Can I make myself enjoy vegetables?

Factual Questions
21

I loathed most vegetables until it was pointed out to me that they don’t have to be eaten raw, plain, or boiled into submission. You can add flavorings, and then they become tasty.

Think about the other foods you like, and see if you can prepare vegetables the same way. I understand that this won’t help you much if you like a nice grilled steak, or oysters, or sushi.

Do you like stews? Try making a stew with root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, turnips), using the same seasonings as for the stew you like.

How about curry? If you like, say, a chicken curry, try making it with cauliflower instead of chicken.

You can make a mighty fine veggie pot pie by using any good chicken pot pie recipe without the chicken.

22

I don’t hate them, but I’m not fond of them. I would eat bread and red meat three times a day if I could.

So…

I rarely eat vegetable cooked. I eat the kind that are tasty raw.

I also eat a lot of salads…and light on the lettuce. I use a lot of cukes, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, and some romaine. A great dressing is balsamic vinegar and olive oil. And it’s great with a diced up chicken breast in it.

23

If you get to the point of enjoying them any old way, you are past the majority of people. Microwaved brocolli is inedible. An alternative is to steam the vegetables. Get a big pot with a steaming sleeve inside. It takes a few minutes to get a couple cups of water to boil on the stove, and from there it cooks as fast as the microwave. You or the kids (depending on age) can set the water to boil and cut up the brocolli. Friends don’t let friends eat microwaved broccoli.

24

Get a vegetable steamer, and try steaming various veggies. Preferably fresh, but even frozen vegetables come out halfway decent with a steamer. Steaming really brings out the flavor in most vegetables.

25

The only two veggies I’m not fond of are brussel sprouts and carrots. There is nothing I’ve found yet to render the sprouts edible but one thing I do to make cooked carrots palatable is cooking them with a touch of cinnamon. Sometims I dash a little ginger on them too.

It takes that odd “carroty” flavor out and tricks my palate into thinking I’m eating a sweet potato.

Meh, just a suggestion.

26

For me, getting to like veggies was much like getting used to skim milk after so many years of loving whole. I first encountered them in Chinese carryout where they are spicy and crunchy, swimming in some kind of tasty sauce. That helped make them yummy. Raw broccoli and cauliflower were made enjoyable by dipping in salad dressing. Then when I grew up and realized I wanted to cut calories, I went to lowfat dressings. Then finally graduated to enjoying them naked, steamed for a few minutes perhaps with a little not-butter, salt & pepper.

27

I second Chinese cooking. It’s very easy to like and generally not overcooked. I usually get something like broccoli with garlic sauce, which overcomes the bitter taste of broccoli (though I like that too) with a sweet, spicy sauce. Some mixed vegetable dishes can be OK, but most inexpensive Chinese has too much of that dreadful canned bamboo.

If you’re really needed frozen vegetables, try a different mix. I prefer the vegetable blends (especially the Archer Farms ones from Target) that have a lot of different vegetables including things that add more flavor like onions. They have steam-in-bag ones for the microwave. I use margarine spray with that for a quick dinner along with some gardenburgers or something. Mushy perhaps, but not bland.

Also, I don’t see salads being a lot more work. You can get pre-bagged ones; verge away from iceberg, which isn’t very nutritious, to romaine, spinach, and mixed green salads. You can even get some salad blends that have just a little bit of broccoli or other vegetables mixed in. Just remember to not get a fatty dressing (Newman’s Own has some nice lowfat dressings).

On the raw vegetables side, I love sugar snap peas. I bought a 3 pound bag and ate them all this week sitting at my desk at work. You can eat them plain, or they work really well with the Newman’s Own low-fat sesame dressing. They’re not bitter, which is a plus if you dislike broccoli and brussels sprouts.

On the more complicated side, I like things like butternut squash soup, stews made with acorn squash, garbanzo beans, and Moroccan spices, or Indian okra curries.

Don’t try to force yourself to eat something you hate. Try to find other vegetables or other preparations. Once you acclimate to, say, okra and sugar snap peas, it’ll be easier to get in with veggies in general. You may always have some that you dislike, but I found that after abandoning brussels sprouts for many years as inedible, I tried them once on a whim and found I suddenly liked them. Your tastes do change over time, but don’t force yourself to make bad associations.

