Please help me eat my veggies!!

Kimia

Hi all,

Trying VERY hard to eat more veg every day. I have to confess I'm not great. I don't even like fruit all that much but I force myself to eat grapes/bananas/apples etc.

Do you have any tips on how to make veggies more palatable to the likes of me? For example, I can stomach some roasted garlic carrots/parsnips (only barely).

I know it's awful, but I'm trying really hard to get over it and start eating more. Any suggestions/recipes would be a great help. Thanks.

EileenG

There is a trend towards eating veggies in splendid isolation, lightly steamed and still chewy. Fine if you love them, horrible if you don't. But it doesn't have to be like that.

Broccoli is still broccoli even if it's baked with a tomato sauce and a cheese topping. Cauliflower and cheese is a classic. Add some lardons and cherry tomatoes, and you've got a full meal. Spinach cooked with olive oil and a pile of garlic, and topped with a poached egg, is the epitome of French cuisine.

For ideas, take a look at the vegetable dish section of M&S. See what they do to their vegetables, how them combine them, and what spices they use. Then improvise.

Melia

Do you cook much?

Try making vegetable soup, tomato-based sauces with lots of veg blended in (onion, celery, carrot, peppers...), curry with loads of veg (chunky or blended).

bungaro79

i got a juicer kimia as i'm not a big veg eater and now every morning i've a lovely juice made of about 2/3 veg and 3/4 fruit! tastes lovely and gets lots of nutriants into you

eamon234

Stir Fry is your job some nice spices or sauce with it. I'm not a big fan of veg but I'll eat anything in a stir fry!

rubadub

Melia wrote: »

curry with loads of veg (chunky or blended).

Yep a hot curry will mask most tastes easily.

Kimia

Hi all - thank you so much for the ideas! I should say that I do like raw veggies but I still want to see how i can incorporate cooked veg into my diet.

Eileen - that's a brilliant idea. Will do - i love M&S, and I'm sure i will get some good ideas there. I like the idea of cauliflower cheese but i want to keep it healthy!

Melia - I LOVE cooking and cook all the time. I make a lot of soup - right now that's the only way I'm getting veggies into me! - but because it's getting a little warmer i was looking for alternative ways.

Bungaro - would a standard blender work for fruit/veg smoothies? Do you have any recipes of what goes nice together?

Eamon & Rubadub - Yes love the idea of curries.

Because I don't eat much veg I don't really know the different textures/flavours but I can tell you what I really don't like and what I do like and maybe you could suggest some similar veg and some recipes that would work well?

Like: carrots (raw only), turnip (raw only), cooked - leeks, onions, spring onions, shallots (anything in the onion family YUM), i'm investigating spinach and it's not bad so far..

Don't like: tomatos (really really don't like tomatoes), brussel sprouts, lettuce, brocolli, parsnip. That's all I've tried.

Any suggestions?

BostonB

With kids mixing things is how you do it. Either blended or mashed, or shredded if raw.

Rowley Birkin QC

Stir fry is your best bet tbh. I've been craving broccoli something fierce lately, can't beat it stir fried with some garlic and white pepper. Works for me as a midday snack or as part of a bigger meal but it's incredibly moreish!

dominiquecruz

I used to hate vegetables; right up until I was about 15 I was the fussiest eater in the world. I was living on a diet of gluey, refined carbs, an excess of dairy and the occasional piece of fruit. No joke, I used to gag when eating anything green and if I was in a situation where I had to eat veg (someone elses house etc) I would swallow them whole with glasses of water, shuddering with every gulp.

However, that all became very boring very fast - when I was out with friends I realised how much I was limiting myself by avoiding good, wholesome veg. OP, there are vegetables there you will learn to love; you have to be open-minded. Just try everything. Salad vegetables are pretty accessible I think, and never too strong in taste or texture. Leafy greens are fantastic for you, and often dont taste much of anything. Is it more of a psychological block do you think?

Just to add, the only thing I wont eat now are olives, but I'm working on that. And meat, but thats another story...

Kimia

Thanks Dominique! Sounds great - that's what i'm hoping for anyway.

Do you have any veg suggestions or recipes?

hatethisfeeling

this might seem like a silly q, and I dont mean to hijack the thread but how exactly would I go about stir frying broccoli?What oil, how long etc?I love brocolli and garlic so this seems like a match made in heaven!:)

EileenG

Olive oil is good, as long as you don't overdo it. Mince the garlic, chuck into a fairly hot pan. Chop or slice the broccoli thin, then chuck into the pan. Stir them round until they are done. Cooking time depends on the size of the bits of broccoli.

bungaro79

kimia i wouldn't blend veg at all, i bought a philips juicer off amazon (philips hr1861 40% off now) and at first i was cautious enough that i'd hate the veg & fruit juices but i couldn't have been more wrong! i got a juice book with it and it gave some good juices but half the fun is experimenting with different juices. something as simple as carrot and apples is delicious! today i made broccoli, carrots, apples, cherry and blueberry juice, was amazing!

ash2008

Do you like mushrooms? Those big portobello mushrooms make a great alternative to meat burgers. Or if you dont want to miss out on the meat when having burgers, theyre nice grilled with a bit of salt, pepper, finely chopped garlic and a bit of melted cheese.

Avocado's are delicious - i could eat them all the time. Really tasty in salads or just on theyre own with a little bit of soy sauce drizzled over.

Roasting veg makes them taste great - i love courgettes roasted

Asparagus with a bit of dressing (for dressing - 3 tbps olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp dijon mustard, salt and pepper and mix well)

Aubergine - google for an aubergine parmigiana recipe

have you tried sweet potatoes or butternut squash - you can make them into oven chips, pretty nice alternative to regular chips.

i throw frozen peas into most dishes likes currys or tomato based dishes. You cant really taste them.