I do... I cannot eat raw vegetables. I can eat them when they're cooked. Well some of them. I wish I could make myself eat a salad lol! Anyone else a vegetable hater? And if so... how do you prepare your veggies?
i dont really like them, but i notice after i eat them im not hungry, so force yourself to eat some with your meals... after awhile u may began to enjoy it a lil more...
I was a veggie hater myself..... I forced myself and now I've really come to appreciate them. I dont' think I'll ever WANT them over other foods, but at the same time if I don't eat them my body kinda starts craving them because of how good and healthy they make me feel.
I'm not much of a salad lover either. You don't have to like salads. However, if you want to get proper nutrition and have a better time of staying on your plan, you do have to change your eating habits--and that means broadening your vegetable horizons.
If you don't like vegetables raw, then by all means, cook them! If you only like a few, try some that you haven't yet tried; you don't know yet whether you like them or not. And some that you dislike cooked in one way, you may enjoy tried in another way. For example, I won't touch a boiled Brussels sprout, but I'll happily eat a bowl of roasted ones.
I'd really encourage you to make a good, solid try to enjoy some more vegetables than you currently do. It isn't just about losing weight, it's about health. And trust me, it's great to be able to go into any restaurant and order any dish without having to scan and say to yourself, "Nope, that has peppers...nope, that has zucchini...nope, that has spinach...guess I'll eat macaroni and cheese."
It's incredibly worth making the efforts to update your tastes the same way you updated your wardrobe when you graduated high school or got a new job. This is your new life--so you'll need some new taste buds to go with it.
As for how I prepare my vegetables, I love roasting just about anything. I also like frozen vegetables that can easily get heated up with a little stock and fresh garlic. Steaming works well for some things. I also cook them into a TON of other foods--curries, stir fry, omelets. I grate them and add the bits to things like meat loaf to add bulk and nutrition without adding a lot of calories. I puree them and add them to sauces for the same reason.
There's nothing NOT to like about vegetables; you've just got to get used to cooking with them in ways that aren't the typical "open can, heat can" way that a lot of people grew up with (I grew up that way myself which is why I used to say I didn't like vegetables ).
I can eat carrots, celery, broccoli, green beans, corn, sweet peas, spinach and tomatoes when they're soft.. like in a soup. I don't like the texture of raw veggies.
My boyfriend hates veggies too and it drives me nuts!! I make a puree of veggies and mix them into sauces, lasagne etc. I also started roasting veggies lately and he loves it!! He said they take on a different texture, aroma and taste so maybe try that. I roast cauliflower, peppers, kale, brussel sprouts and a few other kinds. Also grilling makes them taste amazing too. Nothing better than a grilled red pepper..... delish!!! Give that a try maybe??? Good luck!!
I can eat carrots, celery, broccoli, green beans, corn, sweet peas, spinach and tomatoes when they're soft.. like in a soup. I don't like the texture of raw veggies.
Soup is a fantastic option.
Don't feel that you need to eat vegetables raw in a salad; it's totally fine to cook them up however you please. I like mine cooked in a lovely spicy curry or tasty stir fry WAY more than I like them in a salad (although I do eat salad sometimes as well). I heartily recommend you try roasting vegetables; they come out tasting very different than they taste when cooked in liquid or steamed.
How do you feel about putting greens on/in wraps? Those are raw, but the texture and taste may be more appealing to you when they're just a component in another food.
ditto curries and stir fry. i could eat those for most every meal lol. EVERYTHING tastes better covered in curry, including veggies. and agreed on the roasting. i hate hate hate homemade canned green beans i ate as a kid. so bland and just yuck. but roasted they are great, almost like green french fries and you can make them as crispy or soft as you like.
winter squashes and sweet potatoes are also great roasted, easiest dish ever. just bake it in the oven. and it's soft and creamy.
Last edited by katy trail; 03-09-2011 at 02:40 PM.
When I met my husband was a lot pickier about vegetables than he is now (oddly the veggies he did like tended to be ones I find a bit bitter - like raw broccoli). My "trick" to get him to eat more veggies, was to make them (initially) in rather unhealthy ways, and then cut back on the unhealthy ingredients with each preparation.
For example, serving raw veggies with a very rich ranch drip, and slowly cutting the fat in the dip. Or roasting them with liberal amounts of oil and ranch dressing powder, and then cutting back on the oil.
I expected his weight to maybe go up before it started going down, but the opposite happened. Even with the added fat in the vegetables, he started losing weight (not rapidly at first, but he had no interest in dieting at the time, so anything was progress). I suspect the vegetables were filling him up longer, so he was eating less of his favorite high-carb snacks.
I love cooked and raw vegetables, but I have to admit that I'm still not a fan of completely naked vegetables, especially raw, naked vegetables. With raw veggies, I want a dip that has some fat in it. It doesn't have to be a calorie nightmare, and I don't have to drown the poor veggies in pure mayo, but I just don't enjoy raw, naked veggies. I mix full-fat mayo or Hellman's canola oil mayo (the first has 100 calories per tablespoon, and the second has 50 calories per tablespoon but doesn't taste "diet"), with low-fat or full-fat sour cream (usually if I use full-fat mayo, I use reduced-fat sour cream, and if I use reduced-fat mayo, I use full-fat sour cream). I add seasonings or powdered salad dressing mix (usually ranch) and then often add skim milk or water to thin the dip, so that the consistency is somewhere between dip and salad dressing.
Another great option is to cook or roast your veggies, let them cool down and than make a salad with them. I love to do that with broccoli or mushrooms and I also add other ingredients that I like eating raw (for example tomatoes or lamb's lettuce).
I cannot STAND raw veggies, they make me gag, its a texture thing, I am glad I am not alone! I just steam mine, still leaving them a bit crisp but taking that crunch out of them helps me eat them. Start using some spices, it helps a lot too, or stirfrys, baked etc. Trust me, the more you eat them, the more you will want them! The weeks I eat more veggies, I lose more weight, no lie.