How to lose without veggies (picky eater)

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angelxsss
angelxsss Posts: 2,402 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I recently started dating a guy who really really doesn't like veggies. Best I know, he gets nauseous when he has them, and it's either the taste or the texture or the smell of them that he can't get over. He's asked me to teach him how to cook, and I've contemplated trying to prepare veggies in ways he might not have had them before but not forcing them on him. He's agreeable enough that I feel like he might try some but I'm not very hopeful about the results. Also, I can't tell him to just suck it up and force feed it to him, so none of those responses please (that would probably get me dumped pretty quickly).

So, with that being said, does anyone have any tips on losing without veggies? He does eat starchy vegetables like potatoes, carrots, corn, that sort of stuff, but none of the healthier ones (lol). And I've talked to him about taking vitamins before but I know there's not really a substitute for some of the vitamins you get from real vegetables. Do you think a vegetable powder might be okay for him? Does anyone have experience with these? Can you taste it at all? He does eat fruit so I'm imagining that would mask it. I'm not sure if it would really give the same vitamins again though.

Sorry, I know you can lose while eating whatever you want, if you just track calories, that's a stupid question. I just want to help him however I can so if anyone has tips, that would be awesome :)
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Replies

  • Jeniccm
    Jeniccm Posts: 44 Member
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    I don't eat a lot of veggies myself other than a fresh salad every couple of weeks. If I do make veggies when I'm cooking for the boyfriend then they are roasted in the Oven with olive oil, salt, pepper and mrs dash. Broccoli is my favourite like this. Green beans and mushrooms or zucchini is also tasty

    I do take have a serving of powdered greens almost daily to make sure I'm getting at least some nutrients there - they make some that are flavoured
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    You can lose without vegies... As long as you're in a deficit. I would personally try and hide them in meals though - it's not hard to mask taste and texture. Bolognese sauce is an easy one - grated stuff will virtually disappear. Soups, blended. I add zucchini or pumpkin to baked goods.

    Try new vegies and new preparations - there are hundreds of tastes and textures (and smells) , so I don't buy in to anyone saying they dislike all vegetables.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,072 Member
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    I use unflavoured powdered greens, but you can still tell it's veg, it's not particularly overpowering though, I did try a tropical flavoured one but it was far too sweet for my liking, maybe he could try something similar. Not sure what country you're in but myprotein.com is where I get mine from (UK based company) and they do sell samplers.

    When I was trying to introduce a few more veg into my diet I found it quite helpful to blend Carrots and Courgettes with some water, some chilli powder and some garlic puree, it makes a very smooth veg puree and was easy to eat as a pasta sauce.

    I also like to make butter bean mash instead of mashed potato just blending up butter beans, a little water, fresh garlic and olive oil. Great side for steak.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Will he eat tomato sauce? I put that *kitten* on everything lol. Will he drink V8 or maybe a smoothie? And if he hasn't tried roasted veg, I know several veg haters who are fine with roasted.

    Otherwise, I think "hiding" veggies in other things can be very successful, and as you said he doesn't need to for weight loss, but lower cal veg does make it easier!
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
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    What vegetables do you think are the healthy ones? You mentioned that he'll eat carrots, and those are fine. They're low in calories, unless you add something high-calorie when you're preparing them.
  • angelxsss
    angelxsss Posts: 2,402 Member
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    dfwesq wrote: »
    What vegetables do you think are the healthy ones? You mentioned that he'll eat carrots, and those are fine. They're low in calories, unless you add something high-calorie when you're preparing them.

    Just like the green ones are a bit more "legit" (not saying there aren't exceptions though, you're absolutely right)
  • singin5447
    singin5447 Posts: 7 Member
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    I find I have a limited pallet when it comes to vegetables although not as much as your SO. I agree roasting makes a lot of things more tasty. I would try introducing new things in small quantities. For example if he likes carrots try roasting a mix of carrots and beets (get the mutli-coloured ones, they are nice) or carrots and parsnips. I like them with salt, pepper, a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My son didn't like onions until I caramelized them... great on top of just about any meat.
  • billglitch
    billglitch Posts: 538 Member
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    try low carb high fat (LCHF) look it up. also a good website is dietdoctor.com
  • dfwesq
    dfwesq Posts: 592 Member
    edited March 2017
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    angelxsss wrote: »
    dfwesq wrote: »
    What vegetables do you think are the healthy ones? You mentioned that he'll eat carrots, and those are fine. They're low in calories, unless you add something high-calorie when you're preparing them.

