Raw vegetables - help me expand my short list

[Pegasus]

DD12 will likely become vegetarian. Never a big meat eater, she is eating less and less meat. We are quite the carnivore family but I want to respect her choices. She loves lots of fresh fruit, especially berries, and I haven't really found a fruit that she doesn't like. The problem is that she will only eat raw vegetables. It's boring to offer her carrots and broccoli over and over. What else is good to eat raw? Are there certain vegetables that you should NOT eat raw?

 

Here's what she likes so far that I can think of: carrots, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, peas

 

I'd love some more ideas.

 

Pegasus

[Night Elf]

I love zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and avocadoes.

 

Will she be getting protein? I am eating about an ounce of meat with dinner. I'm just losing my taste for it. But I love eggs, peanut butter, and beans. I don't even know if I'm getting all the nutrition requirements I should be getting.

[mommymonster]

I was the same way growing up -- just never liked the taste of meat. I am a vegan, and love veggies, both cooked and raw.

 

Favorite raw veggies include: broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, peppers (green, red, yellow), carrots, celery, olives, salad greens, spinach, tomatoes, avocado

 

Favorite cooked veggies: eggplant, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, cabbage, chard, kale, and all of the above except for the salad greens

 

For teen vegetarians, be sure she gets enough calcium and B vitamins.

[mommymonster]

Deleted duplicate post.

[Pegasus]

I love zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and avocadoes.

 

Good ideas. I love that summer is coming and I can start buying and letting her try things when they will be fresh.

 

Will she be getting protein? I am eating about an ounce of meat with dinner. I'm just losing my taste for it. But I love eggs, peanut butter, and beans. I don't even know if I'm getting all the nutrition requirements I should be getting.

 

Yes, she sounds very similar. She often passes on the meat dish entirely but will sometimes take about 1-2 ounces of chicken or fish, if that is what we are having. She does like eggs (whites only if boiled or fried), peanut butter, beans, cheese, nuts, seeds, etc.

 

Pegasus

[hmvaughan4]

My boys love cherry tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, and celery. They primarily eat raw vegetables, but they do love broccoli and cauliflower sauteed in a bit of olive oil.

[Pegasus]

I was the same way growing up -- just never liked the taste of meat. I am a vegan, and love veggies, both cooked and raw.

 

Favorite raw veggies include: broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, peppers (green, red, yellow), carrots, celery, olives, salad greens, spinach, tomatoes, avocado

 

Favorite cooked veggies: eggplant, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, cabbage, chard, kale, and all of the above except for the salad greens

 

For teen vegetarians, be sure she gets enough calcium and B vitamins.

 

Ok, I've been thinking that I'm avoiding buying her the vegetables that *I* don't like. That's not right and I need to let her try them, including the cauliflower and peppers.

 

How do you eat avocado? Just slice, peal, and eat? I usually see it as guacamole. :001_huh:

 

Oh, and I've thought of a few things that she WILL eat cooked, like sweet potatoes and acorn squash. How do you cook the eggplant?

 

She drinks milk and calcium fortified orange juice and eats cheese. I think she's ok for calcium. I'll need to look into the B vitamins though.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

cauliflower, celery, green onions, bell peppers, lettuces and greens

 

you can use a big romaine leaf as a wrap, and put some chopped veggies and hummus in them

 

ETA: Look at my blog under the labels Food and Veggies for more ideas.

[Pegasus]

My boys love cherry tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, and celery. They primarily eat raw vegetables, but they do love broccoli and cauliflower sauteed in a bit of olive oil.

 

Thanks for the list. I will definitely have her try these. We'll have to experiment with sauteed veggies as well.

 

Pegasus

[Pegasus]

cauliflower, celery, green onions, bell peppers, lettuces and greens

 

you can use a big romaine leaf as a wrap, and put some chopped veggies and hummus in them

 

ETA: Look at my blog under the labels Food and Veggies for more ideas.

 

I haven't thought about hummus - I bet she'd like that! She doesn't use any kind of dressing or dip but hummus may really be well received. Thanks. I'll check out your blog as well!

 

Pegasus

[Bang!Zoom!]

I've eaten raw/vegetarian quite often and for extended periods of time.

 

Protein on a vegetarian diet is really honestly an issue that requires a bit of self-education, there are many, many options to discover what acceptable limits are and how to test for them. It's one of the first things folks get concerned over.

