Veggies, HELP!
louisejen5918
Posts: 66 Member
I wasn't raised eating veggies, I've always claimed that I don't like them, but mostly I've never tried them.
Now at 35 I need to get my act together and start incorporating them into my daily life, but I have no idea where to start, my kids don't eat veg because I don't.
Where do I start?
Please advise x
Now at 35 I need to get my act together and start incorporating them into my daily life, but I have no idea where to start, my kids don't eat veg because I don't.
Where do I start?
Please advise x
4
Replies
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Do you have any that you currently like? Start with those, and prepare them in a way that’s fun, like roasting or frying, to help transition your palette. No need to start out eating them raw or dry (unless that’s preferred) to start out. I used to not like onions but I liked onion rings, and as I ate them, I came to appreciate the taste and texture of onion, and now I love onions in general.2
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What a fun opportunity to explore new foods! Perhaps make a game of it with your kids next time you're at the market where they go on their own to each pick a vegetable for the shopping cart.
Within the week, you and each kid make something with the vegetable they chose. The idea is to get their participation from the start. Having them in the kitchen helping during the cooking may increase their curiosity and no matter what the result it, they're liable to be proud of what they made with Mommy.
It may take a few tries and you're not going to like everything (and there may be something that one family member loves but another one detests) but there will be fun and learning opportunities along the way.13 -
There's a lot of variety to vegetables and a lot of ways to cook them that changes their taste a lot. You will find you like different vegetables done different ways. Not all veggies need to have the life boiled out of them like our mothers did. I like raw spinach not cooked but I like cooked broccoli not raw.
Also, the first time you taste something you may not like it simply because it tastes "different." Give it a few tries before you decide for sure.
Start with veggies "everybody likes" and save the difficult ones for down the pike. "Everybody likes" carrots so get a bag of baby cut carrots and give them a try. They are good raw, steamed or roasted. You can have them hot with butter or honey. They are good sprinkled with dry dill. Cut them up and cook them in soup.
Save "difficult" veggies for later. Things like Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, etc. may just be a bridge too far. I hate Brussels sprouts and love red cabbage. I have a friend who is the opposite. Another friend says if the world tasted what he tastes when he tries to eat bell peppers, they wouldn't be considered food. I love bell peppers, especially the red ones roasted.5 -
When it comes to veggies something is better than nothing. When you find something you/the kids like have it everyday, and gradually add in more.
I find textures really matter. I don’t like anything mushy, so I am careful not to over cook (most veggies just need a few minutes in boiling water and they’re done). Also don’t limit yourself to just boiling veggies, I like to roast them for more texture - I love roasted squash and zucchini, but dislike them cooked in other ways for example.
Embrace frozen and even canned - easy and nutritious. Look out for salt in canned veggies if that concerns you. From someone who has worked hard to increase veggie intake, and has a small go to list, these are the ones I eat every week:
Frozen peas
Frozen sweetcorn (kernel corn)
Carrots
Zucchini
Yellow crook-necked squash
Butternut squash
Green beans (French beans)
Asparagus
Canned hearts of palms
Canned artichokes
Don’t feel like you need to eat a wide range of veggies from the get go, find one or two you like and eat them with everything. Then once you’re set with those try some new ones. Also, don’t feel like you have to eat a specific vegetable to be successful, all veggies are good veggies!2 -
One veg can be worlds different to your palate depending on how it's cooked. Sautéd zucchini is a bit gross to me especially if it's over cooked even a little, but grilled/broiled I'll take it all day. A few veg are fine boiled but kinda amazing roasted - cauliflower comes to mind. Pick a veg you already can stomach and experiment one weekend cooking it a few different ways. Say carrots - straight boil with some salt, thin sliced and pan cooked with some oil, roasted on a tray - and see what you see. I think carrots are good all ways but they'll be different tastes and definitely textures. One of my favourite ways to do carrots is to boil cook with a parsnip or turnip and mash them together with S&P and some butter.3
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You could start by looking at what you make for dinner, and seeing if you can add more veg to that.
Carrot chopped up small will vanish into a Bolognese sauce or a shepherd's pie for example.
Experiment with salad veg. Cherry tomatoes are lovely and sweet. I will often make up a salsa salad and add it to everything - start with a ton of sweetcorn and drain. Chuck in a bowl, chop up some cucumber, tomato, red or yellow pepper to about the same size as the sweetcorn, all in the bowl together. The juice of a lemon or lime, couple of tablespoons of olive oil, chopped coriander, but if salt and pepper, and if you like some chilli flakes. Stir it all up and tuck in.
Try sweet potato instead of white ones. Brussels sprouts might not be a favourite, but try boiling them first and let them cool, chop them up then fry with some chopped bacon, you might get more takers!
