Low-Calorie, No veggies please!!!!

I am a very picky eater and have always been.  I don't like veggies.  I know that is something that you are supposed to grow out of, but somehow for me, NO...   I love meat, and I like some fruits.  I have started a 5-day a week workout routine, and I am doing pretty good at that. Getting healthy has really become a priority for me, so I'm a little frustrated with this.   I have been staying within my 1200 daily calorie range pretty well, but I need some ideas for meals.  My kids are pretty picky as well.  I like corn, potatoes, and sweet peas, and that is my GRAND list of edible veggies..  PLEASE HELP!!   I need some low-calorie dinner recipes.  I know that not eating vegetables kind of puts me at a disadvantage for being healthy, but I've tried over and over to acquire a taste for different ones, and I can't get past the texture.  

THANKS SO MUCH

What about sweet potatoes?  Or what about spinach cooked so far down into something that you can't even tell it's there?  Those two are like the healthiest veggies ever IMO.  You could even blend sweet potatoes with regular potatoes, or if you have something that can puree your spinach you could do that and it wouldn't even exist!!!!

Apart from that, I'm sure you've heard fruit salad... Pumpkin is really filling, delicious, healthy and not calorie-dense, so I'd check up on what you can do with a can of that.

Shirataki noodles of course.

Soups are probably your best friend.  You know, you could probably puree veggies and put them into a heavier beef stew and not even notice.  Also, beef stew uses corn and potatoes, you can take out the other veggies once they have done their bit in making the broth.

Stews are excellent and casseroles with potatoes....you can have a nice beef stew with potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and peas...or you can use a broth to make a nice soup!! You can add the peas to mashed potatoes and bake on top of cooked lean beef with a bit of cheese on top or serve potatoes with pork tenderloin since it's very lean. You could also have baked potatoes. Add peas and corn to pasta just as you normally would. you can also try cooking carrots with a bit of honey and cinnamon, they're naturally sweet and this just enhances the flavor. :) hope this helps!

Thanks so much I really appreciate the ideas!!  I love stew too!!

I know you said "no vegetables"...but since you mentioned it was because of the texture, I thought I'd give this suggestion a try.

Have you tried vegetable chips? Basically vegetables sliced and rolled in olive oil, seasoned and baked. Pretty good snack and a great way to get some good fats and vegetables without the "texture". Pretty low calorie and are a good side-dish of sorts for dinner. I LOVE them.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/19810/vegetab le+chips+with+rosemary+salt

How about doing what sneaky moms the world over do and hide veges in dishes where you wont notice them... like meatballs, meatloaf, homemade burgers etc are all things you can chuck a load of diced onion, carrot, zucchini etc and no-one will notice its there. 

The other option is to just grow up and eat your veges.  Sorry, its tough love.  I dont enjoy counting calories but I  do it because I need to for my health, not because I want to.  Remember babies have got to try something at least 3 -4 times before they decide whether they like it, and they dont have all the prejudices that you hvae about veges! If you persist Im sure you would develop a taste for them.  The more you cut the crap outta your diet the more you will appreciate the natural sweetness in veges such as carrots for example.  One of my favourite ways to eat veges is to steam a bunch of carrot and cabbage and then toss in a 1/2 tsp or tsp of butter and then lightly salt.  It's absolutely freaking gorgeous. 

Sorry if I sound harsh, but really... theyre just vegetables!

No one else has said it - so I will.  Eat more calories!!! 1200 is not enough if you're working out 3-5 days a week as well : (

Have you tried mashed cauliflower? steam it and mash it, it's like potatoes.  I'm not much help with 'no veggies' because my favorite meal is a salad of fresh raw vegetables and romaine...  How about grilled squash/tomatoes?

One major disadvantage of not eating vegetables is that it's really easy to create a low-calorie meal with other foods.... but there will be next to nothing on the plate.   That has contributed to your being overweight .... in an effort to get some bulk and fill your tummy up from non-vegetable foods you've been taking in far too many calories.   Whereas if you had a few portions of vegetables on the plate it would be more satisfying and lower in calories.  The other major disadvantage, of course, is that you're missing out on valuable nutrition.

