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Dear People Who Don’t Like Vegetables

September 3, 2012 by 12 Comments

Have you ever tasted:

roasted carrots, glazed with brown sugar and tossed feta cheese?

carrots Dear People Who Dont Like Vegetables

fresh summertime broccoli with creamy homemade ranch dressing?

broccoli Dear People Who Dont Like Vegetables

sweet white corn, slathered with real butter and sea salt?

corn on the cob Dear People Who Dont Like Vegetables

golden yellow peppers right at the height of their seasonal goodness?

yellow bell peppers Dear People Who Dont Like Vegetables

spaghetti squash, cooked to perfection, topped with bubbly marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese?

spaghetti squash Dear People Who Dont Like Vegetables

grilled onions, stir-fryed in a cast iron skillet?

onions Dear People Who Dont Like Vegetables

If you *think* you don’t like vegetables, I propose that you reconsider.

When prepared with care, vegetables are actually the most delectable of foods.

Let’s stop telling ourselves, our kids, and our friends that vegetables are to be endured. No more: “kids just don’t like vegetables” and “you have to eat your vegetables first.”

How about “Yay, we GET to eat vegetables!” and “Celebrate! Tonight is Vegetable Night!” (we really do have vegetable night in our house) and “Vegetables for starters! Delicious!”

Truth be told, vegetables don’t need to be “hidden” in brownies or smoothies. They can be served as the main course…or even dessert.

Put on your chef’s hat and get creative. Make a smiley face out of celery, olives, and cherry tomatoes. Steam up a sweet potato. Delight in a cauliflower crusted pizza. Find more ideas on my Fruits & Vegetables board on Pinterest.

What is your favorite vegetable? How do you like to prepare it? 

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  • Leane G

    YUM!
    My favorites are Carrots, Broccoli, and Sweet Potatoes (not all together). I love veggies! Great post.

  • http://tropicofmom.com Holly

    Heh! Love the title.

    We are good vegetable eaters here. When I take my 3-year-old shopping, I let him find things he’d like to eat. Most time he will eat them, sometimes he won’t. (He didn’t like the butternut squash.) He has even asked to eat broccoli for breakfast!

  • Katelyn

    I love: roasted sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus, fresh steamed green beans, sweet corn on the cob, fresh cherry tomatoes, sweet peas, tomato onion and cilantro chopped and mixed into fresh pico de gallo with a squirt of lemon and a dash of salt.

    I agree that many times it’s not the vegetable, it’s the preparation. On the other hand, I sometimes hesitate to experiment or try a new recipe if it’s a very different flavor from our norm or an ingredient I’m really unfamiliar with because if we don’t like it, what am I supposed to do with all that food? I guess the answer would be to start with very small portions of the new stuff. It still makes me hesitate.

    • Stephanie

      We gobble up cherry tomatoes here – especially the yellow ones that we pick right off the vine from Tim’s grandpa’s garden.

    • Katelyn

      I wanted to add that children are very perceptive. If they see a parent acting negatively towards a food (making faces, saying yuck, talking negatively about not liking a food) then they are more likely to imitate that behavior.

  • http://[email protected] Laura

    My favorite is aparagus… sauteed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic salt, and a litle bit of brown sugar! Mmmm… I want some right now! (I do green beans this way too.)

    • http://[email protected] Laura

      Steamed for a few minutes first, THEN sauteed… :o)

  • http://www.michellesmiles.com Michelle Smiles

    I’m a little picky about veggies but learning to cook over the years and joining a CSA this year has taught me that many of things I thought I didn’t like when I was young were simply cooked badly. There are a still a few veggies I won’t eat but most are at least okay when prepared well. And a lot of them are down right fabulous.

  • Kristen

    I love veggies. Jay loves veggies. We prepare them well and often (really, all the time). But the kids don’t go for it. They will eat fruits, but I have to disguise their veggies. I make our own pizza and spaghetti sauce and purée zucchini and arugula in it. I put kale and beet greens in their smoothies. I purée squash and add it to their baked oatmeal. I can’t see a reason why my kids should not like their vegetables…. But they just don’t. Sigh. Someday. And until then, I will put puréed cauliflower in their bread! :)

  • Jenn

    My 5 year old, husband and I LOVE vegetables (and fruit!). My 3 year old… never has. The funny thing though is that when he actually tries them he does like most of them. There are one or two that he truly hasn’t liked, but most of them he does.

  • http://www.culturemami.com Marcela

    Love this post Stephanie…so true… there are so many people that don’t like vegetables!

    As a first time mom (with my now 12 year old) I made the mistake of catering to his likes…I would prepare a meal for the adults and a meal for him…it took me a while to realize that what I was doing was not the best thing, we would eat a salad, veggies, chicken, rice and serve him chicken tenders or something like that because “he didn’t like veggies”. I finally started serving him exactly what the adults were eating and although he didn’t like everything at first now he is pretty good at eating almost anything on his plate.
    I do have a no dessert rule (usually fruit with ice cream on the side or whipped topping) in the house if veggies are not consumed.

    With my 4 year old I never catered to her…she has whatever we are having and she is truly good eater. I now recommend to most new parents to give their kids whatever they are having and to keep trying with veggies…kids will eventually try them if on their plates.

    Off to see your board….

  • http://www.fantasticfrugalfamily.com Nicole

    Reading this leaves me craving carrots!