Healthy Food Without Veg

LittleLauz

I'm not trying to sound horrible, but you're his girlfriend, and he's a grown man!!
There is no reason whatsoever that you need to be going through the trouble of trying to hide veg in his diet. He needs to accept responsibility for his own health, and that means eating a balanced diet with fruits and veg, if he's not willing to accept a lifestyle change then perhaps he's not really serious about losing weight and getting healthy.
I'm sorry to be blunt, but it sounds more like you're caring for a naughty toddler than a boyfriend!!
And to be honest, I myself do not eat THAT much fruit and veg, no where near
five portions of fruit and veg a day, yet I'm perfectly healthy at the moment, not overweight, my blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose are all fine. So it's not just about eating more veg etc, but more to do with just eating less junk in my opinion - obviously I'm not an expert but it works for me.

SallyForth_2

I feel for you, I find it baffling that a grown adult can be like this, afterall vegetables aren't that shocking a flavour, and nearly all vegetables can become palattable if you keep trying them and get used to them. It seems a pity that so many people are not prepared to do this anymore - all it takes is a bit of determination.

In your boyfriend's case, I am wondering, is he determined not to try, or does he wish he could eat them but is afraid to in some way? If the first, I wonder if he is really that committed to losing the weight, because if he was, he should know that he has no chance unless he embraces the humble vegetable. If the second, then maybe he might benefit from some sort of theropy, as any sort of deep routed fear can be very difficult to overcome.

cyclingyorkie

I believe you can mash cauliflower - so you could add that to mashed potato - thus sneaking another on e in!

Or you threaten to nominate him to the BBC show Freaky Eaters or suchlike!

Drea

SallyForth wrote: »

I feel for you, I find it baffling that a grown adult can be like this, afterall vegetables aren't that shocking a flavour, and nearly all vegetables can become palattable if you keep trying them and get used to them. It seems a pity that so many people are not prepared to do this anymore - all it takes is a bit of determination.

In your boyfriend's case, I am wondering, is he determined not to try, or does he wish he could eat them but is afraid to in some way? If the first, I wonder if he is really that committed to losing the weight, because if he was, he should know that he has no chance unless he embraces the humble vegetable. If the second, then maybe he might benefit from some sort of theropy, as any sort of deep routed fear can be very difficult to overcome.

He is keen to try. He keeps saying he would absolutely love to be able to eat a salad in the summer, although lettuce is one of the worst things for him!

He will eat mushrooms so that's a plus. We're now trying to find things he can try without being overwhelming. Fingers crossed!

Fruball

If it were my i'd send him off to a hypnotherapist. Honestly I would! I am sure they would be able to change his attitude towards veg and at least try more.

Worth a shot - some places are not that expensive and it would be worth it rather than a life time of picky eating

mlz1413

McKneff wrote: »

Its not a case of growing up.

Could you, on a daily basis eat something (5 of) that you didnt like

Trying to eat veg, and believe me I have tried actually makes me retch.

In the OP's case her OH has not tried any veg to-date but declared he doesn't like any.

It appears that a one-to-one adult conversion has actually made him agree to try some thing - well done Drea and good luck for the future.

aplaceinthesun

Yes well done and good luck to your OH, he is doing so well by agreeing to try some veggies. Hope he enjoysthe curry !

babyshoes

Try using cauliflower instead of rice with a curry or stew. Cook the cauli (I nuke it in some water) until it is nice and soft (ie overcooked) then drain it thoroughly and leave to cool until you can handle it without burning yoruself.

Wrap it in an old but clean tea towel or two and squeeze as much water out of it as you can - twisting works quite well here. When dry, mash any remaining lumps with a fork or masher and serve as you would rice - warm it up first if it is too cold. It is quite bland so it works well with curry, though it doesn't soak up the sauce quite as well as rice does, so make the sauce a little thicker than usual.
That was a trick we used when we were on the atkins diet and couldn't have carbs like rice but wanted a treat like curry.

I was also going to ask if he eats fruit? You can easily get a few of your 5 a day with fruit - though remember that it is quite high in sugar so be careful when dieting. Juice can count for one (but no more because it doesn't have the fibre), you could do a fruit based dessert like a crumble or jelly as another, and a piece of fruit as a snack gives another. Fruit doesn't have to be fresh; tinned, frozen and dried also count - same for veggies, so maybe try him on tinned veg, as it has a different texture and taste to freshly cooked veggies.

caitlyn22

I have some light to offer at the end of this tunnel!

When I met my OH he pretty much survived on pasta, cheese, chicken and bread. For ages he protested and would just say he hated veg and wasn't interested. He only started to warm to the idea because he could see I was having a nightmare trying to cook to satisfy my tastes (vegetarian) and his.

I just insisted he tried things, whether he claimed to have before or not. What I found was that he had some fairly intense food 'barriers', having convinced himself he didn't like things! I'm not sure why this was but his family had always had a fairly unhealthy diet and had never encouraged him to experiment or try new things - food was seen as fuel and I think this is practical but somewhat limiting for some people.

These days he enjoys all sorts - the other night he was actually looking forward to a celeriac and spinach bake! Generally I would make sure there was something on the plate he enjoys, so if it was veg soup, I'd crisp some chunks of chorizo for the top but truth is he is fine without it now. The only thing he's ever tried and spat out was sushi, and to be honest I was pushing it with that one! As far as veg goes, rather than blitz or blend it, I make sure it's a little undercooked - I hate mushy veg and found he's the same.

I think there are definitely tastes and flavours that can disgust us but we're built with a survival instinct and for centuries that has meant surviving on whatever natural produce was available, so I don't buy the theory that someone can 'only' eat a certain limited range of foods, unless it's allergy or intolerance related.

maman

Just remember, if he's trying to lose weight to avoid tinned fruit in syrup.