Seeking help on how to cook veggies for veggie haters (drinking water, burgers)

[thatswanlady]

My default method for cooking vegetables for people who don't like vegetables is roasting.

Preheat oven to 425.
Clean/prep vegetable(s) of your choice (FRESH brussels sprouts are especially good here, but I've done baby artichokes, green beans, broccoli, asparagus and cauliflower all with great success) (A word about fresh/frozen/canned vegetables in a minute)
Toss vegetables in baking pan with a light amount of oil (I use a canola/olive blend in my Misto.)
Add seasonings and toss again to coat. I use Cavender's Greek Seasoning, but whatever you like will be fine.
Roast in oven for 25-45 minutes, stirring every so often. Time to roast depends on the vegetable -- you want to wait until there is a good amount of caramelized brown on the vegetables, that gives the sweetness and flavor.
Once done to your preference, take out of oven and toss with grated fresh REAL parmesan cheese (not the green can stuff) and a bit of lemon zest. Lemon zest is optional. Serve!

About canned/frozen/fresh vegetables -- they're generally not interchangeable and this trips up a lot of people, resulting in tons of unpleasant vegetable experiences.
Canned vegetables are cooked and processed before canning -- they're the softest and saltiest vegetables, but generally ill-suited to anything other than boiling or casseroles. The taste difference between a canned brussels sprout and a fresh one is mind-blowing, and it's like this with every vegetable.
Frozen vegetables are a better substitute for fresh than canned, and they provide a good bang for your buck. However, I don't have a lot of success roasting them to the degree I prefer, though they're great for stir-fries and sauteeing in general.
Fresh vegetables are nearly always my preference, but the prep time can be inhibiting to some, particularly new cooks. We rotate baby artichokes, asparagus, broccoli and green beans, and I have prep time for those vegetables down to a quick science.

Best of luck!

[Lost Roses]

I'm not keen on veggies either but if you take the time to roast them they are so delicious. Gobble them like candy! If they aren't roasted I put Ranch Dressing on them. Makes almost anything palatable.

[gouligann]

Home made creamed soup is a great way to get all the benefits of vegetables and might be more tollerable to eating than just cooking them and eating them in their normal form. Tonight I made some in half an hour. Delish!

You'll need a food processor for this recipe.


In a medium soup pot:
Add 1/2 container of chicken broth
Add:
5 stalks of cellery, chopped
one medium carrot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, whole
1/2 a red pepper

boil the vegetables until tender and strain in a pasta colander with a bowl underneath to catch
the broth

Put the cooked vegetables into a food processor with a bit of the broth and whirl until pureed.
Strain it out through the colander again, (with the bowl underneath) pressing with the back of a spoon until all of the liquid is pressed out. Toss the pureed remainder in the garbage.

Chop up 5 mushrooms, (or 1/2 cup cauliflour, or green beans, asperagus, broccoli, etc) put them into the soup pot with 2 tbsp butter and fry until tender. Add 2 tbsp flour and stir into the mushrooms. Gradually add all the liquid into the mushroom mixture, stirring so it doesn't get lumpy. Also add 1 cup of milk or cream if desired and stir to combine. At this point, I usually take about 1/2 cup of the liquid mixture and put it back into my processor and add 1/4 package of cream cheese. I whirl it to combine and return it to the pot.
Heat until thickened and it makes a lovely creamed mushroom or other vegetable soup with the goodness of the vitamins from quite a few different kinds of vegetables.

You can even add some cooked meat, cooked pasta or rice to this if desired.

[gouligann]

Another favorite way of eating our vegetables is:

Chop up into bite sizes:
mushrooms
asperagus
carrots
broccoli
cauliflower
red pepper
1 can sliced pineapple or fresh (reserve 2 tbsp of the juice in a measuring cup)

To the measuring cup, add
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of your favorite bbq sauce
a few shakes of garlic powder
a few shakes of seasoning salt, pepper and any other seasonings you enjoy

Mix together and pour into a ziplock bag with the vegetables. Turn the bag over a few times to coat the vegetables, then
put in the fridge for a few hours to marinate.

Fire up your BBQ and in a grilling pan (with holes), cook the vegetables/pineapple over medium heat until done, but not soggy or burnt.

