Please help me learn to love veggies!

[IntrovertExtrovert]

The short question:

Can you give me suggestions on ways to prepare the veggies that I currently dislike? I dislike the texture of squishy veggies like summer squash, eggplant, and all mushrooms. I'm not big on large chunks of tomatoes. I would love to have a more varied diet, for myself and my kid.

The long background:

I was raised on the standard mainstream 70's-80's diet of mac & cheese (sometimes with hotdogs or cheese soup and tuna added in), manwich, hamburger helper, etc. I didn't eat a blueberry or a plum until I was an adult, unless Gerber Blueberry Buckle as a baby counts. The only beans we ever ate were kidney beans in chili. My mother truly believes that Chicken Kiev is healthy, "because it's chicken."

As a pre-parent adult my husband and I tried to eat a little healthier, but still ate way more Kraft Mac & Cheese than anyone should.

My kid's food allergies were the best thing to ever happen to my family's eating habits. I make most of our food from whole foods now (though I admit that crackers are still a staple snack in our house). But I'm still struggling with adding more/healthier veggies. I'm trying to cook meatless meals more often, but I dislike so many of the recipes I try from vegetarian cookbooks. They all seem to come out slimy and/or with that cream of mushroom soup taste.

[lil_earthmomma]

I'm travelling this road right now as well!

I hated all cooked veggies till I met dh. I ate some raw veggies, but sweet squishy cooked veggies made me gag.

A couple of things that have helped me expand my palate:

1. Don't cook the veggies to death. Barely cook them if you cook them at all. This reduces the squishyness factor!

2. Make dishes you love and add one new veggie. Chop it tiny in the food processor at first, so you aren't getting a huge mouthful, just the flavor. This is how I learned to LOVE mushrooms. Mushrooms were a hated food, and now I love love LOVE them. Make mushroom soup from scratch, and start with pureed sauteed mushrooms in butter, added to chicken broth, a bit of white wine, onions garlic salt and pepper. Throw in some cream and re season. Yum.

3. Be brave and keep trying. Textures become more palatable as you become accustomed to them. If you don't like something cooked, try it raw. I love tiny skinny raw spears of asparagus dipped in quacamole. I love raw tomatoes, especially grape and strawberry tomatoes. Cucumber is so good raw, and a love garden fresh carrots raw (still can't stand them cooked.)

4. Drench them in your favorite sauce. Gravies, marinara, alfredos, cheese sauce, pesto, asian ginger, white wine sauces etc. These can all be made healthily and can help!

Good luck. I've come so far in this last couple of years you can too!!!

[noobmom]

Normally, I'm not a fan of "hiding" vegetables in food, but since you're the one who dislikes them and you're the one cooking, maybe one of those "Sneaky Chef" type books would be helpful for you?

I honestly don't think you'll ever like ratatouille, for example, if you don't like the squishy texture of those vegetables. It's just squishy by nature. I would try pureeing or roasting those veggies instead, to get a different texture. You may perhaps like oven dried tomatoes--do you like chewy stuff? Eggplant dip (baba ganoush) is pureed so again, you're not dealing with squishy chunks of stuff. Just some ideas.

[lucyem]

There are lots of veggies I prefer raw. Cauliflower & carrots come to mind. I like them raw in dip. I make a lot of salads for dinner and throw on those raw. I also mix in spinach with my salad or in a sandwich hidden under the lettuce. Broccoli I used to hate cooked as well but is growing on me since I bought a steamer top for my revereware pan. Lightly steamed with shaky cheese on top is yummy and even better on some pasta. I also like squash when it is grilled with a little brown sugar. I also try and use a lot of salsa.

[mamadelbosque]

Instead of canned veggies go with fresh or frozen and just lightly steam them - don't boil or overcook, thats the biggest thing really. Zucchini is best when very young (and thus still firm - more like a cucumber really), and only very lightly sauted' or grilled.

I didn't grow up eating mushy vegetables and still think they're gross - I like them when they're still pretty crunchy and firm... as a rule I hate canned veggies - the only exception being tomatoes and those only if they're cooked down into a sauce of some sort (think: spaghetti, salsa, lasagna, etc) - so I buy fresh and/or frozen, and freeze the veggies we grow vs canning them (though I do pickle some peppers & cucumbers as I love them

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by IntrovertExtrovert

Can you give me suggestions on ways to prepare the veggies that I currently dislike? I dislike the texture of squishy veggies like summer squash, eggplant, and all mushrooms. I'm not big on large chunks of tomatoes.

