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.

Yeh I agree, I can understand not liking some, I really don’t like lettuce or anything that resembles a leaf, but not liking all vegetables is weird I think as they all taste very different

My sister in law is incredibly fussy, eats mainly beige food. I once had the audacity to serve lasagne and salad for lunch when she was round …. my brother kept rubbing her arm and asking if she was ok as she pushed it round the plate …. she's mid 40s.

My mum was like this (she was brought up in poverty on a very limited diet in the 40/50's so has roots in that), yet trained in home economics and made all our food from scratch as a child. But it was all traditional fare with very limited veg on the side, all boiled to death, and fruit was expensive so we only had a limited supply each day as kids. Conversely my dad has an allotment and I take after him and love my veg.

In her 60's my mum developed a lot of stomach and bowel issues and the consultant explained it was from lack of fibre and varied diet. So she switched up her diet, and forces herself to eat more fruit and veg.

My brother also developed diabetes in his 30's due to his poor diet and equally has changed his life around, now eating tons of fruit and veg.

I'm proud of them both for breaking a lifetime habit, so there is hope that people can turn their lives around.

Food inequalities and habits are deeply engrained so I wouldn't judge adults who struggle

The difficulty with fruit and veg with sensory issues is that the texture is often inconsistent and that's difficult for predictability.
This is why beige food is often a winner for people who are particularly sensitive. It's predictable.

I was not a vegetable lover as a child, pretty much only carrots and mushrooms. Bland overcooked school and home dinners were a big contributor. Plus a lot of psycological reinforcement of regular moaning about my (non) vegetable eating habits. It was too embarrasing to risk liking a food after years of being badgered about it!
With my own DCs, there is always a bit of what they don't like on their plate, but they are left to get on with it. It's there for them to try if they wish and one day they may find that their tastes have changed and they now like it. I'm not sure if it will ever work with mushrooms which they have both steadfastly hated since infancy, but it is quite a specific texture for them to adjust to.

I have got a friend who pretty much only eats beige. It's begining to catch up with her now as she's reached the age where good health is more about effort than youth, and years of lack of nutrients is begining to show.

An ex-DP's family also grew up on a limited diet although thankfully the ex-DP was adventurous enough to broaden his culinary horizons - much to their amusement...
I remember making pizzas with my usual salad for them - they refused the salad as it was too 'fancy' & picked at the homemade pizza. The next time they came over, I served frozen pizza which they wolfed down.
They also couldn't believe that you ate fish other than in fish & chips or fish fingers.

There are people with sensory issues, but I don't think anyone can have sensory issues about ALL textures and colours because that would mean they cannot eat even non veg stuff

There are people who cannot tolerate all textures, tastes, and colours. In the ARFID support groups there are parents there of children who are tube-fed as they can't take in adequate nutrition from eating.

Regarding it being down to the family cooking and what’s put on the table. Not always!

I genuinely love veg. My DH and DS (teenager) the same. DD (teen) brought up exactly the same loathes fruit and veg sadly, she will eat an occasional roast potato and broccoli maybe twice a week, also lettuce and that’s it. She is a great kid in every other respect and apologetic about it but on being asked to try a tiny piece it is spat out. I do worry about it. She also hates all soup (good place to hide veg). Just a very plain eater. Eats chicken most days.

If I were (God forbid) on the dating scene a man who refused all veg would really put me off.

If anyone hates veg but hasn’t tried roasting it in olive oil, you may like it that way, much sweeter.

I know I have done it in my previous posts, but I don’t think it’s helpful to refer to kids as “fussy eaters” from an early age, as I truly believe the label sticks and the child end up living up to it. If they are told they are fussy by parents and family, that’s what they’ll be. They’re literally being told it’s who they are, so why would they need to push themselves to be adventurous?

I don't understand a blanket dislike of all F&V either.

I like most veg (not okra - bleuurgh) but generally not done in the traditional British way of "boiling them in water"

I do most green veg in the oven these days with a little oil & seasoning, or sauté them, or braise them - so much tastier with better textures

My ex BiL was vegetable averse.

He called me a health nut once because I served up some broccoli

@RampantIvy

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.

This in spades! If people have been brought up on boiled-to-death cabbage and aren't natural cooks then how will they know the joy of lightly sautéed greens with chilli and garlic?! I think exposure to other cuisines has a massive impact if people are lucky enough and willing to try, but I don't know what you do with adults who point-blank refuse to try new things simply because "it's veg". One of my aunts will only eat peas. I honestly think her gut must be screaming out for some diversity.

I feel really sorry for people like this, and even more so for people who aren’t willing to even try stuff. I don’t understand how people can even get to adulthood having not eaten fruit/veg and not suffered from scurvy and constipation! That said, I think there was a sad case in the news recently of a boy in Wales who died of scurvy

@badacorn

I think a lot of this is down to being shit at cooking and/or being fed unappetisingly prepared veg growing up. It’s hard to love vegetables if you only encounter them when they’re boiled soft with no seasoning.

DH hated tommotoes -except he doesn't he likes them in sauces which is lucky as I've always cooked quite a few of these. I was fed home grown by DGP tomatoes and raw they often had a tinny taste which I found unpleasant and I think he remembers similar.

