[kklowes]

Hi, I am new to this page. I have decided to finally lose the weight from having my kids. My problem is I don't like: vegetables except broccoli, corn and peas (which aren't the best for you), the only fruit I like is bananas (again not the best). I can only tolerate meat once in a while (only ground beef and chicken). My major problem is I am a sugar craver because I don't like anything else. I really need suggestions. Thank you

[IanG]

Well, you have some pretty good foods in there to get you going. Broccoli and peas are great. So is chicken. And bananas are not bad.

It's the processed sugar you should try to cut whether that is in candy, soft drinks, granulated added to tea or coffee, in biscuits, cakes etc. Try to cut that out slowly.

I have had some success replacing sugar with honey but you can't go crazy with that either. I also enjoy dried fruits like figs and Turkish apricots which are sweet but high in dietary fiber. And I adore balsamic vinegar. Which is good for you and sweet.

Good luck. Kill the sugar, one step at a time.

[seaurchin]

I found that I wasn't much of a veggie eater before I was diagnosed with gallstones. Now that have to watch what I eat, I'm more vegetarian than ever. I usually eat chicken twice a week. The thing is to try new veggie recipes or add 'hidden' veggies in dishes. For example, i do a fruit smoothie every morning with 2 cups of baby spinach. Raw baby spinach has a mild flavor so the fruits usually hide any 'veggie' taste. I love unsweetened almond milk, frozen banana, handful of blue berries, a few chunks of pineapple and four or five strawberries. Pinterest has a lot of veggie recipes. Try roasting with olive oil and lemon or adding low fat cheese. Once you stat eating more veggie, your taste buds will start changing. Avoid added sugars as it creates more sugar cravings and use natural sweeteners if you need to. I also do lettuce wrapped chicken burgers with romaine lettuce, onion, tomato, spinach and avoid bread.

[LesMillsLuvr]

I recently discovered spaghetti squash. I know, I know...squash, but its got a nice mild taste and I'm thrilled to find it takes the place of pasta fantastically so I can still eat "spaghetti". It's pretty inexpensive and easy to cook too, which are both positives in my book. If you're willing to try it, you just cut the squash in half lengthwise (its a tough cut but it'll split lol), scoop out the seeds like you would when carving a pumpkin, preheat the oven to 450, spray a baking sheet lightly with cooking spray, put the halves cut side down on the sheet and pop it in the oven to bake for about 30 minutes or until a sharp knife easily pierces the rind/skin. Use a fork to take the flesh out after they're cooked and it comes out looking like noodles It's kinda cool LOL

But yeah, it might be worth considering if it adds a veggie to your arsenal

[Big Fat Rooster]

I hate plain tasting veggies Yup. Hate them. Ate in an English restaurant... (40 years ago) and ordered a steak which came with some veggies. Paid 90 bucks for wife and self. My own wife no less! Yup. I did

Anywayyyyyyyyyyyy.......... I should have gone to McDonald's, which I hate but for some insane reason my kids loved. It would have been much better and much less expensive. The steak was not all that good at all, and the veggies (green peas, cubed carrots and something other just as bad) which had been boiled with no seasoning, or if it was they got the juice from sawdust for it .

No, I do not like plain veggies. But I do eat a lot of veggies now, and the last 3 months almost all veggies. And they are tasty, nutritious, contain all the nutrients I need and most important of all, are DELICIOUS. OK, so I repeated myself

I am fortunate being as I do not really care much for sweet thangs at all (unless they are between 18 and 24 in miniskirts) so sugar is no problem for me. But I do love fruits which contain sugar, but a much healthier form than refined sugars. Except I seldom eat bananas because they do contain way too much sugar/calories and it is money that can be used on other fruits. And as much as possible I only eat fresh fruits. I will list some in my order of preference. Mango, strawberries, yellow cling peaches, plums, kiwi fruit, pomegranates, pineapple, blackberries, clementines, tangelos, grapefruit, oranges, apples and pears. Some others to a lessor degree. I sometimes cut up some different ones of them and place them in baggies of the size I want to eat. And of course eat a bowl then I usually put Tejin powder (chili with lime and salt) on them or other similar types plus often some Cholula or other hot sauce on them such as Tapatio or Tobbasco for increased flavor. That probably sounds weird to many people, but if you like spicy foods to a degree, try it. You will be surprised!

