How to lose without veggies (picky eater)
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My ex wouldn't eat any veggies or salad only potatoes. No fruit either lived off take aways everything had to be blended so he couldn't see or taste veg and salad.
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My hubby didn't like many vegetables when we first met, basically all he ate were potatoes, sweetcorn, peas and carrots he also didn't mind tomato based sauces. Everything else was a no no. I started getting him used to veg by hiding stuff in tomato flavour for example celery in pasta sauces or I used to make tomato and vegetable soup and blitz it to hide the veg. Only after he said he liked it would I tell him what was in it and it usually contained: passata, mushrooms, onions, celery, carrot, bell peppers. It got him openminded to try new things.
He still doesn't like a lot of veg but he is does now eat celery if chopped finely into sauce, red onion (not white ones but I'm not complaining), garlic, broccoli, asparagus, sweet potato, cauliflower, mushrooms and not just the button kind, celeriac and some others I can't remember of the top of my head. It has left me with way more options of what to cook but I also have no issue cooking separate veg if needs be. Maybe he would be open to trying veg if he isn't sure which ones he is eating exactly, also cheese sauce and bacon bits can make a lot of veg taste yummy.
But I get the smell and texture thing there are veggies I don't eat for those reasons.1 -
Gosh its hard to contemplate not liking veggies....he must never have been introduced to them as a child?
Anyway, try disguising them, chopped finely or blended into sauces. He is missing out on so much by not trying them - I really think its just a notion to him that he's nauseous when he eats them?
Try him with lots of different ones:
Parsnips roasted are delicious, actually most veg roasted are fab, what about mushrooms? they're so tasty with a bit of garlic.
Brussels sprouts are fab sauteed with bacon bits
Cauliflower is bland enough a veg but some cheese sauce with that miraculously makes it delicious.
Courgette doesn't have much taste to it but again its great roasted.
Peppers.. lovely raw or roasted/stir fried.
Leeks and onions add so much flavour to casseroles.
Curries would be great for disguising veg, because of the spices you can't really taste the veg.
Maybe he would like them better raw, in salads? I know that's the case for some people.
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ps I should have also said, its not WHAT we eat that helps us lose weight, its eating LESS than we burn.1
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+1 for blending them up and adding them to other things. I make a mean chili with courgette, peppers, carrot, celery, spinach, mushrooms, and green beans. I have a friend who sounds similar to yours, she literally gags on vegetables and fruit. I had her over for dinner and forgot, so served her my chili. She liked it!2
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I'm a pretty picky eater as well. Spinach in a smoothie is undetectable to me. I chop it up in a food processor then freeze it into cubes with some water, and add like 4 cubes to a smoothie/shake. Could also add a few cubes to marinara sauce or something like that. Zucchini is great for me because I can't really taste it when it's added to something else. I grate it with a cheese grater and add it to oatmeal, or pasta sauce. Sometimes I use a spiralizer to make zucchini noodles. If the texture throws him off, maybe half pasta and half zucchini noodles would work.2
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I was identical to your BF my entire life and I have lost weight not eating veggies. It is more difficult because you don't have the same low-cal/filling food choices as other people.
I have tried very hard to expand my tastes recently. Roasting veggies like squash, onion and sweet potato, although starchy, were a good first step. Highly seasoned and roasted to a caramelized brown. I also have done a ton of soups and chili with added veggies. The key was cooking them to almost mush. That isn't ideal nutritionally, but it is a good first step.
I gag and even vomit at the taste and texture of all fruits and most veggies. I have been teased my whole life! Friends would try and hold me down and tease me with food, etc. Embarassing! It is embarassing to have to be picky when eating with other people, too. They think you don't like their cooking or they will go out of their way to accomodate you which is nice but embarassing!
It is really nice of you to be thoughtful and concerned!1 -
I've come to notice that a lot of adults who don't like veggies don't like them because of how they were prepared growing up - my mother used to cook the ever-lovin *kitten* outta veggies - so they were limp/mushy and thus horrible to eat, which could account for texture issues5
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When I first moved in with my dad, he hated veggies. Said they made him sick, unless they were the 'kid' veggies like carrots, corn, and potatoes.
