Vegetable consumption

[hornblower]

I'm so jealous!!!!!  I despise car-based living with a passion, and it's my life dream to live in a place where I can walk and use public transit!   :D  Recently my dental hygienist was telling me that she had lived in Vancouver and she really loved it.  The way she described it, it sounded so nice that I wanted to ask "why on earth did you move here (Albuquerque :thumbdown: )when you could have stayed there?"   :lol:   But I didn't feel it was actually appropriate to ask, so I restrained myself.  

 

So, you wouldn't happen to know if there's much demand for physicists in Vancouver, would you?   :001_smile:

 

We have a fair bit of high tech industry, plus 2 research universities + some technical universities so maybe? 

 

But housing is IN.SANE. Like really, really insane.  People keep moving away because of the housing. 

[Melissa in Australia]

Agreeing with the price of fruit.

 

We love snacking on raw veggies too. Mostly raw carrots and cellery.we can get 1 kg of carrots for under $2 but 1 kg of apples would be over $6

 

We mostly eat fruit in season, having an orchard with over 40 trees plus large berry patches.

[StephanieZ]

You do realize this varies wildly by location, right? For example, vegetables are cheap here, fruit is moderately-priced, and I'm lucky if I can get the crappy, factory farmed ground beef for $5/lb. 

 

Well, sure. I've lived (and shopped/cooked) in AZ, UT, GA, VA, and WV, and I've never found veggies super pricey. I think it really depends on if you shop in season and where/how you shop. If you follow sales, you can generally find veggies reasonably priced. I mean, artichokes are hard to find here in WV at any reasonable price, and they usually look terrible too. But carrots, cabbage, etc. are generally cheap year round. Also, Sam's (or Costco, but we don't have one here) typically has good prices on veggies. I can get broccoli crowns for around $2/lb year round at Sam's. . .  Most groceries run sales regularly with things like BOGO bagged salads, etc, too. I do think shopping carefully goes a long way.

 

When we were on a very tight grocery budget, I was still able to keep our family in veggies using BOGO sales, Sam's, etc. Of course, if you just cruise the market and pick up whatever strikes your fancy, you'll spend more. 

 

I buy my beef as a half-a-cow direct from the farmer once a year. I spend about $1000 and get about 180b of beef or something like that. I work out the numbers per finished pound and I am confident it generally runs less than $6/lb (because I often share a little with a friend who has a small family, so we work the numbers and she pays me by the finished pound.) Of course, I have to go to some effort to find the farmer, time the order for the once-a-year harvest, and then I have to have the freezer space. I understand not everyone can do that. If I bought the same beef at the local farmer's market (same farmer), it'd cost me a lot more -- at least 50% more, maybe more, I've never bought it that way. In the supermarket, I can get standard beef less expensive if it's on sale (BOGO, in particular, which is how i buy large quantities of beef if I run out before fall.)

 

Maybe it's a recipe thing, too. I don't know. 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I'm enjoying the different names for vegetables.

 

I guess mangetout is peas in-the-pod, either snow peas or sugar peas? And silver beet is swiss chard.

 

And capsicum -- peppers. Bell or jalepeno. But also habenero, chili, cayenne...

 

I think I have this all right, or nearly! If I'm wrong, please just blame Google and tell me what it really is. :)

[Annie G]

 

 

Today I had zucchini left from last Sunday.  It was as good as the day I brought it home.  In winter it might not last 2 days because it's already dead when I get it.  I probably should just not buy most vegetables "fresh" in winter, but I dunno..I like fresh veggies...so I keep stupidly trying.

 

I'm right there with you. Winter lasts forever here and I get SO tired of frozen veggies. I want fresh, crunchy stuff! So I buy zucchini at nearly $3 a pound and it's rubbery in a couple of days. But I'm so desperate for 'fresh' that I keep buying it. 

[creekland]

Well, anyone wanting zucchini just has to show up at (my) church tomorrow.  We'll be taking a pretty large bag there to give away to anyone wanting it.  I'm getting about 8 per day (and summer squash has just started too), far more than we can use even eating it for breakfast and lunch and we're not really fond of that frozen.  In a little bit - perhaps already - it will be tough to give it away as so many will have more than they need.  :lol:

 

I suspect in the Apocalypse squash plants produce the most food for the space!

