Advice for someone who does not like vegetables?
Hi Guys~
I just got an email from a neighbor asking for advice.
First she wanted advice for juicing...tantalizing recipes. I can direct her to places for that.
Her last question is what I need more help on: "Any tips on how to make cabbage, brocolli, asparagus....ect....not taste so bad?????"
I was shocked by this because I like vegetables and eat them in delicious ways all the time!
Since I don't think vegetables taste bad and I love and enjoy them...I want to be able to answer in a way that is receptive to her. I don't get her feelings about this so I want to be helpful to her point of view.
My ideas are to direct her to good cookbooks that know how to prepare them in delcious ways ex How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Bittman, or that vegan sauce book. Cookbooks that teach you how to make vegetables in delicious ways that are attractive to the mainstream (not macrobiotic, or strictly "raw", or "weird" in anyway).
Any suggestions on what to suggest/say to someone who doesn't like vegetables much?
Thanks
Tell her to get over her fear. I used to dislike many vegetables but slowly introduced them into my diet. I think disliking foods is in your head a lot of the time and since she has a preconceived notion about them she'll never get over her fear until she's ready to man up and move on. I don't have any other advice for your friend.
As far as the cruciferous veggies (cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower) go, tell her not to boil them but instead to thinly slice and stir-fry them. You don't get the suphurous smell unless you boil or steam them. Same for asparagus; I much prefer them roasted or pan-fried cut into little chunks. She might try this salad: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=21624.msg186625#msg186625
asparagus roasted
broccoli steamed or pan fried with some oil/ in a stirfry... i don't like it roasted
cabbage i add to stirfys or salad
Cabbage soup! It's fucking delicious. But then again.. I like cabbage.
Mashed cauliflower..
Of course sauces help.
Geez, I'm super picky with veggies and hate a lot of them, but cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli are among my favorites! I can't imagine ever hating such wonderful things! :o
Try the broccoli and the cauliflower with other veggies like red peppers and onion in a thai peanut sauce. Delicious. And asparagus is great roasted in an oven then sprinkled with sesame oil.
I love veggies cooked and uncooked, sauced or unsauced, spiced and unspiced but I never used to be that way. I agree that you can get stuck in a rut with cooking but it's good to just give things a go. Veggies are so adaptable (sometimes people are not).
As for cauli and broc, one of my favorite things is cauli/broc/carrot baked in a "cheesy" sauce.
The veggies she listed can have a pretty strong flavor. Maybe she is a supertaster? Supertasters taste the bitter flavors in veggies much more. There is no reason she needs to eat the offending vegetables - she can pick ones with different and possibly less offensive flavors. How about bell peppers, carrots, lettuce (try different varieties - each has a slightly different flavor), spinach, mushrooms, etc.
Asparagus is great roasted - snap off the tough ends, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then roast under the broiler until it just starts to blacken (the tips usually blacken first). I love steamed broccoli - it is so easy to steam in the microwave. Cabbage I'm not a big fan of, but I don't mind it in stews at restaurants so it might be good in a slow-cooked dish.
Roasting till brown improves the flavor of most veggies, including the ones you mentioned. Sometimes you may have to force yourself to eat something until you like it, too. If all else fails, you can add salt or fat to make anything taste better....