I Hate Vegetables

Okay, so I don't hate ALL vegetables...I like baby carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, iceberg lettuce, corn and tomatoes (I know, tomatoes are fruits, but I thought I would mention them). Basically, all the ones that aren't exactly the best for you on a diet. What can I do? We are supposed to get I don't know how many servings of them a day and they are so nutritious. But I just can't force myself to eat them! All the green ones especially. Interesting to note that my parents NEVER made me eat them, and in fact, my father hates them too, which is why my mother never even made them. 

You can put a few handfuls of spinach in a smoothie. You can't tase it at all.

Ahh, good idea. Hmm, I didn't think of spinach, I like spinach dip (obviously not the healthiest way to eat it) so I guess I don't hate it. Thanks!

Maybe you can slowly increase the bulk of veggies in your recipes to get your tastes accustomed to it.  For example, in a recipe that calls for 1 cup of spinach, put in 1.25 cup for a while, and keep adding more and more slowly.  Then it gives your taste buds time to adjust.

I think there is a cookbook designed for mothers who want to sneak vegetables into their kids diets -- maybe that would help you find ways to get used to more vegetables?

I love almost all vegetables, so can't really offer too much advice, but something I do to use up excess vegetables from the garden is to sneak them into dishes where the don't really "belong".  I mean, I love zucchini, but when they are in full production I put them everywhere I can like pureed zucchini soup, minestrone, spaghetti sauce, fritatta, omelettes, meatloaf, you name it.  Things where they aren't the star of the dish, more like a low calorie nutritious filler.

I hate most vegetables, too.  Most of them make me physically gag.  Very embarrassing.  I do like salad vegetables, i.e., tomatoes, celery, iceberg lettuce, jicama, cucumbers.  My solution is to drink at least one glass of V-8 low sodium vegetable juice each day.  My mom DID make us eat our vegetables when we were growing up.  She was/is a terrific cook, but even she couldn't make them palatable for me. 

Thanks guys! I think I will look up this book and try sneaking them into my food. Through unnamed sources  I can probably download it tonight. I have tried the V8 thing, but sadly, I also hate V8. I like regular tomato juice though, but I guess I could just eat more tomatoes, I like those. 

Search the forums for "hate vegetables", you'll find lots of ideas in older threads on the topic.

Since you like tomatos, you probably like tomato sauce.  You can put a LOT of pureed vegetables into tomato sauce - zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, etc.  I think a lot of people dislike the texture of vegetables, not the taste, so this can work well. Then, just use the tomato sauce as normal (on pasta, fish, meat, etc.).

Since you're okay with spinach, you could try sauteeing spinach in a little bit of olive oil or butter with some garlic. Even if you just eat a little portion, you'll start getting your taste buds accustomed to eating more veggies.

Have you had vegetables prepared really well? A lot of people don't like raw or boiled veggies, but roasted vegetables (with olive oil & salt), or a good stir-fry (with sauce) can be different. This might not be true for you - or might not be true yet - but might be worth a try. I would especially recommend butternut squash roasted at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes with a tiny bit of olive oil & a little bit of salt.  If you like it, try doing the same with cauliflower - it's not sweet, but it gets a bit caramelized & crunchy in a good way with this treatment.

If you like baby carrots, try dipping them in hummus. I dip pretty much every raw vegetable in roasted red pepper hummus and I just can't get enough veggies!

Try roasting vegetables.  You can roast almost anything (not leafy greens,of course) and it really brings out the flavor and sweetness of the veggies.  I use a little olive oil and kosher salt and pepper, in 400 oven for about 30 minutes.  My favorite is cauliflower. 

Original Post by ascatt:

Try roasting vegetables.  You can roast almost anything (not leafy greens,of course) and it really brings out the flavor and sweetness of the veggies.  I use a little olive oil and kosher salt and pepper, in 400 oven for about 30 minutes.  My favorite is cauliflower. 

 Actually, you can roast kale leaves on low heat until they are crispy like potato chips.  Trim the thickest stems and veins and toss the leaves in a large bowl with about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast at 350 F for about 8 to 10 minutes. Check for crispness and roast more if they are not perfectly crisp.

