Aversion to Veg

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  • taffyapple87
    taffyapple87 Posts: 18 Member
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    So to answer a couple of questions, I've tried:

    - boiling mixed veg (and mixing it all up with whatever grain I'm having - brown rice, cous cous etc to ensure I cannot avoid eating)
    - microwave steam veg (the ones you can get in frozen packs and doing the same as above)
    - stir fry with a fresh veg pack

    As to grilling, I was at a bbq and the host was serving bowls of mixed veg including asparagus stalks, zucchini, bell pepper and a few other things. Not sure how she had prepared them. I tried it to be polite and avoid another burger.

    The most success I had was with the stir fry. Though there were still some texture issues, the sauce I used disguised the taste. The downside was it was high in calories and wouldn't be an option for every day.

    The worst reaction I had was to the raw veg. I made a salad including carrots, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, spinach and edamame beans for my lunchbox.

    I did manage to get it down albeit very slowly both the taste and texture proving challenging but then spent my entire afternoon fighting off nausea. Hardly an incentive to try that again.

    The last week, I have also been trying to get my veggies in soup or smoothie form. I have had some success with this but my sugar intake has increased resulting in me going over most days.

    Someone did ask what kind of foods I liked. Well, I have a sweet tooth but until recently I was a junk food addict. I also avoid spicy food as it does not agree with me.

    At present, I am exploring and introducing new foods to wean myself off processed junk. I've learnt I can like brown rice and pasta and I love grilled fish (salmon is to die for.) Oh and blueberries ... never in a million years but yeah I like them!

    It's been a brilliant experience so far. I'm just wishing I could get past my veg issues.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited May 2015
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    taffyapple87 wrote: »
    So to answer a couple of questions, I've tried:

    - boiling mixed veg (and mixing it all up with whatever grain I'm having - brown rice, cous cous etc to ensure I cannot avoid eating)
    - microwave steam veg (the ones you can get in frozen packs and doing the same as above)
    - stir fry with a fresh veg pack

    As to grilling, I was at a bbq and the host was serving bowls of mixed veg including asparagus stalks, zucchini, bell pepper and a few other things. Not sure how she had prepared them. I tried it to be polite and avoid another burger.

    The most success I had was with the stir fry. Though there were still some texture issues, the sauce I used disguised the taste. The downside was it was high in calories and wouldn't be an option for every day.

    The worst reaction I had was to the raw veg. I made a salad including carrots, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, spinach and edamame beans for my lunchbox.

    I did manage to get it down albeit very slowly both the taste and texture proving challenging but then spent my entire afternoon fighting off nausea. Hardly an incentive to try that again.

    The last week, I have also been trying to get my veggies in soup or smoothie form. I have had some success with this but my sugar intake has increased resulting in me going over most days.

    Someone did ask what kind of foods I liked. Well, I have a sweet tooth but until recently I was a junk food addict. I also avoid spicy food as it does not agree with me.

    At present, I am exploring and introducing new foods to wean myself off processed junk. I've learnt I can like brown rice and pasta and I love grilled fish (salmon is to die for.) Oh and blueberries ... never in a million years but yeah I like them!

    It's been a brilliant experience so far. I'm just wishing I could get past my veg issues.

    Grilled fish (esp Salmon), rice, and blueberries ! !
    You have a good start. :)

    Once or twice a month try the soup / smoothie route or stir fry route. It will be o.k. to go a little over your calories once in a while as you make this transition. B)
  • DMLC2014
    DMLC2014 Posts: 71 Member
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    Try to hide the veggies in foods. Tomato sauces,soups, stews and meat loaves are a really good one.
  • merzback
    merzback Posts: 453 Member
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    musicandarts wrote: »
    Like most aversions, dislike of veggies is a habit acquired during childhood. This too can be overcome by will power and some ingenuity. By the way, breaded deep-fried vegetables are not exactly vegetables. A smaller quantity of raw, or lightly steamed veggies are far better than a lot of deep-fried veggies. Most nutrients in vegetables do not survive the extreme heat involved in frying.

