Tuesday Tip: Eat Your Veggies

Ever meet one of those people who hates vegetables?  Or they only like certain vegetables like corn and potatoes?  Or they come back with, “Yeah I had that once and didn’t like it.”, therefore totally dismissing the veggie never to try it again.

I’ve come across many people like this.  Most of them are very hard to convince to try something.  Shaking their head and pushing it away like they’re a toddler.

What I want to tell them is try the veggie again using a different cooking method.  Different cooking methods bring out different tastes in the vegetable.  Roasted cauliflower tastes totally different than steamed cauliflower, which tastes totally different than boiled cauliflower.

The best example I have for this situation is the relationship between me and carrots.  Oh cooked carrots were vile vile things.  Mushy and totally flavorless unless you were lucky enough to get some that tasted like basement.  Mmmm tasty!

But raw carrots I love!  Love them!  So I thought, “Andrea this is ridiculous, you love carrots so there must be a way to enjoy cooked carrots.”  And I worked on it till I found out what I liked.  I love roasted carrots.  I also love carrots that have been roasting with something else, like a chicken or porkchops.

My point being that before you write-off a vegetable completely give it a few chances to woo you.  And yes I’m realistic, I know there are going to be some things that no matter what, are not going to be tasty.  We all have those!  Mine tends to be mushrooms even though they are not technically a veggie but a fungus, they do seem to be included in all veggie things.  Have you noticed that?  I hate mushrooms and even covered in glorious cheese, I find them repulsive.  I don’t mind cooking with them and have no problem picking them out of something because their taste doesn’t affect the overall dish to me.  Unlike olives, for example, which corrupt everything they touch.  Ick.

When I purchase a veggie that I have not had before I tend to go with the roasting method first.  I really like roasted veggies and it’s the safest technique for me to try out.  Unless it’s greens, then I go the soup or noodle dish route.  Doing this  introduces me to the veggie and tells me about it’s taste and texture.  Then once I have that down I can play with the veggie a little bit more figuring out how I like it and how I might not like it.

So many people claim to not like veggies or they have a huge list of veggies they don’t like that it makes me wonder if they’ve really given the veggies a chance?  If you’ve only ever had jellied cooked carrots that your Aunt Peggy makes for every family function, then how do you know what a cooked carrot really tastes like if you’ve never tried it outside of that one dish?  Give veggies a chance!  Expand your palate and try cooking the veggies in different ways.  Maybe you’ll discover a new love!

12 thoughts on “Tuesday Tip: Eat Your Veggies

    • Kilax, I know many grown ass adults who refuse to eat their vegetables. It makes me bonkers. I’ve seen people spend 15 minutes picking off chopped parsley from their meals because “it’s green and I don’t like that”. I’m like, “Really? Are you 30 or 5 because I can’t tell.”

      Brett, This is totally true. There are tons of things that I didn’t like as a child that I love now. Cabbage being a great example, it’s awesome! :D

      Amanda, At least he’ll eat in one form! That’s great! Maybe asking him to “help out” in the kitchen will get him more willingly to try things out?

  1. it’s also been shown that as people mature, flavor preferences do as well. i did not like broccoli at all as a child. now i think it’s delicious raw, roasted, steamed, whatever. people at different stages of life have different nutritional requirements and our tastes change appropriately.

    there are also people who “don’t like” any flavor they aren’t already conditioned to. there may not be any hope for them.

  2. Agreed! Just last night I was thinking about how much I used to hate kale. Kale chips eased me into liking leafy greens and now I can eat kale and collards raw. Still can’t do swiss chard, but still looking for that magic recipe that will make me like them once and for all!

  3. It bothers me so much when people say “I hate vegetables.” You might as well say you hate me. I think that with minimal effort you can make any vegetable delicious!!!!

  4. Amen to veggies! I adore them, and all of my friends think it is “so odd” that I always fill up half my plate with the salad or veggie option. I also think that to most people, eating veggies=being on a diet. People need to change their mindsets on these things!

  5. I used to be a picky eater, but never so picky as to rule out most veggies. I knew/know some people who refuse to eat anything fresh and always go out of their way to not eat veg and fruit. One of them was obese, got colon cancer at the ripe age of 43, and died within two years. The other is about 38, never eats fresh, is obese, and always sick. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets colon cancer in a few years. Aren’t I cheery? Well, I’m damn glad I branched out and started trying new ways to prepare veggies and/or new accompaniments to them! Roasted cauliflower rocks! Sauteed green beans, yes please! Carrot sticks with guac–oh yeah :) Tonight I’m taking the plunge and trying kale chips.

  6. Goldie says:

    I have been in love for a few years with a wonderful man. In many ways and reasons I refer him to my Prince Charming. BUT…for over 25 years he has been a bachelor and STUCK in his eating habits of T.V dinners 6 days a week, and has one good home cooked meal on Sunday with his folks. He has stated many, many times that he hates all vegetables, he wont take a bite of anything except peas and carrots (cooked a certain way, like mom makes)or the wondrous potato. He says he only loves meat and potatoes. Now he also has proven to me that he does not mind if I buy and cook up things with veggies, he just kindly says he will have a T.V dinner while I eat nutritious meals. The thing is I want HIM to live long and eat healthy. LOL on the flip side of this> He is not overweight and seldom catches the sniffles, he has never ending energy and is living high on life… SO, now I am wondering if the veggie worries are all worth it.

Leave a Reply to DianaHayes Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.