I Hate Vegetables! Help!

A beloved friend of mine posed this question: What if you absolutely detest the taste of every vegetable imagine-able besides potatoes, corn, and peas?

I will first offer a few tips for incorporating veggies into your day and then will offer an alternative. =)

1. Try to prepare the vegetables in a different way.
For example, cooked carrots are totally different than a raw carrot! I love carrots, but I prefer them cooked and slathered in butter and brown sugar (hence the pillsbury dough boy figure). BUT, at least I'm getting some healthy veggies in there! Another great vegetable is asparagus (yum). I love spreading out fresh asparagus on a pan and then drizzling it with olive oil and parmesan cheese! Pop it in the oven and YUM YUM YUM! You can get very creative! One serving of vegetables equals about a 1/2 cup. Do you like salsa? Vegetable. What excuse do you have now? And, of course, if none of those appeal to you, you can have a salad! Yes, people, lettuce comes in all sorts of forms and can be appealing in a bowl with the right things on top. You can even kill two birds with one stone and add some fruit (GASP!) to the top of it!

2. Add vegetables that you hate least into the dishes that you love most!
As I've said before, I love pizza. There are few things that would make me dislike pizza. I started to add veggies such as peppers and onions to my pizza and voila! Vegetables. If you love salads: add some shredded carrots to it! There are plenty of ways to mask the taste of vegetables in the foods you already love. Soups are an excellent way to add veggies to your diet! Throw your favorite soup in a crockpot and and add in a few veggies. Brilliant. There are sooo many options!

3. Eat vegetables seasonally and try new things.
I swore up and down until last summer that I hated squash. Guess what? I don't. I found that summer squash and zucchini are marvelous when sprinkled with some olive oil and various spices. That was a staple for me this summer. I recommend this recipe. Delicious! So, find seasonal veggies at the grocery store or local farmer's market that you haven't tried and try them! You can thank me later. I recommend reciting this mantra: buy them and try them! Yes, I came up with that all by myself. =)

4. If none of the above options works for you: Replace vegetables with other healthy foods. You're not going to die because you don't like veggies. I happen to know that fruits are amazing! Although they're higher in sugar and calories, they have the same health benefits as vegetables. Try to opt for fruit that's lower in calories. Check out this site for the 8 healthiest fruits you should be eating. Of course, nobody will complain if you're eating fruits other than those listed. Anything is going to be better than grabbing a Big Mac from Micky D's.

5. A friendly reminder of food serving guidelines
Everybody remembers that lovely food pyramid that they drilled into our brains all throughout school, right? Do you remember the details of it? Yeah, me neither. Here are some good daily health guidelines (thank you, Weight Watchers) to help you get through your day.
Liquids: Drink 6-8 8 oz. glasses of liquids per day. Water is the best option, but anything counts (excluding alcohol...bummer).
Dairy: You should have two dairy products (low fat or fat-free) each day. If you're a nursing mother, a teen, are over 50 (you don't have to admit it), or if you weight more than 250 lbs., then you should have three servings each day.
Fruits & Veggies: You should eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day (9 if you weigh over 350 lbs.). Again, if you hate veggies, eat fruits!
Healthy Oils: Add 2 tsp. of healthy oils (olive, canola, sunflower, safflower, flaxseed) to your diet. Mix them in, cook veggies with them, add them to a smoothie, do whatever you need to, just get them in!
Healthy Choices: Opt for lean meats, skinless poultry, fish, beans, soy products, and lentils. You should also try to choose whole grain foods such as brown rice.
Other Tips: Consume a multivitamin daily. It's the little things...seriously. Also, limit your added sugars and alcohol intake.

People, it's that simple. Seriously.

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