Try things in different ways, I don't really like a raw carrot stick, but grated in a salad it's fine. I would never even consider eating a raw mushroom, but cook them all the time.
It might be worth looking at what is in season in your region, it will probably be cheaper and easy to get, and will be at it's best.
Then look for recipes and see what you fancy, maybe the children could get involved if they're old enough. You might get more buy in If they feel involved.
Have fun!2 -
Hi ! Does your family like crunchy snacks? If yes, then maybe some raw veggies like carrot, celery, bell peppers, cucumber, and maybe with some hummus for dipping. Or maybe a coleslaw with cabbage, carrot, and a yummy dressing. Does your family enjoy soup? Then maybe a minestrone soup. The above suggestions are all really good too. Let us know what you decide to try and how it turns out. Try different things, because I don’t think there is anybody out there who likes every vegetable cooked in every way. Each person has their preferences and the trick is to find out what each person prefers.2
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My almost 2 year old loves carrots roasted with olive oil and garlic salt, maybe a little parm cheese at times, and she eats fried sweet potatoes like they're going out of style! Braising greens like kale takes the bitterness out of them, and roasted fresh green beans are very mild.
Hope this helps!6 -
littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »You could start by looking at what you make for dinner, and seeing if you can add more veg to that.
Carrot chopped up small will vanish into a Bolognese sauce or a shepherd's pie for example.
Experiment with salad veg. Cherry tomatoes are lovely and sweet. I will often make up a salsa salad and add it to everything - start with a ton of sweetcorn and drain. Chuck in a bowl, chop up some cucumber, tomato, red or yellow pepper to about the same size as the sweetcorn, all in the bowl together. The juice of a lemon or lime, couple of tablespoons of olive oil, chopped coriander, but if salt and pepper, and if you like some chilli flakes. Stir it all up and tuck in.
Try sweet potato instead of white ones. Brussels sprouts might not be a favourite, but try boiling them first and let them cool, chop them up then fry with some chopped bacon, you might get more takers!
Try things in different ways, I don't really like a raw carrot stick, but grated in a salad it's fine. I would never even consider eating a raw mushroom, but cook them all the time.
It might be worth looking at what is in season in your region, it will probably be cheaper and easy to get, and will be at it's best.
Then look for recipes and see what you fancy, maybe the children could get involved if they're old enough. You might get more buy in If they feel involved.
Have fun!
Just noticed typo - you could start your salsa salad with a ton of sweetcorn if you like, but I usually start with a tin 😉
Blinkin autocorrect....1 -
well, yes - a ton of sweet corn and then about the same size of the other ingredients would make a very large salad
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Just an update, I've bought some grated carrots, root vegetable mash (carrots, parsnip and swede) and steam bags (carrot, broccoli and corn). Yay 😍
Thanks everyone ❤️16 -
I love the convenience of microwave steam-in-bag veggies. They are not the cheapest way to buy them but they are incredibly convenient. Lately, our local Big Y supermarket has had a house brand that is cheaper than the Birdseye and about as good! I find that if I nuke and pour out half the bag for supper, I can just clip the bag shut and throw it in the fridge for the next day. I don't recook in the bag, just throw the veg on the plate and warm up in the microwave.3
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louisejen5918 wrote: »Just an update, I've bought some grated carrots, root vegetable mash (carrots, parsnip and swede) and steam bags (carrot, broccoli and corn). Yay 😍
Thanks everyone ❤️
Sounds delicious! I love the steam bags too, nice and convenient.0 -
I have recently turned vegan and am exploring all kinds of recipes. The easiest and yummiest vegetable I found is squash. You can fry them, make soup of them, make pie out of it, bake it in some sort of crisp form, it thickens the gravy and it helps with my sweet tooth.
Eggplant is also delicious. So is fried plantain. My taste bud is like of kid's. I hope it helps.3 -
I always have some frozen pre-chopped onion and frozen chopped spinach in my freezer. It’s super easy to throw them in pretty much anything, they just disappear there and fill me up. I also love chopping cherry tomatoes to lots of things.1
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This recipe is something you could do with the grated carrots, that kids typically like.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/zucchini-tots/1 -
This ongoing thread here about Produce will change your life.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10726786/for-the-love-of-produce/p14 -
This recipe is something you could do with the grated carrots, that kids typically like.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/zucchini-tots/
They look like vegetable fritters which I make quite often, just in frypan on stove though, not baked. And I don't put cheese in mine, but you could.
You can use any grated veg. I usually use zucchini and carrot, sometimes pumpkin.
1 -
A couple of dishes I like that incorporate a lot of raw veg but are very tasty.
