I hate vegetables...

emilycervellino
emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
edited November 18 in Recipes
I am looking for some recipes that are relatively easy to make. My issue is that I absolutely hate vegetables. I need something that can mask the natural taste of vegetables but still provide nutrients. I refuse to just "suck it up" and eat veggies as is- life is too short to eat a meal you hate even if you are trying to be healthier
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!!!
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Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    How have you eaten vegetables? Preparation can make a huge difference - being boiled or steamed to death is generally vile, and I'd avoid them like that too! You can't hate all vegetables, that's a childish statement imo, as they all have different tastes and textures. It's like saying "I hate all people".

    Roasting is amazing for most things, and I like stir frying to keep things crunchy. Many vegies are nice raw in salads, with a delicious dressing. Covering things with sauce and cheese may make them more palatable for you. Hiding vegies in foods can also help - we make tomatoey meat sauce for pasta, but add finely chopped mushrooms, zucchini, Red pepper, onion. It ends up more vegie than meat.
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    Thank you. I appreciate your input. When I said I hate all veggies I meant I have yet to find a vegetable that I like in its natural state either raw or cooked as a side dish. I can typically shred up some and hide it in sauces. But I was hopeful someone might have a recipe of something that maybe changed heir mind entirely about a specific vegetable or such. Thank you so much!
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    emilycervellino wrote: »
    Thank you. I appreciate your input. When I said I hate all veggies I meant I have yet to find a vegetable that I like in its natural state either raw or cooked as a side dish. I can typically shred up some and hide it in sauces. But I was hopeful someone might have a recipe of something that maybe changed heir mind entirely about a specific vegetable or such. Thank you so much!

    I love vegetables, as a general statement. But I hated brussel sprouts until a couple of years ago - growing up, my mum also hated them, but made them for my dad when we had roasts. They were boiled. Soft and mushy. No salt, no oil. Horrid.

    I now love brussel sprouts. Roasted with some olive oil, or pan fried. Sea salt sprinkled on top. Some bacon incorporated.
  • bapity88
    bapity88 Posts: 98 Member
    I love asparagus baked with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt, and Parmesan. Some people boil the crap out of asparagus and it's a mushy gross mess, but baked is so much better. Or have you ever tried mashed cauliflower? I've also made zucchini chips - slice them thin, add a sprinkling of parm to the top, and bake.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    do you like any vegetable?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love or 101cookbooks.com are good to explore for ideas. Any farmer's market or seasonal cookbook with photos can be seductive.

    Have you tried using vegetables as part of a dish vs. just as a side dish. Not hidden, but with other flavors? If you like Indian cooking, there's an example. Or more simply, do pasta with a simple sauce made from some shrimp sauteed in olive oil with some asparagus and mushrooms and pinenuts and then add a bit at the cheese after mixing it with the pasta. Make a meat sauce and add some zucchini in with it. You can easily hide veg in a lasagne, of course. Do a stir fry with some broccoli and carrots and onions and mushrooms plus some chicken or beef and add to a little rice. Add a little soy sauce (or sriracha) or something like Japanese 7 spice which is amazing. Make a stew and include some carrots and add in spinach at the end. Stuff like that.

    Roasting is easy and delicious, as others have said, and as already mentioned brussels sprouts sauteed or roasted with bacon is a often gateway drug to veg love.
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
    There is a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious she use pureed veggies in dishes so she can get people to eat their veggies. I think one of the more popular recipes is a mac and cheese dish.

    Finely chopped mushrooms work great in ground beef dishes. Hide them in your burgers, meatloaf and chili.

