Tomorrow begins my 30-day countdown to surgery. :high5:I'm going to use this next month to ease into the eating habits I'll need for the rest of my life - that means more protein and more veggies. I plan to cut waaaay down on carbs, which will be difficult because my diet consists mostly of overprocessed carbs.

I can do protein. The trouble is, I <b>hate</b> vegetables. Except for corn (which doesn't count) and broccoli. Squash, green beans, okra, peas, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach - yuck yuck yuck. If evil had a taste, it would taste like a vegetable. (Probably brussels sprouts.) :speechles

Are there any reformed veggie haters who can help me out here? I'm afraid I'm going to have to start taking wheatgrass shots or something equally vile.

I agree! Veggie haters united...

People always try to convince me to "put cheese on them" or something... they are stilll just gross I think.

I can stomach about one serving of raw carrots per day and that's about all the veggies I force upon myself. I did try the V-8 twister with veggies and fruit and it's good but has a bunch of calories.

How about trying a supplement? I just bought a powdered supplement that claims to be the equivalent of 6 servings of vegetables in one scoop. Of course, there's nothing like the real thing, but if I could just make one ok-tasting shake a day and get all my veggies in, that would be great, just to ensure I'm getting proper nutrition. Otherwise, how about a delicious beef-vegetable soup? And don't forget that lettuce and tomatoe on sandwhiches is one serving of veggies. No need to serve plain veggies as a side-dish, why not try mixing them in with a meatloaf, making a low-fat zuchinni bread, or mashing some cauliflower with butter, salt and pepper? Mmmmm mmm! I also love Chinese chicken and veggies, and tons of ethnic foods that contain veggies. How about mushrooms and onions grilled in an omelet? Roasted pepper hummus, brocolli rabe with sharp provolone? There's no way these things taste gross! If you get creative there are so many ways to get veggies in.

Spaghetti squash with butter & garlic!! Only way I can get Mikey to eat veggies. Well, that & the bagged Salsa salad (not sure what brand, but he LOVES it). Of course that has chips in it, lol, but so far he can still eat it.

I'm going to confess something here. Even though I love vegetables, I almost never eat them because there is just no room for them once I eat protein. A vegetable "serving" for me now is one or two cherry tomatoes. What vegetables I do get usually come in soup.

It's just not something I'm going to worry about. I take a multivitamin every day and an additional B-complex, with more vitamin C when I feel a cold coming on. Fiber supplementation is necessary, but I'm sure it would be anyway given the non-bulkiness of my diet.

That's my story. Let the brickbats fly!

I love veggies but here as some ideas I can think of --

Maybe try some of the old school Atkins recipes, e.g. cauliflower potato casserole/cauliflower mashed potatoes.

Maybe add some additional flavor. Asparagus spritzed wtih olive oil and rubbed in garlic powder, wrapped in bacon or proscuitto, and grilled is divine.

I think they made vegetable marinades, Mr. Yoshi brand or something like that. I vaguely remember commercials of a guy sitting on top of the vegetables in the produce section of a store on the commercials.

Add veggies to shishkabobs - they taste different grilled, and absorb some of the meat & seasoning flavors.

No worries. Don't rely on your veggies for protein, rely on animal protein - fish, chicken, dairy, and red meat on occassion. Veggie proteins are not easily broken down by the body so only 30% of the protein is absorbed. The rest lays in your colon and rots, creating gas problems. An no veggie by itself is a complete protein, so you'd have to research with ones to eat together to make a complete protein. So, that's the good news yea?

Veggies are important for carbs - good carbs. Broccoli is a great source, and if you only eat the tops you'll have no problem. It's the stringy stalks that can cause problems. Fresh might be a problem as well, not sure. I use frozen. Raw veggies such as lettuce and carrots are an option if you just don't care for cooked veggies.

Like Alex, I eat my protein first and am usually getting pretty full before I start on veggies, then I only eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of peas- n-carrots or broccoli-n-cauliflower a day, usually at dinner.

So veggie haters can relax.

I don't rely on veggies for protein cuz there are hardly any protein in them. I want to eat veggies for the antioxidants, trace amounts of vitamins (the ones we may not have in a multi), the lutine, (spelling - not good)... and all the general healthy things you are supposed to get from eating a healthily variety of fruits & veggies.