As for the other veggies I eat, as long as I can make them tasty anything goes. I usually fix them in different mixtures, usually a Mexican/Cajun type stuff being as I love spicy foods. Here is one of my favorites: Okra sliced cross ways, (out of season now, my last was just killed yesterday by frost but can be bought in the frozen foods dept of your grocery store) a few jalapenos sliced small either crosswise s or long ways and tossed in a hot skillet with some (not much) cooking oil (I use olive oil) cook as you like... I usually take them out when they start browning, but can be cooked longer or just until they soften up..... Cooks choice. Then I toss in sliced tomatoes, (green if I have them and some ripe ones, plus sometimes... OK, make that often, cubed (more or less) squash, whether summer or winter squash.) In another pan or skillet I cook a chopped onion (chives may be tossed in at this point also) and usually I add some sliced mushrooms when the onions are about done. This is added to the tomatoes/mushroom/squash/okra mix, squeeze the juice from one lime or part thereof; then I add spices, such as cumin, coriander, oregano, thyme and garlic, or others as one may like. On this whole thing I never measure and leave this or that out, mix and match as I have or want. I got this recipe like I get most all of mine... cooking what I like and think go together and the way I want with the spices I like. Please do the same, that is why no measurements are given. This may be served as is or over a bed of brown (or white) rice, or pasta (your choice) and........... spaghetti squash Yes, I like that stuff to...whether used as a spaghetti or pasta replacement or just with butter or other flavorings on it. Squash has 1/5 the calories as pasta does, plus it has fiber. I use what I want in a meal... a cup of this is like 60 calories. Different meats can be chopped and used in it or served as a side dish.... Roll your own.

I usually make a lot of this at one time being as I don't want to be standing over the stove all that much. I place some in the frig in a baggie (use whatever you want) and place some serving sized portions in baggies and freeze. I also cook brown rice and a spaghetti squash and put them in the frig or freezer also and grab out what I want for a meal, fast food home style But low calorie, tasty and healthy.

One of my favorite snacks is a cucumber sliced long ways then sliced into about 1/2 inch slices cross ways. Sometimes by it self, sometimes with summer squash sliced the same way, sliced mushrooms, and tomato. Any mixture of this works and the balance can be saved for another snack. Or you can just turn that into a salad, but I use.... Yeah... You guessed it... Tejin powder and Tapatio or Cholula sauce on it Tastes GREAT ... to me. Calories for a large bowl... about 20. Small bowl 12-15. Really takes care of appetite for a few hours.... usually. Of course you can use whatever salad dressing you might like instead, but the calories go WAY up!!

BTW... you mentioned that corn is not good for you... Did you know that corn contains complete protein along with fiber?

My favorite snack (but sometimes is dinner) is popcorn. Un-popped popcorn is 74 calories per oz. Three oz make a half gallon. About half of.. or a tad more tsp (not tbs) of olive oil to cook it in, or it can be microwaved or air popped for even less calories. And once again.... My favorite seasoning is Tejin powder along with juice from half a lime and Tapatio or Choulula sauce sprinkled on it and mixed. For half a gallon of popcorn, including the oil and sauce... 250 calories. Of course you can use whatever flavorings you like instead, but check the calories.

One of my hardest things to resolve was something to drink besides water. I use water with some lime or lemon in it, that helps. Or plain water. I tried jamaica, tamarinda and other drinks but they require way too much sugar for me, and without sugar they are not that good. I love iced tea but do not make it because it stains the teeth so badly if drank often.

I drink hot coffee in the mornings with creamer, no sweeteners. From then on it is water or iced coffee. And I do love iced coffee... took me 70 years to try it and I am really glad I did!

As for sugar, hard as it may seem, break yourself off of it. Quit buying sweets. But if you have kids... Which I don't anymore, that may be a diff story. Or is it? My mother did not allow us to have sweets hardly at all. Maybe 4 sodas a year. Candy.... Hardly ever. Sugar was used for our cereals though. So one can live very well either without or few sweets. It did not hurt the 12 in my family.

I seldom buy candy and when I do it is hard candies such as .... LOL Coffee flavored caramels, of which I usually feed over half the bag to my dogs (a piece at a time) .... They love it

Now, this is just me and my solution to this. I have other recipes but the former is my favorite.

I do hope you can use some of that, and maybe some others can also.

Good luck with it


B F R

[TheLastStraw323]

My life was never the same once I started baking roasted carrots, roasted cabbage and roasted cauliflower. I used garlic powder and onion powder (NOT garlic salt or onion salt, very important!).

I was never really a veggie person, then my whole world opened up.

My next experiment will be roasted beets. They are supposed to be delicious!