    My suggestions is to try out fresh salads with different types of salad dressings. I like my pear/spring mix/gorgonzola salad with light raspberry vinaigrette. Or, a spring mix/corn/cilantro/veggie meat crumbles/grape tomatoes/mexican cheese with lite salsa ranch dressing. For dressings, I use either Litehouse or Marzetti brands.

    I guess you've never heard of food texture issues. I have that problem too. I have tried and tried everything. I can eat veggies cooked, but not raw. I literally gag, or anything that has seeds, skin.

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,942 Member
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    First of all, I have texture issues with food too ... cannot stand mushrooms and have trouble with meat. So I do understand texture issues, but to me, different veggies have different textures.

    Secondly, way back when a friend challenged me to broaden my experience with cheese. All I ever ate was cheddar, so his challenge was that each time I went to the grocery store (once a week), I should get a different kind of cheese and try it that week. Of course, the first one I got was blue cheese which nearly turned me off the challenge right away!! :lol: My friend ended up eating that one. :lol: But I stuck with the challenge and ended up trying a wide range of cheeses. I discovered some new favourites ... and some I'm not so fond of. And that's OK.

    But here's my challenge to those who don't like veggies ... go to your fresh fruit and veg market, select one fruit or veg, and try it this week. Do different things with it. Try a little bite raw. Try it roasted or steamed. Look up recipes online for that particular fruit or veg to see if there are other ways to cook it. Then next week, try a different one.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I think it's so sad when people hate vegetables. They're so delicious and such a pleasure to eat! Growing up, I had access to lots of wonderful, fresh produce from my grandparents' large gardens - conveniently enough, we were also neighbors! I was over there working in the garden several days each week. It's California, so we always had year-round fruits and veg, with crops varying by season. They also raised chickens and pheasants, so we had lots of good, healthy meals. As an adult, I now grow fruits and veg year-round as well. There are very few vegetables I don't like: parsnips and okra come to mind. There are actually more fruits that I don't like!

    OP, if you don't like vegetables, you can still benefit from the vitamins and fiber in fruits. Are you OK with eating fruit? :)
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    My husband has veg aversion too. I blitz up raw broccoli, cauliflower, onions and kale. I add chilli powder and garlic powder to it then make it in to little patties and fry in coconut oil.
  • taffyapple87
    taffyapple87 Posts: 18 Member
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    I'm fine with fruit - reckon it's because they're sweet enough for my sweet tooth.

    But I cannot substitute veg with fruit due to the amount of sugar involved.

    Also, I probably should have mentioned before but at the moment, I'm only keeping tinned or frozen veg in my kitchen.

    I was experimenting with fresh but as its just me, I was finding I was wasting a lot as it is was rotting before I used it all up.
  • Ms_LisaKay
    Ms_LisaKay Posts: 103 Member
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    taffyapple87 wrote: »
    I'm fine with fruit - reckon it's because they're sweet enough for my sweet tooth.

    But I cannot substitute veg with fruit due to the amount of sugar involved.

    Also, I probably should have mentioned before but at the moment, I'm only keeping tinned or frozen veg in my kitchen.

    I was experimenting with fresh but as its just me, I was finding I was wasting a lot as it is was rotting before I used it all up.

    I am super bad about fresh veg waste. :( So we do a LOT of frozen stir fry veg. I steam most stuff. We do steam fresh asparagus, broccoli & cauliflower, but I don't know that those are the best way to ease someone into veg, as they are all pretty strong one way or another. We also get the Green Giant (don't know if you have that brand) frozen microwaveable brussels sprouts in butter sauce. I am not a huge fan, but the sauce makes them bearable & the nutritional content outweighs the added cals. I am going to try this "roasting fresh veg w/ olive oil & tasty spice" thing. Do you think you might try that, OP, or does it not sound good to you?

