Newbie

[niftyfor62]

Hi everyone. Been eating healthier for a couple of months and managed to lose just over a stone. I struggle, because I don't like veg, any inspiration out there for me?

[mseuphemia]

First off congratulations for losing a stone... Second.. Till recently when i joined the clean eating club i wasn't too big on veg but now I'm queen Asparagus, nothing tastes better than a chuck load of spinach or some good mushrooms. I suggest taking it slow, do some research on a couple of recipes. Vegetables are delicious it all comes down to prepping, invest in some good cookbooks and you won't be sorry. Try adding some herbs, cumin is great for veg and salads. Up your protein and fibre, more wholegrains and more salmon, eggs are great too. With the yolk and not without. I bake/poach mine and if i ever do fry them it's with organic coconut spray oil 2 sprays is enough.. i hope this helps..

[albinohedgehog]

Wow well done that's great! 👍

There's probably some veg you do like, maybe cooked in interesting ways like in a ratatouille or veg curry? Or blended in a soup? Butternut squash soup is nice as it's quite sweet. I find I need to put a little butter or gravy or something with veg normally to make it palatable, if it's just steamed.

Oh and roast veg are really nice because they go sweet in the oven. If you'd like I will post a simple recipe for tasty roast veg

You are doing great though! Best wishes,

Hedgehog

Xx.

[feelgood41 in reply to albinohedgehog]

Hi it's feelgood41 here. I would love your recipe for roast vegetables as my husband is so faddy about veg and Ilove them. Roast sounds better somehow.

Thankyou in advance

[albinohedgehog in reply to feelgood41]

Heya. No worries. My recipe book is at home and im away but i think i can remember it.

Makes 4 portions.

Peel 4 small-medium red onions and slice into thick wedges. Core two red peppers and slice into very thick slices. Put veg into large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl mix together 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 flat tsp cumin, 1 flat tsp paprika, and 1 flat tsp crushed fennel seeds, a finely chopped clove garlic, a squeeze fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Pour oil and spice mix over your veg and mix thoroughly till coated.

Roast in oven on a baking tray at about 190 degrees for 30-40 minutes, mixing the veg up a bit with a wooden spoon after about 20 minutes,and check after 30m mark. The veg should be softer but not mushy, and brown round the edges, but you can eat peppers and onion raw so it doesnt matter how cooked it is really.

This is great with roast chicken and a green salad, maybe some basmati rice. You dont need dressing on the salad as the veg has oil and goes sweet and a bit sticky. You can roast without oil but it doesnt work as well, i prefer just to count the calories and maybe have less rice.

you can roast alot of different veg, like courgette, aubergine, carrot, leek, butternut squash, sweet potato, even broccoli. Experiment with different herbs aswell like, instead of spices, try a pinch dried thyme.

I hope the recipe works well for you and you enjoy it.

X

[feelgood41 in reply to albinohedgehog]

Thank you, I feel motivated and will try it!

[Annde70]

Try disguising the veg by blending them into other foods, that way you can get the nutritional benefits without having to eat them, as such.

However, I was watching a TV program the other week helping couples to lose weight and one of the male participants did not eat vegetables because he didn't like them. He was put through an exercise of having to eat broccoli on a daily basis, initially he struggled, physically urging when trying it, however, gradually he became able to tolerate it, eventually started incorporating it into his meals and enjoying it. From then on he started adding other veg to his meals. Mind over matter I guess

Good luck with your weight loss x

[JenniToto]

The supermarkets sell frozen stir fry veg, it's quite bland and there is a good mix - I think tesco even has two types. Chucking half a bag into anything with sauce doesn't change the taste too much - obviously the texture of veggies is there.

I also mix a tin of kidney beans in with baked beans - we are a family of five so this is instead of two tins.

[freyja12]

Hi kathrynoxley well done for losing a stone that is fantastic i was looking at this wed sight on the net its called diet rebel i thought it might be right for you it a lot of stuff on including people who don't like veg take a look and see what you think it might be something think i that will help you let me know what you think i hope this help you freya.

[roberval]

There was a lot of veggies I didn't eat until I left home. My mother was the queen of overcooked veg, boiled to a mush with cabbage water darker than the cabbage itself. There are load of different ways of cooking them, try adding herbs and spices. Also the fresher the better so try pick your own or better still (although a bit late) grow your own.

[Purple_faced_woman in reply to roberval]

This rings a bell with me - my mum boiled vegetables to death with a substantial sprinkling of salt. I decided at 26 I should do something about my lack of vegetable eating. At that point the veg I mostly ate was sweetcorn, carrots boiled or raw, and tomatoes (raw, grilled or as sauce in things like bolognaise).

I started with broccoli because the ends would suck up sauces and therefore easily add flavour. I steamed it lightly and found that not boiling it to flacidity I liked the texture of the stalks and the flavour was much better. This encouraged me to try loads of other veg which I now enjoy - some things I prefer raw, dipped into humus, some things lightly steamed, some things roasted, or stir fried or cooked into curries. Certainly, curry is a good thing to do if you want to disguise the flavour of something - I do the same with chilli, adding in chunks of babycorn, carrot, mushroom, red pepper and courgette.

What I discovered was that I liked lots of veg, but the way they are prepared makes a huge difference. For example, courgette oven-roasted with other veg is very different from raw ribboned and put into a salad, and different again from being part of a bolognaise sauce (either as chunks or blended into the sauce) or cut into batons and fried.

Maybe you could opt to try a new vegetable each week/fortnight, and try it in a number of different formats before deciding whether or not it is for you. When we didn't know what to do with a vegetable, my husband and I both fall back into "fry it in butter with bacon" mode as a first step - although not ideal for most dieters!

Experimentataion is the way to go with this - get a few recipe books or look up each new vegetable on-line and give it a whirl. It is possible to go from vegetable hater to vegetable lover - I am living proof. Good luck.

[Sailsalot]

Well done niftyfor62 for managing to lose a stone.

I eat far more vegetables now, the trick is to find ones you like – my favourite is butternut squash which I used to avoid as time consuming to peel, but now I quarter them lengthways (unpeeled) take out the seeds, put on a roasting tray and cook for about an hour in the oven. They are so sweet, slightly caramelised and delicious, you can eat the skin too when roasted. I have them as veg on the side, or chop up and add to stir fries, soups, even salads, they can be cooled and kept in a container in the fridge for a few days.