So...anyone got any tips for making yourself eat salad? I know that eating healthy would be much easier if i could teach myself to do this....but I hate lettuce, and the texture of spinach and the like is kind of unpleasant to me. (I know, I'm wierd). I tried a Cobb salad once that had the spinach shredded so fine you couldn't tell it was tehre, but I have yet to get the same result at home.

I would really appreciate any help I can get! Thanks so much...I'm off to work out and get rid of the 6 cookies that "broke" on their way out of the oven during Christmas cookie baking tonight!

*sigh* and I had been doing so well too!

Thanks!

Vanessa

You don't need to eat salad to eat healthy

Do you like vegetables?

I'm better than I used to be...

I eat most things now, tho I've tried, and I just can't do broccoli, cliflower or brussel sprouts. I say that it would be healthier just because i work in a high school, so a salad is better than the other options, and I could take it or buy it.

I'm still working on fruits....bananas I have always eaten...the rest we're working on

Hon, don't worry about it or stress yourself over it. You eat the fruits and vegetables that you like and don't force yourself to eat the ones you don't like. I don't like most fruit and I don't worry about it. I eat most all veggies, with a few exceptions, but fruit? Forget it.

Just eat what you're comfortable eating and try and get as much as you can of the healthiest foods you enjoy. I don't stress myself out over stuff I SHOULD eat but don't want to

I never force myself to eat things I detest, although I did try a high fibre breakfast cereal and discovered I actually liked it....

I'm big on raw veggies, and can eat red cabbage, carrots, and the like 'til the cows come home.

Have you tried chopping up some crunchy veggies with an apple/pear and seedless raisins, and mixing with a little light mayo or sour cream? Highly nutritious, and a long way from those limp lettuce leaves that make me want to wilt, never mind the salads. Sprouting beans and a few nuts liven things up a bit too.

Thanks! It makes me feel better knowing that it isn't required to eat things I don't like. Dishy Fishy - I will keep that recipe in mind.
LLV - I'm glad to finally meet someone like me. My mother and my brother eat just about all fruits and veggies, and when I talk to them about it, they just don't get it sometimes.

THanks!

I love salads, but I don't like all types of lettuce. I particularly hate the prepared "American" style lettuce mix, which contains iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots. It has an odd taste. Have you tried other varieties? There can be a huge difference in flavor and texture, so you may find one you like.

My favorite is a butterhead lettuce that has a very delicate flavor and texture, so it doesn't overpower the other ingredients. I always buy Fresh Express Riviera Salad Blend.

Hmmm...I haven't heard of that one, but I willhave to look and see if i can find it the next time i go to the store. I've tried iceberg, and the "shreds" that my brother eats, and spinach. My next foray is going to be the mixed greens that aren't necessarily lettuce. But I will definietly look for the Butterhead.

Thanks!

I agree with Dishy, don't force yourself to eat things you can't stand just because they're healthy. As I mentioned already, I don't like fruit. So I don't eat it. And like salads, for example. The only lettuce I like is iceberg, which has practically no nutritional value whatsoever, except a little fiber, vitamin A and potassium. But that's something, is it not? lol!

I don't like any other lettuce and just can't make myself eat it. Now, I LOVE baby spinach in my salads (and sometimes make my salads nothing BUT baby spinach), so I usually try and work some of that in with my lettuce. Plus I add carrots, peas, onions and other veggies, so I bump up the nutritional value of my salads by adding other stuff. But as with other salad greens, like romaine and a couple of others, I just don't like the stuff. So I'm not gonna worry about eating it. I find other ways to get the nutrients, plus I take a good multivitamin.

What ya do is make yourself a little list of the healthy foods you like and just try and find ways to incorporate them into your daily meal plans. Don't worry about the stuff you don't like, concentrate on the things you DO like

I agree...find other ways to get the nutrients you need, focus on what you *do* like and keep trying new things! You may find your tastes change.

Also, consider trying organic veggies and fruits when you can...an apple, tomato, carrot or new lettuce here...the flavor difference (when fresh) is AMAZING!

LOL about the iceburg lettuce thing! My daughter (who thankfully loves all lettuces but the bitter ones: arugula, escarole and radiccio) used to tell me "At least iceburg has fiber, right?" and I'd say "If you eat the whole HEAD you'll get 3 grams!".

lol, yeah, that's my 'downfall' of the salad world. Other than baby spinach, which I eat quite a bit of, thankfully, I just don't like any other lettuce.

Hey, there's folate, too!

Seriously though, I try and make up for the lack of nutrients by adding other stuff. Like I said, sometimes I'll add carrots, peas, onions. I also like grape tomatoes (I'm a tomato fanatic, I grow my own every year), green pepper, banana pepper, etc. I don't do the red cabbage thing, though. Don't like that stuff either.

As far as vegetables, I'll eat just about any of them except greens, turnips, parsnips, things like that. As long as they're cooked crisp-tender (nothing worse than overcooked veggies). I like them still crunchy but not raw.

My mother-in-law literally PULVERIZES her veggies. She cooks broccoli and brussel sprouts until they're mush. I hate eating her vegetables. I mean, like the broccoli is literally an olive-green color and squishes in your mouth, you'd think she got it out of a can. I like it crunchy and bright green.

Stick with the veggies and fruits that you do like. Salads do not have to be lettuce based. Just try things that you like that sound good together. Most of my fave recipes came out of combining more than recipe together that sounded good.

I make salads that are cabbage based, carrot based, apple based, celery based, broccoli based, bean based, etc. Most of my salads don't have any lettuce because it doesn't last that long in the fridge. In the winter mostly our salads consist of root veggies and/or fruit.


HTH

Sometimes I do a new 'twist' on salad when I'm bored of the same old stuff. I make sort of a Mexican-type salad. I saute red and green peppers with onions in fat-free cooking spray and some spices and throw in a couple of ounces of the Tyson ready-to-use steak or chicken strips. Then I put it, while warm, onto a bed of shredded lettuce and my dressing is 2 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream mixed with Ortega Red Chile Taco Sauce.

It's delicious!

That Mexican salad sounds fantastic!

I make a lot of salads with marinated beans and cooked grains--rinse a can of beans (black-eyed peas, garbanzos, etc.) and mix with leftover cooked grain--brown rice, bulgur, millet, barley, etc. Mix in finely chopped raw vegetables. I often use scallions and red cabbage. Use a light vinaigrette dressing.

This is very filling as a meal. Gives you complete vegetarian protein, lots of fiber, minerals, etc.

If you are new to using beans, I highly recommend it. they are cheap and tasty.

Nope, not new to beans. I like blackeyed peas, lentils, garbanzos, split peas, all that yummy stuff