28

I will also agree with chineese veggies, and will add indian cooking. If you like curry, try these:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_25740,00.html

How about beets? I’m not talking those nasty things in a can/bottle, I mean fresh beets.

Try this:
Buy a bundle (usually 3-4) beets; using gloves if you have them, cut off all of the leafy/stem part, and the root end.
With a kitchen scrubby, clean the remaining orb. (It will still be brown - don’t skin it yet.)
Steam the beats for ~20-30 minutes, or until a paring knife will pierce to the center with only a little resistance.
Remove the beets, drain the liquid from the pan, clean said pan, and put it back on the burner.
While you’re letting the beets cool a bit, add 2 tbsp of butter, 2tbs of orange juice, 2tbs of ginger ale, 2tbs of maple syrup (or brown sugar), and a pinch of salt.
Cook this on medium heat while you prep the beets.
To prep the beets (again, gloves if you have them), use a veggie peeler and remove the brown skin.*
Slice the beets ~3/8 inch thick.
Add to now combined sauce. Toss around for a bit. If you can leave it sit, the sauce will get better.
Put beets on plate; put fork in beets; put beets in mouth; enjoy!
*Beet juice: yes, it will stain. You can remove said stain with a little bit of acid - like with lemon juice or vinagar.
The one icky part of beets:

To put it delicately: You will notice discoloration the next day when the beets have made their progress through your gi track. It’s normal, but it can freak people out (like my housemates who hadn’t had real beets before. :eek: They loved the beets, tho! :smiley:

29

Well, it’ll depend.

I never liked veggies as a kid. And then I discovered something: it wasn’t the veggies, I just didn’t like canned or frozen veggies (with the sole exception of canned corn). Give me a plate of raw green beans and I’m happy. Give me a plate with fresh beans that had been steamed and I’ll chow down. Canned: I’ll be able to keep it down, but I won’t enjoy it.

Here’s an example. I was always under the impression that I hated spinach. Because the only times I had encountered it was canned (which I still believe is a vile abomination). Then I had a really good salad, and found out that the little leaf looking things in it weren’t lettuce, they were spinach. Then I discovered garlic sauteed spinach: MMMMmmmm!

I’d say the best place to start would be the produce section, not the canned / frozen foods aisle. Some veggies can be eaten raw by themselves, some in a salad, some with some simple steaming or sauteeing. Move the veggies from being a side dish into the main course, like a soup or stew. Try different veggies (and different preparations) to see what appeals to your tastes. Check out recipe sites on the internet for ideas.

Veggies: they’re not just for torturing children anymore! :slight_smile:

30

Have you considered roasting vegetables? This cooking method brings out the natural sugars and does wonderful things for onions, green beans, zucchini, etc. Pick out an assortment of veggies, scrub the skins, chop into bite-size pieces. Toss with about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oit and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put vegetables in roasting pan and place in preheated 500° oven. Open the oven door and toss veggies about every 10 minutes. When you can slide a small knife into most pieces of vegetables with little to no resistance and you can see browning on the surface of the vegetables, they’re done. You might not even need any extra sauce, but if you do, try a balsamic vinegraitte(sp). Hope this helps.

31

Not really-that cheese has calcium in it, doesn’t it? Cheese, when eaten in moderation, is just fine.

My dad grills onions and mushrooms, which are quite tasty. Chopped onions add zest to a salad or sandwhich. And chick peas! Oh, do I loves myself some chick peas! Raw in a salad, or in hummus-mmmmmm!

32

Quoth even sven:

Correction: Proper lettuce is just fine (though still not as nutritious as, say, cabbage or spinach). Iceberg lettuce, however, is water, but with less flavor. Unfortunately, iceberg is by far the most common in the US, but one can sometimes find a good Romaine or endive.

Also, I’ve heard that it’s possible to get microwaved veggies to come out just fine, but you’ll have to do a fair bit of experimenting with different times and power settings for your particular microwave. Myself, I usually just steam them.

33

Sorry if this is a repeat of anything…

Try cooking the stinky ones (broccoli, cauliflower) in a mixture of beef or chicken broth and water. It will cut down on the smell and give them more flavor.

I douse Brussels sprouts and just about anything with soy sauce and/or cumin.

Season them, flavor them, spice them up.