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Veggies for beginners?


Ajcrist

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I grew up on hamburger helper and virtually no veggies, so trying to start eating veggies in my 20s after eating processed foods my whole life has been tough. I physically cannot do green beans with out throwing up, but I did try cauliflower and spaghetti squash for the first time ever this week. (I'm on day 5) I didn't necessary like the cauliflower or squash, but it was tolerable and I can learn to eat it. Any ideas on what else I can try? I like peas and could eat carrots non stop and I also can eat leafy greens in a salad. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I have 3 little kids and feel like they are dependent on me to set a good example for them. I want them to grow up eating veggies and healthy so they don't have to struggle like I am as an adult.

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Peas are off for Whole 30, I believe, because they're a legume. You might like snow peas, which I believe are ok since they're more pod than pea.

I definitely recommend looking up recipes for vegetables -- well seasoned/prepared vegetables are so much better.

My favorites are broccoli, bell peppers, brussels sprouts (oven roasted), asparagus, fresh spinach (for salads), zucchinni and/or yellow squash, acorn squash, turnips (turnip fries are a favorite), kale (as kale chips).

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Try roasted veggies to start. Butternut squash and sweet potatoes.

For the sweet potato get a garnet yam if you can and wash it well. Butter the outside with ghee salt and pepper it and wrap it in foil or parchment paper. I usually cook mine at the same time as I roast chicken. So start in a preheated 475 oven for 30 minutes. Leave it... Don't open the oven. After 30 min. Reduce heat to 350 bad bake another 45 min. If you have a whole chicken, salt and pepper the outside of it let it sit at room temp for 20 min and roast it at the same time... Dinner!

Butter nut squash roasted in chunks with just salt and pepper. Then you can purée with broth for a yummy soup. I top with pumpkin seeds and crab or diced shrimp... Even diced hard boiled egg

Brussell sprouts.

Get fresh bright green tight leaved ones. Then cut them in half toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and I like to add pecans. Roast until the Brussel sprouts are getting a nice caramalization...do these at 350

Red bell peppers. Raw is great, they are sweet and yummy. You can roast these too. I prefer to put them right in my burner until they are black. Turn for even blackness, put them in a ziplock until they are cool. Then peel off all the blackness. You can use then in sauces, with meats in salad etc.

Avocado... Slice and eat. Guacamole, add to your salad dressing to liven up your greens.

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I used to never eat veggies and had a very limited palate on what I would and wouldn't eat. I got sick with how picky I was and started to try and get myself back into veggies. My advice is you know the handful of things you like, so stick with those and gradually introduce 1 or 2 new ones every trip to the grocery store. Find recipies that sound good if you don't really know what to do with it (Sunchokes, anyone?). And if you don't like something, don't immediately write it off. Wait a month, try it again, and maybe use a different technique or recipe when you try it again (roast it instead of steam it, put ghee instead of coconut oil on it). It took me a while to re-introduce the texture and flavor of veggies back into my "happy place" but it can be done! Oh, and try to choose fresh over frozen/canned, especially if something isn't your favorite. I too hated green beans (made me gag) but found that when they were fresh and crisp instead of overcooked I really liked them.

Welcome to the wide world of veggies! :)

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Thank y'all for the tips! I will definitely be trying them

And thanks for the reminder about peas- i did read that but totally forgot. I try to verify things with the shopping list before I actually eat them bc I can be an airhead at times haha

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Two sweet potatoes, cut in half, on a baking sheet (I used my pizza stone) at 400F. When they can be stabbed with a fork and are leaking liquid, turn it off until they're able to be held by hand. The skins will fall off, and you can just dump the centers into a bowl. Mash with 1/2 cup coconut milk and a hefty serving of cinnamon and/or nutmeg and/or ground cloves. Satisfied me for breakfast with sausage, egg, and roasted mushrooms (another great veggie if you like mushrooms!).

Also, try some of these:

http://www.freerangecrossfit.com/2011/roasted-vegetable-salad/ (I'm making this in a few hours after church)

http://rikishore.com/2011/12/cumin-spiked-sweet-potato-fries/

http://balancedbites.com/2012/07/easy-recipe-garlc-dill-vegetables.html

These all should be a good way to try new stuff. I'm trying Brussel Sprouts for the first time in the top recipe! If I don't like them, I'll pick them out and eat the rest of the veggies!

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I'm in the same book as you. My life saver has been duck fat. If you can find this (I find it at speciality butchers as well as some grocery stores like whole foods, fairway) it will really pop some roasted vegetables. I especially love brussels sprouts roasted in it until nice and crisp

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I peel, slice, and boil sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are soft enough to mash. Then drain and add a little ghee, salt, and pepper.

Make friends with kale, collard greens, and Swiss chard. I prepare them all the same way and make about 3 bunches at once. Boil a large pot of salted water. Strip the leaves from the stems and discard the stems (sometimes I will save Swiss chard stems and chop them up to use like diced bell peppers). Rinse the leaves and then boil them for 3 minutes in the salted water. Use tongs to push them around and get everything under water. After 3 minutes, remove the leaves to another dish to cool. Store in the refrigerator and eat them straight or chop them up to use in other dishes. I eat greens like this at least twice a day. The boiling kills the bitterness without adding oil.

Broccoli. The frozen organic florets from Costco are the highest quality I have found and easier to prepare than fresh. Boil water, place the florets in a steamer and steam them for 8 minutes. Discard the water and place the florets in the hot pan, add ghee to melt, and season with salt and pepper or anything else you like.

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I would try roasting a lot of your veggies to start. It's a great way to cook them as they will tend to caramelize just a bit and they'll taste a little sweeter. My personal favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes is to cut them in 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces. Toss them in salt and pepper, paprika and cumin (you can just use salt and pepper if you don't like those other spices). and roast them at 400 for 30-40 min. They begin to caramelize and almost blacken on the bottom and are so yummy.

If veggies are new to you, you may want to stick to some milder ones to start. Zucchini and Yellow squash. Slice and saute in some oil or ghee for 5-7 min until they just begin to soften. Toss in onion and mushroom as well if you like those.

We also roast our broccoli tossed in salt and pepper and oil. It's about the only way I like broccoli and it's pretty tasty as well. about 18-20 min in the oven

Keep experimenting and you'll find more veggies that you like. You'll find your taste buds adapting as you get more used to eating more whole foods. I applaud the change you are making for yourself and your kids.

I often cook our sweet potato and broccoli and carrots together. Start the sweet potato first and about 20 min in I add the broccoli and carrots to same sheet pan I have in the oven and they everything is done and hot at the same time.

If you like garlic, you might try sauteing some baby spinach with oil and lots of garlic. I just leave it in long enough for it to start to wilt so it doesn't overcook.

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