A few recipes from the browser, all about the same but you get the idea.

http://caloriecount.about.com/roasted-kale-re cipe-r144463

http://caloriecount.about.com/roasted-kale-re cipe-r144497

http://caloriecount.about.com/roasted-kale-re cipe-r251650

I used to put brocolli and cauliflower in the food processor, pulse them to a paste and then add them to meatloaf. My kids LOVED it.

We also make something we call "cauliflower popcorn"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnybsG1THyA

We also do brussel sprouts this way. Of course, that'll stink up your whole house unbelievably.

I drink a smoothie every morning. I use 2 cups of broccoli or cauliflower (frozen) and 2 cups of fruit.  Strawberries, blackberries, pineapple, basically any fruit you like. I add 3 packs of Truvia (any artificial sweetener will do)  and about 28-32 oz of water and blend. You really do not taste the vegetables. You start your day off with a good amount of water and you have gotten in 2 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit. It's really an easy way to start your day off with something healthy.

If you like potatoes, you can also use Cauliflower to "cut" the potatoes in mashed potatoes. It drops the calories, adds the benefit of the cauliflower, without changing the texture or taste of the potatoes!

I know how you feel I loath peppers, onions and uncooked tomato. My hatred of onions borders on an irrational fear. That being said, I would try to keep an open mind. There are a lot of vegetables that I didn't like when I was younger that I LOVE now (like asparagus, sweet potatoes, artichokes, Kale). So don't give up! I would suggest trying something new once a week. Spinach is the best though. WAY better than iceberg in a salad. Also always buy fresh for your first time. My family always used canned vegetables and they can taste very different from the fresh variety. Good luck!

I have the same problem.  Try roasting kale in the oven with sea salt and a bit of cayenne pepper.  They come out like potato chips.  Also cayenne pepper helps me get veggies down.  Its healthy for you and it just burns the taste out.

Well. I can honestly say that I love my veggitibles, V8 fusion is great it tastes like fruit juice and its a full serving of veggi's.

Make tomato based soup.  With chicken broth and tomato you can add veggies and hardly know they are there.  The broth absorbs a lot of the nutrients and you are well on your way.  Start with broth, tomatoes and add 1/2 a package of frozen mixed veggies and a little chili powder.  It makes  a great soup.  Try adding some chopped celery for a crunch.  Later incorporate chopped cabbage, a carrot, chopped spinach.  Just keep the base of tomato and chicken broth rich tasting and you'll soon love soup.  I even eat it cold in the summer time.

Try V8 V-fusion, it has 1 serving of fruits and 1 serving of veggies per 8 ounces.  There are flavors like Strawberry-Banana, Peach-Mango, Pomegranate-Blueberry, and some more "exotic" ones like Acai-Mixed Berry and Goji-Raspberry.  My husband doesn't like veggies and rarely eats fruit that requires any effort to prepare, but he'll have 1-2 glasses of V-fusion each night with dinner.

A good spinach/mixed greens salad with chicken, apples, celery, grapes and pecans, topped with a balsamic vinaigrette would give you some veggies masked by the sweet taste of the pecans and dressing.  Or a veggie lasagna, where the squash (which I have always avoided) is masked by the marinara sauce.  It was actually good and I even asked for seconds.

Some veggies you dislike might taste better is they are roasted in the oven with some seasoning, or grilled.

After that, I recommend one of the books for Mom's to sneak veggies into their kids diets.

Finally, someone has just come out and said it. I hate vegtables as well. I don't like celery, I don't eat almost anything outside of Romaine Lettuce, Spinach, Baby Carrots, Potatoes, Tomatoes (fruit schmuit) and every now and then Cucumbers and Peas. Other than that, like everyone else has already suggest, drink a serving or two of V-8 VFusion. I drink the Light version which is kind of half of a serving I think. It tastes delicious though. But as long as you go with the basics and make a mean salad, you're good. I mean, even with a salad I can get bored, but every now and then I'll try a new vegetable to see if I like it. If you can't do any of that at all, just go with a multi vitamin. =)