Hi. I am 14 yrs, going on 15 in July, and I think I have a nutrition problem. The thing is, I LOATHE any type of fruit/vegetable, and refuse to eat any kind. I know that, sooner or later, this problem will affect my health if it hasn't already. Any advice?
Is there a particular reason why you hate all fruits and vegetables? Having eliminated this major food group, you're missing out on a lot of disease-fighting, heart-friendly fiber, phytochemicals, and antioxidants.
A multi-vitamin can only do so much for lost vitamins and minerals. A few suggestions... Would you consider eating fruits or vegetables if they were in another form, like in a spaghetti/tomato sauce? Or a few fruits blended into a smoothie? How about finely chopped up vegetables (onions, carrots, green beans, etc.) slipped into a dish or soup? Would you drink juice/v8?
The only advice I can offer you is to force yourself to eat them. You have to take a cold approach to food. Trying to coddle yourself into eating them only ways you can "enjoy" will only produce problems with eating well in general. (It will always have to conform to what you "like") You have to learn to like what you want to eat. What you are used to eating is what your body craves. If you eat only vegetables for a month or two you will begin craving vegetables and you will enjoy them. We aren't born with food or taste preferences.
Last edited by prometheus; 02-19-2004 at 08:38 AM.
Hello, Is there a specific reason you don't like them? For example...Too mushy or too hard. You may not like cooked carrots, but you might like them raw. The best thing to do is to experiment and find out what ones you like and how you like them prepared. This sounds really bad, but maybe if you put a little sugar on grapefruit you might like it. You can try slicing up bananas on your cereal or putting berries on your cereal. How about trying various types of dips for raw vegies. I know salad dressing can be kind of sour/sharp, so a dip might work out better for you. How about adding some cheese? It sounds gross, but string beans...especially the fresh or french cut...taste good with a little butter and parmesan cheese on them. I never liked cauliflower, but I got used to it quick when I had some with a yummy cheese sauce. Whipped cream on top of cantalope is great. Try freezing fruit like grapes. Then there's always homemade sorbet...Just freeze fresh fruit for a few hours and put it into a food processor. There's also homemade milkshakes - put milk, ice-cream, a little vanila extract, and fresh fruit into a blender. What about making fruit smoothies? They're good too. The trick is to get started on them with something add to them that you like. Later on you'll get used to them plain.
Do you hate all fruits and vegetables? Are there any that you do like? Maybe you can start with them and work into new territory. Experiment with different ways of preparing them. Pull out the herbs and see if maybe there's something you can do to make them more palatable. Maybe you have an aversion to a particular way they're made. I know my sister loves fresh carrots but cooked carrots make her physically sick. Or, if there's a particular texture you don't like you can try others that don't have that texture.
Is your hatred something you've accepted for a while? If so, your taste buds may have matured since you first assumed you didn't like the tast of fruits and veggies. Speaking personally, I hated asparagus as a child. The smell was nauseating and I hated the taste. My mother just kept making them and having me eat at least one every time and at some point I didn't hate them anymore. It may be that you really don't hate all fruits and veggies, but you just don't know it yet.
Honestly, you're just going to have to do what mothers have been doing for ages: force yourself to try them and go from there.
Fruits and Veggies??? YUCK!!!! 
