really shouldn't be that big of a difference. Eventually, I'm sure I'll like it.

    Just eat it. Not a lot - but some. Just eat it. It's good for you, and eventually you'll get used to the taste/texture/whatever.

    As for breads try the Ezekiel sprouted breads. They don't taste like wheat, and they're lower calorie/higher protein than standard bread.
  • shawtsy
    shawtsy Posts: 15 Member
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    If you have a texture problem, etc. you could try pureeing the foods. Have you ever though about getting a babyfood blender? They sell for maybe $40-60 maybe. It would take out all detectable chucks of anything you didn't like. Maybe even bought babyfood that isn't canned. Food processors and blenders do a great job, but usually leave some chucks so you would have to sieve it out if it really bothers you. Smoothies are another great way to get your veggies in or those fruit/veggies juice blends. You could add the purees to the smoothies. I have a baby daughter, she eats everything, but for the few foods that she doesn't care for as much, I just add them to things she loves. She gobbles it up. It will take time to adjust your palate, but it will happen. In the mean time, you can check out Deceptively Delicious. Adding squash to Mac and Cheese is a great one.

    As for the canned, better than no veggies, but the canning process pretty much removes most vitamins and minerals. Certain foods, like tomatoes, are actually more beneficial in some ways if cooked or canned. But fresh and frozen are much much better. I would take a multi (split in half to avoid any tummy troubles) to help with any nutritional deficits. Give yourself time, and just keep trying things. It can take up to 15 separate tries to begin to like something.
  • Barelmy
    Barelmy Posts: 590 Member
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    I used to be a really fussy eater, until I went vegan, and knew I'd have to get used to eating vegetables.

    One thing that helped was getting used to new foods. I literally used to gag on vegetables - all vegetables. What helped at first was making a rule that, in my case, I could only have chips if I had some broccoli with it. Sometimes, I really couldn't finish it, but I tried, and, eventually, my mouth and stomach stopped complaining. I've heard that it takes about thirty repeated exposures to make your taste buds cooperate, and in my experience, that's true.

    Maybe something like that could help you? Just mix the foods you don't like with the ones you do, and keep trying. A big bag of frozen broccoli will keep for ages, so you don't have to spend money on food you can't finish before it goes off.

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