    Sliced zucchini can be put in lasagna for half of the noodles.
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
    Do you like egg rolls? Try this inside out egg rolls. soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2013/12/inside-out-egg-roll-re-post.html
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
    Maybe Cauliflower pizza crust? There are tons of recipes out there for that.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    Soup and chili are fantastic! Make some turkey chili grab a bag of frozen vegetables and pound it with a mallet or whatever to break the veg down into small pieces and simmer in the chilli for the last 45 min. My mother makes the exact same thing but leaves the veg in big pieces and I don't like it.. .I like the veg chopped, or in my case smashed very small. Same goes for salads. I hate a salad with big pieces of tomato or peppers in it but I love the salads served in the Levant or parts of North Africa because the veggies are all cut very tiny so you never have ti eat just a tomato or just a pepper....all the flavors blend. I make tabouleh but instead of bulgur I put some quinoa. Delicious.

    Also keep exposing yourself to veg. Eat a bite at every opportunity you get but don't force yourself to choke down an entire plate...continued exposure over time will help make them mire palatable.
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »
    do you like any vegetable?

    I have yet to find a single one I like, cooked or uncooked.
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    emilycervellino wrote: »
    Thank you. I appreciate your input. When I said I hate all veggies I meant I have yet to find a vegetable that I like in its natural state either raw or cooked as a side dish. I can typically shred up some and hide it in sauces. But I was hopeful someone might have a recipe of something that maybe changed heir mind entirely about a specific vegetable or such. Thank you so much!

    I love vegetables, as a general statement. But I hated brussel sprouts until a couple of years ago - growing up, my mum also hated them, but made them for my dad when we had roasts. They were boiled. Soft and mushy. No salt, no oil. Horrid.

    I now love brussel sprouts. Roasted with some olive oil, or pan fried. Sea salt sprinkled on top. Some bacon incorporated.

    Thank you for the suggestion! I will give it a try!
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    bapity88 wrote: »
    I love asparagus baked with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt, and Parmesan. Some people boil the crap out of asparagus and it's a mushy gross mess, but baked is so much better. Or have you ever tried mashed cauliflower? I've also made zucchini chips - slice them thin, add a sprinkling of parm to the top, and bake.

    I have not tried mashed cauliflower. My family loves asparagus so I will have to try it that way.
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love or 101cookbooks.com are good to explore for ideas. Any farmer's market or seasonal cookbook with photos can be seductive.

    Have you tried using vegetables as part of a dish vs. just as a side dish. Not hidden, but with other flavors? If you like Indian cooking, there's an example. Or more simply, do pasta with a simple sauce made from some shrimp sauteed in olive oil with some asparagus and mushrooms and pinenuts and then add a bit at the cheese after mixing it with the pasta. Make a meat sauce and add some zucchini in with it. You can easily hide veg in a lasagne, of course. Do a stir fry with some broccoli and carrots and onions and mushrooms plus some chicken or beef and add to a little rice. Add a little soy sauce (or sriracha) or something like Japanese 7 spice which is amazing. Make a stew and include some carrots and add in spinach at the end. Stuff like that.

    Roasting is easy and delicious, as others have said, and as already mentioned brussels sprouts sauteed or roasted with bacon is a often gateway drug to veg love.


    Wow very helpful! Great recommendations- exactly what I was looking for!!! I will repost when I try some
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    Missjulesdid wrote: »
    Soup and chili are fantastic! Make some turkey chili grab a bag of frozen vegetables and pound it with a mallet or whatever to break the veg down into small pieces and simmer in the chilli for the last 45 min. My mother makes the exact same thing but leaves the veg in big pieces and I don't like it.. .I like the veg chopped, or in my case smashed very small. Same goes for salads. I hate a salad with big pieces of tomato or peppers in it but I love the salads served in the Levant or parts of North Africa because the veggies are all cut very tiny so you never have ti eat just a tomato or just a pepper....all the flavors blend. I make tabouleh but instead of bulgur I put some quinoa. Delicious.

    Also keep exposing yourself to veg. Eat a bite at every opportunity you get but don't force yourself to choke down an entire plate...continued exposure over time will help make them mire palatable.

    I never thought to smash down the vegetables in soup or chili (usually I just pick around them) but that is a fantastic idea!!! Thank you for all that input!!!
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
    Creamed spinach - even my vegetable-hating teenager hates this less.

    Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add a bag of fresh baby spinach. Poke the spinach under the surface of the water. When the water returns to a boil (takes a few seconds), pour everything into a strainer and rinse with cold water. With your hands and paper towels, squeeze every scrap of water out. Chop very finely, and squeeze with paper towels again. Set aside.

    Heat together equal volumes of flour and butter or olive oil until bubbling. Whisk in whole milk, 1/2 cup per tablespoon of flour, and continue whisking over heat until thick. Season very heavily with salt, pepper, garlic powder, maybe a little onion powder. You're basically making a very thick flavorful white sauce.

    Stir chopped spinach into sauce, and add good-quality parmesan.
  • purebredpolly
    purebredpolly Posts: 318 Member
    Baked eggplant parmesan is really good, and low calorie.
  • yayamom3
    yayamom3 Posts: 939 Member
    I just made this recipe (at my family's request) a few minutes ago. Try it. Trust me, you'll thank me. It's called a soup, but I make it thicker as a veggie side dish. I use one carton of stock when cooking. When pureeing, sometimes I need to add a little water, sometimes I don't. I use skim milk instead of almond milk. People who say they hate cauliflower love this. People who say they hate sweet potatoes love this. A lot of times people think they hate vegetables because of the taste, but it's actually a texture issue. This purée (or some people call it a mash) would be an excellent first step for you. I have to hide the leftovers from my kids if I want any.

    https://www.kimscravings.com/roasted-cauliflower-sweet-potato-soup/
  • purebredpolly
    purebredpolly Posts: 318 Member
    OH! Creamed cauliflower! We ate that all the time growing up. It's basically cooked cauliflower in a white sauce. Season highly with salt and pepper.
  • purebredpolly
    purebredpolly Posts: 318 Member
    BREAD CRUMB TOPPING FOR VEGETABLES
    1/3 c. finely chopped onion
    1/2 tsp. firmly minced garlic
    2 tbsp. olive oil
    1/2 c. bread crumbs
    Saute onion and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs. Saute 2 minutes longer. Serve on cooked vegetables. Yield: 1 cup.
  • purebredpolly
    purebredpolly Posts: 318 Member
    "This delicious veggie dish is a family favourite. We cook it up in a big pan, and there are never any leftovers!"
    -Recipe from Josh E. Hofer, dairy farmer from Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
    Ingredients

    2 cups (500 mL) carrots, chopped
    2 cups (500 mL) cauliflower, chopped
    2 cups (500 mL) broccoli, chopped
    3 tbsp (45 mL) butter
    1 small onion, chopped
    2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour
    A pinch of salt
    Pepper, to taste
    1 cup (250 mL) Milk
    6 oz (175 g) Canadian Cream cheese, cut into cubes
    2/3 cup (160 mL) fresh bread crumbs
    2 tbsp (30 mL) grated Canadian Parmesan cheese
    Preparation


    Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Butter an 8-cup (2 L) shallow baking dish.

    Place carrots in a large saucepan; add water to cover by 3 inches (7.5 cm) and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium and boil gently for 5 minutes or until starting to soften. Add cauliflower, then broccoli; cover, leaving lid slightly ajar, and boil gently for about 5 min or until vegetables are tender-crisp. Drain well and place in buttered dish.

    Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the butter over medium heat; sauté onion for about 5 min or until softened. Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter and stir until melted. Sprinkle in flour, salt and pepper to taste; cook, stirring, for 2 min. Gradually pour in milk, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking, for about 3 min or until thick and bubbly.

    Reduce heat to low; add Cream cheese and stir until smooth. Pour over vegetables in dish; stir gently to coat evenly. Bake for 20 min.

    Melt remaining butter and toss with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over casserole. Bake for 10 to 15 min or until crisp and golden.

