Fruit & Veggies woes

I am admitting this here because I don't want the band board food police hunting me down or newbies that don't have real restriction yet saying they understand how I feel. Ever since I've been banded my taste for fruits and veggies has gone out the window. I try, but I just cannot bring myself to eat them more than I do. I know that's not good. I told my DH last night that honestly, it's too much work and I am afraid they'll get stuck on me. It's easier for me not to eat them than go through a stuck episode. Not everything gets stuck, I should say that. I think mainly, they just don't appeal to me. I struggle with it horribly. Do you have any suggestions for this? Ways to eat more fruits & veggies, sneak them into things? I'm not an avid cook so for me throwing a bag of frozen broccoli in the nuker is easiest. Thanks

Karen, I was never a veggie lover when I was young but now I don't mind them as much. I like to have them topped with something and since butter and cheese are out, I try adding gravy when I'm eating any kind of meat. Packet gravy (like McCormicks) is not high in calories and makes a big difference. I'm no great chef either and I don't even like to cook.....so I can handle throwing some frozen chopped spinach in a pot w/ water! If you like gravy, this may help. Also, 'I can't believe it's not butter', lemon or garlic make good disguises too if you don't like the taste! As for fruit....I don't eat much of that either but i don't think that's a bad thing. Most of it is high in sugar but I do like crushed pineapple and that's very easy to eat.

Karen - my tastes have totally changed since surgery. I like vegetables that I never liked before but then I dislike vegetables I use to like. For me, all salad is out. It gets stuck every time. I will confess too, there are days I don't eat one fruit or one vegetable. I bought single serve (I think from Green Giant) mixed broccoli and carrots. They are easy to nuke and eat. I will eat baby carrots, raw and dipped into a taste of ranch dip. I usually make my own from ff sour cream and ff ranch dip mix. I do have celery in the frig right now and I put a 1/2 wedge of laughing cow cheese in it. I guess I am not much help because I am in the same boat you are. It will be interesting to read how everyone eats their fruits and veggies.

I'm the odd man out now because I eat lots more veggies than pre-band. I crave them. On the fruit side I spend a fortune on berries because they are the one fruit that satisfies my craving and they go down without problems. Maybe you could take the approach with your family that I have done with Jordan. I bought Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook. It has recipes for just about anything with veggies disguised. It works great with the kid and I eat the stuff too. It's not bad and you are getting veggies. You puree various veggies, freeze them and then can add them to recipes as needed. It even has a recipe for brownies that have carrots & spinach. Tonya

Ooohhhh that's a great idea. I saw her on some talk show and I think she's definitely on to something. The food that she made was amazing if it actually tastes good that would be an easy remedy! And the good part was that she prepared everything on Sunday. While I don't make the things that she does, I did like the prep thing.....get everything done on Sunday and it makes the work week so much easier when you don't have to think about what you're going to eat!!

Here are some of the veggies/fruits I eat: roasted brussells sprouts or cauliflower (drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and roast in a hot oven for 30 minutes) mashed cauliflower, sometimes with potatoes sauteed zucchini. Just slice and sautee in a bit of olive oil. I slice up a shallot and garlic, and sometimes add a can of diced tomatoes. steamed broccoli, carrots, cauliflower. Sometimes separate, sometimes all together. You can get the bags of it already cut up in the produce section. I like it with just salt and pepper. roasted tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pinch of sugar, garlic, basil. chunky salads with very little lettuce in them. Just diced veggies with a light Italian dressing. sauteed red, yellow, green bell peppers with onions. You can have that with chicken for fajitas, or just on the side of any dish canned green beans, canned mushrooms and can of tomatoes. Mix all together and simmer. It's delicious! I eat a lot of berries. I get the mixed berries, or just raspberries, thaw a few in a bowl, sprinkle with a packet of Splenda and then top with a 60 calorie vanilla yogurt. Sometimes I have the berries on low-fat, SF ice cream 1/2 sliced banana on cereal

Damn, Nancy....You're amazing. After reading this post, I'm actually looking forward to veggies!! You did remind me of something I did while on W/W's. I buy the frozen pepper and onions veggies. Throw them into a pan to soften in spicy salsa (fat free). One another pan, warm a couple of fat free tortilla's.....and while they're heating, put a slice of 1 or 2 % cheese on them. Pour the veggies in and roll them up. They are really delicous and only 3 or 4 pts. depending on the cheese. You can add shrimp or chicken or anything to increase protien......

I was just going to say the same thing to Nancy! I have got to get some veggies in my house - thank for sharing everyone.

That sounds good too. I am heading out to Trader Joes to stock up on veggies today. I forgot about Asparagus. We love it! I quick cook it in boiling water, and drain the water out when it's still kind of crisp. In the pan, I put 1 T. butter or substitute, add back in the asparagus, juice of 1/2 lemon, and sea salt. I do the same thing with fresh green beans, but then toss it with a bit of olive oil and garlic. Add in some slivered almonds at the end.

Karen, I really can't help you here, other than to say that Tonya is right. You can learn to disguise them in other dishes, or you can use the sauce from your meat, such as Ann suggested, to put on them. I have always and still do loved veggies and fruits!