Vegetables are undoubtedly declared the healthiest foods around. When you throw in the fact that many of us didn’t grow up eating them, they take some preparation to taste good, and that kids are slow to warm up to them, you got yourself some barriers.
We are starting with you, the parent, because how you feel about vegetables sets the foundation in the home. Here are three barriers that may be holding you back — and what to do about them.
The Should Syndrome
In a 2001 study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education, researchers examined the meaning of fruits and vegetables in the lives of 10 couples (aged 20-60). One theme that came up was something they called the “should syndrome.” This was the tension created by the low status of such foods growing up coupled with their idealization in society.
What happens is people know they “should” eat their veggies, but these foods never became habits or preferred foods. In essence, they are associated with guilt and the enjoyment factor is low. One reader wrote in with this very dilemma: “My biggest challenge is vegetables. I know they are so good for us but honestly, I have never really enjoyed veggies, so I never prepare them.”
What to do? If this is a problem for you, then you need to do for yourself that was never done for you: expose yourself to different vegetables. There are so many ways to enjoy them. Take it slow, and allow yourself to drop what doesn’t taste good and favor what does. Research shows that people who eat fruits and vegetables consistently, do so for taste as much as nutrition.
Vegetables as a Negative
Stephanie was put on her first diet when she was just 7 years old. She remembers having to eat vegetables while her friends and siblings enjoyed cake and ice cream. Now that she is an adult and has dieted on and off for years, she realizes she has come to view vegetables as punishment for being overweight.
Another negative could be being forced to eat foods like veggies as a child, something discussed in this post.
What to do? It’s important to remember that certain circumstances helped create this view of vegetables, not you. Changing negative perceptions takes time but acknowledging the root cause and letting go is key. For example, Stephanie dropped dieting and learned a new way of viewing veggies — and felt no guilt for adding fat to make them extra tasty.
The Cooking Factor
Cooking has been my biggest veggie barrier. I became interested in vegetables after high school. This was around the same time I got a job waiting tables at a place called “Skinny Haven.” As the (bad) name implies, they made food light and healthy and I enjoyed their vegetable dishes and salad bar. I have always had access to vegetables through my jobs waiting tables and as a health professional (often for free!) or through take out like at Whole Foods. But cooking vegetables was never my specialty!
I know it can be frustrating to buy vegetables, only to find they have gone bad by the time Friday rolls around. Preparation may be the toughest barrier yet — but it can be overcome.
What to do? What has worked for me is experimentation and planning. I have rolled my sleeves up and tried many different dishes. Roasting, salads and raw veggies with dips are my personal favorites. To keep the food waste down, each week I plan which veggies will be used for meals including raw and cooked.
So tell me, what’s your veggie story? If you enjoy veggies what has helped shape that? What barriers have you overcome? And if you still struggle, what do you think is holding you back?
- Try one of Maryann’s books, all sold on Amazon:
From Picky to Powerful: The Mindset, Strategy, and Know-How You Need to Empower Your Picky Eater
The Family Dinner Solution: How to Create a Rotation of Dinners Meals Your Family Will Love
I LOVE vegetables. I love the variety of tastes, textures and colours. I used to practically live on them. Yum, yum, yum. Then I got married to a veg-hater and gave birth to a veg-resister and now my veg sits at the back of the fridge and goes rotten. 🙁
@Tanyna — sorry to hear that. I am defintely the veggie lover in the family. My husband has come to love my salads and will generally try the veggies at the table because he knows it’s good for the kids (I try to make his favorites are asparagus and mushrooms). Maybe you could ask your husband for input on ways he might like them? If not, keep making them. Your husband and child might surprise you. Thanks for sharing!
I have a veggie problem and I don’t know what it is?!? I know it stems from childhood, but I can’t pinpoint what happened or why I have this food aversion. I am completely unwilling to try veggies in any way, as well as several other foods (mainly casseroles that might contain hidden veggies I don’t know about) I feel as though it’s almost a mental block or something since I’m not “afraid” to look at them or cook them, just put them in my own mouth. My two year old seems to be going down the same path, and I’m getting a lot of “I told you so’s” from family members who think I can just change if i wanted to…it’s so frustrating 🙁
@Lisa — Were you forced to eat veggies as a child? Don’t blame yoruself for your 2-year old…that’s pretty normal. We’ll be discussing kids in the next post.
My mom says she tried to get me to eat them as a child, and then gave up and wanted me to eat something so would cook what I would actually eat (which is what I typically do for my son now) I don’t know when the condition started of me never wanting to try them…
@Lisa — It could be that the fear you felt as a kid, which is pretty typical, was only reinforced when your mom stopped preparing them for you. I just talked with a lady who started eating veggies at age 27 — and she started slow. First tolerating it on her plate, then touching and smelling it and then taking small tastes. She gradually started eating more and found ways to prepare them that she liked. She eventually went to culinary school and now eats a ton of veggies. More about this in future posts!
That’s an interesting thought, that I would only now understand after having a child that refuses to eat veggies…I keep putting them in front of him, and wish my mom had known back then to do the same. I’m planning a visit to a hypnotherapist to see if he can convince me to change my feelings toward new foods!
