What do you do if someone HATES vegetables?!

If you want to help her, then find out what she likes first, and then build slowly from there, introducing new foods rarely and not demeaning her if she can't tolerate them. You can also find healthier variants of the foods she likes that are lower calories and better nutritionally (lower carbs in her case, perhaps lower sodium and higher protein as well). Check out a book like "Eat This Not That."

is that probable in more vegetables than I realize? I remember testing the strips in college chem and bio classes, but those were presented specifically as the chemical present in Brussels sprouts (which I believe most people dislike because they haven't tried them roasted or sautéed, just boiled way too far, but I digress), not something in all or most veggies. Broccoli might also have something of that nature, I may have read? What I'm asking is if that's possibly a factor in disliking almost an entire food group, rather than 1-2 options from that food group.

PTC and PROP are two related chemicals, one is a thiourea and the other a thioamide. PTC is not found in any foods at all, but still has been found to correlate to taste preferences, which should indicate to you that our taste buds are not necessarily specific to one chemical or even one class of chemicals to evoke a similar taste response. Even though PTC and PROP are bitter, ability to taste them strongly is also associated with avoidance of excessively fatty, sour, and even sweet foods in some cases. People who can taste PTC and PROP generally will have more taste buds on their tongue as well, and that might explain that. As one taste researcher put it, being a supertaster is like living in a world of neon lights where everyone else sees pastels.

As for why this would extend to most vegetables instead of just a few, actually many vascular plants which we eat as vegetables contain varying amounts of a large class of chemical called alkaloids which are somewhat similar to PTC and PROP. And interestingly, in most cases they are used in a defensive capacity, in other words, to discourage other creatures from eating the plant, and they are almost universally bitter tasting. Different plants have different amounts and different kinds, which may explain some of the variation in taste preferences.

The point is that people's tastes may be radically different for real, physical reasons, and not just because of personal preference or whim or stubbornness or attention seeking as some would have us believe. Think about this: 25% of the population taste *nothing* when they put a PROP strip in their mouth, and 25% taste an utterly vile bitterness that almost makes them sick. That's not preference, that's a difference in tasting ability, and to a person who like the OP who just can't understand how anybody could not love vegetables, this should make a lot of sense. She likely can't taste the very intense, disgusting bitterness that people like me can.

I envy her for that, personally. It is a major pain in the @$$ to be so restricted in my food choices as I am, and I'm not gladly anticipating an increased risk of colon cancer.

is that probable in more vegetables than I realize? I remember testing the strips in college chem and bio classes, but those were presented specifically as the chemical present in Brussels sprouts (which I believe most people dislike because they haven't tried them roasted or sautéed, just boiled way too far, but I digress), not something in all or most veggies. Broccoli might also have something of that nature, I may have read? What I'm asking is if that's possibly a factor in disliking almost an entire food group, rather than 1-2 options from that food group.

PTC and PROP are two related chemicals, one is a thiourea and the other a thioamide. PTC is not found in any foods at all, but still has been found to correlate to taste preferences, which should indicate to you that our taste buds are not necessarily specific to one chemical or even one class of chemicals to evoke a similar taste response. Even though PTC and PROP are bitter, ability to taste them strongly is also associated with avoidance of excessively fatty, sour, and even sweet foods in some cases. People who can taste PTC and PROP generally will have more taste buds on their tongue as well, and that might explain that. As one taste researcher put it, being a supertaster is like living in a world of neon lights where everyone else sees pastels.

As for why this would extend to most vegetables instead of just a few, actually many vascular plants which we eat as vegetables contain varying amounts of a large class of chemical called alkaloids which are somewhat similar to PTC and PROP. And interestingly, in most cases they are used in a defensive capacity, in other words, to discourage other creatures from eating the plant, and they are almost universally bitter tasting. Different plants have different amounts and different kinds, which may explain some of the variation in taste preferences.

The point is that people's tastes may be radically different for real, physical reasons, and not just because of personal preference or whim or stubbornness or attention seeking as some would have us believe. Think about this: 25% of the population taste *nothing* when they put a PROP strip in their mouth, and 25% taste an utterly vile bitterness that almost makes them sick. That's not preference, that's a difference in tasting ability, and to a person who like the OP who just can't understand how anybody could not love vegetables, this should make a lot of sense. She likely can't taste the very intense, disgusting bitterness that people like me can.

I envy her for that, personally. It is a major pain in the @$$ to be so restricted in my food choices as I am, and I'm not gladly anticipating an increased risk of colon cancer.