    Just like the green ones are a bit more "legit" (not saying there aren't exceptions though, you're absolutely right)
    They don't have to be green to be healthy. Tomato sauce was mentioned, and it's fine. (I'm thinking especially of the sauces that are made of tomatoes and little else.) Onions are another vegetable that most people don't mind eating.
  • Kay_180
    Kay_180 Posts: 38 Member
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    You don't actually mention whether he wants to lose weight, just that he wants to learn how to cook. Maybe it doesn't matter that he doesn't eat them. Just let him do his thing, cook them for yourself.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
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    What about things like pureeing vegetables and adding them to things like lasagna in with the sauce? As long as he's eating at a deficit, he'll lose weight with no matter what he eats. And nothing wrong with potatoes, carrots or corn. I usually have carrots and/or corn with my lunch. :smile:
  • doittoitgirl
    doittoitgirl Posts: 157 Member
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    Yea you can lose weight without veggies is possible. Its possible to lose weight eating anything within your deficit.
    Though, its not necessarily a lost cause trying to sneak some in every now and then without being pushy. My hubby wasn't a veggie guy till I started cooking for him cause his family only boiled them or served from a can. Veggie noodles with sauce, ratatoullie, making country potato hash with mild diced veg, veggie tots warmed him up. Now he loves everything under the sun
  • LessCookiess
    LessCookiess Posts: 538 Member
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    Yes you can do it all you need it a calorie deficit!
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
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    If he has any veggies that he likes, you could prepare those.

    Otherwise, please don't a) force him and b) judge him. I'm picky, I don't like lots of vegetables, and I will gag on many of them. My friend and I figure it's a texture/smell thing, but I'm serious, if I keep trying to force it I will throw up. He may be the same. We're not being difficult on purpose, I promise.
  • yellingkimber
    yellingkimber Posts: 229 Member
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    There's an episode of Good Eats about parsnips that shows ways to trick people into liking parsnips. It's pretty humorous and pretty accurate. I'd recommend watching that for ideas.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
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    @angelxsss You didn't say how old your friend is, but at 51 I eat a lot of things I'd never touch when I was 15.

    Although we say it doesn't matter what we eat so long as there's a calorie deficit, there are still health benefits to eating the "right" foods. It has been suggested that the correct food plate is half vegetables, quarter meat, and quarter starch. My wife insists I eat this way now, and it just seems so right after a little while adjusting to it.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    angelxsss wrote: »
    I recently started dating a guy who really really doesn't like veggies. Best I know, he gets nauseous when he has them, and it's either the taste or the texture or the smell of them that he can't get over. He's asked me to teach him how to cook, and I've contemplated trying to prepare veggies in ways he might not have had them before but not forcing them on him. He's agreeable enough that I feel like he might try some but I'm not very hopeful about the results. Also, I can't tell him to just suck it up and force feed it to him, so none of those responses please (that would probably get me dumped pretty quickly).

    All veggies don't taste the same, or have the same texture, or have the same smell......so it's all in his head. I don't like 100% of foods, but the ones I don't like don't make be nauseous.

    All you can do is prepare them in many ways. Start with fresh and start with frozen. Use spices, stir fry, roast, grill, etc.

    This article was written by a psychologist.....interesting: http://www.summertomato.com/learning-to-love-foods-you-dont-like
  • angelxsss
    angelxsss Posts: 2,402 Member
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    misskarne wrote: »
    If he has any veggies that he likes, you could prepare those.

    Otherwise, please don't a) force him and b) judge him. I'm picky, I don't like lots of vegetables, and I will gag on many of them. My friend and I figure it's a texture/smell thing, but I'm serious, if I keep trying to force it I will throw up. He may be the same. We're not being difficult on purpose, I promise.

    Yeah I'm definitely not doing either of those things. When I was asking questions to get a better read on the situation and he was saying no to so many things, he was apologizing for being so difficult, so I know he's not doing it on purpose. He's just mentioned wanting to lose weight, and eating a good amount of veggies is just how I know how to do it.
  • janetennet
    janetennet Posts: 143 Member
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    What about a veggie soup?? You can add chicken stock to it so it doesn't really taste like veggies but it is filling and nutritious.
    As mentioned another option is to secretly add it in to your normal foods, some more options for this is;
    • Cauliflower - can be mashed/ riced/ blended etc. for different things e.g. cauli-pizza base
    • Zucchini - Can be spiralized and mixed in with your normal spaghetti - for a pasta alternative
    • Spinach/ dark leafy greens - can be steamed and added to mashed potato (yum!)
    • Mash can be 1/2 potato and other veg e.g. cauliflower, parsnip, turnip etc.
    • Pasta Sauce - there are plenty of recipes online that call for veggie in pasta sauces (aside from the usual bolognaise) think - roasted red pepper and tomato, roasted butternut squash, mushroom sauces etc.
    • Use your vegetable as a carrier for a healthier item e.g. I like to steam my gem squash and add a serving of bolognaise or chilli to it - that way I'm eating my veg covered in something extremely tasty

    Hope that helps!

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