how to eat veggies? (from a potato-lover)

LauraR

LauraR

Cathlete
Although I've always been a "relatively" healthy eater, I don't love vegetables. And though I rarely eat fast food--and actually cook at home most nights--I need to make some lifestyle changes to my diet, including eating more veggies. But I just don't love them. I could live on mashed potatoes though. Sigh.

Every time I start to try to incorporate more veggies into my life, I overdose on baby carrots and cherry tomatoes and the whole plan comes crashing down.

Has anyone successfully converted themselves into a veggie eater? What are your thoughts and advice for a sustainable lifestyle/diet shift, not just a short term plan to lose weight?
 
Try roasting your veggies in the oven or preparing them in an air fryer. Prep the veggies with salt, pepper, and oil (I like avocado or olive oil), then roast or air fry to your desired texture (I like mine on the crispy side of things).

Still need help getting them down? Dip your roasted veggies in guacamole or hummus. I also like adding roasted/air fried veggies to salad, with a protein (chicken, beef, beans, or lentils, etc) on top. Experiment with the veggies you use. Cauliflower smells terrible raw but is very neutral IMO when roasted/air fried.

I wasn't always a veggie lover but you can get there if you keep trying. Eventually you might even enjoy them raw, but you don't have to start there.
 
Definitely try roasting with different seasonings. My husband is not a veggie lover but he loves when I roast cauliflower or broccoli with ranch seasoning sprinkled on. I particularly like the italian dressing packets sprinkled on veggies like zucchini and summer squash.

Ditto on the guacamole/hummus suggestion. The only way I can eat celery is by dipping in guac.
 
Agree with the idea for roasting. Roasted veggies are so much better. I discovered I even like broccoli and brussel sprouts.

Another idea is to add veggies to fruit smoothies. Even roasted I still can't stand beets, but here I am drinking the "Can't Beet Me Smoothie," from the Run Fast, Eat Slow Cookbook.
 
I too am a non-veggie lover. I used to pretty much eat potatoes and peas and the occasional salad in summer with lettuce, grated carrot and cucumber and that was it. When I started incorporating more veggies into my diet I also reduced my sugar intake which helped as I could actually taste the natural sweetness in the veggies once my taste buds adjusted to the low sugar. I discovered that cauliflower is a really versatile vegetable. You can steam it, roast it, boil and mash it and make cauliflower rice.

Unfortunately I have found it difficult to maintain eating more veggies and found myself reaching for the potatoes and peas again. However, I have recently started using frozen vegetable packets that you cook in the microwave (e.g. Birds Eye Steam Fresh) which has helped me get back on track as they are quick, convenient and have a good portion of veggies.

Adding veggies to smoothies is a good idea. You can try making hummus using different veggies, beetroot hummus is pretty good. Adding cheese sauce can also help. I sometimes do brussell sprouts and bacon where I pan fry the bacon and then pan fry the brussell sprouts in the fat and liquid that comes off the bacon.

I now eat more veggies than I ever used to and I eat a larger variety of veggies. I wouldn't say I love them in the same way I love cheese and chocolate and I don't think I ever will, but I don't dislike them either.
 
Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions!

Lisa_la_machina: I'm so inspired to hear you say that you weren't always a veggie lover but that it's possible to get there. That seems like a long journey, but just knowing someone else has made a transition is encouraging!! I will definitely try roasting!

Hazlady: thanks for the Birds Eye suggestion. Sounds very do-able!! I also like the hummus and flavoring ideas. :)

Julie: I like the seasoning idea. I'm sure mixing up the seasonings will help keep variety in the roasting.

Bhentges--thanks for the beets in a smoothie idea. I used to do smoothies but got tired of the ole spinach plus banana routine. Beets in a smoothie sounds like a great new twist. Are the beets fresh or canned?
 
The Can't Beet Me Smoothie is beet, banana, ginger, almond butter, frozen blueberries, and the liquid of your choice. The beets can be cooked, which I used to do, but since I have a Vitamix I now put them in raw. Actually I make them in pint sized mason jars on the weekend and stick them in the freezer. Add milk and dump them in the Vitamix and I have a quick breakfast.

I actually found the recipe here: https://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-weight-loss/g20815399/run-fast-eat-slow/
 
Another vote for roasting the veggies! You can then add chili oils or spices to your oil to enhance the flavor of the veggies. My kids often dip their least liked veggies in hummus or gauc. Anything tastes good with a little guac if you ask me!
 
In addition to roasting ( I really like cauliflower with olive oil and garam masala:p ), another great way to cook almost ANY veggie is :

Put about equal amounts of olive oil and water in a non-stick pan that has a lid. Heat.
Add fresh veggies ( broccoli, asparagus, carrots, swiss chard, really anything you have) and put lid on. Cook ( Steam) for as long as you want ( say 3 minutes for broccoli, maybe 10 for carrots or thick asparagus ) Remove lid, then finish cooking until the water is gone. Stir and add salt/pepper. Serve.

This really works for anything you pick up at the farmers market and don't know what to do with. You can add garlic or thyme or anything else you want to flavor with.

Also, go through the frozen section at your store, and really ask yourself- what do I LIKE ? Buy that and keep some on hand to have when you have nothing else. Otherwise, you will end up with a bunch of bags of freezer burned veggies taking up space in your freezer NEXT YEAR !!! :)
 
Bhentgest--thanks for the recipe! I have a Blend Tech, so I can do your version! :)

RanchMom--thanks for your vote--I love both hummus and guac but have never thought of using them on cooked veggies. I am apparently out of the loop! I will definitely give this a try.

Linda1--thanks for the alternate cooking suggestion. I love having multiple options!
 
Another tip is to spiralize veges and substitute for pasta. Zucchini works well. It cooks faster than pasta too. You can pan fry it in a bit of oil or use an air fryer. I have a Ninja Foodi and I air fry about 1 1/2 cups of spiralized zucchini in the crisper basket at 350 °F for 6 minutes, opening the lid and tossing the zucchini every 2 minutes. I preheat the Foodi first for 5 minutes and I season the zucchini pasta first with salt and pepper. I haven't tried other vegetables yet but would probably need to lengthen the cooking time for carrots and sweet potato.
 
Another easy way to get lots of veggies is to make soups or stews. I make large batches and keep or freeze them. Chicken tortilla soup, fresh pea soup (an Ina Garten recipe that is super easy), beef stew, African pineapple peanut stew (from the Moosewood Cooks at Home cookbook), Ethiopian chicken stew; things like that. They all have lots of veggies in them, but so many other flavors you don't necessarily taste the vegetables (except the pea soup, of course). And the stove top method mentioned above is a real winner! I do that all the time, too.
 
I find spinach simple to add to lots of things. Scrambled eggs, ground turkey, a smoothie. If I'm having chili I'll even serve it over a bed of spinach. Can't taste it that way ;)
 
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