Hi All,
I've been reading a lot of the posts and looking up recipes as im now trying to go down the low carb route.
My problem is i loathe most vegetables. I've been brought up on potatoes and bread all of my life so its a lifestyle i have to change for the better.
So any ideas or pointers would be most helpful for this veg hating T2
I do love onions,mushrooms,cucumber,lettuce,chickpea,lentils and HATE cabbage,cauliflower, brocolli,carrots,sweetcorn, beans,asparagus, aubergine,beetroot,butternut squash,leeks,turnip etc etc
OK, veg hating T2, You could be me! I think i posted something similar a while back, and i totally sympathise with you. I too loathe most vegetables, the texture and smell mostly. (Now may i add that i am a qualified chef and have been cooking professionally for over 40 years, on and off and there is not a single method of preparing vegetables which i have not used. I have stir-fried, roasted, stewed, pureed. coated, disguised with spices, herbs, cheeses, other flavours etc and have not found anything i can honestly say that i like). I understand from another response that some people have higher levels of a chemical in their body, which means the taste of certain vegetables seems distorted or enhanced. I am going to go away now and find said post....
Anyway, i have struggled with my weight on and off for years but i follow a low carb diet and have achieved a modicum of success. Blood sugars down and lost about 7 kilos
But salads made with chopped cucumber, lettuce and seeds such as pumpkin or flax and pine nuts should be palatable, and i make a full fat natural yoghurt dressing with garlic and lemon and mayo and maybe some chillies which i add to shredded cooked chicken or hard boiled eggs or tuna etc. All high in protein and low carb and there is at least a little bit of green in there somewhere.
Certainly look at the low carb recipes, such as low carb muffins, you can add bacon bits and onion and mushrooms to them with the cheese, or spice them up with paprika or chilli powder, and they make a good bread substitute. I had to go cold turkey on the bread, potatoes and pasta though. Which was very hard but i think you will feel better for it and you wont experience the fluctuations in your blood sugar levels. Low carb diets often limit peas, beans, beetroot corn and some other root vegetables and pulses so its worth looking it up.
But don't overthink it, you can go low-carb without forcing down the stuff you hate, and it took me a very long time to accept fats as friends. I was a bit obsessive at first. Not good, just causes more stress. If you find a green vegetable that you can 'tolerate' (for me, strangely, that is spinach) then puree a batch and make soup, using garlic and onions as a means to disguise it a little, to which i add creme fraiche and Boursin. I then eat with said muffin and i feel that i am at least getting one vegetable inside me. I found that i can tolerate the taste of courgettes, so i make a sort of ratatouille with the onions, garlic, a red pepper and mushrooms and some tomatoes and a nice lot of spices. There are loads of recipes available on line and in the forums and it can be a bit time consuming but worth a look. You cant expect to change the eating habits of a lifetime at once, it's unrealistic but try to introduce one of the LOATHED vegetables once a week, even just a small portion.
My tastes have, sadly NOT changed very much in that I still dont ENJOY vegetables, even spinach or courgettes, and for all those who claim they LURVE cauliflower rice...... well, consider me a work in progress. .