apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Roasted green beans. Once they eat one, they'll eat a plateful.

http://www.recipezaar.com/133821

180 people can't be wrong. Taste like French Fries.

try roasting broccoli with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook it in the oven until it's singed a bit. It's fantastic.

Also, broil thin asparagus with cheese over the top. My mom likes it, and she thinks asparagus is one of the most vile things on the planet.

I kind of disagree with your don't smother in cheese advice--I think that starting with something cheesy and then slowly working towards more veggie-centric dishes can be effective.


Also, peas taste like candy already!

Check out the blog My Husband Hates Veggies - the writer manages to sneak vegetables into just about everything:

http://myhusbandhatesveggies.wordpress.com/

Roast baby carrots mixed with some melted butter and brown sugar (or big carrots cut into baby sized pieces) in a 475 degree oven for 20 minutes. Flip them around to make sure one side doesn't get too brown about half way through.

Tastes like happy.

I think even mr. do not want puppy would like some of those.

I think sweet potatoes are a good veggie to give to people who don't like veggies. They can be roasted, baked, broiled, candied, and they taste awesome.

Also, asparagus wrapped in proscuitto - doesn't taste like candy, but it is heavenly.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Asparagus-Wrapped-in-Crisp-Prosciutto/Detail.aspx

Sweet potatoes mashed with maple syrup and cinnamon is as close to dessert as a veggie can get.

Wrap bacon or proscuitto around vegetables.
Don't try to sell the vegetables as healthy. Sell the food as tasty.
Roast cauliflower (like the broccoli suggestion above).
Cook with fat...a little goes a long way.
Provide tapas sized portions to complement the well-loved meat/starch components.

People I know who are anti-vegetables have little exposure to vegetables cooked well and are full of flavor. I think spanish tapas cookbooks provide a lot of good ideas on simple flavor packed vegetables.

Fussy *adults*? Let them shift for themselves. I'm not a mommy, concerned with hiding spinach in the brownies or whatever. A growned-up man can eat or not eat what he wants, to his own detriment. Make food you like in ways that you like it; he'll either grow up and eat food or keep thinking "icky icky icky!" like a child.

Of course, this helps your friend not at all, and is only my take on the issue of "training" someone with an unreasonable bias. :)

What might help is to say something along the lines of "The vegetables you think you do not like are no longer: the pulpy canned peas, the metallic canned beets, the over-boiled cauliflower, the dried out frozen peas...now, we eat fresh, in-season (when possible) vegetables cooked the best ways to bring out their flavors and textures. We do not boil, we roast. We do not open a can of corn, we shuck an ear of corn." In my experience with adult eaters, very often the "old habits" that "die hard" were formed when the veggie options were actually pretty bad--an uncle (67 yrs old) who hated beets because he'd hated canned ones as a 7 yr old, a friend who hated peas because the peas in her house were freezer burnt and ashy. Both of these adults ate the formerly offending vegetables, prepared fresh and simply or incorporated with other familiar things. Things have changed, which is awesome, and a combination of "check out what we can do now with this stuff" and "dude, picky is for 4 year olds, just try it" might work out. That and a big delicious veggie lasagna.

If not, more for your friend, and this 42-yr-old picky eater can freezer-pizza his way through a stunted adulthood. Tough but fair! :)

I completely disagree with the AT advice above, trying to 'hide' the veggies in the meatloaf. Egg white omelets w/ veggies? Turkey meatloaf stuffed with veggies? I LIKE vegetables, and those dishes are making me want to run for the hills. Sounds like everyone's most feared health food. If you offer up something blatantly healthy (and bland sounding) to a non-veggie eater, they're gonna run.

I'm all for smothering in cheese to get the ball rolling, and then slowly introducing vegetable dishes where the flavor of the vegetable is less and less masked by sauces. Maybe glazed carrots next, then moving on to a roast sweet potato (delicious, but sounds awful to someone used to sauces -- "what no butter? no sour cream? no bacon?!!?!"). I suggest trying to get someone to slowly expand their willingness to try new foods, rather than the jumping in the deep end method, which will just turn them off. And don't sneak stuff into food, or they'll just learn to not trust you.

I've managed to get my non-fish & seafood eating boyfriend to the point where he now orders oysters on the half-shell. Never pressured him, but always offered a taste of mine. Most importantly, i figured out what he doesn't like about seafood in the first place (smells too "fishy"), and made sure to offer him things that wouldn't offend (subtly-flavored white fish) to start him off, and kept increasing from there.

