How can I make veggies taste better?

Question

Here is something you've probably never seen. A vegan who despises vegetables, I don't mean that I don't care for them, I've had a deep seeded hatred of them for years, but I care very much about my health, so, I know I need to eat them, but I just can't seem to stomach it. The veggies that I do like are corn, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash and zucchini. I guess my problem is really not liking green, leafy vegetables which I know are rich in iron and tons of other great things, so, what can I do with these little devils so that I can stomach them?

Answer 1

FRY EVERYTHING!!!!! raw veggies are healthy but they suck sometimes. I never cook a boca buger unless it's sitting in a bit of oil with onions and mushrooms and green peppers. Make everything greasy and you will be happy I guarantee.  

Answer 2

how do you eat them? raw? cooked? stir-fried? there are TONS of ways to prepare veggies...just go online and google some vegan recipies...you'll get great ideas

Answer 3

SMOTHER THEM IN THINGS, OF COURSE!

First off, you should try working them into things. FInd recipes that have a lot of ingredients besides the veggies-- pastas and soups might help too. If you don't want to taste the vegetable, then chop it up as small as possible, so that the flavors are as balanced as possible.

When you can't cook something elaborate, you have two choices-- sautee 'em or eat 'em plain! Two of my favorite dishes involve sauteed vegetables-- one is a sauteed broccoli wrap (boil or otherwise prepare broccoli, and then put it in a pan, pour some tomato sauce and olive oil over it, and then let cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli appears to have a natural red tint, then let cool and serve wrapped burrito style in a tortilla) and the other is just basic sauteed veggies (obtain peas and corn in equal measures as well as other veggies you'd like to work in [green beans and broccoli are my faves] and then put in a pan, apply olive oil and garlic salt, and then sautee, stirring to prevent burning, and serve plain once the veggies have taken on the olive oil/garlic flavor. Tastes best when you make sure to only eat peas with corn, which you say you like).

If you're going to eat veggies raw, go wild with dips! Oil and vinegar is good, as is balsamic vinaigrette, and if you don't like dressing then you can always try hummus!

Good luck with your veggie trying! Remember that broccoli is another wonder vegetable (it contains a lot of the same things as spinach) and to layer disliked flavors with yummy ones, and you should be good.

Answer 4

Tons of things! Experiment, fry, bake, stufed, boil, toast, grill, steam, bread, saute and stir-fry them. Make ratatouille or other vegetable based dishes.

Eat them with other foods such as in a salad, pasta, vegan pizza, burrito, wrap, casserole, stew or soup, sandwhich, stir-fry with beans, tofu, tempeh, TVP, and seitan, etc.

Eat them with sauces and dips such as vegan ranch, vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, vegan sour cream, avocado, guacamole, BBQ sauce, mustard, braggs liquid aminos, hummus, tahini, etc.

Veggie recipes:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=489.0

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=524.0

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=493.0

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=157.0

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=162.0

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/veggies/vegg...

Great spinach recipes:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=462.0

Great kale recipe:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=16634....

For dips:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=146.0

More recipes: (just search or look for vegetables or a specific kind)

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2007/08/v...

Answer 5

Hello Ms. Vegan,

I am a Vegetarian and part-time Vegan.  I truly LOVE roasted or marinated grilled veggies.  Corn is especially nice boiled and then grilled on the BBQ...just be careful to not overdue it.  All the other veggies you are talking about are great in marinades and then grilled.  If you don't have a BBQ then use a in home grill.

Leafy veggies are good steamed...I love steamed spinach with a little olive oil and lemon.  I would suggest buying the Italian Vegan book

"Vegan Italiano"  by Donna Klein.  It is excellent.

All the best in the kitchen.

Answer 6

coat them in syrup.

Answer 7

You can add them in stir frys and lasagna so you barely taste them. And add plenty of sauces or seasonings so you really don't taste the vegetables. I find that if you coat veggies in tempura batter, people are more likely to eat them - but then they're really not good for you anymore. Why is almost everything tasty so bad for us! :(

So try sneaking a small amount of spinach or other leafy vegetable into pastas and risottos and maybe even on pizza.  

Answer 8

Try out The Sneaky Chef. She has two books and a new one on the way for sneaking fruits and veggies into foods. You may need to veganize some of the recipes but it would be a start to getting more fresh plant food into your diet.

http://www.thesneakychef.com/

Also, it takes a few times of trying new foods to really make a decision of whether you truly dislike something so make a commitment to try a new fruit or vegetable each week in at least a couple different ways (you can even do that with some fruits/veggies you've already tried). I did this and found several I'd not realized I'd been missing. Also, different preparations can transform foods. Roasting can do miracles especially for Brussels sprouts (amazing) and cauliflower (heavenly) but also asparagus, broccoli, green beans, carrots, garlic, and more (look for recipes on some because broccoli and green beans do better if blanched first before roasting) but basically you chop or break up into bite size pieces (I prefer Brussels sprouts cut in half rather than whole), toss with some good oil (maybe a garlic infused cooking olive oil -- not all olive oils are good for cooking), some salt, maybe some pepper, then pour into a pre-heated roasting pan and roast till browned, a few minutes to twenty or so depending on the veggie and amount of heat as well as how brown you like them.

Kale is about the only deep green leafy veg I like and for me it's best if rolled up and then cut in chiffonade then added to recipes such as atop pizza, or in pasta.

Also, try pepper-salted green beans at a good Chinese restaurant. They are amazing and everyone who's ever tried them are blown away.

Answer 9

make a veggie stir fly with soy sauce or some kind of terriyaki sauce ...not sure if vegan means no dairy but cheese taste good with everything. You could put the stir fry veggies in a wrap!! You can be healthy without being a vegan ..fish and tuna are very good for you!!