What do you do when.....

So, I'm embarassed to even ask this...  Bottom line, I was never forced to eat my fruits and veggies growing up. I didn't have to. I had everything else I wanted though.  Now, I'm 36, the only fruit I eat is banana (other than dried cranberries), or blueberries if they are in something, same with cranberries (cooked in something). The only veggies I eat are steamed broccali, carrots, any bean and peas. I will eat lettuce (except iceburg ).  I especially am ok with Romain or Greenleaf (but I can't stand the stalk - I just peel the leafs off).  I can't stand salad dressing either, I just use balsamic vinegar.  With that horrible background, here is my delima to you.  I NEED to eat more fruits and veggies. I know this. I want to. But everytime I try I gag.  It's a texture issue 100%.  I tried to force myself to have some applesauce for a snack - kept gagging.   Watermelon, kept gagging.  My husband tried to make me a strawberry smoothie but I don't think he did it right, because it was gross, but at least I didn't gag! I'm not allowed to have bread, cereals, pastas, etc for the first 6 months after surgery so I can't really add blueberries and the like into something.  Am I the only weirdo out there?    Any suggestions?  I am determined to make this surgery work!  (Surgery 8/30/07)

Well, you have 2 options that I can see 1. Stick with what you like and just eat those. or 2. Spend some quality time in the produce aisle and try everything! You can try to hide veggies in things (I do this with my toddler) - I add spaghetti squash to tuna casserole, add veggie puree to spaghetti sauce.  The only problem is, you will know it's there if you're doing the cooking. Once you try them, I am confident you will like them!  We all have our favorites and preferences... (even I hate cooked carrots & yams...) Good luck!

Try soup as a way to get more veggies in. A stick blender is a fast and easy way to puree any veggies and end up with a creamy textured soup that you can add any veggies to. If you don't have a stick blender (they're pretty cheap) you can use a regular blender. Just be careful when you add hot stuff to a blender. I also don't really like veggies and fruit that much, so this really helps. As for smoothies, maybe your husband didn't add any sweetener.  Berries can be tart. Try adding your favorite sugar-replacement to the smoothie. I also use frozen fruit to make the smoothie taste like ice cream.   Good luck.