desperate measures

every attempt i have made to eat vegetables has been a complete failure. i know how strange it must come across, but i'm a vegan that almost never eat vegetables. i like peas, spinach, green beens, but i never go out of my way to eat them. i eat mostly the same thing every day and it just doesn't make room for them. i always thought that if i met the right girl maybe she could straighten me out but....

anyway, i finally came up with a new and rather painful solution. i started adding spinach into my protein shakes. its tough love, but i really can't trust myself to go about this any other way.

also, i'm looking into wheatgrass. has anyone any experience with this as i've heard its like eating 100 servings of vegetables. desperate times call for desperate measure and i don't recommend anyone adding spinach to a protein shake, choke.

I recently started drinking wheat grass that I order from www.dynamicgreens.com . I haven't tried much wheat grass before, except for the dried powder, but this stuff actually tastes good...sweet. I don't have the time or space or green thumb to grow my own, and the dried stuff I've tried tasted a bit too 'green' to me at times, but this stuff I like (and so does my elderly, diabetic cat!).

As for adding more veggies to your meals...they are really good for you! Especially the leafy greens. How about, for me , adding a big salad to either your lunch or dinner (or both!). Base it on romaine lettuce (don't even look at the nutritionally deficit iceberb stuff), add some red pepper, beans, broccoli, red cabbage, grated carrots... just lots of different colored veggies. Add a fat source, to help your body absorb more of the nutrients, like avocado, nuts, sunflower seeds, hemp nuts or some olive-oil based dressing.

This time of year, it's easy to find lots of fresh produce in the grocery stores or farmers markets. Use it as a time to explore different veggies. Try different textures of the same veggie (carrots, for example, can be grated, chopped, diced, or eaten whole, and each way they have a different effect).

If the 'big salad' idea is too big a leap for you, how about a starting lunch and dinner with a smaller salad (to get some good raw food and enzymes in your system) and snacking on veggies through the day?

Cut up a bunch of red peppers, zuccini, jícama, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. and keep them handy to snack on.

Make a simple garbanzo dip (in a food processor, blend some red onion, a drained and rinsed can of garbanzo beans, some poultry seasoning, a bit of salt and a dollop of veggan mayo), put a glob on a plate and surround it with veggies to dip in it. Or fil celery sticks with it, like little 'boats" for a snack (that's what I did yesterday). Experiment by using different beans and seasoning (like black beans and mexican spices) and different veggies.

You can also make various 'wraps' using veggies as the wrapper. Take burrito filling and wrap it in a romaine leaf instead of a grain wrapper.

I find it mildly amusing that you're a vegan who dislikes vegetables.

What about peppers (any variety), cucumbers, carrots, sweetpotaotes, pumpkin, squash (any variety), cabbage, any of these?

i appreciate the feedback and yes it is quite a laughable situation for me. i have tried to buy vegetables with every intention of eating them, but it only lasts a day or two and the veggies end up going bad. this is why i have to resort to buying canned spinach. i used to eat a spinach/corn/tvp dish regularly, but it is such a hassle to eat and takes almost a half hour to go through it. i'm a busy professional and most of my free time is either occupied or spent eating. i don't have an extra half hour and dear god all the chewing that it takes to get that dish down.

i already feel a little better today with the spinach shake although it was no treat getting it down. the reason i resort to the shake is that i have one of them twice a day every day. at least this way while i am shaking, an alarm will go off telling me to eat my greens. and yes i do hate most vegetables, but i can do peas, carrots, spinach, & green beans.

I find it mildly amusing that you're a vegan who dislikes vegetables.

I am similar. I don't dislike all vegetables, but there are lots of specific ones I don't like. And I know I don't eat enough veggies overall.

It is funny that other people often imagine that vegan eat nothing but salads, but there are those of us desperately trying to get more veggies in our diets!

i used to eat a spinach/corn/tvp dish regularly, but it is such a hassle to eat and takes almost a half hour to go through it. i'm a busy professional and most of my free time is either occupied or spent eating. i don't have an extra half hour and dear god all the chewing that it takes to get that dish down.

 

i already feel a little better today with the spinach shake although it was no treat getting it down. the reason i resort to the shake is that i have one of them twice a day every day. at least this way while i am shaking, an alarm will go off telling me to eat my greens. and yes i do hate most vegetables, but i can do peas, carrots, spinach, & green beans.

Eww! I don't like canned spinach. Please tell me you aren't putting canned spinach in your protein shake. No wonder you hate it! Try putting a handfull of raw organic baby spinach, you shouldn't notice much of a taste at all.

FormicaLinoleum: too funny. Omni diet - meat = only salad right? They really can't imagine what we eat. (But I happen to love salad )

How much fruit do you eat??? I think that can offset you a little so you don't have to eat so many veggies(well fruits are vegetable too). I don't get the amount of whole greens I should but I think I make up for it with my double dose of spirulina every day. As for wheatgrass I've only had it in shot form and I love it.