Good luck!

Funny, I always make meatloaf with lots of onion, celery, and carrots. It's not an issue of trying to be healthy - they add an amazing amount of taste. There's a reason the "mirepoix" (celery, onion, carrots) is the holy trinity of French cuisine.

Meatloaf without veggies sounds terribly bland, unless you smother it in the glaze to make up for it.

My view is that if an adult cannot bring themselves to try some new things, then I want no part of it. I used not like a lot of veggies, then I learned to like them. I really hope I never have to deal with a situation like this. I don't cook for picky eaters.

Man.... not eating veggies makes me feel like crap.
I don't know how people go through their lives avoiding such delicious foods!

I am baffled and I feel sorry that good people like yourselves have to put up with stubborn picky eaters.

I agree with mh330. My husband used to eat a very limited number of vegetables and no seafood (except shrimp and lobster). He will eat most any vegetable now, and we are making progress on seafood. We slowly introduced new vegetables as a side dish. Mostly he has texture issues, so roasting is usually the best way to start.

Mysteriously, and I've found this true for both of us, finding one preparation that you like helps you to learn to like others. For years I hated olives, but I once tried some that were marinated with a certain combination of spices that I loved. I kept eating those, and eventually I learned to enjoy all olives.

I'd never try to hide veggies. If I did, the one adult male I know who is not a veggie fan would never trust anything I cook ever again...

He has a serious migraine problem, and has very odd triggers. I can't remember every trigger, but there are some vegetables that are problematic. Wide swathe of other stuff too, including MSG. Instead, I feed him vegetables that he likes, which means mostly snow peas, sugar snaps and plain peas. There will often be other vegetables at a meal, so if he *wants* to try something, he can.

I've never run into a picky adult who had no reason to be picky. And all of 'em are a lot more willing to be flexible if you listen and present the weird stuff as optional.

I have to say my formerly anti-veggie partner now devours plenty of fresh, organic vegetables that I bring home from the farmer's market. Start with something that's fresh and in season and you won't have to doctor it up much.

There are still some veggies he doesn't care for, but I have found a little olive oil (high quality) or cheese (not too much) go a long way toward making them more palatable.

When my husband and I were first dating, he was a 40-year old vegetable-hater with a twice-a-day fast food habit. I took JenPDX's approach: sell the veggies as DELICIOUS, not as healthy. Five years later, my husband is a borderline vegetarian who looks forward to our weekly trips to the farmers market! LOL

Think of the starchy veggies as "gateway vegetables." Start serving butternut squash soup or a simple curry with carrots, peas, and potatoes. And all of the root vegetables are delicious when gratineed with a little cream and grated cheese.

Roasting root vegetables, sauteeing leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables with bacon/pancetta, and garnishing with a little cheese sauce have all been mentioned here, and were the methods I used to convert my husband into a vegetable lover.

Good luck!

"Fussy *adults*? Let them shift for themselves. I'm not a mommy, concerned with hiding spinach in the brownies or whatever. A growned-up man can eat or not eat what he wants, to his own detriment."

HAIL COMRADE!

The very idea of trying to "get" another adult to do something just makes me itch. You're not their parent. You are either their friend or their partner. If you're their friend, what you need to do is respect their dietary choices, and if you're their partner....you work out a compromise that pleases you both.

Personally, I just respect my friend's food quirks, and when it comes to boyfriends, I tend to not last long with people who are that fussy over food to begin with because I'm pretty much an omnivore.

tempura---anything fried is appealing

grilled corn on the cob---they even sell this at the state fair

beets---they already taste like candy

At 42 years old, I wouldn't be inclined to try too hard to change his habits unless he was willing to attempt eating better. I certainly wouldn't hide vegetables in foods like a desperate mother might.

Start with some gateway dishes (much like drugs). After he learns to like vegetables done up in cheese, sugar, or butter, move on to healthier versions. Broccoli w/ cheese, fresh corn kernels in melted butter, carrots glazed with honey, roasted asparagus in pancetta...

Nora Rocket and empresscallipygos - hear hear!

You both have said it well, so I'll leave it alone and resist re-making your points.

Adults acting like children really chaps my hide.

OH, and might I recommend broccoli in curry sauce? I swear it's good. Used to be the only way I'd eat broccoli as a kid.