    You can use low fat ingredients.
  • purebredpolly
    purebredpolly Posts: 318 Member
    Best Cream Of Broccoli Soup

    Recipe By:Jessie A.
    "This recipe is thick and flavorful. It is simple, delicious, and quick to make, enjoy (I know you will)."
    Ingredients
    2 tablespoons butter
    1 onion, chopped
    1 stalk celery, chopped
    3 cups chicken broth
    8 cups broccoli florets

    3 tablespoons butter
    3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    2 cups milk
    ground black pepper to taste
    Directions
    Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
    Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
    In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup. Season with pepper and serve.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Three things I do with kale to get that bitter nutritious uncooked leaf down my gullet:

    Smoothie,60 grams of kale, with kefir, banana, PB2, berries, and hemp seeds. The fat in the kefir and the protein in the PB2 neutralize the bitter in the kale and the tart in the kefir, respectively, and the net taste really is a fresh, clean, and light taste with a hint of banana and peanut butter.

    Burrito, with eggs and turkey, and seasoning veg. The kale leaf, no more than 30 grams, shredded on the tortilla before the skillet-cooked eggs, turkey, and seasoning veg are poured over it. The kale provides a nice Crunch on the bite and the bitter taste is subdued.

    Breakfast sandwich. I layer the kale with the bacon, eggs, and cheese.

    All these are under 400 calories.
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    Thank you JeromeBarry1. I love breakfast sandwiches so I will have to give that a try
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    Purebredpolly, you are wonderful! Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas. ❤❤❤
  • purebredpolly
    purebredpolly Posts: 318 Member
    emilycervellino wrote: »
    Purebredpolly, you are wonderful! Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas. ❤❤❤

    Awwwww...Thanks! <3

  • aufond
    aufond Posts: 18 Member
    A few years ago I bought a Blendtec blender, which is a high-end blender and will set you back several hundred dollars. However, it is of extremely high quality (made in USA) and has revolutionized breakfast for me. It's now common for me to toss in a half-avocado, fresh ginger, half-tomato, 1-2 stalks of celery, some bell pepper, an apple, an orange, parsley, perhaps a carrot, some water and orange juice, and ice, then blend it into a beautiful green smoothie that tastes fantastic! Without that blender, I doubt I would be consuming that much in the way of fresh vegetables. You can toss just about anything in there and it will usually taste great, it can be a lot of fun experimenting with different flavor combinations.
  • Blitzia
    Blitzia Posts: 205 Member
    I thought I hated vegetables too, but it turns out that if I add enough spices or cheese, cauliflower is pretty tasty and super low calorie so now I try to put it in everything. Buzzfeed is my favorite website for recipes that look and taste like junk food but have hidden veggies.

    Here's a big list of hidden veggie options:
    https://www.buzzfeed.com/anthonyrivas/sneaky-sneaky-veggies?utm_term=.slyykm5zA#.gnyQokBzG

    I've cooked this pizza recipe several times and it's very good. Squeezing out the water is the most important part or you'll have some structural integrity problems, but otherwise still tasty.
    https://www.buzzfeed.com/clairenolan/healthy-cauliflower-pizza-tastyfreshfriday?utm_term=.xeqaKyENP#.lbkGDZYK4

    I made these for the second time this week and they're very tasty too. I recommend adding marinara sauce or some kind of dipping sauce because they're a little plain on their own, but otherwise very good and easy to make. For this recipe (and maybe the pizza too) I recommend getting a bag of Green Giant frozen cauliflower and just heating it up in the microwave - it saves you the blanching and chopping steps and it worked just as well when I tried it this week.
    https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiemelody/cauliflower-tots?utm_term=.evNy38dlR#.ltbGwDPVW
  • emilycervellino
    emilycervellino Posts: 19 Member
    Blitza, thank you for the recommendations. I will try out these recipes. People keep saying to eat cauliflower, that it is easy to mask the taste so I am excited to try.
  • harribeau2012
    harribeau2012 Posts: 644 Member
    Today I mixed 2/3 of a tub of cauliflower rice and parsley (microwaved) with 50 g of cooked rice , had it with turkey meatballs with a homemade mushroom sauce. I was thinking that the cauliflower rice mix might help you...had with a mixed meat and vegetables curry?
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