 

I still love it for breakfast (sauteed in olive oil) and lunch (microwaved in butter with salt added) though.  I'm pretty sure I got my three cups for the day right there not even counting the peas, pepper, onions, mushrooms (does fungus count?) or blueberries and cherries we also had today.

 

If it weren't so hot I'd be making squash soup soon using a recipe from my mom.  That stuff is really good, but not on 90+ degree days.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Agreeing with the price of fruit.

 

We love snacking on raw veggies too. Mostly raw carrots and cellery.we can get 1 kg of carrots for under $2 but 1 kg of apples would be over $6

 

We mostly eat fruit in season, having an orchard with over 40 trees plus large berry patches.

 

I have a love hate feeling towards celery.  I love celery, but even if I ate it every day I never can go through it before it is bad.  I sometimes freeze the excess for soup, but there is only so much of that I need.  Wrapping it in foil makes it last longer (but of course wastes a piece of expensive foil).  So every week I end up throwing some of it out.  They sell these gigantic stalks.  If I wanted to buy some cut up celery in a small quantity it's 2x the price so that's pointless.  One of mine will eat maybe a stalk now and then, but nobody else likes it all that much. 

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I'm right there with you. Winter lasts forever here and I get SO tired of frozen veggies. I want fresh, crunchy stuff! So I buy zucchini at nearly $3 a pound and it's rubbery in a couple of days. But I'm so desperate for 'fresh' that I keep buying it. 

 

Suggestions for winter vegetables masquerading as spring vegetables:

 

Do you ever do much with radishes? They're good for overwintering but can still impersonate crispy-fresh. We use minced raw radish, onion, and celery (together) in lots of ways in the spring. My favorites are over pasta with tomato sauce, or over spaghetti squash with olive oil and herbs.

 

You can also very lightly saute carrot and daikon sticks with cabbage for a fresh, crunchy effect.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Tibbie Dunbar

[Greta]

We have a fair bit of high tech industry, plus 2 research universities + some technical universities so maybe? 

 

But housing is IN.SANE. Like really, really insane.  People keep moving away because of the housing. 

 

 

Yeah, I was afraid of that regarding the housing.   :(   

[Melissa in Australia]

I have a love hate feeling towards celery. I love celery, but even if I ate it every day I never can go through it before it is bad. I sometimes freeze the excess for soup, but there is only so much of that I need. Wrapping it in foil makes it last longer (but of course wastes a piece of expensive foil). So every week I end up throwing some of it out. They sell these gigantic stalks. If I wanted to buy some cut up celery in a small quantity it's 2x the price so that's pointless. One of mine will eat maybe a stalk now and then, but nobody else likes it all that much.

We love celery. At the moment we are eating close to a bunch in a day. I it thebottom off and stick it into a jug of water on thesink. I crunch all day long andeatover half of it myself. The kids eat the rest.

[SparklyUnicorn]

We love celery. At the moment we are eating close to a bunch in a day. I it thebottom off and stick it into a jug of water on thesink. I crunch all day long andeatover half of it myself. The kids eat the rest.

 

Yeah you have a much bigger family.  Here it is only 4 of us and one won't touch celery.  My husband will eat it cooked or in a salad, but he isn't one to just snack on it.  The other kid eats small amounts of food.

[Greta]

I have a love hate feeling towards celery.  I love celery, but even if I ate it every day I never can go through it before it is bad.  I sometimes freeze the excess for soup, but there is only so much of that I need.  Wrapping it in foil makes it last longer (but of course wastes a piece of expensive foil).  So every week I end up throwing some of it out.  They sell these gigantic stalks.  If I wanted to buy some cut up celery in a small quantity it's 2x the price so that's pointless.  One of mine will eat maybe a stalk now and then, but nobody else likes it all that much. 

 

 

We love celery. At the moment we are eating close to a bunch in a day. I it thebottom off and stick it into a jug of water on thesink. I crunch all day long andeatover half of it myself. The kids eat the rest.

 

 

 

Not a big fan of celery personally, unless it is properly served.  

