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JennGM
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 8:39am | IP Logged
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One of my biggest problems in pursuing a healthier menu at home is my own tastebuds.
I can't stomach sweet potatoes. I don't like the texture or taste, doctored or undoctored.
Leafy Greens -- the only kind I like is spinach, and my husband doesn't even like that. Chard, Kale, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, collard greens -- they are all so bitter, and not appealing.
While we make some healthy choices here in Real Food, this is where I can't go whole-hog on Paleo or other areas (can't anyway, because of our allergy needs, can't do eggs for ds).
And still looking for a coconut oil that doesn't taste like coconut.
Just wondering if anyone has suggestions.
Even just trying to do salads -- once our garden was done with lettuces, I have a hard time working up enthusiasm for store-bought organic spinach and lettuce. It's just so blah-tasting. How can I liven up salads in winter? I don't even feel courageous to try, as it's just not like our own homegrown.
Maybe I should look into inside lettuce for the winter? Anyone do that?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 9:20am | IP Logged
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I had a friend who grew lettuce and other greens inside through the winter. Tasted great! Just be sure to watch temp and light exposure :)
I am still nervous about trying the suggestions for coconut oil. I too don't like the taste of coconut, but am nervous about plunking down money and have it turn out not to work. Please let us (me!) know if you do find one!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 9:57am | IP Logged
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Spectrum doesn't taste like coconut (it's the cheapest I can get in town, I've used it for soaps and as lotion is all)
What about tossing fresh herbs into salads to liven them?
As far as how to change your tastes.. can you add small amounts of the greens you don't care for to ones you do.. get used to eating that.. then increase the proportion etc.?
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 10:00am | IP Logged
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Spinach cooked in a vegetable soup tastes like, well, the soup. I make a Weight Watchers tomato/veg soup in my crock pot and it contains 4 cups of fresh spinach.
I'm with you on sweet potatoes. Blech.  The only way I like them is fried, which is also blech.
I hope other members have some good tips for kale, etc. It's healthy and inexpensive...
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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organiclilac
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My only advice is to just keep on trying small amounts of the offending food. They say that repeated exposure is key to liking food. I forced myself to eat yogurt in college, something I did not grow up with, but WANTED to like. I'd get a small cup every day in my dorm bagged lunch, and choke it down, grimacing with every bite! But now I do like it. It's still not a favorite, but I can eat it without making faces! Now, I really want to make myself like sauerkraut and other similar fermented veggies.
I'd also encourage you to keep trying different ways of preparing the foods you don't like. There is a sauerkraut stew I recently discovered that I actually like - I am hoping that this will be a gateway to liking it more in general.
My husband has always hated asparagus, but recently discovered that he likes it when charred on a grill. My mother won't eat sweet potatoes, but she will have a little bit of the sweet potato casserole I make at Thanksgiving. We're not great about greens here, either, but my son will eat them sauteed with butter and a LOT of garlic. My husband prefers them with sesame oil and soy sauce. Maybe you'd like them better with bacon and onions, or chopped in small bits in a soup? It does seem that once you get used to them one way, it's easier to tolerate them all-around.
Best of luck to you, and if you have any great sauerkraut recipes, pass them on!
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Tracy, wife to Shawn, mama to Samuel (4/01) and Joseph (11/11), and Thomas (2/15)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 10:12am | IP Logged
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Oh.. and I found if I like sweet potatoes (actually the orange colored yams.. sweet potatoes and the reddish yams are still icky  ) it greatly depends on what is with it.
I actually do like them IF I make them just like mashed potatoes.. and serve them with ham. (the salty ham complements them very nicely) But so far that's the only way 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 10:13am | IP Logged
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Tracy I don't make my own sauerkraut or anything.. but have you tried heating it up with other things? like caraway seed? or onions? or apples? (sliced apples in with the sauerkraut sweetens it and takes away some of the tang)
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organiclilac
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 10:44am | IP Logged
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Jodie, no, I haven't! The only way my mom used to fix it was cooked with pork chops - no other flavors - and I hated it! I've avoided it ever since. But the stew I liked had some sort of broth (beef?), chunks of Polish sausage or bratwurst or something like that, potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. I need to see if I can duplicate it.
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Tracy, wife to Shawn, mama to Samuel (4/01) and Joseph (11/11), and Thomas (2/15)
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CrunchyMom
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I find that roasting veggies makes almost anything palatable. My boys LOVE roasted kale. It is easy to burn, but when it is crispy, it is really nice.
I do think that the key to the bitter greens is just to keep introducing it. I didn't hate them, but it was never something I would buy intentionally. Then, I got a seasonal vegetable delivery and after that, joined a CSA, and when I had so many greens I felt forced to use, we developed a taste. I think it was a combination of learning to cook them in a way we like as well as simply having it over and over. I often find that sometimes I dislike a food until I finally have it cooked WELL, lol.
I think the hardest thing about greens is cooking them in a palatable way for a large number of people. They cook down SO much, it takes a lot of space to roast or sautee them. I think that is why the most common way to prepare them was in a big pot, but to me, that is the least appetizing way, too.
You might also try growing some. It is easy to grow, and it really is tastier fresh. Probably just like you have a hard time getting excited about storebought lettuce, bitter greens are also not as good after they've sat in the store. Though, I do like the big bags of prepared kale for ease of use!
