How do you learn to eat foods that you don't like but you know are good for you?

5 years ago, the only vegetables I liked were potatoes and corn, and the salad veggies that were familiar to me (lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumbers). but I decided to try new ones b/c I could see how much volume I could get for the calories vs. things like french fries. I started by using recipes on Skinny Taste primarily. If I didn't like a certain vegetable, I'd make myself try it again but prepared in a different way. I don't like spaghetti squash when it's treated like spaghetti, but I love it as the bottom layer of a lasagna.

My goal was to try two new-to-me foods per month. That was doable. Best advice: eat in-season fruits and vegetables, and ask the produce person about what's in season. They love to cut weird stuff open and explain what it is. If it's on sale, chances are it's in season. I've learned that I actually love most vegetables but my brain was getting in my way. I was used to the mushy, canned, sodium-laden crap from when I was a kid. And +1 on the roasted suggestion.

When I am nervous about introducing a vegetable I'm scared of or previously didn't love, I do it in a stir fry. Get used to a bit of it, mixed in - then slowly increase the amount. Now I love bok choy, for example.

I have also always been the "southern" eater of meat and "taters". I have started branching out by trying to cook things different ways. I was one that would not try something if I tried it once and didn't like it, but found that when it was cooked or even seasoned differently it makes a huge difference on taste. I now love lots of different vegetables! Have you tried grilling them? I love anything on the grill. Garlic, olive oil or butter (in moderation of course), season salt, and pepper are all my favorite seasonings. As for the fish, I would only eat it battered and fried which kinda defeated the purpose of eating healthy. Again I tried it grilled, broiled, and baked with different seasonings and found that I absolutely love it now and would eat it almost everyday. As another poster said, the type of fish makes a huge difference. I used to only buy Orange Roughy fish because it didn't have the fishy taste and dark colors in it. I now have branched out and love a variety of different fish. Salmon and talapia are wonderful on the grill! Again I like to season with the seasoning above or citris and basil rub, Jamaican Jerk, or a Monterrey rub. Just to try different seasonings, I fixed one of each for the entire family and we all got to try the different flavors and they got to tell me which one they liked best. By fixing 4 different flavors, by the time I tried all four with a good size bite, I had almost one whole piece down then decided which I liked the best! Good luck!

If you've never enjoyed certain types of food and didn't grow up eating them, I think the best way to start eating them is preparing them in ways that somewhat mask the flavor, and gradually prepare them in ways where the flavor starts to emerge a bit, once you get used to them.

For example, if you're a 'meat and potatoes' kind of person, why not make a potato crusted piece of white fish in a light cream sauce, or do some seafood with bbq sauce.

If you like hot wings, you can combine those flavors with cauliflower to make buffalo cauliflower.

You can make mashed potatoes and do half cauliflower / half potatoes.

I think as you start experimenting, you might find ways to enjoy these foods.

I hated vegetables as a kid. Now I make myself try something I used to not like periodically, especially if I see it prepared in a way that seems interesting. I now love a lot of vegetables I despised - sweet potatoes, collards & other greens, celery, etc. I still have issues with bitter foods like chard, endive, etc. (But I have some gene that is hypersensitive to bitter compounds. We had to lick some strip of paper in HS biology. Half of us could taste it, half couldn't.) When in doubt, saute it in bacon grease. LOL It's how I learned to like brussel sprouts. I don't know how to get over textural issues. I can't stand gristle and anything chewy like it (like duck feet or the end of chicken wings). I had my Asian card revoked over it.

try different prep methods. for example i am not a fan of boiled brussel sprouts, but roast those bad boys with some olive oil and S+P and i cannot get enough. all about being flexible and open minded (which you clearly are if you're looking for advise on how to make less desirable things for yourself more desirable)
I am really not a picky eater but i still own a large # of cookbooks and am always trying different methods because why not.

I used to hate stew when I was a kid...turns out I don't like pearl barley and everyone I know puts it in their stew! My stews are lovely, because I've cooked them without it.

Try cooking them in different ways and you'll be surprised. For instance, I fry (with just a tiny bit of oil or 1 calorie spray) courgettes, mushrooms, onions and peppers and put some paprika over them or some bbq sauce and it's amazing! W

Try sauteing carrots, onions, mushrooms, and red bell peppers in a little bit of coconut oil and add garlic, salt, and pepper. I also add some low sodium teriyaki sauce to help flavor them.

As for eating fish, tuna fish is good for you. I mash up avocado, onion, tomatoes, a lil dijon mustard, cumin, cilantro, lime zest & juice, and garlic salt with it. It tastes great, is really healthy, and it fills me up. I eat that for lunch on whole grain bread and don't even think about food until 4 or 5 hours later.

Another good thing for salmon is to marinate it. I've marinated it in a home made Jack Daniels sauce and I've seen recipes for a chili glaze.

The key to foods you don't like is to find ways to add spice and flavors you do like to them.

I've read that if you try something 7 or 8 times you'll get over your perceived dislike for it.
I always thought I'd hate cooked cabbage, since the smell was so stinky. I didn't try it until I was over 40. Turns out, I loved it! Same with Brussels sprouts. Only one thing I can't seem to like is cooked carrots. I like them raw, but something about the texture of them cooked turns me off. So, when I make soups or stews (my family loves cooked carrots) I shred them. This changes the texture and we all enjoy them now. I've yet to eat an oyster- but I think I can live without trying one of those.