To not understand how a fully grown adult..

[LifesLittleDeciders]

Doesn’t like any vegetables at all?
I was just watching a video about a man who wanted to find recipes he could eat that don’t contain vegetables as he doesn’t like any veg.

I mean come on.. there’s as many flavours in different vegetables as there are colours in the world.. yet he would proclaim to ‘hate all colours’

I just don’t get it. Kids I sort of understand; especially when they descend from fussy parents. But I just think ‘grow up’ when I read about adults not touching vegetables. I’m not talking about “I don’t like broccoli or carrots” - won’t eat vegetables at all.

And the “salad? Do I look like a rabbit?” Slur that comes from people

Who won’t eat anything remotely green or healthy, that saying really boils my piss. Just say no thank you?!

I know IABU as it’s none of my business but it just made me roll my eyes and would be interested to hear others opinions on it.

@Picklypickles

I like most vegetables but the only fruit I will eat is apples, it's an issue of the texture for me, fruit that is soft or squishy or pulpy or seedy or wet makes me gag!

I'm not a fruit lover either. I'd eat grapes and pineapple as well and that's about it. Bananas are the most revolting thing on the planet IMO. I think this is probably pretty common tbh. My mother used to boil vegetables to death, although I don't mind veges as much. But fruit, not a fan.

Yeah its pathetic. I understand not liking certain veg or fruit, but to say they don't like ANY is something a child would say.

But some people are just like that and not even willing to try new things. They must miss out on so many great dishes though! Ex mil was like this. She would only eat peas and carrots, nothing else. Would only eat certain types of potato. And only certain cuts of meat. And also proclaimed she was the best cook ever to live.

I couldn't understand it at all. It was such a pain when she came for dinner because I'd have to always either cook one of the 5 (mind numbingly boring) dinners she might actually eat for everyone, or cook it just for her whilst making something for everyone else.

I’m 37 and only started eating veg when DS started eating solids 2 years ago, I still struggle but understand my body needs them. Again me not eating veg was down to my childhood and being forced to sit at an empty table eating my dinner that had cold and food that I didn’t like.

My sister doesn’t eat any veg except raw carrots. And no fruit.

My mum is very into healthy eating and we were offered a great diet as children but my dsis was incredibly fussy and wouldn’t eat it. Mum tried everything. I now think dsis is possibly on the spectrum.

It isn’t always about upbringing or being “grown up”, there can be sensory issues at play.

I find it embarrassing when adults are like this. My husband only likes about 2 types of fruit. It's like eating with a toddler.

I can and do eat any vegetable. Apart from carrots and chilies and tomatoes, I can't think of any vegetables that contribute positively to how enjoyable a meal is.

(I assume vegetables like potatoes don't count here. I know tomatoes are botanically a fruit, but for culinary purposes they are vegetables.)

Sensory issues and any disorders aside, I believe some children just don’t grow out of the fussy phase around vegetables and if they don’t have a strong influence at home encouraging them to keep trying different types of foods, it can persist. It’s just natural
variation in taste preference. I think there might be a genetic aspect too - my partner and I are complete dustbins as is our toddler.

I have a close family member who has always been an incredibly fussy eater all her life and appears to revel in it - doing FB quizzes ect to show how “particular” she is, like it’s a badge of honour. She’s passed this to her child whether unwittingly or not, and the kid barely eats anything. What she does eat is beige. Mum seems pleased daughter takes after her, and seems to be encouraging it to foster some kind of special attention. I don’t think it’s a good thing at all.

I’m dreading my three year old picking up on food fussiness from her peers as I think some of them do. We’re lucky that she likes most things and will at least try new foods even if she decided she doesn’t like them. It’s a minefield for parents though, it takes effort not to turn mealtimes into a battle of wills.

And yup totally agree with the adults acting like toddlers with the “yuck” fussy factor when they don’t like fruit or veg. It’s not cute or special, just say no ta and get on with it.

Some people super tasters, most vegetables taste bitter to them. If they don't know that they are super tasters then they might just say that they don't eat them because they don't like the taste and seem fussy.

I have some sympathy with them as I was (weirdly) a super taster for a couple of months, I have no idea why. I had made a thai green curry with lots of veg as usual and I couldn't eat it because it tasted like I had poured a bottle of that stuff that you paint onto your nails to stop nail-biting into it. I apologised to my DH and said I couldn't understand why it tasted like that, and he said it tasted the same as usual to him. It was so odd and it did make me super picky about food. A friend recommended taking a multi vitamin and mineral supplement in case it was caused by a deficit in something, and it faded away over a few weeks and I haven't had it since. It was so horrible though, and if I had grown up with the problem then I could see how it would have affected my food choices.

Sometimes it's just easier though. I say that I don't like salad, because I have an almost pathological aversion to tomatoes (seriously, even getting raw tomato on my hands makes me gag), I don't like cucumber, most dressings, beetroot...probably quite a lot more. In the UK, salad tends to mean something lettuce, cucumber and tomato based, so I just say I don't like salad. I actually love salad leaves, rocket, pea shoots etc. So, I will eat salad, but am quite specific regarding what goes in it.

Weirdly enough, my 9 yr old daughter loves salad - she happily munches on tomatoes, cucumber, olives...all of my nemeses!

[quote LifesLittleDeciders]@Sixdegreesofseparation
Sorry..

It really boils my broccoli.