Do you like winter squash? We like sweet potatoes a lot, but there are so many varieties of squash, and the texture is very different from sweet potatoes, though their use can be similar. I also like the squash roasted. It brings out the sweetness.
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CrunchyMom
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organiclilac wrote:
| Jodie, no, I haven't! The only way my mom used to fix it was cooked with pork chops - no other flavors - and I hated it! I've avoided it ever since. But the stew I liked had some sort of broth (beef?), chunks of Polish sausage or bratwurst or something like that, potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. I need to see if I can duplicate it. |
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That sounds like bigos. It is a Polish hunter's stew. We like to make it for New Year's Day. You can find lots of recipes for variations online 
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Lindsay
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Mackfam
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Oh, I agree with roasting! Olive oil, salt, hot oven - it has made so many veg that we ordinarily would have avoided so much more delightful and palatable to some in my family that wouldn't touch the veg before. I've never tried kale though - may have to do that! Another idea is to roast a little kale or cubed sweet potato with something you know you really enjoy - like a cubed red potato.
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Jen Mackintosh
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JodieLyn
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We have sauerkraut with polish sausage.. you put the sauerkraut (and the liquid) in the bottom of the pot and then put the sausage in on top of it.. cover and heat through.. then when you serve it, the sauerkraut on the side is eaten with bites of the sausage.. yum.
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SallyT
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I've also bought Spectrum organic coconut oil -- not the extra-virgin, but the refined -- and its taste was totally neutral, not coconutty at all. Lately I've been buying . . . I think the brand is Louella, which is less expensive and also in a plastic container rather than a glass jar. I far prefer glass (plus we reuse them as glassware on the table), but buying the Spectrum refined means a trip to another store, so I haven't been doing that. Anyway, the Louella also has a neutral taste. The EV is probably much better for you, but I don't want the taste of coconut in everything I cook!
Sally
PS: I often cook sweet potatoes with something like kielbasa -- I cube them, do some chunks of sweet onion, and then chunks of kielbasa or andouille sausage. I toss it all in a big cast-iron skillet, cover and roast under the sweet potatoes are tender. I used to do this with white/yellow potatoes and still do sometimes, but we really like the sweet-potato version.
My family are also not big greens-eaters, and I don't much like salad in the winter, either. A spinach salad does have more appeal when it's dressed up with craisins, bacon, and the like. I also really love that broccoli salad with bacon, craisins, onion, almonds, and a mayo dressing (though if egg is a problem . . . ). I could eat that every day and never get tired of it.
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Nov 17 2012 at 11:11am | IP Logged
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So those of you who use Spectrum refined coconut oil:
Amazon has a couple of negative reviews from people who say that it actually "didn't agree" with them or otherwise made them sick. (of course they also complained it didn't have a coconut taste or smell, so how MUCH value do I give the review overall?) Has anyone else had that problem?
Where and how we live, it is easier to buy this stuff online ;)
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Mackfam
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I've been using Spectrum Organic Coconut Oil for years and we've never had any issues with it. It does not have a coconut taste or smell. I primarily pop our popcorn with it, but I also use it a lot in baking.
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Jen Mackintosh
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JennGM
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Heck, I don't even know where to begin on the leafy greens for cooking.
soups and stews I love, and that would be obvious, except it's like pulling teeth to get the boys to eat them. So I only do them minimally. I made Chicken Gumbo two weeks ago -- so good, but not to them.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JodieLyn
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Sometimes it's less the flavor and more the texture or the complexities of flavors.. also sometimes it's a particular ingredient.. for instance growing up beef stew was always made with tomatoes in it.. couldn't get my kids to eat it.. then it occured to me they don't like speghetti sauce either.. took out the tomatoes and while it wasn't a resounding success it did improve how many people ate it.
And I can remember my mom bringing me a pb&j sandwich when the family would go out for chinese food. I LOVE chinese food now and have since I was a teen.. it was just overwhelming in complexity of flavors when I was little.
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JennGM
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Do you like winter squash? We like sweet potatoes a lot, but there are so many varieties of squash, and the texture is very different from sweet potatoes, though their use can be similar. I also like the squash roasted. It brings out the sweetness. |
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I'm not too crazy about the squash family, either. Summer squash is okay, but that's about it.
Fall and Winter veggies is where I totally fail. I don't like the root veggies nor the greens or the squashes.
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TryingMyBest
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I have given up on learning to like sweet potatoes. I know they're very good for me but no one has to like everything that is healthy. I can't even stand them cooked with butter and brown sugar and everything should taste good cooked with butter and brown sugar.
As for other greens, I agree with the other posters about roasting. Just about anything is good roasted in the oven with olive oil and a little sea salt and pepper.
I think the key with kale is cooking it long enough to get rid of that bitter taste. You have to cook it longer than spinach which cooks very quickly. I try to saute it past that green wilted stage (it's hard to describe).
I like the Nutiva Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. I can still faintly taste the coconut flavor but I don't notice it when I cook with it.
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pumpkinmom
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I bought the Spectrum organic refined and I couldn't taste any coconut. It was the only brand that our local grocery store carries. I made popcorn on the stove with it this week and it tasted the same as using canola oil that I use to use. Switching to coconut is new for us, so this is the only thing I've tried so far. No problems! My boys hate coconut and they ate the popcorn and didn't say a word.
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Topic: How to Adjust Tastes?