 

You may supplement if necessary with powders etc. (there is both whey and casein) - and this is really going to vary with every individual, so it's best to involve a doctor to monitor this if a child is in their growing years, etc. I've monitored mine on a strict raw diet and never needed to supplement personally, but that's not going to be the case for everyone.

 

More people worry about B vitamins (the complete family of them) more than anything, and again, you may or may not need to supplement depending on how wide a variety of foods you take in.

 

I happen to find the most benefit from juicing when I need a boost, and I save all my pulp.

 

I make soups, stews, veggie meatloaf, mix it in rice, salads of course, mix into dressings, and if she allows eggs, the scraps go beautifully in omelets and even breads. I also really like mixing it up in a scooped out potato and just throwing in whatever happens to be handy and re-bake them.

 

Immersion blenders are very handy for vegans all the way to a sometimes vegetarian diet.

 

Personally, I supplement, but it's not for lack of what is in my diet, but for where I'm at in my life needs.

 

There's all kinds of vegetarians, all kinds of moral/spiritual reason folks do this, some are health, some are economic, some are organic folks, it's a very wide landscape of approaches.

 

I find eating vegetarian is much more economical than a meat based /included diet, and also the side benefits of finding like-minded friends who love to experiment with spices is a kick and a half as well.

 

Learning to prepare in different ways is a hoot too, barbeque, roasting, boiling, raw, I think it's a lot of fun and very creative.

 

You may/may not have a winco in your area, but this link is a list of commonly found bulk food items, all of which are fairly well accepted in a vegan/vegetarian diet depending on the focus. I like to use this as a springboard for recipe building, sometimes I go in there and look around and have NO idea what the heck is in those bins, or what sort of bean, or how it's used, etc. etc.

 

I just google around and find a starter recipe and then build off from this.

 

http://www.wincofoods.com/departments/bulk-foods/a-to-z/

Edited April 17, 2012 by one*mom

[TheReader]

Ok, I've been thinking that I'm avoiding buying her the vegetables that *I* don't like. That's not right and I need to let her try them, including the cauliflower and peppers.

 

How do you eat avocado? Just slice, peal, and eat? I usually see it as guacamole. :001_huh:

 

Oh, and I've thought of a few things that she WILL eat cooked, like sweet potatoes and acorn squash. How do you cook the eggplant?

 

She drinks milk and calcium fortified orange juice and eats cheese. I think she's ok for calcium. I'll need to look into the B vitamins though.

 

for avocado, yes, just slice, peel & eat. Cut it in half, remove the pit, and then you can either slice & eat or just scoop out the insides.

 

Cooking eggplant, I like to saute' it in olive oil with some herbs (oregano, basil, etc.) until tender. If she'll eat cooked tomatoes it is excellent with some halved cherry tomatoes thrown in with it.

 

One raw veggie I've not seen listed yet is green beans (whole). I love to do a salad of various salad greens (spinach, romaine, etc.), cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and green beans. Add in peas (in the pod) and bean sprouts if you want.

 

Also, not a true veggie I guess, but mushrooms can be eaten raw and I *think* are a decent source of protein, especially the portobello mushrooms if you can get those. I could be wrong on the protein aspect, but I love to add some diced mushroom to a salad.

 

Also, if the idea of cauliflower raw turns her off, she can always cut it down to tiny bits and sprinkle it through a salad.

[RoughCollie]

I eat raw vegetables, and I don't have any to add that haven't already been mentioned.

 

But my dog has a suggestion. He loves raw kale. He didn't get it from me -- DS2 made a smoothie with it and dropped some on the floor. I'm considering using it as a training treat, which I think is the highest and best use for kale.

[GailV]

for avocado, yes, just slice, peel & eat. Cut it in half, remove the pit, and then you can either slice & eat or just scoop out the insides.

 

 

 

A friend cuts avocados in half, scoops out the half, and serves on a plate dressed with high quality soy sauce. The same friend is quite fond of those seaweed crisps, btw -- those are amazingly full of nutrition, and might be worth a try.

 

We go through jars and jars of the Frontera guacamole mix -- it's a really quick way to make guac from avocados.

 

Dh likes raw zucchini put through a spiralizer so it looks like spaghetti. You can use regular spaghetti sauce, or can make a raw tomato sauce from roma tomatoes, or use canned fire-roasted tomatoes with some chopped garlic thrown in -- lots of ways to keep the flavors bright and fresh. I bought a cheap spiralizer on Amazon.com and it works fine.