They are just as important as protein I just happen to hate them. I will try some of the "hide them in the meatloaf" ideas though. I can handle that.

I dont have anything useful to add, just wanted to put in that yesterday I went to the nutritionist. She was on me about my lack of veggies. The very next sentance is always, "well just drink some tomatoe juice", what they dont realize is... if I drank tomatoe juice that would make me puke just as quick as if you put a lima bean on my tongue! ICK.

When I was growing up (in the old days) my Mom made the best lima beans and ham. Today I couldn't imagine buying or cooking lima beans, but I grew up with them and loved the way she fixed them. I couldn't stomach drinking tomato juice though, because I'm just not a tomato lover. I get my protein in my South Beach Protein Bars and call it good. Wait...I'm not even banded yet. My opinions don't mean a thing. It just got me thinking about how I used to love lima beans. My Mom could make Spam taste like ham. She would put cloves in the spam and a brown sugar sauce on them and bake it. That Spam was to die for. Thanks for mentioning a lima bean and bringing back all those memories.

Go to the health food store. They have veggie capsules but I can't remember the name. there are also liquid suppliments you can take. Good luck. You'd better so something for fiber or you'll be posting about constipation next!

Luckily for me, I am half Sicilian, and Sicilians love vegetables. Here are some tips that I use:

1. My husband doesn't care for veggies. To get him to cut the carbs and eat more veggies (he's diabetic), I chop them up small and saute them in his rice. Celery and onion are good ones. Zuccini, when chopped small, almost disappears in the dish.

Now, I know bandsters don't eat much rice, but the same principle goes for meat dishes, like chicken caccatiore or chicken parmesan, etc. Everything tastes good in tomato sauce! I am pre-band, but am trying to amend my diet so I don't go into "shock" after the band. I use a can of tomatoes, onions, zuccini, garlic, etc and make a quick sauce. Cook the chicken right in the sauce, then pour off the liquid before eating so that you don't fill up on the liquid. That aslo makes for moist meat, so easier going down.

2. You can buy all natural veggie drinks with no added sugar. They mix it will fruit juices for sweetener. Drink a whole one and you've just swallowed a crapload of calories, but add a splash to your Protein drink and you'll barely taste it. I'm currently using one with kiwi, broccoli, and all sorts of green veggies in it. Sound disgusting, right? But it's also got apple juice, so basically, it tastes like apple juice.

3. Finally, I know just from this pre-band experience, that once you "detox" from all the crap and processed foods, your pallet changes. Plain, raw foods become more flavorful. The other day, my husband caught me dipping into his bag of baby carrots and said, "Who ARE you and what have you done with my wife?"

Finally, I know just from this pre-band experience, that once you "detox" from all the crap and processed foods, your pallet changes. Plain, raw foods become more flavorful.

So THAT'S what happened! This has really puzzled me. Prior to the band I loved coffee, green olives, and yogurt - after banding I can't stand any of them!

Hi Sleepy,

It is true that your taste will change drastically after banding. I couldnt stand vegetables before banding. Now I love them. I especially like Beans because I effectively get my Protein and eat a veggie. Lots of fiber, lots of protein and really healthy. I put organic beans in homemade chili and I also throw in some zucchini (yellow and green). My favorite vegetable is cauliflower which I make into mashers. (It taste even better than mashed potatoes) I add some cheese to cooked califlower and some skim milk and some salt pepper garlic and put into the food processor. Its really awesome. You dont need a lot of veggies to get your daily Vitamins. And your protein is more important because it will keep you full.

Babs in TX

334/180ish

I am a veggie lover but hate the two veggies that really add flavor to salads and food. onions and tomatoes. I could never drink v8 or any kind of veggie drink:yuck: . so I know what you mean about being grossed out be veggies. v8 makes a diet carrot and fruit juice. maybe that will help. how about cucumbers? do you like those. you can put lemon juice on them with a little bit of salt. tastes yummy:hungry: . now this might sound gross but when my neice was younger she used to like cucumbes with the seeds remove with natural peanut butter and rasins. It is actually tasty :hungry: and you can get protein from the peanut butter. just some thoughts.