On the being an adult bandwagon!
I'm MILDLY picky (I go for the farmiliar), but if someone cooks me a meal I eat it- gladly! It's usually delicious (especially veggie things) and it get's me out of my boring food ruts.
So if someone is picky- well I suggest that they just shop and cook for themselves, or else shut up and be grateful.

Hi, folks!

I'm the "fussy eater" who originally asked for help. I'm not looking to be "tricked" into eating vegetables by hiding them under cheese and sauce. I do eat things like carrots and celery when they're in a stew or something- in fact, when I make marinara sauce it's full of all sorts of stuff - but that means the only vegetables I eat are cooked to low-nutrient mush and usually infused with meat juice. but I'm trying to get to the point where I can look at a veggie tray and think "Oh, boy! RAW VEGETABLES!"

As prep work for this, I'm trying to cut my sugar intake. I like candy. A lot. I think I've shorted out my taste buds by overloading them with hyper-refined crap, and I'm hoping cutting sugar down will allow them to wake up and properly taste food that hasn't been filtered down to all the sweet and none of the substance.

Thanks for all the suggestions- I will definitely be trying out some of them!

My husband doesnt really like veggies much, especially salads, and I wholeheartedly agree with the comments about roasted vegetables. He'll eat most things if they are roasted.

He really hates a big pile of salad normally, I make sure to have a mixture of crunchy veggies, stuff like snap peas, cucumbers and not too much lettuce if I make a salad.

He doesnt seem to mind veggies in a curry, especially a thai curry.

It does sound a bit pathetic, but I'm the one in the household who likes to cook, so I prefer it if my food gets eaten. I'd also keep in mind to keep trying random things and if the picky eater can be openminded, he/she might be surprised at some of the things they like.

I'll add another vote to roasted vegetables, especially good carrots as they can be downright sweet when done properly. There are a lot of relatively easy to eat and nutritious cooked vegetables that I'd focus on first (sweet potatoes, carrots, onions) then try to move on to the less hard to love ones. Remember that a bit of oil and some herbs (and salt) can really help with plain vegetables.

My husband is no vegetable fan either, but I don't have to force him. However, it does help to cook the vegetables in a base which masks or obliterates their flavor like chopping them up finely (or finely grating them) and cooking them in some chicken stock (or whatever). Pilaf, biryani, doria and gratin all work well.

My trick to eat more veggies is to incorporate them into foods I know I like. I'll boil some broccoli with my pasta, put corn and spinach in my tacos and roast some asparagus with my chicken. I like veggies, but I can only get through about one bundle of veggies a week, so I get sick of the same old thing pretty quickly. I also try to make sure the produce I buy is top quality, in season and packed with nutrients. I do not understand iceberg lettuce, as it has zero flavor or nutritional value.

True that an adult should make his or her own food choices. However, after years of poor eating habits, a person might just require a bit of palate retraining.

These two recipes ought to make anyone crave vegetables..

http://www.izzyeats.com/2008/03/parsnips-just-make-them.html

http://www.izzyeats.com/2007/10/vegetable-candy-hint-of-sunday-supper.html

Sugar Snap Peas.
I eat them, raw, like candy!

You're welcome..

wow, I am kind of shocked at the nasty comments here regarding adults who grew up being picky. (by the way, I eat everything under the sun, so I'm not taking it personally). It's amazing how people can turn almost anything into a superiority game. I think anyone who wants to expand their palate should be embraced with open arms by the omnivore set, not shunned!

I do think some of the suggestions are a little counterproductive. A soggy vegetable omlette is not the solution. I think you're better off serving simply roasted single veg dishes with grated parmesan on top. In small quantities. A lot of the time, an unadventerous adult eater is overwhelmed by too many new flavors, so keeping it simple is better than a cacophany of new taste sensations.

Also, try making pureed soups, with some croutons or bacon tossed in at the end for interest. Start with tomato or carrot, and move on up towards zucchini or kale. It's comfort food, and you'll get used to the new flavors that way.

and good on ya for the effort!

My first answer to this question is to not smother the vegetables with cheese, mayonnaise, cream, butter, or other unhealthy sauces, and don't deep-fry them. This just defeats the point of eating vegetables for better health or weight loss.