[Mrs Snark]

TheLastStraw: Roasted brussels sprouts -- the BOMB! If you like roasted cabbage you will love these little babies!

[faiora]

Do you like eggs? Eggs have lots of protein; they're great.
How about meat in other forms, like premade hamburger patties (check ingredients for bread crumbs and stuff, they can be sneaky)?
Have you looked into sugar replacements, or are you okay with them? Stevia is supposed to be pretty good I think. Personally I'm not into sugar replacers but they work well for lots of people, I hear.

I think broccoli/peas/bananas are awesome. Corn is a bit less good in my books, but not so bad I'd take it off the table. It's still better than the stuff that's made from it (corn syrup, HFCS).

I'm not a fussy eater, but I'm really lazy about food. So for me convenience is of the utmost importance. I buy prechopped veggies (and premade hummus to dip them in), frozen chicken breast fillets (they fry up super fast and taste good dipped in hummus and other stuff), and pretty much everything I can find that's healthy and easy.

There are lots of ways to make healthier versions of fast foods at home, if you were a fast food junkie. I guess chicken breast fillets are kind of my version of that. I measure out my dipping sauce (usually hummus, but sometimes mayonnaise or mustard) and dip away. For hamburgers I usually just put the patty on a single piece of bread with toppings, instead of getting burger buns. I could spare the calories for a bun I guess, but I'm more likely to have bread in the freezer. :P

[Skinnyminnie Wannabe]

Originally Posted by kklowes

Hi, I am new to this page. I have decided to finally lose the weight from having my kids. My problem is I don't like: vegetables except broccoli, corn and peas (which aren't the best for you), the only fruit I like is bananas (again not the best). I can only tolerate meat once in a while (only ground beef and chicken). My major problem is I am a sugar craver because I don't like anything else. I really need suggestions. Thank you

The first step is to define the problem. Are you a generally "picky" eater, like me, or just not sure how to expand your vegetable repertoire? Are textures, tastes, or smells an issue? I certainly understand the difficulty of falling back on non-nutritious foods when there is a limited variety of what you feel okay about eating.

I've had some success at times in my life expanding and adding even vegetables when I can either hide them within other tastes and textures or when they are prepared a certain way. Things that have worked for me:

• The "Sneaky Chef" books by Missy Lapine or the "Deceptively Delicious" ones by Jessica Seinfeld - geared toward moms of picky kids, but hey, if it works . . .
• Fruit smoothies with some vegetable juices/purees incorporated - but I love fruits so don't know if this would work for you.
• Chinese food - the only drawback is that sometimes I balance the vegetables with the rice, noodles, etc. but it least it gets some vegetables down my gullet painlessly!
• With meats, eating minimal amounts and slowly - I have had IBS flareups and some restaurants' meats I can't eat without getting sick. Or sometimes just any meat feels "heavy" or overbearing in its smell. Best then to just eat other protein sources until I'm in the mood for meat.
• Figuring out which mode appeals to me best with a given vegetable. Some I want cooked (never overcooked, though! nasty!) and others I definitely prefer raw Some I want salted, others not salted. Etc.

Regarding sugar - and sweeteners - I don't think things involving chemical modification of molecules, such as aspartame and sucralose are really good for us, and I wish the diet industry would stop pushing them. That's just my personal gripe.

Stevia works in some things; other things to me it tastes weird in.

I have just done a behavior modification approach to limiting sugars, starting with the more blatant offenders. I know, some people say sugar is addictive and for some maybe it's better to eliminate, even go cold turkey - if it works for you. I'm not that hardcore. And the brain needs glucose to run on - though we want to avoid the spikes and crashes or just an overall excess.

What I did was give up soda and drink plain tea instead. I read labels and don't buy products with High Fructose Corn Syrup. Note that the manufacturers are getting sneaky and putting in other sugars - some labels mention different sugars 4 or 5 times in the ingredients. It's worth Googling about sugars - the different kinds and their names ending in "-ose" - and how to detect them so you can control how much you're getting according to how it fits in with your chosen method of dieting. With my IBS I particularly have to watch for "sugar alcohols" - whose names end in "-tol," as they can wreak havoc with my stomach and intestines.

[mchler]

Thanks everybody for the great tips and motivational stories. I am going to the supermarket, veggies here I come haha

[Simonny9]

We with the monitoring team of employee monitoring decided to eat only healthy food at lunch and in small quantities, and this is very motivating when there is a support group)

[quanblacck]

recioess ?