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I'm just starting a 30 day paleo challenge and I'm not a big veggie eater- before this week I'd stick to peas (apparently not a veggie), corn (also not a veggie?!?!) and salad greens with red or green peppers. Does anyone have good suggestions for "starter" veggies for someone who hasn't eaten a lot of them in the past, or good recipes to try to get more veggies into my diet without overwhelming my palette?

Thanks!

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Do you WANT to eat more veggies and experiment or do you feel like if you don't you'll be unhealthy? If the answer is the latter I say "Don't". You can be perfectly healthy eating mostly meat, with some herbs a bit of whatever veg you like and some fruit. – Satchmo Apr 17 2012 at 22:24
Do you have an aversion to texture, or strong flavours, or? – JeJ Apr 17 2012 at 23:04
I have 4 yr old twins and they eat veggies when they want so for the times when they are having mac and cheese we put 2 cubes of sweet potato or cauliflower inside. You first have to cook the veggies and then puree and the freeze in a ice tray. I love egg salad and always make mine with cubes of cauliflower...don't even know its there. Check out Jessica Seinfelds book she has great recipes for getting veggies in dishes. Might be a way for you to dip your toe into eating more veggies... – Lou Kellen Apr 18 2012 at 17:54

12 Answers

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Wrap it in bacon or pour butter over it.

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Works with anything! – Heidi Apr 18 2012 at 0:44
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I got really picky, no-veggie kids to eat kale with this method. – Ebice Apr 18 2012 at 1:35
Broccoli is a butter sponge! – red_leaf Apr 18 2012 at 18:32
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Try roasting veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. You can do this with just about anything- asparagus, cabbage, carrots, brussels sprouts, broccoli, onions, peppers, mushrooms, or a mix. I often do a broccoli, onion, pepper, mushroom, zucchini mix with garlic and herbes de provence. Put the oven on 400-425 and they're done when they get soft with crispy edges!

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Roasting is where it's at. No fail. – Paleoette Apr 17 2012 at 21:50
'specially when you add fennel root. There's nothing like it....just cut off all the fronds and chop the root into 1" or so pieces. – legup Apr 18 2012 at 4:14
Roasting makes almost any vegetable delicious. – JakeA Apr 18 2012 at 19:46
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Since you like salad greens, I'd suggest some things of a similar texture: kale, swiss chard, parsley, cilantro, spinach, red lettuce, cabbage and maybe collard greens. I think it's great that you want to try more vegetables. I LOVE vegetables. What don't you like about most vegetables? That might help with any suggestions.

What do you normally eat? If you want to start eating more vegetables but wary of the texture, it might help to puree them into something you like, such as meatloaf, soups, or salmon patties. Onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes work pretty well mixed into other foods. If you like eggs, omelets are amazing with vegetables to flavor it.

Pea is a legume and corn is a grain, which are considered "non-paleo" but some people here eat those after "proper preparation" with soaking, I think.

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It's not that I don't like vegetables, it's more that I didn't grow up eating them, so now they are bland to me (compared to what I was eating, lots of dairy and carbs). – Erin Apr 17 2012 at 23:41
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Pureed cauliflower with butter and cheese if you do dairy.Tastes just like mashed potatoes.Potato salad made with turnips,celery bacon,egg and mayo.Zucchini hummus,use macadamia nuts.

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ghee is pure fat and safe for lactards. It's also one of the most delicious things I've ever had the pleasure of adding to my food. – MeepsIsWellfed Apr 17 2012 at 23:06
Man, am I the only one who gets major stomach-bloat from cauliflower? Such a bummer... – JeJ Apr 17 2012 at 23:29
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Just answered another question about vegetables that is perfect for this question as well. My issue is that I hate preparing veggies because they take so much extra work and often I'm not crazy about the results. Don't really like cruchy raw veggies at all either so needless to say I am forced to do some sort of preparation.