So, I started incorporating small amounts of veggies in food. I'd mince onion and bell pepper, add some chopped garlic instead of garlic powder, cut my chicken broth with small amounts of vegetable broth. Eventually, he graduated to diced tomatoes in spaghetti sauce, small chunks of broccoli in casseroles, and diced mushroom. Now he eats squash in soups, cauliflower rice in casseroles, and is okay with green beans or steamed veggies as a side. He still won't touch raw veggies, but he's made a lot of progress.
If it's not an actual food allergy, then it's a matter of getting his gut and taste buds used to vegetables and that just takes time and patience. Start with a very small amount of veggies in one meal and work your way up from there. Also, be sure to incorporate the veggies he does like into his diet with some regularity, to help build up his tolerance.3 -
Here are some good recipes that hide the veggies: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-hidden-veg-recipes-kids1
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My husband didn't (think) he liked vegetables when I met him, but I began cooking them all sorts of different ways and it turns out he does like them!
In fact he loves them so much that yesterday he told me that he is considering going plant based haha.
Anyways the point is that there are so many ways to prepare and hide and combine tastes that if someone is willing to just try a bite, you have a good chance of finding something they like! It sounds like you are a good cook so I bet he will love it!
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deannalfisher wrote: »I've come to notice that a lot of adults who don't like veggies don't like them because of how they were prepared growing up - my mother used to cook the ever-lovin *kitten* outta veggies - so they were limp/mushy and thus horrible to eat, which could account for texture issues
My mom decided that spinach was particularly good for growing kids, which was fine, except she served it by buying a brick of frozen spinach and cooking it in a saucepan. Result: slimy, slimy limp spinach.
It wasn't until I started eating it fresh in salads that I realized I actually like spinach, lol.3 -
I think people don't like vegetables when they are used eating a high sugar/fat diet. Vegetables are mostly water, fiber, vitamins and minerals, so they can't hold a candle to more of the commercialized, highly processed foods.
With that being said, my husband doesn't like most vegetables, but is willing eat eat cucumber, carrots, and celery. He also like green beans. If I make something like stir fry, he will eat the stir fry vegetables with meat and rice. Last night I made a Mexican Skillet which was ground beef, pasta, zucchini and tomatoes with shredded cheese. He will also eat small amounts of salad. Try the more casserole style (meat/cheese and starch with veggies) and see if he accepts them.1 -
BlueSkyShoal wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »I've come to notice that a lot of adults who don't like veggies don't like them because of how they were prepared growing up - my mother used to cook the ever-lovin *kitten* outta veggies - so they were limp/mushy and thus horrible to eat, which could account for texture issues
My mom decided that spinach was particularly good for growing kids, which was fine, except she served it by buying a brick of frozen spinach and cooking it in a saucepan. Result: slimy, slimy limp spinach.
It wasn't until I started eating it fresh in salads that I realized I actually like spinach, lol.
blergh!
the only place that kind of spinach has is in a casserole - and even then I drain all the water out1 -
I get the texture thing. There are very few vegetables that I will eat raw. But I love them cooked. Incorporate them in moderation and prepared different ways and I bet you will find some he likes.1
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Not sure why so many people think of carrots as a second-class vegetable. Eat them, as many as you want. They're healthy.
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Not sure why so many people think of carrots as a second-class vegetable. Eat them, as many as you want. They're healthy.
They are a bit higher in carbs than other veggies. If that isn't an issue, I agree . . . go for it.
Personally, I do need to limit carrots but not for the carbs. They tend to cause *gastric issues*. On the other hand, who needs laxatives or a cleanse when all I need to do is eat a bunch of carrots.1 -
I found I like some veggies better raw than cooked..,
Carrots
Spinach
Broccoli
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deannalfisher wrote: »I've come to notice that a lot of adults who don't like veggies don't like them because of how they were prepared growing up - my mother used to cook the ever-lovin *kitten* outta veggies - so they were limp/mushy and thus horrible to eat, which could account for texture issues
Or they were fed canned vegetables.
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Possibly not the case here, but just so there's balance...
My son has been medically diagnosed with allergies to a lot of vegetables. Essentially everything in the legume family (beans, peas, soy, snow peas, chickpeas, peanuts, etc) and nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant/aubergine, capsicum/peppers, chilies, etc). Not all vegetables are universally good for everyone.
We now eat lots of veggies from outside these two families.0
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