 

;)

[Greta]

You can also very lightly saute carrot and daikon sticks with cabbage for a fresh, crunchy effect.

 

 

That sounds good!  

[Annie G]

Suggestions for winter vegetables masquerading as spring vegetables:

 

Do you ever do much with radishes? They're good for overwintering but can still impersonate crispy-fresh. We use minced raw radish, onion, and celery (together) in lots of ways in the spring. My favorites are over pasta with tomato sauce, or over spaghetti squash with olive oil and herbs.

 

You can also very lightly saute carrot and daikon sticks with cabbage for a fresh, crunchy effect.

 

The only way I like radishes is roasted. Weird, but true. 

 

Haven't had daikon in years- the carrot/cabbage/daikon sounds like a winner! Thanks!

[Tita Gidge]

I like to slice radishes super thin and fry them like crisps. Yum!

[regentrude]

Yeah I do a once a week clean out the fridge and just make something with what is there.  In winter the majority of it goes in the trash....

 

Today I had zucchini left from last Sunday.  It was as good as the day I brought it home.  In winter it might not last 2 days because it's already dead when I get it.  I probably should just not buy most vegetables "fresh" in winter, but I dunno..I like fresh veggies...so I keep stupidly trying.

 

What veggies are you buying in winter? 

I found that sweet potatoes, all the different winter squash, carrots, parsnips, any root vegetables, and some cabbages are fine all winter long. Brussel sprouts are actually better if harvested after they got a freeze.

 

Other veggies are better saved for their season - tomatoes in winter are just awful, and I would consider zucchini a summer veggie as well.

[Rosie_0801]

I'm enjoying the different names for vegetables.

 

And capsicum -- peppers. Bell or jalepeno. But also habenero, chili, cayenne...

 

Yeah, I have finally worked out that romaine is cos lettuce. I always thought it was the dark purple stuff. :)

 

Capsicum means bell peppers not chillies.

[Rosie_0801]

I have a love hate feeling towards celery.  I love celery, but even if I ate it every day I never can go through it before it is bad.  I sometimes freeze the excess for soup, but there is only so much of that I need.  Wrapping it in foil makes it last longer (but of course wastes a piece of expensive foil).  So every week I end up throwing some of it out.  They sell these gigantic stalks.  If I wanted to buy some cut up celery in a small quantity it's 2x the price so that's pointless.  One of mine will eat maybe a stalk now and then, but nobody else likes it all that much. 

 

You don't have a dehydrator, do you? Celery makes a good base for home made stock powder.

[Junie]

Have you all heard the old joke about how the drawer in the fridge that's the vegetable crisper should be called the vegetable rotter? It's where you put all the veg you buy when you're being pious in the store and then they rot in the fridge.... :p

 

My grandmother stored Hershey's Miniatures and Kit-Kats in her crisper.  Not a veggie anywhere in the house.  The freezer was full of Klondikes.  She never used her oven (except once a year when someone used it for the Thanksgiving turkey), so she used it to store graham crackers, cookies, etc.  And the cans of soda were in the fridge door.

 

We loved going to her house!!!

 

 

ETA:  This is how she ate and she lived into her 90s.  Unfortunately for me, she was a step-grandmother and not a blood relation.  ;)

Edited July 10, 2016 by Junie

[creekland]

 The one time I grew zucchini, we grew so much our kitchen table was literally covered with piles of zucchini. I could not cook them fast enough, especially in what was a hot summer.

 

I love zucchini in chocolate cake :)

 

I also have a passed down zucchini bread recipe that we use 2-3 times per year (so I guess I can't say I never bake - I just rarely bake).

 

Still, when it's super hot (by our standards) and our house only has one window A/C unit, it's hardly the thing I want to be doing.

 

That said... today is supposed to be a break in the heat so maybe I'll actually make some this afternoon.  It would be tasty...  I'll have to see if I feel up to it this afternoon.

[creekland]

Just curious... does anyone out there eat purslane?  (My spell-check doesn't even recognize it!)

 

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/power-packed-purslane-zmaz05amzsel.aspx

 

Youngest introduced to it this year.  He got introduced to it on his trip to Greece.  We have tons of it in our garden (allowed now rather than weeded since he uses it) and I've just started to try it.  This morning it will be a major ingredient in my morning sauteed veggies (along with summer squash/zucchini and mushrooms - we're out of pepper and I'm skipping onions this morning due to church).