You migth want to check out this book! I’ll be reviewing it in the next few weeks…
http://www.amazon.com/Suffering-Succotash-Picky-Eaters-Understand/dp/0399537503
Here in Australia – my husband & I both read a magazine story interviewing people about their food habits and one person was a nutritionist. We read that she sits down to eat a HUGE salad with her dinner almost every night. We thought “we can do that” and have pretty much been doing that ever since… – baby spinach leaves, carrot, corn, snow peas, avo, feta & olives – all standard ingredients, plus any ‘bonuses’ on top of that. That must’ve been about 6 years ago now and our 2 kids miss it if there isn’t a salad on the table!!! They’re not the least fussy kids in the world but they are good little vegie eaters! Yay!
Looking forward to your next post. I’d be so happy if my daughter ate her veggies. Here in the UK, we’re big on 5-a-day (it’s five a day because that’s manageable for everyone – I’m told it should actully be 15 portions a day). Clara barely gets one. However, Lisa’s posts encourage me – it’s obviously possible to grow into a beautiful woman without veg if she did it!
I’ve always liked… some vegetables. Perhaps ironically, I discovered I like *most* vegetables, when cooked from fresh correctly, when I went on Weight Watchers & they were pretty much free. (I am still certain there is nothing that can be done to make brussels sprouts okay.) My daughter prefers other foods, but took to fresh carrots & broccoli before meat.
I am so excited to see your series! I have been agonizing over how I don’t make vegetables for my two boys (2 1/2 and 5), and have vowed (again) to make a change. I honestly just don’t know where to start.
I have never liked vegetables and had a strong aversion to them from an early age. I used to recoil at “green stuff”, in any form, and refused to eat anything with green – except green apples. For a while I thought it was just a power/control thing with my parents, but they didn’t force the issue. A few years ago I heard Dr. Oz talk about “super tasters” on Oprah and started wondering if that was my problem. Sure enough, based on the blue dye/paper hole test he recommended, I saw more taste buds on my tongue and thought that seemed to explain a lot (also can’t tolerate spicy food – it doesn’t just taste bad, it hurts!).
So I don’t know if my aversion is physical, or just from lack of exposure. Regardless, I really want my boys to have a more healthy relationship with vegetables, and I want to learn to eat them too!
Lissa — It could be supertasting or a variety of other things. It’s hard to poinpoint. But I believe you can expand your diet with patience and time. Hopefully the ideas here will help you!
My barrier is absolutely preparation….mainly cooking. I have a family full of adventurous eaters and cook plenty of vegetables at dinnertime, but the thought of chopping, cooking, and then cleaning up for earlier meal times or snacks is just too much. I generally tend toward fruit earlier in the day and the bulk of our veggies at dinner.
Reading this I realize we are in a veggie rut! My husband’s veggie likes are somewhat, but not terribly, limited and the need to have dinner on the table quickly has allowed myself to limit our choices to frozen steamable veggies. Hmmm….I think it is time to visit the farmer’s market more frequently. I look forward to see where this goes!
I am RD. I have tried not to even use the label “vegetables” with my kids (3 and 1). My 3 y.o. does understand the term, so it’s not like I haven’t ever used it. But if there are peas on the table, they are just peas…not THE VEGETABLE. When we have asparagus with the entree, it is just asparagus…not THE VEGETABLE. After having so many patients of various ages who ‘hate’ vegetables, it dawned on me that hating a whole food group seems nearly impossible because most people who hate veggies have not really tried all of them. Bell peppers don’t taste like broccoli which doesn’t taste like carrots which don’t taste like tomatoes which are nothing like green beans–and raw, steamed, stir fried, BBQ’d, covered in sauce makes each of vegetable different again. So I’ve tried not to create this major category of food that my child can associate with badness. If my kids dislike a particular food, ingredient, or individual vegetable as they grow up…then so be it. But I don’t want to taint all of them by focusing too much on their official food group as I offer them at meals. I don’t know if this all makes sense. I just imagine that some people, as they have grown up, and been pressured to ‘eat your vegetables’ or ‘you need to have a bite of vegetables too’ may have grown a dislike for the category without much actual basis for the dislike except a handful of veggies they have tried and were poorly prepared. Instead of deciding that brussel sprouts, steamed broccoli, and overcooked carrots are gross, they have blanketly concluded that all non-fruit plants are yucky.
Adina — I agree with you! If you read around my site you will see that I always recommend parents stay neutral with all foods — including vegetables.
Dawn, have you ever cooked fresh brussels sprouts in bacon grease? Absolutely devine! http://www.alpha-cook.com/2010/01/how-to-select-clean-and-cook-fresh.html?m=1 discusses buying them on the stalk. Then I use bacon grease in place of butter and oil.
I’ve been lucky that I’ve always loved vegetables, and I think that is partially because they were always available and my parents are both great cooks. I am struggling to get my toddler to eat veggies now, but have noticed that when he repeatedly sees me eat something, he will have a tendency to eat it as well. So parents leading by example also seems to help. He has finally eaten broccoli and sprouts recently so I am thrilled that he now recognizes green things as food. Oddly enough, he started by eating fresh basil leaves. So another tactic seems to be if they see where it comes from, they will be more interested, so another great reason to have a victory garden or container garden if you don’t have a yard.
My Dad loves the story that we were on a grocery trip with him and begging for the various veggies as we went through the produce section. A woman overheard us was shocked and asked how they got us to do that.