OH doesn't like veg...

Fozz

My DH doesn't like green veg apart from peas and green beans, or root veg apart from carrots. He will also eat salad veg, but certainly doesn't eat anywhere near 5 a day!
I have found out that there is a certain substance in cabbage, broccoli, sprouts etc which makes that strong smell when they are boiled, and some people are sensitive to it and simply can't eat these veg without gagging!
My MIL always grew most of her own veg and tried her best to make him eat them without success, so I think with some people it's a genuine dislike which they can't change.

lynzpower

I have found out that there is a certain substance in cabbage, broccoli, sprouts etc which makes that strong smell when they are boiled, and some people are sensitive to it and simply can't eat these veg without gagging!

Completely agree. However I quite like broccoli stir-fried in balck bean sauce. Cabbage i cant stand cooked- apart from with apple & red wine mmmm- but like it in salads and coleslaw.I cant eat srouts- but I saw Jamie do a stirfried sprout thing once and would be open about trying that if I saw it on a menu.

Pee

I do think it is learnt behaviour in childhood and I credit my mum that I am not fussy. That said, unless you are really struggling, there is no point turning meals into an ordeal.

My boyfriend is not very good with vegetables, but loves roasted vegetables, sweetcorn, asparagus, courgette if it is stuffed with meat and pretty much anything except a mushroom in a casserole. If your OH doesn't like casserole, does he like curry or chilli? Because that is quite similiar and vegetables can be hidden very well in there. I think the pureeing tips are brilliant!!

Might it be worth getting him to do the shopping one week, so he could see the cost? Or getting him to go through the 50p thread that someone else suggested and tell you which recipes he would like?

VenusFlytrap_2

I do admire the ladies on here who have stood up to their fussy OHs and got them eating veg (especially the ones who are managing to do it without them knowing!), but I can also sympathise with the veg haters because I hate them too!

Apparently I loved veggie meals when I was very little, but can't actually remember ever liking them and 20 years on I'm still the same! The only veg I'll eat on its own is potato and crispy seaweed (aka fried cabbage - love the stuff!) - salad is probably the next most tolerable although I never eat it by choice, only when it's served to me. Cucumber is OK though and I'll eat tomatoes, onion, mushroom etc in sauces like bolognaise or curry, but there's never any other veg on my menu even though I know I should eat more for my health - although thankfully I do love fruit and eat plenty. Just don't like the taste, texture or smell of most veg and I have kept trying things as I've got older, because everyone has always said that your tastes change with age... I do appreciate dark choc, cheese and red wine now I'm a grown up but not sure if I'll ever get there with veg!

Having said that, I might start trying some of the sneaky tips you lot use on your OHs on myself, like making veg puree to put in casseroles etc. Just starting to experiment with my new slow cooker so it could work quite well with that... thanks for the inspiration guys!

stevenhp1987

VenusFlytrap wrote: »

The only veg I'll eat on its own is potato and crispy seaweed (aka fried cabbage - love the stuff!)

Potato is not veg...

But in regards to the whole not eating veg, I was a fussy eater as a kid, I ate 2x quarter pounds with chips and a tin of baked beans for dinner EVERY DAY

Also had 6 slices of toast for brekkie and 3x whole cheese sandwiches a day (12 slices a day....)

After moving out 3 years ago I forced myself to change, now enjoy a lovely diet with my 5 a day in it, I would say, force it upon them! They will end up liking it eventually!

lostinrates

I used to take care of kids in my uni holidays. Its amazing how many kids are fussy. It won't help husbands but older children, IME, are more likely to eat vegetables if they've been involved in cooking them, also, I think that it was not a parent helped, often they'd be eating something and then put it down when their parents got home and expressed surprise/pleasure. :might be worth thinking about with children of fussy men, get them helping, even grwing if you can.:) Also a mirepoix -of carrot, celery and onion can be whizzed in a blender and added to almost everything - if all else fails!

FWIW though I love veg I sometimes find salad a bit hard to take. I get round this my cutting everything up into small cubes abut 1-2 cms, not tiny but more relish sized than salad sized. And thats what it feels like: eating relish, not salad, which, even though its the same basic salad ingrediants, seems so much more palatble on unsalady days.