 

As it's on my mind (about to make breakfast), I got curious to know if others use it or not.

 

ETA link with pic and description of plant.

Edited July 10, 2016 by creekland

[Rosie_0801]

We use purslane when we can get it. Most of ours grows on the nature strip so we don't eat it. 

 

It's chickweed time of year here and we should be able to start harvesting that this week :)

[Jane in NC]

One of the farms from which I buy greens incorporates purslane into their mixes. But I do think it is treated like a weed by most.

[creekland]

We use purslane when we can get it. Most of ours grows on the nature strip so we don't eat it. 

 

It's chickweed time of year here and we should be able to start harvesting that this week :)

 

It is definitely helpful to have our own supply I suspect.  What do you use chickweed in?

 

It's different, not bad at all, I can see where they say a slightly lemony taste.  I'll be adding it as a regular to my breakfast in the summer.  It fits in nicely with my mix and we have oodles of it since we have a section of garden where we're letting it grow.  It's really nice to have a plant we just "let grow" rather than one we have to carefully weed and monitor!  I wish all garden edibles grew so easily.

 

Hmm, I bet our chickens will like it too.

 

If mushrooms count as kitchen veggies, I think I'm at my three servings already.  If not, then I'm probably at two.  Cantaloupe and green tea rounded out my morning.  I skipped the eggs today.  I don't eat those every day - just three to four times per week.

[VaKim]

Just curious... does anyone out there eat purslane?  (My spell-check doesn't even recognize it!)

 

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/power-packed-purslane-zmaz05amzsel.aspx

 

Youngest introduced to it this year.  He got introduced to it on his trip to Greece.  We have tons of it in our garden (allowed now rather than weeded since he uses it) and I've just started to try it.  This morning it will be a major ingredient in my morning sauteed veggies (along with summer squash/zucchini and mushrooms - we're out of pepper and I'm skipping onions this morning due to church).

 

As it's on my mind (about to make breakfast), I got curious to know if others use it or not.

 

ETA link with pic and description of plant.

We call it portulaca. I have some growing in my yard. I have brought it in and washed and eaten it raw in salad on occasion. Like most green veggies, it just tastes like crunchy water, lol. 

[Rosie_0801]

It is definitely helpful to have our own supply I suspect.  What do you use chickweed in?

 

It's different, not bad at all, I can see where they say a slightly lemony taste.  I'll be adding it as a regular to my breakfast in the summer.  It fits in nicely with my mix and we have oodles of it since we have a section of garden where we're letting it grow.  It's really nice to have a plant we just "let grow" rather than one we have to carefully weed and monitor!  I wish all garden edibles grew so easily.

 

I use chickweed wherever I want a little bit of green, I guess. Dd was putting it on pizza and sandwiches last year. I put it in omelette and we made a vinegar infusion to use for salad dressing. We put purslane in a yogurt and garlic dip. That was pretty good.

 

I meant to try mallow this year but didn't have time to harvest them when the leaves were small and they're too tough now. 

[Prairie~Phlox]

We have a garden & eat a lot of fresh vegetables in the summer, frozen otherwise, except tomatoes, we can those. I could eat vegetables all day long. Sautéed cabbage is my favorite.

[creekland]

We call it portulaca. I have some growing in my yard. I have brought it in and washed and eaten it raw in salad on occasion. Like most green veggies, it just tastes like crunchy water, lol. 

 

Hubby said he couldn't really taste a flavor in it either.  He said it wasn't offensive - just quite bland.  But then again, he's the guy in our family who literally can't tell the difference between Dr Pepper and Coca Cola if you put both in front of him and ask which is which.  He's lacking quite a bit in "taste" abilities (which tends to mean he dislikes less, but leaves the rest of us wondering if he even knows what good food tastes like).  It's an ongoing discussion in our family - not a condemnation.  There are pros and cons to everything.