Are these the only veggies you dislike, or just a sampling? Cause if they're the only ones, then I'd say you're doing pretty well.

I can't really help you with summer squash - other than to cook it into something (zuke casserole, zuke bread, etc.). Other than cutting it in half and tossing it on the BBQ, I haven't found a satisfactory way to cook it plain.

Eggplant, I slice paper thin and pan fry into chips. Or cut into fingers and roast into "fries". I also like it cut into planks and tossed on the BBQ. I actually prefer the asian eggplants for most purposes, but buy the globes if I want to stuff them (cut in half, roast, hollow, stuff with ground meat/spices/cheese/veg and bake until the meat is done).

Mushrooms - I hate raw. Just cannot stand them. But cook them down until they have all the water cooked out, and they're yummy. Slice them up, toss them in a pan with some chopped onion and plenty of fat and cook until the whole thing turns dark brown and there's no liquid left (something like 20 minutes). Add a splash of white wine, stir in some sour cream and serve it over a steak, a burger, a piece of chicken or even pasta. I also like them marinated - again, it pulls the water out of the mushroom and changes the texture to something more agreeable to me.

As for tomatoes - limit yourself to eating (raw) tomatoes when they're actually in season... which would be about now. Go down to the farmer's market and find a farmer who has ripe heirloom tomatoes, and tell him/her that you've always disliked tomatoes and would like to try a really good one to see if you can change that - ask them to pick one out for you. And then eat it that day. Ripe tomatoes do not last at all. Just cut it into wedges or planks, sprinkle with a little sea salt and eat it. If you like, spread some mayo on a piece of good bread and have yourself a tomato sandwich or a tomato/cheese sandwich with a nice thick plank of tomato (don't forget to salt it). Or you can pick up a basket of cherry tomatoes from that farmer and eat them for a snack, add them to a salad, etc. These will last a little bit longer (usually a few days), but farm fresh ripe tomatoes really don't last, and are VERY different from supermarket tomatoes.

[~Megan~]

Eat veggies the way you like them. You don't have eat them a certain way.
Look for seasonal veggies (healthier and cheaper) and try them raw with your favorite dip or in a salad. If raw doesn't work sautee in olive oil and season with salt. Many veggies are really tasty roasted with fresh herbs. If that doesn't work then cover it with cheese sauce!

[PatchChild]

Squishy vegetables are icky. I hated zucchini forever and then someone gave me a zucchini fritter recipe and that got me to like it. Stir frying has also helped a lot, because you cook fast and hot, much less mush.

[es1967]

I never liked summer squash but started roasting them in the oven and now love them. They are squishy but they taste awesome. Slice summer squash and toss in some EVO, salt and pepper. I lay them flat on some foil on a cookie sheet and bake them. I think I do it on 400 degrees-20 min aprx. I let them get really soft/roasted because they taste better-sweeter. About 5-10 min before taking them out you can add some chopped garlic-optional. Drizzle w a touch of balsamic when serving. Yum, I just love them this way. Have you tried making a dip out of eggplant? I'm not sure what books you have but none of my veggie cookbooks have any recipes that resembles mushroom soup. I know what you mean though. The summer squash recipe is from the Veganomican cookbook. I like mushrooms sauteed w some shallots, garlic, red wine, S&P and spices. Again this is squishy but tasty. Maybe its not the squishy but the "bland "taste that all these veggie's have w/o adding spices etc?

[IntrovertExtrovert]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions! I'm going to try the roasted zuke and eggplant fries or chips in the next week.

Originally Posted by cristeen

Are these the only veggies you dislike, or just a sampling? Cause if they're the only ones, then I'd say you're doing pretty well.

Really, I have the taste buds of a toddler. I have such a huge sweet tooth, which is why I also have a quite large body. I still drink Coke, though at least that's my only source of HFCS these days, and I'm slowly cutting that down. If I only ate the things I truly enjoyed, I would eat fruit, soda, cookies, bread, pasta, ice cream, and maybe some beef (please note that's beef, not beer) all day.

So the sad truth is that the veggies I listed are the ones that I have not found a way to tolerate, and all other veggies I merely tolerate. The only veggies I really enjoy are the sweet ones--carrots, corn, peas, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. And garlic and onions. :-P

I have never met a salad that would be my first choice in terms of taste, but I have learned how to make them tolerable and eat them for lunch most days at work.