One method you could use it to treat crushed/canned tomatoes as a base for meals.  They can be added to casseroles/chillis/curries, for example  and will turn into a rich sauce.   Aubergines cook down to a mush and most vegetables can be blended into sauces.   Another tack you can try is to eat more beans... they count as a vegetables & they're a very low-fat, high-fibre source of protein so a bean-based meal is more filling than a meat-based meal

Keep trying vegetables though.  If your children are already picking up on your bad habits and see it's OK for mum to not eat vegetables then they're likely to end up overweight themselves in the future.  So it's worth persevering.

I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not but as a child I could not stand vegetables until my mum tried giving me them raw. I LOVE raw vegetables....carrot, brocolli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas. Obviously stuff like potatoes and corn I eat cooked. I don't know which kind of texture it is putting you off but for me I can't stand the mushiness of cooked carrots etc. They taste SO much better raw and have that satisfying crunch :)

Also I have to agree that 1200 is probably not enough for you, specially if you are working out. I am 5ft1, 156lbs and work out for 1 1/2 hours 5 or 6 days a week and I lose on 1500 - 1600 calories :)

Cooked veggies should never be mush.  If that is the only way you have ever had a cooked veggie, or perhaps you have only had canned, simply changing cooking methods can help a lot.

Steamed broccoli is a real treat!  Seriously.  It is BRIGHT green and has a nice "al dente" texture and a sweet flavor. 

But that is one of the things I like about veggies.  Almost all of them have a sweetness when they are cooked properly.  They only get bitter when over cooked.

But - in case you can't get past it - eat more fish. 

Kids love fish when they are introduced to it young.  Broiled fish is low calorie, high in omega 3s, and fast to prepare.  For a mild flavor look for halibut, cod, "white fish", talapia, salmon,  

Original Post by faith0383:

I like corn, potatoes, and sweet peas, and that is my GRAND list of edible veggies.. 

Fixed your list, corn isn't a veggie.

Don't be silly... what is it if it's not a vegetable?.. An animal?... A mineral?...

oooh, you could try homemade chicken pot pie : ).  WIth just a crust on the top, not bottom to cut some cals.  You can hide all kinds of veggies in there.

I would check out http://deceptivelydelicious.com/site/ and also get the cookbook.  You'd be surprised at ways you can cook the veggies into your regular foods and not even know it. It's worked wonders for me and my family.  Also, the texture is much less an issue than you'd expect with these recipes.  Give it a try!

Original Post by gi-jane:

Don't be silly... what is it if it's not a vegetable?.. An animal?... A mineral?...

 It's a grain, like wheat, or barley or quinoa.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Don't be silly... what is it if it's not a vegetable?.. An animal?... A mineral?...

Corn is a grain, I believe.

Sweetcorn is picked at an immature stage and is eaten as a vegetable.  Leave it on the stalk to mature, dry out and become starchy and it's maize... a grain.   Don't think splitting hairs really helps the OP...

Original Post by gi-jane:

Sweetcorn is picked at an immature stage and is eaten as a vegetable.  Leave it on the stalk to mature, dry out and become starchy and it's maize... a grain.   Don't think splitting hairs really helps the OP...

Tomatos are also eaten as a vegetable, but it doesn't make them a vegetable.  It's not splitting hairs, corn is a grain.

Is this information vital to the OP? no, but being better informed is never a bad thing. 

So you don't want the OP to add tomatoes to the list either..? Just to be consistent, you understand?

Original Post by gi-jane:

Sweetcorn is picked at an immature stage and is eaten as a vegetable.  Leave it on the stalk to mature, dry out and become starchy and it's maize... a grain.   Don't think splitting hairs really helps the OP...

"So you don't want the OP to add tomatoes to the list either..? Just to be consistent, you understand?"

OMG gi-jane you are fricken hilarious! I love you. . .

Wheat, corn and potato farmer here... must add my 2 cents, even if it's off topic. What jane said about corn above is absolutely correct.

tomatoes are a fruit!  they are considered a Veg only for tax purposes. 

But I think most peoples problems with vegtables is that they have never had vegtables prepared in a way that anyone would want to eat.

I hated apples untill I dated a chef.

I Strongly suggest for your health and the health of your children that you look into some kind of cooking class.  Perhaps even just going to a 4 star resturant, ask to speak to the chef and see if he will endulge you by attempting to cook vegtables that are delicious and giving you some points on how to cook them.

I know that sounds really imposing, but I've known enough Great chefs in my life to know that if they get to talk about food they are tickled pink.

Do whatever you can to get over this, think of it as the biggest block you have to loosing weight and living a healthy life... it Probably Really is.