 

In other news... all the zucchini found homes at church.  I took in 12 and there was no competition from others at this point.  Next week there might be.  ;)

 

I like that our church allows (and encourages) "garden sharing."  We have chickens, so there's never any true waste from the kitchen, but it's even nicer when good things can go to those who like and can use them.  We lose nothing by giving our extra away.  I guess some markets might lose business, but only if people would have bought stuff from them otherwise.  I don't know that they would have.

[KungFuPanda]

Is it possible that people don't know what a serving of veggies is? I mean, you can eat one salad and get three servings.

 

I think I'm a supertaster. This makes beer and coffee too bitter to drink, but I still appreciate a bit of bitterness as a flavor. I can't eat brussel sprouts (even if they're "cooked right") but I eat and enjoy most other foods.

 

I grew up on a "Southern" diet, but to me that meant a LOT of meals from the garden and a lot of beans and cornbread for dinner. Yes, the green beans were cooked too long and the chicken was fried, but meat was never the bulk of our diet. We had a lot of salads in the summer and a lot of stews in the winter. My parents grew up with huge gardens too and they LIKED vegetables. All four of us kids LIKE vegetables. I like salads, but I LOVE soups. They're just more work.

 

My garden is ridiculous by comparison, but I can walk to a farmers market on Sunday and drive to one in five minutes on two other days. My theory is that there are a lot of people who have only had grocery store veggies so they don't understand what really good vegetables taste like. I'm sure everything in the store is grown for hardiness during shipping and appearance, but local gardens varieties are often grown for taste and meant to be eaten the day they're harvested.

[KungFuPanda]

I use chickweed wherever I want a little bit of green, I guess. Dd was putting it on pizza and sandwiches last year. I put it in omelette and we made a vinegar infusion to use for salad dressing. We put purslane in a yogurt and garlic dip. That was pretty good.

 

I meant to try mallow this year but didn't have time to harvest them when the leaves were small and they're too tough now.

Wait! You can eat chickweed? Why am I just learning this?

[Greta]

Hubby said he couldn't really taste a flavor in it either.  He said it wasn't offensive - just quite bland.  But then again, he's the guy in our family who literally can't tell the difference between Dr Pepper and Coca Cola if you put both in front of him and ask which is which.  He's lacking quite a bit in "taste" abilities (which tends to mean he dislikes less, but leaves the rest of us wondering if he even knows what good food tastes like).  It's an ongoing discussion in our family - not a condemnation.  There are pros and cons to everything.

 

 

 

 

I think I am like your husband.  Certain flavors taste very strong to me.  I couldn't eat anything with celery or green chile in it when I was growing up, because if one of those were in the dish, it was all that I could taste, and I did not like the taste at all.  It took me years of living in New Mexico before I learned to appreciate green chile, and it was a gradual process.  I can also tolerate celery better now, but it's not something I ever crave.  But with a lot of other foods, I feel like other people can taste things that I can't.  Some spices have to be at a level where other people say they are "strong" before I can even pick them out.  

Not only would I not be able to taste the difference between Dr. Pepper and Coca Cola, I can't even taste the difference between diet and regular sodas.  On the rare occasion that I order a soda at a restaurant, I always ask my daughter to taste it first and make sure it's diet (can't do real sugars because of hypoglycemia).  They all just taste syrupy sweet to me, and that's really all that I taste.  I taste enough to enjoy good food!  But sometimes I do get the impression that others are enjoying nuances to the flavors that I don't perceive.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

Our nearest farmer's market is more like a craft fair.  There is a really good one in a somewhat nearby city, but it's at least a 20 minute drive one way which to me is dumb when I can go to a store that's a 5 minute drive and get the same stuff for half the price.  Only reason I'd shlep to the farther one is for the cheese.  They have some amazing cheese farmers there.  It is by no means inexpensive though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[StephanieZ]

I have a love hate feeling towards celery.  I love celery, but even if I ate it every day I never can go through it before it is bad.  I sometimes freeze the excess for soup, but there is only so much of that I need.  Wrapping it in foil makes it last longer (but of course wastes a piece of expensive foil).  So every week I end up throwing some of it out.  They sell these gigantic stalks.  If I wanted to buy some cut up celery in a small quantity it's 2x the price so that's pointless.  One of mine will eat maybe a stalk now and then, but nobody else likes it all that much. 