 

I personally love cauliflower steamed until soft, then mashed with cheese. The rest of my family thinks I'm nuts.

 

I also like beets, raw or cooked. You can buy them already prepared, generally in the produce section, sometimes infused with various herbs.

 

Consider growing microgreens, which are fun to grow and a fairly mild form of some of the veggies she/you aren't used to. I also think foraging is fun -- dandelions, chickweed, violets, purslane, etc. -- perhaps it will be inspiring to discover you can wander around the neighborhood and come up with food plants hiding in plain sight.

 

And, of course, we've had several discussions of green smoothies here in the past. My current favorite is a mandarin orange, some banana, frozen blueberries, chopped kale and chopped collard greens (our family loves cooked collards sauteed with carmelized onion, so we often have some around).n Raw kale and collards can be hard to digest -- it's better after it goes through a blender or is chopped quite fine.

 

What a fun chance you all have to explore some new foods! Enjoy the challenge!

Edited April 17, 2012 by GailV

[CalicoKat]

DD12 will likely become vegetarian. Never a big meat eater, she is eating less and less meat. We are quite the carnivore family but I want to respect her choices. She loves lots of fresh fruit, especially berries, and I haven't really found a fruit that she doesn't like. The problem is that she will only eat raw vegetables. It's boring to offer her carrots and broccoli over and over. What else is good to eat raw? Are there certain vegetables that you should NOT eat raw?

 

Here's what she likes so far that I can think of: carrots, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, peas

 

I'd love some more ideas.

 

Pegasus

Avocados!

[Parrothead]

I didn't see anyone mention cabbage. One can eat it raw just fine.

 

Something else to add to her diet can be nuts and seeds. Pumpkin seeds are good. Also sunflower seeds. Be sure to measure out nut servings due to the high fat/calorie content if you are worried about weight issues.

[Lady Marmalade]

I haven't seen jicama mentioned yet. It has a light/sweet flavor, and has the most spectacular crunchy texture. Also radishes- there are so many varieties, some are sweeter and mild, some are fierce and fiery. It might be fun to play around and find ones she likes.

 

When the farmer's markets are rolling for the year, kohlrabi is also good raw.

[abacus2]

Snap peas, kohlrabi, radishes, other lettuce varieties, arugula.

 

Can you sign up for a CSA this year? It would give a variety of vegetables regularly.

[Bang!Zoom!]

A spiralizer? I have NEVER seen a spiralizer!

 

Oh, off to surf, this sounds so dang cool! My latest and greatest fun vegetable toy was a set of Stackers. Now my dishes look like Portland funky, they are great fun!

 

http://www.chefgui.com/2010/04/17/plating-food-the-little-tools-that-make-a-difference/

 

Some girls buy shoes, I buy kitchen-weirdness. LOVE

[happypamama]

We eat a lot of cherry tomatoes, red peppers, and cucumbers raw here. With dip, preferably. :)

[justLisa]

I can't stand meat. I eat like a vegan, mostly. If I am out and served it, I will eat it. I eat some turkey and fish because I really need it sometimes.

 

I love raw chopped salad. Lots of edamame (shelled), and diced carrot, celery, bell pepper, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, pretty much anything, and drizzled with italian dressing, or white balsamic, EVOO and dijon mustard.

[Excelsior! Academy]

We are not vegetarians, but even my meat eating family eats hummus once a week.

 

Is she only eating raw? If not quiche, Mac and cheese, and cheese pizza are good choices. All are complete proteins. So are beans and cornbread or rice.

 

I ditto the tomatoes raw. My most. favorite. food. ever.

 

How about cucumbers? A touch of salt or vinegar and black pepper. Yummy.

 

Great salads

 

Greek

Cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, red onions, and feta cheese.

 

Spinach

Spinach, cranberries, red onion, slivered almonds, feta cheese, and a tiny bit of Italian dressing

 

Fluff (okay, more of a dessert)

Crushed pineapple or mandarin oranges, cottage cheese, cool whip, dry strawberry jell-o or orange if you used oranges instead of pineapples.

 

All are filling and good! These might not make complete meals, but would give some more variety.

Edited April 17, 2012 by Excelsior! Academy

[kht2006]

sugar snap peas, mini bell peppers, grape tomatos (all from Sam's) dips: hummus, ranch, plain yogurt, greek yogurt based dip.

 

I bake egg plant whole in the oven like a baked potato (can be microwaved).

 

f