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited May 2015
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    taffyapple87 wrote: »
    I'm fine with fruit - reckon it's because they're sweet enough for my sweet tooth.

    But I cannot substitute veg with fruit due to the amount of sugar involved.

    Also, I probably should have mentioned before but at the moment, I'm only keeping tinned or frozen veg in my kitchen.

    I was experimenting with fresh but as its just me, I was finding I was wasting a lot as it is was rotting before I used it all up.
    Because you are not eating veggies try to work it out so that you eat some fruit a few times a week. Blue berries and strawberries are relatively low cal/ low sugar. :) I often buy them frozen.
  • taffyapple87
    taffyapple87 Posts: 18 Member
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    Ms_LisaKay wrote: »
    Do you think you might try that, OP, or does it not sound good to you?

    There have been quite a number of decent suggestions which have been helpful.

    I think what might also be helpful is rather than force all this veg on myself overnight that I start slowly.

    For example, rather than go for a full serving size of veg, go for a quarter, then half etc.

    Because thinking about it, it's like couch to 5k, you don't wake up on day 1 and do a 5k.

    I'm also going to try and find 3 main vegetables that I like and then combine with new vegetables to expand my palette.

    Hopefully it will help with forward momentum.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,942 Member
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    taffyapple87 wrote: »
    Also, I probably should have mentioned before but at the moment, I'm only keeping tinned or frozen veg in my kitchen.

    For me ... tinned veg = yuck! Tinned veg has this odd sweet and salty flavour that isn't at all what the veg are supposed to taste like.

    Get one small item of fresh veg ... like one small head of cauliflower ... and do various things with it. Try it raw, try it with a bit of dip, try it steamed Then next week try a tomato ... sliced up with salt and pepper or maybe in a sandwich. Then next week maybe a cucumber ... just remember to peel the cucumber, the skin isn't very nice.

    Only one at a time so you don't feel like you have to finish an entire refrigerator drawer full of veg.

  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
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    I am a veggie roaster. I have found that is how I can eat most veggies and enjoy them without having issues. My main issue with veggies is texture. So, I like to mix them into casseroles, pastas and met/veg bowls with a sauce or lots of seasoning. That way I still get the veg, but it is mixed with the flavors of other things I love. I rarely eat vegetables alone unless it is a salad (not a big fan of those either).

    For example, I used to hate asparagus, but now I eat it almost every day for breakfast. I just roast it with salt/pepper and olive oil then lay it on top of some toasted bread and put a sunny side up or poached egg on top. The yolk coats the asparagus and along with a bite of bread and egg, I hardly taste the asparagus but it is still delicious!

    You will just have to experiment and find what cooking methods work for you.
  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    But here's my challenge to those who don't like veggies ... go to your fresh fruit and veg market, select one fruit or veg, and try it this week. Do different things with it. Try a little bite raw. Try it roasted or steamed. Look up recipes online for that particular fruit or veg to see if there are other ways to cook it. Then next week, try a different one.

    This is exactly what I have been doing this spring and plan on continuing to do during the summer with both fruits and vegetables. It is a great idea and I have found some vegetables that I normally would have never looked at to be my favorites....like asparagus and brussels sprouts!

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    seasonings. also roasting and saute in some good oil.
  • harpsdesire
    harpsdesire Posts: 190 Member
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    Maybe try some of those 'hidden veg' recipes? Often marketed to get picky kids to eat more veg, but if it tastes nice there's no reason adults can't also have it!
    Some ideas here http://www.delish.com/cooking/g1248/hidden-vegetable-recipes/
  • dimple_gal
    dimple_gal Posts: 138 Member
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    I absolutely hate canned or tinned vegetables, though I have finally come around to eat canned corn. any vegetable I didn't like has been overcome by roasting. Love, love, love roasted brussel sprouts, kale, asparagus, cauliflower. roasting brings out the natural sugars, and changes the texture to give them a bit of crispness without the raw flavor.

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