Bagna cauda is a North Italian dish of raw veg dipped in a hot sauce of butter, olive oil, anchovy and garlic. You will need to like anchovy and garlic to enjoy this. The recipe below is given as a starter but a full peasant meal of bagna cauda would include crusty bread which serves to catch sauce drippings as you transport vegetable from the communal sauce pot to your plate. When the bread is soaked it is eaten too. The last stage of the dinner is scrambling eggs in the dregs of the sauce.
https://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/marcella-hazans-bagna-cauda-anchovy-and-garlic-dip/
Nam prik ong is a similar Thai dish where you dip raw veg into a warm, spicy, sloppy joe type sauce. The recipe below is easier than most because it starts with commercial Thai red curry paste. A lot of recipes specify making the curry paste from scratch which is a lot more work.
https://importfood.com/recipes/recipe/201-spicy-pork-and-tomato-dip-with-veggies-nam-prik-ong
Cambodian beef lok lak is a beef stir fry on a big bed of salad. Can be made with chicken or prawns. It is how Cambodian parents get children to eat salad.
https://refugeekitchen.com/2014/04/04/khmer-lok-lak/
Finally grande alioli is a dish from Provence in the spirit of raw veg dipped into homemade garlic mayonnaise. The aioli is so strongly flavoured no vegetable hater could protest. But the kids will need to like garlic for this to go down well with the family.
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grand-aioli3 -
I was raised on canned and frozen vegetables and it was so gross. It just about scarred me and made me stop eating vegetables once I moved out. Years later I discovered that vegetables actually taste good when they are fresh.
Breakfast - Try a vegetable/fruit/seed smoothie
Dinner - Use fresh vegetables, roast them, and fresh cracked salt/pepper as needed. Some vegetables that I like roasted are carrots, bell peppers, cauliflower, onion, brussel sprouts, and asparagus.
Same thing happened to me as a kid. Then last year health issues forced me to go plant-based and I HAD to learn to cook veggies. So glad for it now, though!5 -
paperpudding wrote: »This recipe is something you could do with the grated carrots, that kids typically like.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/zucchini-tots/
They look like vegetable fritters which I make quite often, just in frypan on stove though, not baked. And I don't put cheese in mine, but you could.
You can use any grated veg. I usually use zucchini and carrot, sometimes pumpkin.
I would totally tell the kids they are ZZ Tots.
I guess kids wouldn't even know who that is, though.
5 -
If you can get a CSA box in your area, that's what I'd recommend. I'm not a big veggie person either. The first time I got CSA every week I couldn't finish all the veggies before the next box was coming, but after a couple of months I learned a ton of new recipes and eat way better as a result.
Just Google CSA and your city, usually it's a local farm that will create the boxes and either drop them at your door or at a pick up location. They're different each week. I buy the small one since it's just my husband and I, and he's not big on veggies either, and it's only $28 a week. I like that I don't have to go to the grocery store and I like that I don't have to make any decisions!3 -
I eat a TON of frozen steamable veggie packs. Just tonight I did a stir-fry with cauliflower rice instead of regular rice. I think that's an easy way to incorporate more vegetable without changing up a whole lot at one time.1
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One of my favorite veggie meals is a veggie quesadilla with whole wheat tortillas. I get squash, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, red onions and peppers. Slice, and your favorite cheese (I use provolone), then cook in a skillet until the tortillas are crispy.
Veggies are hard for me too, so I just try to get creative with them.1 -
digestibleplastic wrote: »If you can get a CSA box in your area, that's what I'd recommend. I'm not a big veggie person either. The first time I got CSA every week I couldn't finish all the veggies before the next box was coming, but after a couple of months I learned a ton of new recipes and eat way better as a result.
Just Google CSA and your city, usually it's a local farm that will create the boxes and either drop them at your door or at a pick up location. They're different each week. I buy the small one since it's just my husband and I, and he's not big on veggies either, and it's only $28 a week. I like that I don't have to go to the grocery store and I like that I don't have to make any decisions!
My neighbor used to get* a Misfit organic mixed fruits + veggies box. She'd give me what she didn't like/didn't recognize. One time it was a ton of cilantro and parsley, plus scallions. I knew "green rice" was a thing, but had never made it. I googled for recipes, selected one I liked, and made it. It was fabulous!
Another time she gave me an almost 4 pound jicama. I asked here for help using it up. I'm still working on it - I just cut off a slice at a time and the rest is staying good. I like it best fresh, in salads, but also tried it roasted.
This was a lot of fun for me, but might be daunting for someone less into experimenting with new foods.
