When You Don't Like Vegetables

Why is eating healthy(or healthier in my case) so hard!? and by hard - I mean not as delicious as a double cheeseburger and fries.  I will never give up my carbs because let's be honest, people are happier when they have had a cupcake.  DISCLAIMER: I'm not a fitness guru or a health expert - it is always a learning game for me and let's face it, the game is ever changing.  I am running a LOT again.  I want to be healthier - less eating out, a LOT less fast food...but what do I eat?  I have started to eat a couple pieces of fruit a day but I am pretty sure I need to start incorporating more vegetables.

Here's the thing - I eat vegetables...but not the green kind. And NO it is NOT just because they are green. I just don't love a lot of vegetables and they just HAPPEN to be green.  The other thing about the vegetables I eat is that I eat corn and potatoes.  yeah....so that is basically the extent of my veggie intake. That is seriously one of the most pathetic vegetable intake lists EVER.  Oh but wait! To be fair, I did eat sauteed broccoli and zucchini a couple weeks ago! That actually counts =)

I eat the occasional salad - but it is basically only lettuce, carrots, and croutons. My friend calls it a honeymoon salad 'lettuce alone'! I always think of this when I eat a salad...oh I like raisins in my salad. weird? I don't think so ... but my 'normal' compass is a little skewed.

I decided to do a little research and figure out what to do if you don't like vegetables.  I browsed a couple forums with moderately useful information but they were less than supportive. A lot of people said to just 'man up' and eat the vegetables.   Here is my big thing about that...If I didn't HAVE to eat to survive, I would definitely eat a lot less.  Don't get my wrong I LOVE food but I don't live to eat.   Meals are, well, time-consuming. There is a LOT of prep and work that goes into making a meal and then about 10 minutes (MAYBE) to scarf it down.  

My partnering argument to this is because I wouldn't eat if I didn't HAVE to, I want to make sure that whatever I am putting into my mouth is yummy.  The Husband tells me I eat portions like a bird - I eat until I'm full, first.  Second, I am adamant about my portion control...I can ALWAYS go back for seconds. But I can't remove food from my tummy if/when I eat too much.  Because I eat smaller portions, I have less room for a lot of options, therefore, I want anything I eat to be delicious. So I am NOT going to just suck it up and eat something that is less than satisfying to my pallet. I like to enjoy my food.

So what do I do? I have found that I enjoy sauteed vegetables MORE than raw or steamed vegetables. OH!!! I eat fresh green beans that are baked with garlic! (that belongs up in the other paragraph - but this is literally where I thought of it!)  So I'll start trying different and new veggies and saute them. But what else? There has to be other options, right? So I went to Google to see what I could find.

I found an article on WebMD called 'Eat Your Vegetables: 15 Tips for Veggie Haters' - hey that's me!!! So I read it.  AAAANNNNDDDD I'm referencing it so CLEARLY I liked what I read.  I am always for trying a new food with an open mind - I just struggle finding vegetables I like and/or how to cook them at home.

This is the other thing I did for me today:

 

I bought some V8 Fruit juice - it has vegetable servings! Wait - I get to drink something that tastes like a fruit drink but actually has veggies in it?! I am SO in on that! I bought the Strawberry Banana and it is very yummy.  I think I could get use to this! and every little bit helps! =)

Do you like vegetables?
How do you get your veggie intake?