for me, it's mushrooms. I'm almost ready to try liking them!

So happy to see this goal here. I've been doing this too--I've discovered some things I didn't think I liked, I love. Kiwis are the big surprise! I've been so used to having little bits of crummy ones in fruit salad or decorating plates that I never had any desire to eat a whole one. They started coming in my organic fruit/veg box and I thought I had to at least give them a chance. I love them! So sweet/tart, so low cal!

Peel and roast the eggplant. I didn't like eggplant either until I tried it that way. I also toss it with some curry powder or garam masala.

Roast the brussels sprouts. They taste WAY different than steamed or boiled....or even sauteed for that matter. I LOVE them roasted.

Fish...I'm not a HUGE fan of fish either. LOVE swordfish, but not the dark parts. Any white fish like haddock or cod are always a fave of mine. Make sure it is ABSOLUTELY fresh!! It will have less fishy taste then.

I was the pickest easter in the family. I only ate Moo Goo Gai Pan at Chinese restaurants and popcorn shrimp at easfood restaurants. I've since branched out. :)

I do this too! I just learned to like broccoli and meatloaf this Christmas. Roasting broccoli with garlic was all it took, and I had a tasty spicy (rather than ketchupy) meatloaf.

Brussels sprouts - this is really the nuclear strategy, but brown on the stove in bacon fat, and then roast until soft. Serving with bacon and parmesan optional. You can't NOT like them that way.

I find, with vegetables, it's all in the way they're prepared. Too often they're boiled to within an inch of their lives, or cut too thick, or cooked till they're slimy. I've got some really basic ways of preparing certain vegetables that everybody loves, including my two little boys...

Eggplant, I marinate, coat in egg and some form of bread or flour and herbs, and roast in olive oil. Everybody loves it!
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2011/11/17/eggplant-that-anyone-can-love/

I only like mushrooms if they're cooked till they're caramelized and crispy, so I tend to roast them (often with shallots, garlic and herbs) Cooked this way you can use them for anything else!...
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2011/10/14/roasted-mushrooms/

And here's a way to make brussels sprouts that even my seven-year-old loved...
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2012/12/16/isaacs-magic-brussels-sprouts/

This is a good goal! My nemesises (nemisi?) are mushrooms (weird texture, smell like a basement to me), beer (I know.), and lemony desserts (taste like sweet Lysol). I always try a bite or sip of any of these things, especially when someone is evangelizing about how good they are. I've discovered a few beers I like, and I can eat things with mushrooms chopped up very small in them.. I'm workin on it.

I have found that just because you hated a food as a child, doesn't mean you don't like it now! Your tastes change, even if you don't realize it, so giving new foods a chance is wonderful!

For instance, I now love: alliums of all kinds, chunky tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and peas - all foods I hated as a child. I also like mushrooms, grapefruit, and olives, which I also used to hate.

I've grown to like things I never had as a child: rutabaga, parsnips, roasted red peppers, vinaigrette dressings, and oodles and oodles of beans.

The one thing I still hate that I couldn't stand as a child? Green peppers. I absolutely detest the smell/taste of them. I also still hate raw broccoli/cauliflower.

Still - trying new things is fun!

Roasted brussels sprouts are amazing; put a little olive oil and maybe balsamic vinegar on them and roast them until the top gets super brown. I always had them roasted and never understood why people didn't like them, until I had them boiled one day - gross. :-P

My least favorite foods are mustard/horseradish/wasabi and olives. I've tried so hard to like them and I just can't. Any ideas for getting used to them?

I'd also like to find more beer and non-sweet wine that I like this year.

Charlotte, I know exactly where you're coming from. I didn't think that I liked kiwi fruit either. Then someone started selling them fresh (and ridiculously cheap) at my farmers market. It was a completely different thing to what I'd gotten at even very good grocery stores in the past. I was buying and eating two pounds weekly after that point. Unfortunately I've moved away from that area and haven't found a kiwi that I've enjoyed since.

What a great goal! I did the same thing with popular movies I had never seen for whatever reason, but I pooped out.
I thought the same thing about Cabbage, that it was not something you could enjoy as the Star of your meal, but for New Years day I googles phrases like 'Cabbage for people who hate cabbage' and sound several for Spicey Fried Cabbage.
I am so glad I branched out of my comfort zone, because I have already made it twice and it will probably stay a regular in my menu!

There are some things that I've resigned myself to never liking, like fresh carrots or cilantro.

For brussel sprouts, try cutting them in half, and sautee-ing with bacon/bacon fat. Makes a world of difference than boiled/steamed.

