How to make veggies palatable?

erinelizabeth882 wrote: »

I'm a new veggie eater as well. I'm intrigued by the idea of roasting veggies. I usually get veggies currently through my morning smoothie, dipping baby carrots in hummus or by sautéing a cup of mixed veggies to go with my chicken and rice. What's the best way of buying veggies for roasting? I'm a full time master's student with a part time job, so time and ease is of the essence. I tend to prefer frozen if possible because it's a lot easier for me; does frozen veggies work well for roasting? What kind of mixes tend to work well?

I am the least qualified to answer this question, but I will tell you what I do because I value efficiency and ease over aesthetics (and maybe even taste, lol) ... get the frozen broccoli mix and the frozen sweet peppers mix. (I used fresh squash and peppers in this one, but you could do frozen - just thaw it first so it will take on the oil and spices better.) Buy some little red potatoes, an onion and fresh mushrooms (and maybe baby carrots). Take the frozen stuff out first and dump however much you want into a large mixing bowl and set aside (to thaw while you do some other stuff). Wash and peel and cut smaller the potatoes (in half is fine) and mushrooms. Put the potatoes in the oven first because they take longer. While those are in, slice up Andouille sausage (because ... yum), and pan fry it into olive oil and fresh garlic a few minutes on each side. Toss into the pan the mushrooms and the rest of the veggies (last - just a minute or two to sear). Then pull out your potatoes and dump the whole thing over the potatoes, season with S&P and maybe oregano or something and stick back in until the potatoes are fork tender. This is a whole meal for us and takes minimal time to prepare. I will try to attach a pic, but I am bad at this, so it may not work.

I agree. Extra Virgin Olive oil + fresh minced garlic + salt free herb seasoning (like ms.dash) or Salt free Cajun Seasoning + Garlic powder. I put it on everything from zuchini to asparagus to steamed broccoli etc.

Show me what you were regularly eating from the age of 5 up to you deciding to lose weight and I'll show you why you think veg is "bland". To me its like saying water is bland, or regular intercourse is bland. My Mom always told me if I get bored with veg, water or sex its because I didn't work hard enough for it. Like the first commenter said who I'll agree with, if you have previously eaten nothing but processed food or even overly processed "vegetable" based meals then you've given yourself (insert age) years of desensitized taste buds. Too much salt and sugar in your diet will do that and is reinforced when a picky child eat turns into a picky adult eater.
Where I come from, if I turned my nose up at vegetables as a child I would have been sent to bed hungry. There were vegetables I just did not like and my parents forced them on me regardless of my opinion or feelings or preferences at that time. Now as an adult I can pretty much eat and savor any vegetable I eat even the ones I used to hate (brussels sprouts and mushrooms).

The thing is, aside from finding a book on spices and herbs and incorporating those into your veg without the addition of salt, theres not much you can do except suck it up and eat them because you know logically that they are good for you and since your taste buds were screwed up by your own doing you know you need to retrain them and it will be hard. Essentially think of yourself in rehab. It WILL suck, you will have cravings probably more worse than a lot of other people deal with. But you need to come up with a plan for that.

And pouring processed gravy over veges? Oh gross please don't do that.

Have you tried the flavor God line of seasonings? It's low sodium and gives veggies just enough pep.

velveeta

Several years ago, I hated most vegetables too. My ex-wife told me I was making it hard on her to fix dinner. So, I started eating them, and now I love most veggies. I still think cabbage and beets are a communist plot to take over the world though, so I still don't eat them.

TeaBea wrote: »

I like veggies. Do I like ice cream more than veggies? Of course. But veggies are high in fiber with lots of micronutrients and I can use them to reduce calories in many foods I like. Example: chicken alfredo.....yum, but calorie dense. I add steamed broccoli to it and the calorie count for the "same serving size" just went down.

Joe does that work??

experiment with raw vs cooked, you may like something in its raw form but not cooked, and also the other way around. my favorite way to incorporate a bunch is to make a stir fry with chicken, brown rice, lots of vegetables, and some kind of sauce, like light alfredo, honey mustard, bbq, or sweet and sour. I use corn, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach, and onions, but obviously this can be tweaked depending on what you want to try, and it's still amazing even if you leave the rice out. if you chop everything up into little cubes you barely even notice they're in there.

Try preparing them different ways. I don't care for most canned vegetables, but I enjoy fresh or frozen vegetables. I especially enjoy sauteing/stir-frying vegetables using olive oil and a diversity of spices. In my spice cabinet I have a Mediterranean, Indian, Italian and Mexican spices and spice blends, and this stuff called "Apocalypse" which is a blend of ghost pepper and other hot spices I got from a local spice store. Another example - around Thanksgiving and other major holidays, I cook a mix of southern-style greens (kale, collards) by boiling them in chicken or beef broth. Spices and different ways of preparation are your friends.