[StuffedCabbage]

Originally Posted by snapdragon12

I am looking for some guidance on how to prepare vegetables for someone who doesn't like vegetables. Neither myself nor my husband likes vegetables. I can't say I hate all vegetables though. I do like green beans, but only the canned kind that have been cooked for hours in something like bullion. I also like sweet potatoes, but only if they are cooked with lots of brown sugar and cinnamon. I like yellow corn but I consider that more of a starch. I also like carrots if they are cooked with something like honey or maple syrup to make them sweet.

As for my husband, the only veggies he will eat are mashed potatoes (if those even count as a veggie, forgot to mention that I love potatoes as well), fried okra, and raw carrots (he doesn't like the carrots cooked the way I do). And if you consider Bush's baked beans a vegetable, we both like that.

I am looking to find some other vegetables that I may like and that I might be able to convince my husband to try, and suggestions on ways to prepare them so they taste good to me. My taste buds are pretty high-sensing. I don't like anything that tastes remotely bitter or that tastes like grass. I also don't like anything sour. I like foods that taste sweet, or have a bit of zest (but not very spicy). I WILL NOT eat tomatoes or onions. I have had these enough to know that I don't like them. I will also not eat mushrooms.

I should also add that I'm not much of a cooker. So if I see terms like "steamed" or "sauteed" or "roasted" I get scared because I don't know what any of those mean! Of the veggies I like, I never fix them for myself. Any time I've tried to fix green beans the way I like, but they end up tasting like grass. But when my mom fixes them, they are perfect.

The foods we always eat are beef (hamburgers or beef tips with noodles), chicken (chicken parm, bbq chicken, oven fried chicken), pasta (spagetti, lasagna) and pizza. I know we need to start eating some healthy food!

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

While watching America's Test"icle" Kitchen a few weeks ago, they put Brusselsprouts in a 400 degree oven. YUCK! There is nothing more gaggy than burned Brusselsprouts. You only boil those babies for about 6 - 10 minutes max (frozen vs fresh). Tasty as can be with butter and salt and pepper. But just a little bit over cooked they taste like burned garbage. Something like that will kill anybody's taste for veggies. Go French - cook veggies quickly, never overcook.

I never cared much for vegetables until I learned how to cook them properly. Nowadays, I'd rather eat veggies then meat. Now that is something!

[manhattangirl]

Buy a juicer. If you like fruit juice then you will like vegetable juice. Carrot juice is just as sweet as OJ and its a cute orange color. Cucumbers are very fresh and light. You can add sugar to the cucumber juice if you don't find it sweet enough. People usually think of green veggie juice and get turned off but you can also make nice tasting ones as well. Even your kids will like it.

You can also make ice cream and pastries with vegetables.

You mentioned a few cheese dishes in your opening post. When I was little I would eat almost anything that was covered in cheese. Try adding some veggies to your mac and cheese or your lasagna or your pizza. If you cook them down you wont even see them but they will add flavor and nutrition.

Green bean casserole? Carrot cake? Beef stew with veggies that have been cooked so long they have dissolved? Sweet potato fries? Spaghetti squash with butter and salt?

Corn and potato are both vegetables, so if you eat those you are eating vegetables. Tomato is a fruit.

Don't eat anything that grosses you out. Be imaginative and have an open mind.

Also, ask your doctor to check your cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and waist measurement to be sure that your current diet is okay.

[fibonacci]

Smoothies and juice are a good way, but one must not forget you simply don't get the same benefits roughage wise as you would by consuming the whole vegetable. Juicing and smoothies reduce the amount of work your body has to break down the food (i.e. your colon gets less cleansed).

[runswithscissors]

WAtch RAchel Ray or go to her website to learn how to do that.

She cooks easy simple things which is how I eat and she's on a "veggie well balanced meal fun for the whole family" kick lately.

Also chop them small and put in a good mac and cheese. Everyone needs to learn how to cook a foolproof one if they eat that sort of thing. Evaporated milk is the secret clue. It doesnt taste like it when it's cooked and creates a more creamy texture.

The other secret is BUTTER!! Even though I adore veggies plain, most people love the extra sweetness of butter.

Squash is very bland and therefore not quite as much bang for your buck as a darker green or red. Always rotate your greens and veggies. Different ones don't eat just Kale for 6 months in other words.