DMum was very fussy with veg - though she did her best to make sure we ate more of a range. It was because her Ddad grew a large amount of their food and there were always gluts they had to eat through. The veg she liked were ones he didn't or couldn't grow. She's got a soup machine now and she now eating a much wider range of veg - mainly as it's so convenient.

In my 20s I didn't like soup - it was just something I hadn't been given as a child and first soup I was given were TBH vile. Now I've found soups I like.

There are a few vegetables I don't like at all, and most of the rest I can eat but never get excited about. I like most fruit, but if vegetables weren't necessary for health purposes I wouldn't care of I never ate one again. When having a meal I tend to get the vegetables over with first, so I can then relax and enjoy the meat or fish.

I don’t get it but then again the only vegetable I won’t eat is red cabbage. I wasn’t brought up with lots of veg. We were low income so lots of frozen. Did get peas and carrots though but as an adult I tried them all.

I think the point OP is trying to make is that as adults you’re supposed to do things you don’t want to because they’re good for you. Nobody wants their flu jab but you get it, few want to exercise but we do, a healthy diet is just another thing you’re expected to manage because as an adult you can weigh up the pros and cons.

There is definitely a limit on how fussy it’s acceptable for an adult to be. I think every adult gets maybe 5 things they ‘won’t eat’ and beyond that it turns into an eye roll. And it can’t be whole food groups. I’m talking individual items or ways of cooking.

For me it’s;

• olives

-vinegar -very rare meat or fish

• Hot spices

With standard neurotypical people, I really do get immensely frustrated if they will not eat a good range of foods, and particularly of fruits and vegetables.

My girls were brought up on a wide range of fruit and veges, freshly cooked and simply prepared from weaning. I've always said, you don't have to like 'em, but you do need to eat them. They were allowed to pick certain items that they would not eat, under circumstances, but not 'all fruit' or 'all veges'. One will never let raw tomato or strawberries pass her lips, the other cannot stand pumpkin.

They didn't have to finish everything on their plate, but 'all greens must go', and that saying was known to mean all veges, barring the potato had to disappear.

As a result, they were aghast when they were the only kids that knew what a leek was, by sight, and take a perverse pride in loving brussel sprouts, lol during a health and living class.

However, now they're teens, they're doing the usual teen thing of reverting to toddlerdom if given half the chance, and avoiding anything that's not toast or takeout. . . brats.

Exdh was terrible for this , taught by his dm that vegetables and fish were for posh people and disgusting. Sparks flew when he complained about me eating fish fingers ( alright hardly the epitome of culinary excellence but I was hankering after my university days staple of a fish finger sandwich) and was quite silly when at a wedding some fish was put in front of him (that I ended up eating )

I make myself eat fish occasionally for healthy diet reasons but it’s far from being my favourite food. I wouldn’t be happy at being given fish at a formal occasion without any choice in the matter.

My dad doesn’t eat veg other than potatoes and frozen peas. Loves growing then though so dm has loads. His cholesterol at 66 is very good and he’s very healthy according to the doctor. He used to swap his veg for meat from his veggie brother and his dm (mum of 5) never noticed.

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

I don't think you know what a slur is @LifesLittleDeciders

@Mintjulia

I battled this with my dsd. She was in her twenties and had refused to eat any fruit or veg her entire life. Her parents had just shrugged and left her to her own devices. I couldn't understand it.

I tried everything I could think of to tempt her but by then she automatically said "I don't eat fruit &veg" and wouldn't try. She wouldn't even eat carrot cake.

Why would you battle with an adult? She's old enough to eat what she likes.

DP eats no vegetables and no fruit. Won't even touch a yogurt unless it's a chocolate one....
he has the eating habits of a teenage boy and even then a teenage boy has a better diet than him. Actually winds me up.

🤷‍♀️ it's his problem. I don't give a shit what other people eat.
Except when my kids were little. I forced veg into them all the time. 😁

@MishaHarrow

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

You see, that's said by people who don't know how to make good salad. No other explanation (I have salads for lunches all the time)

My ex was a very fussy eater and I always found it embarrassing. It was like taking a toddler out for meals! He would never try anything new and I used to blend vegetables up into sauces so he didn’t know he was eating them. Ordering at restaurants was a PITA because he’d have to ask for all different substitutes to go with the dish he’d picked. I’m so glad DH and DS aren’t fussy.

I don't like beans, yep, the whole classification of beans, the texture makes me gag, even baked beans.
My mum was quite happy to accept that I refused baked beans, but not other types of beans because they were considered healthy, therefore I must make sacrifices and be a better person and force them down. Nope.
I used to think all veg was horrible, because it was Cooked within an inch of it's life at home. I like a lot of veg, with the exception of peppers, since learning to cook myself and realising it isn't all just a greying mush and actually has different tastes and textures. Still no tothe beans though!
I'm not a fan of many fruits either, I'd much prefer to have veg as a snack than a piece of fruit. I have eaten all the regular ones, I just prefer carrot sticks or celery/cucumber to an apple or banana.