I got into salads by eating Caesar salad, basically the worst salad nutritionally, only veg in it is lettuce.But I find that letting yourself make something delicious until you are kind of won over is a good way to grow your accepted foods list and get used to something.
Once one salad is a tasty thing, you can move into adding more good stuff and reducing dressing amounts.
I recommend cardini’s Caesar dressing if you can find it, has a real creamy authentic flavour.
Ok so NOT salads:
Put in a moderately hot oven for 15 - 30 mins checking ever 10 or so and tossing or shaking again.
When they are done ( I prefer them more golden brown, with sweet brown edges, others like them less cooked) throw in a bowl, add a tiny pinch of salt, shake. They need nothing else but I love the taste, you can also put cheese on it.
Add cheese or meat or something you do love to things you don’t love, to get used to the flavours. If you want to lose weight you probably don’t want to add more “bad” stuff to the vegetables but in my opinion it’s better to overcome your aversion, learn to enjoy vegetables, and then decrease the amount of sauces or extras used over time. It’s better to eat a bit of nutritional food with a bit of excess calories than to not eat the nutritional food.
Vegetable pies, frittata and lasagna - great places to put spinach plus egg or broccoli plus cheese. If you’re not a fan of vegetable flavours don’t mix a milion vegetable flavours together. Stick to one good vegetable like spinach plus stuff you like (cream, cheese, meat, nuts , oil, whatever) not say, red peppers, broccoli, carrot… Things don’t all go together, and you’ll get better at figuring that out if you learn to tolerate individual flavours first.
Sauerkraut and preserves. I didn’t like cabbage for a long time but I love kimchi, sauerkraut and some pickled stuff.
Don’t beat yourself up! So you don’t love all the super veg. Eat the starchy and sweet ones you like. Sneak a handful of vegetables into your favourite dishes as if you were a toddler. Add a small amount. Don’t force yourself on Something you really hate.If you love mashed potato cook a bit of kale into it. So it’s only a tiny portion, it’s better than nothing and helps you get used to the flavour.
What we used to do in restaurants for the children’s menu was get a bunch of veggies and blend them up then fold them into pizza sauce, pasta sauce or anything else you can think of. You can’t really taste them but you still get the nutrients
Buddha Bowls - a bowl that is one quarter protein, one quarter whole grain, and half whatever veggies you have around with a delicious sauce. I found out I can make a delicious peanut sauce by whisking some soya sauce, hot sauce, and lemon juice into a big dollop of peanut butter.
Thank you everyone! I can’t wait to try these suggestions - especially the roasting and air frying. I grew up in a household where our main veggie was potatoes. Sometimes we would eat carrots or green beans in soups but not often .
I really love Brianna’s Creamy Cilantro Lime salad dressing and their Poppy Seed dressing, depending on the kind of salad I’m making. I don’t buy any other dressing and even turned my bf on to the cilantro one (he dislikes cilantro by itself)
I love to add pine nuts (favorite-they have a mild but somewhat buttery taste), raw pumpkin seeds, and cashews as seed/nut additions. I don’t add croutons to my salads anymore.
I also don’t buy lettuce as it’s not as nutritional as spinach would be. I also like to mix in arugula with my spinach to give it a little bit of a peppery taste. Arugula is also high in vit A, C, and K and more. Very nutrient dense for such small leaves. Watch out tho - it can go bad pretty easily so throw it also in pastas and on sandwiches to eat it up. I also like to add kale sometimes (baby kale if I can), but usually reserve that more for smoothies.
Try out dried fruits and berries as well! Add some sweetness but also some health benefits (just don’t go overboard)
Cherry tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, chickpeas or black beans, corn, snap peas, shaved carrots, even some grains like farro or just make it a rice bowl/Buddha bowl to make it a super filling meal 😋
Also, salmon or shrimp! So tasty and so good for you!
my favourite veggie side:
2 eggplant (diced)250 gm bok choy/green beans/broccoli (pick one)1 red/yellow capsicum1 cup cooked rice (optional for extra carb)
cook eggplant and beans/broccoli first about 15 min in pan, add chopped capsicum cook 5 min more, add bok choy last if that’s the green veggie you’re using
add tablespoon soy sauce and moroccan spice mix, cook a few mins more
can add mayo/aioli at the end if you want
also adding a protein such as chicken or salmon fillets makes a nice stir fry, otherwise i just have it as a side dish
I will agree that roasting is your friend. We love roasting greens. Buy a few bunches of different kales, collards, or chards. Strip the leaves from the stenosis, roll them up and cut them into 1” strips. Toss them in a bowl and rub in your favorite flavors. The rubbing breaks them down a bit. We like lemon and garlic, sriracha, curry, or teriyaki sesame with ginger. Put a layer on a baking pan, sprinkle a little salt, roast at 400 for about 10 minutes.
I actually eat straight up lettuce and try to focus on the natural sugars in it, honing your tastebuds and eating your veggies all in one. (Although when you hone your tastebuds, you also detect the bitter compounds, so that’s an unfortunate side effect.
I was also not a fan of salads, but then started buying pre-made ones, and that makes all the difference. Could I buy all the ingredients and meal-prep several of my favorite salad? Yes, but then I’d be sick of it. As someone buying/eating for 1, I buy 3-5 different pre-made salads at Trader Joe’s or any grocery store, or treat myself to a restaurant salad or Sweetgreen. Idk, homemade salads don’t do it for me, maybe I just suck at making salad haha