The most fussy adult vegetable eater

Fitnesschick1986 · October 23

I am 38 and need to seriously look at my diet. I am overweight. Also have a allergy to dairy. Has anyone got any tips on how to eat more vegetables ,add them to food so they taste really good and hide them in dishes. I don't even eat fruit..help I would like to change my taste buds.

xbowhunter · October 23

I eat a lot of veggies but usually in the form of a stir fry. Helps make them easier to eat.

claireychn074 · October 23

Is it the taste or texture you hate, or both? You could try cooking veggies then liquidising them into a sauce (ie tomatoes, onions, roast butternut squash, garlic and herbs Will make a yummy sauce for pasta). Soups can also work well with liquidising veg. Or just experiment with different ways of cooking: roasting veg changes the texture and flavour and you can add your favourite flavours to it too. Are there are fruits or veg you do actually like?

neanderthin · October 23

The planet has been bombarded with the analogy that fruit and vegetables are good for our health and we should eat more of them and have been told that fact decade after decade with no effect at all on their increased consumption, it just never happened. People really don't care enough to switch to other foods, so your not alone. Personally I'm using a ketogenic diet which is really all about vegetables so can't help you there.

If most of the foods your eating are processed which for most Americans that is how they eat, then slowly changing to a more whole food diet and the complications of realigning the brain to now take other things like shopping and cooking into consideration you might actually learn to like cooking more and get involved in different cuisines and cooking methods were vegetables are more of a mainstay.

nossmf · October 23

The same vegetable, prepared in different ways, can have radically different levels of enjoyment. For example:

I love carrots raw, but dislike them cooked
I cannot stand broccoli raw, but love them steamed
Fire-roasted Brussel sprouts are da bomb, but prepared any other way...

...and so on. Or you can blend them into a drink, or have a variety of sauces or spices to make them more palatable.

Until you figure out a method which works for you, you can always just start with what I forced myself to do when I started out: rush through my veggies as soon as I sit down with my plate of food, before I take a single bite of whatever I do like, sipping my drink as I go to make swallowing easier. Once the veggies are gone, I can slow down and enjoy the rest of my food.

TracyL963 · October 23

I agree with nossmf - try veggies many different ways.

I love carrots both cooked (esp. roasted) and raw. But frozen carrots have a weird texture to me. Then there's canned carrots......just NASTY! So for me, fresh is the only way to go for carrots. There are other veggies that are okay frozen.

Cauliflower has a mild flavor (to me). I will throw frozen cauliflower in the pasta water (towards the end) and use it in Mac'n Cheese. This helps bulk up portions for fewer calories.

Roasted cauliflower with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme is yummy.

Give it time. Keep trying different versions.

AnnPT77 · October 23

In addition to others' suggestions, I'd point out that there are cookbooks aimed at families whose children turn up their noses at vegetables: They have lots of ideas for hiding them or making them more tolerable. (Probably there are websites with that orientation, too, but I haven't really looked for that.)

Also, maybe try some veggies or fruits you've never had before: You might discover something you like. At worst, it's one sub-par meal, maybe worth the experimental learning.

Best wishes!

Fitnesschick1986 · October 23

Thankyou everyone you all have been so helpful, I do like only a few vegetables, but will try some tricks to eat some more.

Corina1143 · October 23

Most people who say they don't like vegetables really do like a few. Lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion on your burger? Onion and green pepper on fajitas? Salsa? Thanksgiving green bean casserole?
Pick your favorite and build on it.
Pickles? Look up recipe for quick pickles and try pickling a variety of veggies. My favorite is radish. Don't love plain raw radish, so it was a surprise. They keep well in the fridge, so you can try them with different meals for different flavor combinations.
Fried onions and green peppers? They go with so many things! Caramelized onions keep a few days in the fridge.
I don't particularly love okra, but I used to go to a local bar--I don't drink-- after work for fried okra. She deep fried it until it was tiny black balls, then covered it in salt. Way better than popcorn!
Not sure it was really healthy, but oh so good!

COGypsy · October 23

I don't dislike many vegetables, but I lost a lot of my sense of taste with Covid so most don't taste like much of anything any more and just aren't as appealing as they used to be. So my solution is to add flavor. Pile it on. Til you can't see green anymore, lol. I use hot sauces, chile (chopped, sauce, flakes), ranch, harissa, salsa, buffalo seasoning, blackening seasoning, shwarma seasoning, various salts and peppers, vinegars, lemon juice, cheese, all kinds of salad dressings. You have to watch for calories on some of the things I use, but I find it worth the "price" of getting my veggies in.

I also have a rule that I have to add a vegetable into anything I cook at home. Pasta sauce gets a few handfuls of frozen spinach. Other pasta/rice dishes get frozen peas added. Egg bites get a mixture of frozen spinach, frozen chopped bell peppers and canned roasted tomatoes. Ramen gets shelled edamame added. They don't radically alter the original dish and keeping frozen vegetables on hand makes them easy to toss into things.

SafariGalNYC · October 27

I’ve been lurking around the thread… ☺️

I’m a veggie lover. Raw, steamed, roasted…in many shapes and forms. In everything. I’m a bit obsessed. When I travel I love trying new things.🤩

I think one of the most important things to remember is there are over 1000 types of vegetables cultivated worldwide. Add in fruits and you have a huge cornucopia of diversity to choose from.

I’m not sure where you are located, but if you want to eat more vegetables… try them out. Have you tried every vegetable to know you dislike them all?
Have you tried different preparations?

I don’t know many people that don’t like potatoes. - do you eat French fries? There are healthier ways to cook everything.

Do you eat jam? Sorbet? That’s fruit.

Do you eat meatloaf or burgers? Dice onions and tomato and put inside. Layer in some lettuce.

Do you eat sandwiches? Layer on some cucumber, greens, etc. grilled cheese? Add some tomato. Tuna fish? Add some scallions or red onion.

Do you eat eggs? Add any diced veg and mushrooms in an omelette.

Do you eat soup or stew? Throw some veggies in. Unless you are having steak soup.. many stews or soups have veggies in it..

Do you eat corn chips ? Salsa? That’s tomato and onion. Guacamole? That’s avocado.🥑

What do you currently eat? Maybe you are already getting in some vegetables? Unless you are on keto?

There are also a few challenges in the groups to getting in more greens. I like to eat an anti inflammatory diet.. so greens are important to me. Have you tried smoothies or shakes? I don’t even notice the greens in a protein smoothie.

The most fussy adult vegetable eater

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