The easiest way to sneak veggies in each day is by sticking with frozen veggies at lunch. Each week I buy a bag of organic frozen spinach (chopped) and a bag of organic broccoli crowns. I eat those with some sort of meat at lunch and add an olive oil/vinegar/mustard dressing over the top. It's delish and helps me get some greens. I don't really do veggies unless they are super simple and preferably mixed up in something. I know my weakness and try to address it this way.

I'll add that sometimes I will add a bit of ghee and salt as well. Just depends on how flavorful the meat is since the veggies have no flavor that I can detect but add a nice texture variation. So if it's chicken I add the ghee and if it's italian seasoned ground beef or turkey thighs I just use the dressing.

Strangely I also like beets and beet greens. http://www.chow.com/recipes/11100-basic-roasted-beets

For special occassions I'll get some Daikon radishes and put them in the pressure cooker. I paleoized a Betty Crocker recipe that works great. Turns into the best mashed anything I've ever had.

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I almost forgot about my new love, which is cabbage. I can't get enough of that stuff from the slow cooker and/or as a slaw. – MeepsIsWellfed Apr 17 2012 at 23:12
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Raw parsley- or frozen, since I can't eat it all before it wilts. I just eat a handful or two when I remember. Raw carrot seems like a medication. I just break a piece off and eat it. Like a small piece or two each day. I cook liver with onions.
I was eating a little seaweed each day for the iodine, but I've got a weird nerve problem and iodine seems to make it worse, so I don't eat it much anymore. I roast beets and sweet potatoes. If people comment about how much butter you are putting on your sweet potato, you are doing it right.

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Yes! Sweet potato! – Wendy Apr 18 2012 at 17:33
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I didn't eat vegetables until I was nearly 23, and my method is to hide them until I'm sufficiently used to the taste that I can eat them with a minimum of seasonings. I had this horrible mayonnaise/cheese/olive oil mix that I would put on cauliflower before I baked it, and I could barely taste the cauliflower. Right now I'm trying to get used to organ meats using very spicy and flavorful curries -- I get a taste, so I can acquire that taste, but never enough to put me off my meal.

Riced cauliflower is pretty awesome, and you can prepare many vegetables to taste like french fries -- sweet potatoes in particular are pretty amazing sliced thin, doused in some fat and baked. Try kale chips, too. I like almost all vegetables better if they're a little burnt. You can even pour a tiny, TINY bit of sugar or honey on them (mix honey with some oil so you don't have to use a ton of it) to make them caramelize.

Try using loads of garlic and butter, if you eat butter. Tomato sauce is great; so is guacamole. If you like balsamic vinegar, try some of that.

The vegetables I've found least offensive and was able to eat almost right away include butternut squash (also you can put cinnamon on that), baked carrots and sweet potatoes. Must be something about the orange ones. Artichokes are great too, but I'm not sure who has access to those or what they cost in other parts of the country; they're somewhat abundant in California but I know it's not the same everywhere.

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Cooked carrots. Cook them in your pot roast.

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  1. Asparigus in butter, with salt in a pan on the stove. Add a little water at the beginning with a lid to steam a little if you like them softer.
  2. Broccoli sliced fairly thin cooked the same way. Salt and butter. :)
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Do you do fruit and/or dairy? If so, try making a smoothie with fruit and yogurt and sneaking a bit of green in there. You can mess with the proportions, but a 3:1 fruit:greens ratio should contribute minimal off-flavor. Sure, you'll be aware of the impurity, but the pulverization takes care of texture and the fruit blunts the taste.

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My hubby doesn't care for veggies either, but we've managed to get some into his diet while on the Whole30. The main one we do is green beans and onions sauteed in bacon grease. The bacon grease is the kicker here... has enough yummy flavor that he can get over the green beans!

Also, i've made pesto stuffed chicken a few times and tossed in some spinach with the basil before processing in the food processor. Can't even taste it! The garlic and basil overtake the flavor of the spinach.

Butternut squash is another good one that the hubs will eat some of. Roasted with garlic and thyme....

Just a few ideas!

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