It's a great goal. It's so annoying when someone says "I don't like this" and turns out never even tried it.
There are some thing I tried several times and still don't like: liver, fish in soup,...
But there are things I thought I didn't like, then tried again and turned out that it wasn't so bad - like dry wines

I fall into the "very picky eater as a child" group. I have tried to force an open mind as an adult, and have been pleasantly surprised with mushrooms and brussels sprouts. I found out I like mushrooms lightly sauteed, preferably with lots of garlic, soy sauce and maybe chili flakes (also, good for getting at an empty carb craving!). I quarter and steam my brussels sprouts and then either mix with fresh lemon juice, fresh garlic, honey, olive oil and ...honey mustard (ala Mateljan)--deliciousness! They sautee well in with curry spices too! Personally I like the peppery flavor when they're lightly cooked as opposed to the mushy overcooked side....

However, I still can't quite find a way to like asparagus. WAY too bitter for me, which is odd because I love bitter aromatics in alcohol, like Campari... :/

I fall into the "very picky eater as a child" group. I have tried to force an open mind as an adult, and have been pleasantly surprised with mushrooms and brussels sprouts. I found out I like mushrooms lightly sauteed, preferably with lots of garlic, soy sauce and maybe chili flakes (also, good for getting at an empty carb craving!). I quarter and steam my brussels sprouts and then either mix with fresh lemon juice, fresh garlic, honey, olive oil and ...honey mustard (ala Mateljan)--deliciousness! They sautee well in with curry spices too! Personally I like the peppery flavor when they're lightly cooked as opposed to the mushy overcooked side....

However, I still can't quite find a way to like asparagus. WAY too bitter for me, which is odd because I love bitter aromatics in alcohol, like Campari... :/

I've had both good and bad boiled brussel sprouts. I think it depends on the sprout. I've found the smaller they are the more bitter they are. The humongous ones boiled are delicious. They have a slightly sweet taste.

This was my resolution several years and one of the few throughout the years that had staying power. Perhaps because it was so.much.fun. I've never been a picky eater and I cook (and eat) things I'm not particulary fond of because family members enjoy them. Then I had an epiphany and my resolution was born.

What I discovered in this journey is that different cooking strategies often result in miracles. Yes, it's an elementary concept. And before someone asks, I have no idea where my common sense & creativity were hibernating prior to this but both are fully employed now so cut me some slack, k?

Take brussel sprouts, for example, since it seems to be much-disliked & under-appreciated. I grew up eating them, have always liked them but it wasn't until I tried tossing them in oo with a bit of sea salt and roasting them that I fell in love. In fact, I roasted a large pan of them the other day. Dh & I munched on them hot out of the oven & never even made it to dinner prep that night....the roasted sprouts *were* our dinner. The other items on the menu were returned to the fridge & pantry until the following day. Whodathunk?

Long story short, my resolution renewed my love of cooking (and eating!) and I hit the kitchen after work now with anticipation rather than dread. Even the old familiar stand-by's which we could both prepare blindfolded have been transformed from boring to exciting. It's a few yrs later and I'm still amazed.

Now, only two items remain on my [personal] list....green beans & asparagus. I don't hate them necessarly...they just taste like wet grass to me, so why bother? I've tried every recipe, tip & seasoning known to mankind and I still can't love them. My family has enjoyed my lil experiments with these two veggies. Me? Not so much. (suggestions would be welcome here - not givin' up just yet;) .

Keep eating it! I promise if you keep eating things you don't like and don't avoid them, you WILL eventually change your mind and start to like them. This has worked without fail for me with olives, canned fish, oysters, stinky cheese and various offals, all things that most people turn their nose up at. I made a resolution to like all of them and now I can't even believe what I was missing out on :)

Asparagus is great! But it can be terrible when it's out of season or just isn't fresh enough. Look for it at the farmer's market, if you can, but if you're getting it at the supermarket look for stalks that have the cut ends stuck down in ice (I know Whole Foods does this, and I've seen other stores do it as well)-- when you pick up a bunch, the cut ends should look fresh and somewhat translucent, not white, fibrous and dried out. Store them in the fridge in an inch or so of ice water and try to cook them as quickly as possible after buying! I usually cut mine on the bias in 2-inch pieces and saute briefly in butter and olive oil with salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic, but you don't want them to get mushy. Top with a little fresh parmesan. Steamed asparagus with hollandaise is good, too, but I find my asparagus usually ends up rubbery when I steam it.

For green beans, I'll just mix them into things sometimes (like a stir fry or pot pie), but for Thanksgiving I made a green bean casserole with lightly steamed haricots verts and chanterelle mushrooms sauteed with butter, garlic, shallots and heavy cream (adding the cream the last minute or so on the stove)-- just dumped the mushroom mixture on top of the green beans after cooking-- and I pretty much forgot the green beans were even there. It was fantastic.