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