How can I MAKE myself eat veggies?
I have never - literally never eaten veggies at all in my entire life. I have had green beans, corn & mini carrots (not cooked) and that is about it. The smell & sight of broccoli makes me feel sickly and coliflower looks like a worst nightmare, but how can I overcome this childish attitude towards veggies???

I want to eat what is right for me and I totally admire people who like veggies...I just can't seem to get past the "ewwww". lol, Any suggestions?

I've always loved my veg. so I'm really no help. Good Luck though!

Try seasoning them up with some Mrs. Dash or something. They can be really yummy when cooked right (grilled, steamed), but don't overcook them, as you'll cook all their nutrients out.

I no how you feel, when I first started my journey I could only eat potato, corn and peas. I could eat carrots and beans raw but not cooked. I found the best way to start off was to hide them in the foods I was eating. If you make soups chop them up really small, beef patties you can mix carrot and zucchini if you grate it in ECT. Good luck it dose get better but just take it slow and start off with small amounts.

reprogram your brain would be my answer, but since tech. isn't that advanced (or so they lead us to believe *scowls at govt*) do a little bit of exparimentation. Low cal dips, and dressings add a bit of zip to the raw stuff. like CFL mentioned, grilled is another tastey way to consume em.

the easiest way by far is simply to cook ur meal as u normally would and add a single piece of veg

just 1 piece

eat it with something u like so u dopnt have to worry about the taste or anything

after a while add 2 pieces, im sure u can see where this is going :P

i know where ur coming from and no amount of seasoning or different methods of cooking is gonna get u eating them, so just sneak them into ur diet gradually

i recommend broccoli as its easy to prepare, doesnt taste too strong so it wont over power the rest of ur meal and its soft so u dont have to worry about its texture

in my experience with people, who claim to not like veggies, it's generally the preparation that they don't like.. for years - I HATED broccoli... couldn't stand the stuff... because the only broccoli I ever knew was the frozen stuff my mother used to serve... I got fresh broccoli and started roastig it - and turns out -I love the stuff.. but still hate the frozen variety...

Cauliflower I don't like - it's ok raw but I don't like it cooked, even mashed i'm not a fan.... there's no reason to like every single vegetable out there- the trick is to find the ones you do like and have them prepared the way you want.

I find that garlic and olive oil can make pretty much anything taste good (except liver, there's no hope for that)

I made a great stir fry last night, with low sodium sauce, canned whole baby corn, fresh snow peas, chopped carrots, a bit of onion, some fresh chopped garlic, cut/fat trimmed steak pieces, whole baby mushrooms - lots of veggies. Served over brown rice. The sauce and seasoning from the garlic and onions really made the veggies taste great.

Also, when I make a pot roast, I add lots of veggies the last half hour or so - they soak up the nice roast flavors and so they are easier to eat.

I hated asparagus until I found a recipe to grill it with garlic and oil - yummy.

I have one word for you...SALSA!

You just have to experiment and find recipes that work for you. When I first started out I wasn't big on veggies either. Try 'em raw in salads (even squash or sweet potatoes are good raw), very lightly steamed in the microwave, cooked to oblivion in the pressure cooker, pureed in the blender (pulverised, cooked cauliflower makes an interesting mashed potatoe substitute). Try garlic, onions, soy sauce, tomatoe sauce, basil or oregano. If you like hot stuff, try curry, or hot pepper sauce. Try any and all and you will find something that you like. You just can't beat veggies for nutrients, phytochemicals, low caloric density and flavor. Try and rationalize what you're doing for your health, if that's a motivator for you. If not, just think about the calories your cutting.

Like anything they're an acquired taste. If like me, you were on the SAD (Standard American Diet) of pizza, nachos and fried chicken for your whole life prior, you will have a transition to deal with, but once you make new habits and keep them for a while, you will marvel at how unappetizing some of that stuff seems to you (yeah ok, sometimes I still salivate when passing a KFC).

I totally agree with maleficent. Frozen veggies are nothing but tastless mush!

John

I like Mike's adviceNot an easy thing to do, but I think that is what I did! I started thinking about the nutritional values of fresh food - and the challenge of trying to eat a wide variety of them each day, tryining out new fruits etc. Eventually, it becomes habit. Dressings - you have to be careful if you are going to lose weight, but in terms of eating healthy, I use: extra virgin olive oil, walnut oil, flax oil, low fat cottage cheese, reduced fat houmous, sometimes a little reduced fat processed seasoning/dressing (for a change), lemon juice, reduced salt soy sauce. I'm particularly into the houmous at the moment, I spread it all over my steamed veggies, salads, on mushrooms, even on steaks. The cottage cheese is also good to - full of good protein and calcium.

As for cooking - as Mal said, buy fresh produce. During the summer, I ate tonnes of salad, but now that winter is approaching, I eat more steamed vegetables. Fresh broccoli is great when steamed! I also stick some raw vegetables and fruit into my lunch box - carrots, red cabbage, sweet peppers, apples, banana, figs, tomato, avacado have all featured recently in my workplace diet.

Getting away from bad habits of eating lots of sweet, sugary, carby, salty and fatty processed foods isn't easy for everyone - start thinking about the good you are doing yourself - you don't just lose weight, you start feeling better about your entire self - your skin, hair, digestion, etc

Everyone's suggestions about experimenting are excellent - also, a weird thing I found about myself was that I couldn't eat the vegetables I often ate as a kid. I had to start with the veggies I had never had (artichokes, baby corn, snow peas, mushrooms, etc) - I hadn't built up the childish psychological reaction to them! And it was EASY to find good recipes for those! And then I started branching slowly into ones I did have as a kid (broccoli, peas). But there are some I STILL can't eat! (Like green beans - UGH!)

EVERY SINGLE FOOD IS AN ACQUIRED TASTE! Anything you are not accustomed to eating will likely not be welcome the first time you try it. Japanese people don't like bread but like rice instead. The smell of fish is horrid to americans but loved by the japanese. Its all about learned behavior. Force yourself to try different things until you find some that you can tolerate, and eventually you will start to appreciate it.