Fruit JUICE is not a healthy thing. Yes veggie juice is but it's harder to start people out liking that.

At first....You should be making smoothies with the fiber, like from a Nutribullet, not [fruit] juice from a juicer, IMO. Fruit juice is a sugar spike. Smoothies - you can disguise YOGURT, pasteurized egg whites for protein to balance out the sugar in fruits and disguise veggies. If you throw two pieces of pineapple or 1/2 apple in a smoothie your peeps won't even taste two handfuls of spinach and a bunch of egg whites! You can also add coconut oil for health and flavor. You can even hide TOMATOES and CARROTS in a smoothie!

I use Cabot full fat (10%) plain yogurt and freeze some ahead. I do NOT believe in things like low fat especially for kids. We need fats. Animal fats. Or coconut or olive oil.

To get them addicted start out with favorite flavor combinations and sweet. The wean it off and decrease. A banana will make a smoothie creamier as will an avocado. Big bonus you can buy frozen fruits so you don't wast alot of them going bad in the fridge.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Oh boy...as a veggie-lover I don't get this! I would die eating nothing but pasta and meat. But I do applaud your quest for eating more vegetables.

First - steamed, sauteed, roasted: Dead easy and very forgiving. Google those terms.
Steamed is just chopped vegetables in a little water on the stove top or in the microwave until done.
Sauteed is chopped vegetables stirred around in oil or butter until done.
Roasted is (usually coated with a little oil and seasoning first) chopped or whole vegetables stuck in the oven for 30-45 minutes until done. Actually you might like roasted carrots and other root vegetables; roasting brings out the natural sugars:

Roasted Root Vegetable “Candy” | The Pioneer Woman Cooks | Ree Drummond

If your mom makes great green beans, ask her for her recipe.

It is hard for me as well. I like veggies more than fruit I think. I would guess the best thing for the OP to remember is: don't over cook the veggies, yes, roasting will help; using butter (not all that healthy, but at least it is a way) and garlic also makes them tasty. I use a lot of lemon including jest. One of my favorite ways to cook asparagus is in the toaster oven, with a little olive oil, garlic and sea salt. Then when roaster, it doesn't take long, sprinkle with a little lemon juice and zest. Another way, put veggies in salads.

[GrandviewGloria]

Food processors and blenders make a world of difference. The primary issues you two have with vegetables (I suspect) are the 'mouth feel' and relative difficulty of chewing vegetables. Just grind/puree and combine... It's fun to experiment.

And learning to spice things up is ever so important. Find the health food co-op nearest you, and visit their bulk spices section. Generally, the spices there are fresher and cheaper than you'll find at the big box grocery stores. WAY fresher!!! Don't be surprised if you find the top local chefs there, stocking up.

Cumin, Dill Seed, Celery Seed.... so many staples you should have on hand. And generally, there's a pepper blend (that you grind, yourself, in a pepper mill) that is out of this world.

And then, there are the AROMATICS: Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Celery, Fennel, Lemon Grass, Parsley, Chives, Shallots...

Also, there are the herbs (fresh is always better, IMHO): Thyme, Rosemary, Dill, Sage....

Then, take the spiced-up ground vegetables, and stir them into grain dishes (rice would be the most obvious, but there are wonderful whole grains like Buckwheat and Kamut, too), or pasta dishes. One of my favorites is to grind up raw Collard Greens, add powdered Nutmeg and a bit of Garlic, and stir them, at the end of cooking, into a grain dish.

Too, you can grind raw vegetables (blanched, usually, or well-washed), and either add them in a ball, to the middle of a salad, or make a fresh, raw salad dressing with them. My job in the kitchen is to make the raw sauces and spice blends. These get used on all sorts of things.

But most important is to get in there and start experimenting.

Maybe next time you make pasta, instead of buying a pasta sauce, make your own, with raw tomatoes, onions and spices, in a sauce pan. Stir into the nearly-done pasta, chopped Romaine (I keep Romaine Hearts in the fridge at all times...), chopped celery, chopped carrots, toward the end of cooking the pasta. Allow them to cook with the pasta for a minute or two, and then drain. Then, stir in your own home-made pasta sauce, a good Olive Oil, pepper blend, and maybe sliced Avocados and maybe cooked shrimp... Easy.