*She stopped her subscription after seeing bugs in the cauliflower and broccoli. I also noticed quality issues. I have no problems with "ugly" vegetables, but some of what we received should not have been put in a box for shipment. Customer service was going to reship her buggy box for free plus give her 25% off her next box, but she's a bug-a-phobe, and didn't want the deal. Plus she'd been giving a lot of it to me, so wasn't really saving any money.
Note: this is a review of one particular brand, and not at all meant to disparage the CSA concept in general. I know lots of people delighted with their CSAs.2 -
kshama2001 wrote: »digestibleplastic wrote: »If you can get a CSA box in your area, that's what I'd recommend. I'm not a big veggie person either. The first time I got CSA every week I couldn't finish all the veggies before the next box was coming, but after a couple of months I learned a ton of new recipes and eat way better as a result.
Just Google CSA and your city, usually it's a local farm that will create the boxes and either drop them at your door or at a pick up location. They're different each week. I buy the small one since it's just my husband and I, and he's not big on veggies either, and it's only $28 a week. I like that I don't have to go to the grocery store and I like that I don't have to make any decisions!
My neighbor used to get* a Misfit organic mixed fruits + veggies box. She'd give me what she didn't like/didn't recognize. One time it was a ton of cilantro and parsley, plus scallions. I knew "green rice" was a thing, but had never made it. I googled for recipes, selected one I liked, and made it. It was fabulous!
Another time she gave me an almost 4 pound jicama. I asked here for help using it up. I'm still working on it - I just cut off a slice at a time and the rest is staying good. I like it best fresh, in salads, but also tried it roasted.
This was a lot of fun for me, but might be daunting for someone less into experimenting with new foods.
*She stopped her subscription after seeing bugs in the cauliflower and broccoli. I also noticed quality issues. I have no problems with "ugly" vegetables, but some of what we received should not have been put in a box for shipment. Customer service was going to reship her buggy box for free plus give her 25% off her next box, but she's a bug-a-phobe, and didn't want the deal. Plus she'd been giving a lot of it to me, so wasn't really saving any money.
Note: this is a review of one particular brand, and not at all meant to disparage the CSA concept in general. I know lots of people delighted with their CSAs.
Yeah, I never considered a CSA box to be adventurous but I guess it might be weird for people who are used to all of their food in packages.
There will be cakes of dirt on it that you have to wash off, and there will be bugs. I mean, at least I know my farm picks it right out of the ground and throws it into the box. No washing or inspecting besides for rotten food. I've never gotten a rotten piece of food.
I'm no chef though, so if you're okay with washing bugs and dirt off your veggies and you know how to Google "what to do with X vegetable" then you can be successful in cooking all sorts of veggies you never knew existed!
I just got fennel for the first time, and I put it in a stir fry and hated it, but then the next box I got it and put it raw in a salad and loved it. So, it does take some open-mindedness.4 -
I like vegetables better than anyone else in the family, but still really struggle to incorporate them on a regular basis. When buying groceries I fear them spoiling too quickly, so I don’t get many. Then we don’t have many in the house, so we don’t cook many... it’s a vicious cycle.
I also need to get over my reluctance to take advantage of prepackaged steamable frozen veggies. Could I get them cheaper raw? Yep. Would the sauces be healthier if I made them myself? Probably. Would I actually take the time to prepare & eat them? Probably not!
I think I’m going to turn it into a bit of a game: make a list of veggies we like, & set a goal of trying X new types each week / month. We could buy several different varieties, or try out several different cooking methods with the same kind & “rate” each one. Just something to get us out of our food rut, because we eat the same things a LOT!0 -
Oven roasted veggies (of all sorts. I roast onions, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, bell peppers, etc) has been life changing for us. I've always been pretty open to veggies, but it has made them much easier for my husband to eat. I just put a small amount of olive oil (usually 1-2 tbsp depending on the amount) and salt and pepper. Super simple and super tasty.3
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I thought I hated vegetables when I was younger, but it turns out, if you don't like a vegetable, you can often change your opinion by changing how it is cooked.
I'm not the biggest fan of sliced raw carrots or steamed carrots, but I can tolerate them grated into a salad or in thin sticks to eat with hummus. I actively like them when they're roasted, especially with a bit of honey.
Tomatoes are OK raw. But I really like them in a sauce, or as sundried tomatoes.
Sweetcorn? Not out of the can, thank you. But I love it in a soup, and I love it in a fritter.
I'm never going to love Brussel sprouts, but most other veggies are nice when they're prepared differently. You don't necessarily need to experiment with lots of different veggies, just the cooking technique.2 -
Pick up a vegetarian cook book or vegetarian cooking videos on Youtube. You don't need to go vegetarian if you don't want to, but Bosh and Colleen Patrick Gourdeu (Sp?) have some AMAZING recipes that would introduce you to some delicious, colorful, and creative veggies.0
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