Two part plan to tackle my anti-veggie disposition page

[eglue]

I got a problem. I don't eat enough greens. The primal part of eating meat... no problem. The green stuff? Oh brother.

Part 1
So I decided to invest in a juicer. My plan is to use it as supplemental to my diet.

Basically, I'm going to juice oranges & berries, with stuff like spinach and broccoli and just down this sludge on a daily basis.

Has anyone else tried this? I know that juicing isn't great in that a lot of the fiber is going to be stripped out but I feel I need SOMETHING like a injection of this stuff to get my use to getting more greens.

Part 2
My job forces me to eat out a lot. That creates problems for me in regards to .. well better food. That and couple with my tumultuous relationship with veggies, I decided the best thing I can do is just be liberal in my use of the salad menu. Basically, eat whatever is available on the salad side of the menu. That'll force me to eat some of the greens and hopefully get my pallet to grow up a little bit.

That's my plan. +my no soda for 30 days.

We'll see what happens.

[primal pete]

I like to cook my greens in butter or bacon fat in a skillet to make them taste better. Adding spices or tasty fats to veggies goes a long way. Plain ass vegetables are pretty weak. Be careful with the juicer...juicing removes fiber and pulp and gives you a ton of sugar in a small serving. I prefer just blending things over juicing.

[Velocity]

Be careful with salads. Avoid cheeses (well, most cheeses), avoid dressings (if you must, get something like balsamic vinaigrette on the side), avoid croutons, er... probably a few other things, but that's the gist. Avoid the non-primal stuff (duh).

Also, in restaurants, you can typically ask for steamed vegetables as a substitution for sides. In fact, getting a good-portioned piece of meat and a couple vegetable sides makes a fairly safe option for restaurant dining.


I second the idea of blending, not juicing. You keep the fiber and pulp = much, much better for you.

[Egoldstein]

eglue, I would suggest green smoothies instead of juicing, that way the whole of the plant goodness goes in. Start with spinach smoothies and fruit to begin and gradually increase the proportion of spinach. You really can't taste it. For cooked veggies, start with the ones you like and always have a big helping of those, then try a different new veggie each time (this is where restaurants are good). Cooked in bacon and butter makes everything better. Finally, if you are drinking lots of sugary drinks and artificial sweeteners, stop. The longer you stay off of those, the less bitter veggies will be. To me steamed veggies like broccoli and brussels sprouts have a slight sweet taste.

[eglue]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I knew that "juicing" wasn't going to float too well here but I'm tackling this kicking the soda from my life first. In the meantime, I'm just trying to eat/digest more vegetables in general. I would love something like V8, unfortunately I'm interested in swallow a block of salt that comes with that stuff. So I figure I'd make my own vegetable juice and just start amping up the greens in it.

I will definitely look into having real butter around. I do actually enjoy steamed vegetables with Cholula hot sauce. I'm a newbie primal eater so these changes are all pretty big for me already.

[geekgrrl]

I guess if the juice helps you get some nutrition, but yeah....

I'm personally not a fan of salad. There's lots you can do with cooked veggies. Stir-fries, gratins, cooked in along with the roast so they get a delicious meaty flavour.

[cillakat]

I got a problem. I don't eat enough greens. The primal part of eating meat... no problem. The green stuff? Oh brother.

I tell my kids they don't have to like it, they just have to eat it.

I juice.....but the oranges? not so much. Too much fructose.

My main juice is 1/2 celery with 1/2 cucumber as a base, with a little parsley, 1/2 a lemon (skin and all), then with a little of something dark: broccoli, kale, collards, lettuces of various types, beet greens, spinach, sunflower *sprouts* etc.

I don't do raw crucifers more than twice a week or high oxalic greens more than twice a week......dark lettuces and buckwheat sprouts or sunflower sprouts are always good.

And if you'll eat salad out, you can eat salad at home too.

Fwiw, I have a greenstar juicer that's been going strong for 9 years.

[yodiewan]

Try different ways of preparing veggies (roasintg, steaming, sauteeing) and as mentioned use a good bit of fat to enhance flavor (and nutrient absorption!) . I found this recipe from Alton Brown and my girlfriend will actually eat them prepared this way:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...ipe/index.html
Behold the magic of bacon, cream, and cheese, haha.
And keep trying them out. You may find that a vegetable that you thought you hated actually tastes alright if prepared properly.

[MamaGrok]

I'm a reformed veggie HATER. I mean HATER. ! When I got married, I often said that the only green veggie I'd eat was pickles. The only non-green I'd eat was corn & carrots. Yeah. Total sugar addict. What helped me reform:

-As someone mentioned, sugar totally whacks your taste buds. So as you get it out of your life, you'll come to appreciate flavors other than "Sweet."
-REAL veggies cooked WELL. Without exception, the veggies I hated most were either poorly grown or poorly prepared. I still can't stand and won't eat grocery store tomatoes or celery, or frozen brussels sprouts, or "Southern" green beans (= boiled for hours and hours). Organic veggies taste better b/c they have more nutrients & are bred for nutrients/flavor instead of appearance/traveling1000s-of-miles.
-Back to cooking well - if I don't know what to do with a veggie, I just slice & saute in butter or bacon grease, then sprinkle with a little salt & pepper. Never fails. Brussels sprouts are absolutely delicious this way. I even got my father, an avowed B.S. hater, to admit that they were "alright" this way, lol. Sometimes I break for variety and roast or grill instead, but it's the same basic idea. Yes, there are tons of great recipes, but I need simple in my life!
-Salads - I thought about what I put on at a salad bar. Chickpeas, colored bell pepper strips, olives, artichoke hearts ... what are the things you love to put on salad? I stocked up and keep them open & in the fridge all the time. I keep a large plastic bowl full of salad, grated carrot, & any other ingredients that won't wilt the lettuce, and just grab a big handful for lunch & dinner, adding any other things I want to. I keep my fave dressings on hand, although usually just go bals. & evoo.
-Restaurants. The fake oil in their dressings makes me feel icky, so I keep bals. vin. & e.v. olive oil in my car in a small glass container - no kidding! It comes into the restauran tin my purse or pocket and onto my salad. No biggie! (I've done the same with butter on vacations - hit the Waffle House with butter from our cooler and put it on our eggs/grits/whatever instead of their nasty spread stuff.) Only the most gourmet of restaurants seem to use 100% olive oil and/or butter in their cooking.

BTW - I thought MDA folks weren't fiber lubbers? I'm not a juicing or green smoothie fan myself, anyway, but I was wondering ...

Good luck!

[Grol]

Top your veggies with bacon.