I'll be the odd man out and say that I still don't really love veggies (but I like fruit even less, so maybe I am strange).
I very much dislike raw veggies but will sometimes force myself to eat a salad because it's the only on-plan restaurant option or because I need to watch my calories but am hungry.
I will eat some veggies grilled or roasted, including brussels sprouts, asparagus, zucchini, and broccoli. I dislike almost all steamed veggies unless they are drowning in butter (and then they are just a vehicle for the butter). I sometimes will eat stir-fried Asian-style veggies, which are tolerable to me.
The truth is, I don't LOVE veggies. I like some "ok." I force myself to eat more than I want to simply because I know they're good for me, they're low calorie, and they're filling.
I was even a vegetarian for about 10 years (vegan for 4). I experimented with veggies in almost every way known to man.
Don't love 'em. But I have learned to tolerate them and like a few. Sometimes that's all we can ask for.
Couldn't have said it better myself. This diet, and I'm only 4 days in, will be a HUGE struggle for me if I can't get in the vegetables, apparently. How can I make the veggies taste better?
I used to like even less veg. But the better cook I became and the more I experimented, I've grown to love so many now. Right now I have French carrots w/balsamic vinegar roasting in oven, green tomatoes ready for pan firing, and leftover quinoa/rice w/broccoli ready to be zapped. The protein is filet mignon and they're small so had to make more veg.
For lunch I was craving salad to have with my leftover slice of prosciutto/red onion pizza.
Hubs is English and hated almost all veg when he same over. Now he eats as much or more than I do. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen. We eat almost no processed got do which I think has allowed our taste buds to be "cleansed."
Couldn't have said it better myself. This diet, and I'm only 4 days in, will be a HUGE struggle for me if I can't get in the vegetables, apparently. How can I make the veggies taste better?
You can't, they're already extremely delicious. But you can learn to cook, experiment, and eat them. I promise you will start to like them.
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I'm glad someone posted to this thread. I'd like to revive it. As a child and teen, I grew up eating canned corn, peas and green beans. Never any variety and never anything fresh. They were assigned a very tiny corner on my plate.
Veggies are an acquired taste. If you are accustomed to eating a lot of sweets, they will taste very bitter to you, but I believe they are very healthy. If you make a point to have one serving of veggies at each meal and vary them from meal to meal, I believe you will eventually come to like them. When I first started eating more veggies I noticed the following improvements. 1) my nails started growing longer and stronger. 2) I have much less joint pain. 3) my cravings for sweets are almost gone. When I do eat sweets occasionally, they taste excessively sweet to me and I can only eat a very small portion.
I went through a period when each week, I went through the fresh vegetable section and bought one veggie I had never tried before. Then I googled and found a way to prepare them. I can honestly say I never found any that I disliked enough to never want to eat it again. Greens like kale and collards were the hardest. I do try to get them in at least once a week, and to make them more palatable I sprinkle them with crumbled Feta Cheese.
I have trouble eating raw veggies, other than salad or celery sticks. My body just has a hard time digesting them, but we are all different.
An easy way to start getting them is to sneak them into things... carrot zucchini muffins, zucchini cake, a lentil soup or chicken soup with lots of veggies in it, smoothies with greens... I rarely sit down and just eat vegetables by themselves. Not my thing. But bell peppers and tomatoes on my grilled cheeses or in my quesadillas? Veggies stuffed into soups? Those are my thing, so I do a lot of stuff like that.
Comment about okra. Okra is one of the "superfoods" rich in soluble fiber. Cook it in a tomato based sauce and it thickens the sauce and "loses" the slime. My lunch is usually sauteed veggies (including okra) topped with a mix of tomato sauce and, yes, plain greek yogurt. Mainly with veggies that "like" being in a tomato sauce (Not sure I would try this with beets, for example)
Also fried okra is simply nummy. But. Not a good diet choice
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GrannyNancy, I see you are in SC. Okra is a southern thang! LOL Hasn't really caught on up her in PA. I have bought frozen mixed veggies for soup that contain a bit of okra. That's about my limit, so far.
I grow them but I buy them frozen and just cook them in the microwave for a minute or two then throw in a sauce. The fresh ones in the stores are usually nasty. To me, learning about the veggies I eat really helps me embrace them. I am working on liking kale and dark leafy greens. I normally sneak them in various veggies dishes so that I get a low dose a lot of the time. Okra is truly a superfood though.
@wannabehealthy don’t feel bad for not liking raw veggies. They are actually really hard to digest and Ayurveda suggests to never eat vegetables raw. Also, many veggies have more nutrients when cooked.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
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I wanted to comment on something that happened at my house yesterday. My family was here for their Christmas visit. The coffee table was filled with snacks. Lots of cookies, candy, dips, chips, and also a big veggie tray. My 9 year old grandson approached the table and grabbed a handful of pepper strips from the veggie tray and sat down and ate them! I was so impressed at the good eating habits my son and his wife have instilled in him!! They are both healthy eaters and sweets are just a rare snack in their house.
Hey everybody!
I'm new here and this topic just jumped at me right away. I'm having great difficulties eating veggies :/ But I red some nice tips and tricks in this forum now and would like to thank everyone for the help and support)