[/quote]
Don’t you mean “boils my peas” ?

Sorry.

My DP is like this although he will eat broccoli and salad. When we moved in together he was genuinely amazed that I went to the trouble of cooking a proper meal every night instead of getting a pizza out of the freezer.
When we go out to eat with MIL I can see exactly where it comes from. I actually avoid eating around her anymore due to the constant comments like “eww I don’t know how anyone can eat fish/pink steak etc”

To be fair to DP he eats everything I cook and would never complain but I know he’d much rather have nuggets and chips or a pizza.

Sweetcorn should have been on my list of vegetables that are actually enjoyable. Non-green beans are in some nice dishes, but possibly don't count. I guess onions don't count either, not being green.

Anyone who extols the pleasure of eating green peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, lettuce etc must have not experienced 95% of the flavours and pleasure food can give.

DH was like this, literally would not eat any vegetable. Interestingly his brother is the same, so not sure if it’s something that happened in childhood or not. Their plates look so dull and unappetising! Thankfully DH had a wake up call when I started weaning DC1 last year and will now eat broccoli and carrots. I think seeing a little baby happily eating something he wouldn’t woke him up

I love veg and salad, but can't stand fruit …. I haven't got a sweet tooth so it feels odd to eat fruit.

I don't think it's just the way people are brought up. My friend has 2 kids, both fed the same sort of thing as babies / toddlers with "proper food" mushed up. One of them would eat as much fruit & veg as you could put in front of him and the youngest won't touch vegetables. She eats some fruit and other than that her diet is predominantly beige. She clearly has a very strong sense of smell as she comments on things that no one else has even noticed so they suspect she also has a strong sense of taste and hence her passion for bland food!

I think one of the main issues is that in the past many people have been brought up eating over boiled tasteless veg, or boring salads with no dressing.

I love nearly all vegetables, except for parsnips, which IMO are only fit for animal feed
I'm not keen on beetroot or artichokes, but will eat all other vegetables.

I think the way they are cooked and presented can make a huge difference. A plate of lightly boiled or steamed broccoli is OK, but it is utterly transformed by a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and seasones with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Likewise a plate of lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber is OK, but is elevated to something delicious with the addition of radishes, grated carrot, sprong onions and a dressing of balsmic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and salt and papper.

We just need to be more creative with vegetables.

Everyone has likes and dislikes, but I agree with you OP. Barring sensory issues or other non NT issues, stating that you dislike all vegetables is just childish.

I often see threads on mumsnet from posters wanting to lose weight who then go on to say that they hate all fruit and vegetables, and eat a very unhealthy diet. It isn't rocket science why they are overweight.

I see it very much as an addiction thing.

Adults like this were fed, as they very often describe it, 'beige food'. That more or less translates to - high in carbs, often highly processed ones but even if not, very carby - and sugar. Chips. Pizza. Meats, but highly processed - whether it's chicken nuggets or ham sandwiches. Lots of salt.

We know now that foods like this are essentially addictive.

I would think to these folk, there's a really strong correlation between the 'hit' they get from eating these kinds of foods, relative to how they 'feel' when they eat foods which aren't like this - veg being the key one. They don't get that hit and that mouth feel and that rush. To them, that translates as not liking.

It's a horrible situation to have been put in, to have your body primed to respond to crap through childhood. You'd have to really recognise and deal with the mechanics of that to get out of it in adulthood.

I love veg but I hate fruit so I make smoothies to get my fruit intake.

A friend of mine won't eat any veg. Not sure about his stance on fruit but I would guess it's the same. He's late 30s. In his defence, at least he doesn't make twatty comments about rabbit food when he's offered veg - he just says "no thank you, I don't eat vegetables".

Weirdly enough he seems perfectly healthy. He's really into the gym and looks very muscular and toned. I've never noticed that he has bad skin or gets sick more than anyone else.

My immediate reaction is to be judgemental: how can someone not want to eat "all veg", that is just an annoying affectation surely (I love pretty much all veg and salad). But then I remember that I pretty much "don't eat" fruit! I buy it intending to eat it because it's healthy, but then don't eat it and it rots in the fridge! I don't really bother with it unless I force myself (I am currently recovering from a broken bone and know I should have lots of Vitamin C to aid healing, I prefer to just take a pill rather than eat fruit! I don;t approve of myself at all in this!).

I know a girl like this in her 20's - lives on beige/junk/freezer food and won't touch fruit, veg or any kind of salad or any thing with the tiniest hint of (mild) spice. Very picky about Chinese, curry etc aswell.

I find it so odd! She won't even TRY things either, I feel like it's a very immature attitude to have the 'no I don't like it' stance when you haven't even tried it!

Honestly, adults like this are totally bizarre to me 😄 What a sad life to lead, eating the same things over and over again and never trying new food and flavours 😕

I am not keen on cooked veg as an accompaniment but I will eat veg curry. I prefer raw vegetables to be honest
I think a generation of us were raised on overcooked veg which has put us right off

I like vegetables, but will never accept a salad as a lunch.....im not a rabbit.

That's an intersting point of view @YoniAndGuy. I imagine that vegetables will seem pretty tastless compared to a slice of pizza or chicken nuggets.

I like pizza a lot. In fact we had pizza two nights running this week. DH makes fabulous pizzas, and he made enough for two meals. The first night we had a massive (dressed) salad with it, and the second night a home made coleslaw.