QuestionI have always been a relatively healthy person, if not a little on the slim side. I haven't paid a lot of attention to the foods I eat over the years. as a child and a teen I ate what was served, in small portions and didn't enjoy food much at all. it was a waste if good fun time I thought. We ate mostly potatoes with a veggie and small portion of meat, daily. things like cold plates for lunch....As an early 20 something I got a real appreciation of food and started to view it as one of life's greatest perks, and I didn't watch my diet at all. I didn't gain much weight but I did end up with bad cholesterol. At 24 years old I started taking healthy eating seriously and became passionate about cooking and passionate about treating my body well and finding ways to enjoy doing it. The problem I write to you with is that recently I have developed irritable bowel syndrome and it appears my trigger is veggies. What makes that so much worse is that I have been a veggie HATER since I was born. I loathe the taste of almost all veggies except a small handful, which I eat as much as I can. (When I say hate the taste, I mean literally will gag and throw up. it's also a texture thing. and I have tried them in many different ways, by many different cooks. the odd veggies I can't tolerate if coked right I can stomach but in some cases the method just takes too much time, as I have two babies at home with me currently and leaving them for more than 30 mins to prepare a meal isn't something I'm willing to do yet). It is summer time soon and summer for me means raw broccoli and carrots, celery and loads of delicious salad. I am a soup maker and have enjoyed making soups of all sorts of different veggies, both summer and winter. But now whenever I eat the veggies I love I end up feeling like a truck has been parked on top of me the next day and spend all day in the bathroom. It's not worth the time lost! But how do I do summer - of life - without veggies???!!! How do I stay healthy and snack healthy with the kids if I can't grab some carrot sticks? And summer without salad is torture for me. Is the another way of getting those good nutrients without eating them? (i doubt it. we hear of a lot of diets but never a no veggie diet). I am lost as to how to proceed here without spending an unduly amount of time in my kitchen and neglecting my kids to do it. Raw veggies are such an easy good go-to thing. Any ideas? advice? anything?
Thanks,
Te
AnswerDear Te,
Slightly confused, I need to ask you to clarify something for me, first.
You say you HATE veggies, loathing the taste, ever since you were little, but then you go on to praise salads and soups and lament how sorely you will miss them.
Then you go on to list quite a few you are ok with and even say you enjoy broccoli raw, which I would not be quick to recommend for the most robust gut. Extensive consumption of raw vegetables can, by the way, cause long-term irritation (but not chronically).
Also, you mention that it takes 30 minutes to prepare vegetables, and I have trouble thinking of any that would take that long to cook (maybe artichokes or corn on the cob about 20 minutes?). Besides for the kiddies it would not be time lost! But a lot of health gained.
Furthermore, it is almost impossible to talk about vegetables too broadly. Corn, for example, is not really a vegetable. Nor is potato (how are you on them?). And a tomato, aubergine, and pumpkin is a fruit. A bean is a husk, unless it's a broad bean then it's virtually a pea, which is almost a pulse. There are many vegetables which might independently cause an issue, but to rake them all together would be too grand a gesture. It may be a fibre thing, but then there would be other foods which would cause equal discomfort (grains).
We may need to find out which products, classically from the vegetable department, don't work for you, for sure. Then cut these out, and see what you are left with. It would be fascinating for me to find out what lettuce leaves do for you. I have yet to come across an allergic reaction to organic butterleaf lettuce. Mind that you must make sure it is the actual vegetable product and not the seasoning or flavouring which is the problem (or the combination: cross-allergies are common, where each product on their own gives no reaction but when put together in the same meal they create havoc). Also, make sure that you are eating the best example of its sort! With apples, for instance there are some varietes which do not give an allergic reaction; and for some people the method of cultivation can make a difference (bio-dynamic v organic even).
Some irritations, especially in the intestines or the skin can be closely linked to the nervous system and triggered by a mental dislike (texture, flavour, bad/boring memories).The only cure to that is training.
Are you also irritated by juiced raw vegetables, say, carrot juice (mixed with applejuice or orange juice)? Celery is known to cause irritations in some people, and raw vegetables over lightly sauteed or steamed are a lot harder to digest and may become very off-putting to the system.
How are you on fruits? Pears, quince, cocount, rhubarb, lychee, kiwi, pine-apple, berries, citrus, apples, melon etc when it comes to juice or actual pieces? Usually people are allergic or unsympathetic to certain FAMILIES of fruit. Perhaps, you could discern a particular family of vegetables that makes you feel unwell. Cabbages have very different properties to carrots or tomatoes. Tomatoes and peppers and potatoes have a lot in common. Often, a sensitivity concerns raw vegetables (too fibrous) or root vegetables (too many carbohydrates). Or with salads it can sometimes be a certain dressing. Holistically, we can look at vegetables in the light of warming or cooling properties; some systems need more or less of one or the other. To analyse this, I would need more details about you general body type, size, age, etc.I am guessing late twenties to early thirties, when such a grave insight and necessary acceptance of what you cannot do (but might like to resolve, as yet) tends to hit one.
There is always a more holistic view to take, by understanding the work vegetables ask of your body to process their "foreign nature". Meat, fish, eggs, dairy are easier to process.Our bodies need to do intensive soulwork to convert plant into human building blocks. When a person is tired or stressed, there will be less energy for this and irritations can ensue. Energy will go to waste, indeed (in the kitchen of your belly!). By pre-processing vegetables slightly with light cooking methods, or grating and juicing you alleviate the system of the heavy work somewhat. Sometimes the very thought of any (mundane) work can make one very adverse to certain foods, resulting in actual physical discomfort which can develop into chronic ailments.
It takes time to figure out how to become a master over your own body again. But with young children, setting a healthy role model is always something a mother aims for. So, I am willing to help you figure out more about this weird disorder, if you would like to fill me with some more details. Could you make a list of any vegetables you really like to eat and then grade them on how well or poorly you fare on them? Could you do the same for fruit and grains and the like (wheat, spelt, rye, barley, buckwheat, quinoa, millet, rice, amaranth, oats, etc). How are you on bread, for example? Do you eat any yoghurt or sour-milk products? What do you tend to eat WITH vegetables, if anything at all?
Could you also make a top ten (or so) list of vegetables that make you feel unwell/nauseous just at the thought of them? Does it matter how they are prepared (raw, pureed, oven baked, soups, sauces etc).
There is one thing I would like to suggest you reconsider, though, already now. A proper, healthy, wholesome meal, even for young children, takes at least 30 minutes to prepare. For much of this time you do not need to be "away" from your kids (no point watching a pot boil...). Also, try to include the kids in preparing meals at an early age to stimulate conscious awareness about health - although it depends on your type of kitchen, and they type of children you have (hyper kids are not so good to have around you in a potentially dangerous environment).
Even if you can't get there in time,to make the "perfect" exapample (ha ha, keep dreaming, we're only moms!) it is crucial that you encourage the exploration of textures and flavours in your children. Take care not to puree too much for too long. This experience of tasting and chewing builds character. And you will know from your own experience that you need to keep food fun (not infantile) with colour and recipes from all around the world.
I so hope we can figure out what is really at the heart of your terrible inconvenience, so please answer my questions if you can, and I will get back to you with another reply, maybe with some more advice if any should become apparent to me.
Take care for now,
Evelyn
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