Someone asked what veggie cookbooks I already have. I have The New Moosewood Cookbook, The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, and How it All Vegan (at one point we had to eliminate dairy for my already egg-allergic son). How It All Vegan, in particular, does a lot of "throw a bunch of squishy veggies together on top of some rice with cumin."

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by IntrovertExtrovert

So the sad truth is that the veggies I listed are the ones that I have not found a way to tolerate, and all other veggies I merely tolerate. The only veggies I really enjoy are the sweet ones--carrots, corn, peas, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. And garlic and onions. :-P

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with working on that list right now. I'd work on finding ways to like the ones you already tolerate better. Bring them up in rank, so to speak. Because really the only thing on that list that's actually a veggie is the carrots.

Because the list you gave us of the foods you don't tolerate is pretty darned short - there's a TON out there that you already are okay with.

For us, 2 favorite dishes here, are broccoli salad and mashed cauliflower. These are great ways to get a broccoli/cauliflower hater to eat them and enjoy them (I hated broccoli before I tried this salad, and merely tolerated cauliflower).

Broccoli salad:
1 bunch broccoli, broken into florets. You can peel and chop the stems, too - they're pretty bland. Some people blanch this, I just use it raw.
Chopped cooked bacon
Chopped red onions

And then add in whatever you like from this list:
Roasted sunflower seeds/slivered almonds, raisins/dried cranberries, small chunks of cheddar cheese, chopped hard-cooked egg

Dressing:
Mayo, sugar/honey, vinegar. I'm not going to give you exact amounts... but use about 1/2 c of mayo, add a splash of vinegar, and sweeten to taste. The vinegar and sugar should balance each other so it's neither too sweet nor too tart.

Toss everything together and let it sit a few hours.

Mashed Cauliflower:
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets and steamed until soft, but not mushy.
4 oz cream cheese
Garlic, salt and pepper

Mix it all together well (let the cheese melt from the heat for a few minutes), mashing the cauliflower as you go (I prefer it to be a little chunky, but you can mash it smooth if that's your preference). Add plenty of garlic. If you like blue cheese, that works in this beautifully, also - just stir in a few Tbs with the cream cheese. This is very similar in consistency to mashed potatoes, and just as versatile.

Oh, and for my DH, the trick to salads is making the lettuce inconsequential. There has to be plenty of other stuff going on, from add-ons to a really yummy dressing. He just doesn't care for lettuce, although he will tolerate it like you do. So he loves taco salad with onions, avocado, meat, beans, cheese, etc., or my Tropical chicken salad with chicken, bananas, peanuts, coconut, peppers (on a bed of lettuce).

[EnviroBecca]

Try eating squishy veggies as a dip, with healthy chips or crackers.

Try mixing crunchy things into the squishy veggies to vary the texture. I like sunflower seeds.

Look for quick-bread and muffin recipes that use some type of veg or fruit puree, and try making them with different vegetables.

[noobmom]

Originally Posted by cristeen

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with working on that list right now. I'd work on finding ways to like the ones you already tolerate better. Bring them up in rank, so to speak. Because really the only thing on that list that's actually a veggie is the carrots.

Actually, sweet potatoes are very good for you, as long as you're not eating them by covering them with butter and brown sugar.

Since you tend towards sweet, I would suggest trying the following veggies:

- winter squash (acorn squash, butternut squash). Can be cooked and mashed like potatoes or roasted whole, as slices, in chunks, etc. You can also do acorn squash halves and stuff them, I'm sure one of your cookbooks has a recipe. In the same family as pumpkin--it's a superfood!

- beets. Roasted is my fave, but you can boil them too. Great in a spinach/walnut/blue cheese salad.

- parsnips. If you like carrots, you'll like parsnips. Prepare with or in place of carrots. If they are very large, you may have to remove the core.

- bok choy. The stems in baby bok choy are the sweetest part. Separate the leaves, wash really well (tends to be sandy) and chop it up. Stir fry the stem parts for a few minutes before adding the leafy part. My son loves this--he'll eat the entire bowl. This is a cabbage, very good for you. Napa cabbage is not as sweet, but also good.

- chinese broccoli. Bit sweeter than regular broccoli. I think the yellow flower ones are tastier. Wash well, chop the entire thing up (flowers and all) and stir fry. Yum!