I respectfully disagree with this. Cheese does not have magical properties to cancel out the nutritional value of broccoli. You're still eating the broccoli. If you like cheese, or mayonnaise, or whatever, and adding those things makes the veggies more appealing, then yes, do that! You'll never get anywhere trying to force someone -- or yourself -- to eat food they genuinely don't like, or abstain from food they love (putting aside things like allergies, of course).*

OK, /soapbox. It is funny that our picky eater here lumps all vegetables together into one unit. Really? Beets=corn=tomatoes=arugula=cucumber=peas? Maybe that's a sign that he's used to encountering vegetables that are prepared too simply and blandly, like a soggy side of green beans. I think variety is the key - a variety of vegetables and of preparations, with other strong flavors to complement the vegetables. Fresh tomato sauce? Potato leek or carrot ginger soup? Spinach and feta omelet? Zucchini bread? Homemade veggie pizza? Then he can start figuring out what, if anything, he really likes and dislikes.

Mark Bittman's recent articles about going "flexitarian" have some good pointers, too.

* Paraphrasing this blog post.

Oops, I missed that the original questioner has already responded and clarified that he's looking for raw vegetable suggestions. In that case, I suggest our favorite "shepherd's salad": just chunks of tomato, cucumber, and feta cheese, tossed with red onion, olive oil, vinegar and herbs and left to marinate for a while before eating. It's amazing.

Ah, dogwelder responds! Thanks for the clarification--your situation as you describe it is very different than what the original question led me to believe: much less about getting someone who "avoids vegetables like the plague" to eat them (which triggered my flame response, apparently ;) ) and much about someone taking it on themselves to eat more and different vegetables differently than they do now.

So, raw veggies such that you would look at a plate and go "ooooo! NOM NOM NOM...." I like to julienne a couple of purple beets, a couple of carrots, and dress lightly with olive oil, balsamic, and a pinch of salt--add toasted almonds for the win. A big plate of red pepper, green pepper, carrot, broccoli, and apple with a cold spicy peanut dip does not go amiss. French cut some raw green beans and dress lightly with a little soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Heck, raw green beans in general, in a bowl, then into my mouth. Diced mango with diced jicama tossed in lime and chili powder. Raw cucumber, de-seeded, diced, and mixed with plain yogurt and a pinch of salt. Shredded zucchini (sp?), leftover cooked rice, small white beans, and a shallot, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. Julienned tender chard in your salad along with the lettuce. The same, but seared really briefly in a hot, hot pan with garlic--then finish with lemon juice (okay, that's not raw, but it's nearly raw). Shredded napa cabbage with thinly sliced red onion and julienned carrot, dressed with rice vinegar and sesame oil (julienned flavored tofu optional for a meal-salad).

Wow, I kind of wish I were you, right now, on the edge of a beautiful vegetable explosion.

to 212gretchen: the original post didn't sound like the picky person was into the effort, but rather that someone else was into it for them. The actual sitch, as clarified later, is much more like what you say about expanding the palate. I stand by my initial resp, but I temper it with this one.

I'm 23 and very picky about veggies as well. I'm a raw fan but I've been slowly working on cooked vegetables. I've started with just blanching the vegetables and once I find that I like something I'll cook it longer and longer until I'm used to the texture and taste. I'm still picky about some things, like carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower, but I love cooked peppers and green beans now.

My mother could get my father and grandfather to eat anything in a casserole. My grandfather bragged on her ability to hide foods he didn't like from him.

Hi Dogwelder,

Thanks for coming back in with the clarification.

Well -- as you've got a sweet tooth, let's start there: carrots sauteed with brown sugar is always a good bet. As for raw stuff -- try just-picked, or as-close-as-you-can-get-to-just-picked, sweet peas or sugar snap peas or corn. With all of those, the closer you can get to being picked, the sweeter they are. (I used to get into trouble when I was a kid because I'd go out and pick peas straight from my grandfather's garden and eat them because they were incredibly sweet. ...Although I didn't get into MUCH trouble because Mom realized, "well, she IS eating vegetables, actually...") with those, you just barely cook them, or in the case of the peas you eat them raw. Cooking too long and waiting too long after you've been picked lessens the sugar in them like crazy.

Start there. Those are good "gateway veggies".

Following-up:

I made the green beans recommended by ADonuts last night. The different responses that my wife and I had to them highlight our different opinion of eating healthy stuff. I ate them and thought "Hey, these are okay- nothing to compose a love sonnet to or anything, but not bad!" Then Katherine told me that she was forcing herself not to eat all of them so I could have some.

They didn't come out as crispy as the recipe said they would, but I think that's because I didn't dry them well after I washed them.

A good start- I knew I could trust someone with "donuts" in their name.