Questioni don't like raw veggies. i like cucumbers and pickles. other than that i only eat SOME cooked veggies. i don't like fish and i am a picky eater...as you can tell. what kinds of things can i eat to be more healthy and lose weight, since obviously i don't eat salads? i can eat a little lettuce, but only with boiled eggs, cheese, ham sunflower seeds and some ranch. what do i do?
AnswerHello, Amanda,
It's hard on you to be picky about vegetables. There are all kinds of reasons some people just really cannot eat particular foods, none of them make life easier. One important thing is that as people get older their taste buds change. Over time, the foods you are picky about may decrease and make eating easier and more enjoyable. So, it is always important to at least try something new now and then. I know that this is hard, but I assure you the rewards are worth the effort. Try something new, made in as pleasing way possible (like how you hide lettuce now with eggs and stuff), say about four times a year. Since vegetables seem to be your worst thing, maybe each season try something that typifies that time of year. Like zucchini or tomatoes in summertime, lettuces in spring, snap peas in the fall. Buy veggies that are in the best condition, as fresh as possible. You can cook them if you like, even lettuce, but still try them. It's okay to hide them in something else, but be aware of them. Work at figuring out just what exactly you do not like, is it a taste or a texture. Veggies are all very different from each other, so I think, with some work, you will be able to hone down the number of veggies you don't like. The reward will be a healthful food and not being haunted by their presence in food at every party or restaurant. This will expand your life enormously.
As far as healthful needs go, I am assuming that you do eat fruits. Fruits give you many things that vegetables do, raw or cooked, but have the drawback of having a lot of sugar in them. So the nutritional benefits provided by fruit is not "for free" as it can be with vegetables. If you are also picky about fruit, I advise the same as for veggies - to keep trying them occasionally with the goal of expanding how many different kinds you can eat. Overtime, you will probably learn to enjoy them. A good thing about fruit is that, even if you just like apples, for example, varieties of the same fruit can offer different nutritional benefits as a result of their different skin colors.
Now, as far as fish. A lot of people don't like fish, or some particular fishes. A lot of times it is with a very good reason - they live in a part of the country where they just cannot get fish fresh enough for their palates. Or maybe the fish oil bothers their digestion. Like veggies, it is worth trying fish now and then, but this is not as important. Not liking fish does not limit you as much as the veggie thing, well, unless you live in Japan.
Your desire to be more healthy is a smart one, and you recognize the role vegetables play. While you are working on introducing veggies into your diet (this may take years), I suggest you take a good multivitamin to help replace the vitamins you would normally get from vegetables. And to make sure you eat whole grain bread and a good, low sugar cereal with fiber in it. It can be Cheerios, it doesn't have to be super bran or something.
I just had a thought! How could I have missed this? Do you like smoothie drinks? The kind where you take fresh fruit and blend them up with ice, water, milk or yogurt. This would be a perfect way to sneak in almost any kind of vegetable while you are working to find ones you like. This is a very good way of getting the nutritional value of vegetables without the veggie look, taste, or texture. Thank you for helping me think of this.
As to the weight-loss part of your question, low carb dieting sounds perfect for you. A frequent complaint about low carb diets is the relative lack of vegetables and fruit. Unlike most weight loss strategies, a low carb diet limits carbs so by necessity limits what kinds and how much of vegetables you can eat and especially limits fruits, to mostly berries. This kind of eating may be just the thing for you. In fact your recipe for eating a little lettuce smothered with eggs and cheese is perfect if you were low carbing, except that the ranch dressing may have too much sugar. Ironically choosing a low carb diet may make you yearn for vegetables and fruits (the lure of the forbidden), as it did for me. Lettuce starts to taste scrumptious if you have been eating 10 grams or less carbs a day for a few weeks. You can almost smell the carbs in it!
To sum up,
1. Not eating vegetables does not necessarily mean you are unhealthy. It just means that you should take extra steps, like vitamins and smoothies, to try to replace the lost nutrition. Try over your lifetime to introduce yourself to all kinds of vegetables. Experiment to find ones you like. This will improve your social life and remove the stress of having to avoid vegetables, since they are almost everywhere (think pizza with friends).
2. Learn about a low carb diet either on the web or from one of many books. I started with Atkins book and read it closely. Low carbing can be a healthy way of eating. It removes a lot of empty sugar from your diet and replaces it with protein and good fats. As a side benefit, low carbing may make you crave the very vegetables you used to hate!
You may not realize it, but life is harder being a picky eater, Amanda. I wish you success with expanding the foods you can enjoy.
Sincerely, Arlene
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