 

I find that if I just cut up the celery into snacking size and stuff it in a container in the fridge, it is very easy to get it eaten up fast. Stick it out with some hummus or ranch dip and it'll get eaten FAST, especially if you set it out before a meal when people are hungry and wandering the kitchen . . .

 

Oh, another trick . . . The yellowy insides (heart) of celery and the leaves are great for vegetable stock (for soups, etc.)  So, every few weeks, I make up a big batch of vegetable stock (in a HUGE stock pot) for the freezer. I take the whole head of celery, wash it all, cut off the pretty parts and put them back in the fridge for later (now they're washed and trimmed and will be eaten very quickly) . . . and use the "ugly" parts for the stock. 4 or so stalk-equivalents along with all the leaves. Those leafy ends are great for stock. This gets *all* the edible (non dirty) parts of the celery eaten. And, homemade stock is so delicious. And having good stock inspires me to make more soup, which is also delicious and a great way to eat tons of veggies. :) 

[FaithManor]

Creekland, would you post your zucchini bread recipe to me by PM? Eldest ds loves zucchini bread but none of the rest of the family does so I never make it/no recipe in my collection that I would know for certain is yummy.

 

He leaves Tuesday for another road trip, and I'd like to send some along.

[Zinnia]

I love, love, love vegetables.  My dh will pretty much eat anything, too (bless him!).  My kids, however, tend towards the picky, and getting them to eat vegetables is like pulling teeth.  It makes it much more difficult, and I find myself limiting vegetables sometimes because of it.

 

I love collards, and I'll make them, but even as I put the one leaf on each of their plates, I know that I'm going to end up throwing it away.  I take heart in the idea that kids need to be exposed over and over and over again.  One day, they'll take a bite of those delicious collards, right?  ;)  At least that's my hope.  

 

I'm also in the camp of not loving to grocery shop more than once a week.  That means on days 6 and 7, and sometimes on day 5, we're eating canned fruit and the less tasty, hardier vegetables.  I'm not a huge fan of frozen vegetables, so that doesn't work well for us.  Because if I'm the main one eating stuff, at least it can be things I like, you know?

[Bluegoat]

So I haven't read any replies yet, but here is my own experience.

 

I live in a province with a lot of vegetable farming and also with a relativly high rural population and more small farms than many other provinces (though still in trouble).  We also have the most farmer's markets per capita of any province.  There are seven just in my city, all with a good variety of vendors, including two that have some vendors all week long.  At my closest market (7 min drive or a bus ride that gets me from door to door) I can get meat, fish, fruit and veg, cheese, and bread, and a few other farm products, all week.  On Saturday I can get toiletries, many other meat products, fancy bakery stuff, wine, beer, and spirits, spices, sauerkraut, jam and pickles, various ethnic foods, and other things too. 

 

Nevertheless - when I lived in a rural area, right in the middle of a bunch of farms, I actually had significantly less access to that food.  A ten min. drive got me to the small local grocer, which had a rather pathetic vegetable showing.  In summer, there was an intermittent farmers market 15 min away - it was new - and only a few vendors.  30 min away were two large grocery stores which might not have much local produce, and a weekly farmer's market for half the year.  Most farmers just didn't sell at the farm gate, for various reasons. 

 

So while part of it was I think that it just takes time for people to transition in their diet, a huge factor in keeping that from happening was that people no longer shopped directly on the farms or had their own extensive veg gardens (which was normal there pre-1950) but still had a car trip of significant length to get fresh produce, which most of the time would be imported anyway.

[Jane in NC]

Zinnia, may I suggest you try Bryant Terry's citrus collard recipe with your kids? I love greens but ranked collards at the bottom of the list until I tried this Vegan Soul recipe at a demo given by the chef himself. Yum!

 

http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/citrus-collard-greens-raisins-redux/

[Zinnia]

Zinnia, may I suggest you try Bryant Terry's citrus collard recipe with your kids? I love greens but ranked collards at the bottom of the list until I tried this Vegan Soul recipe at a demo given by the chef himself. Yum!

 

http://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/citrus-collard-greens-raisins-redux/

 

Thanks!

[Zinnia]

I think another thought that leads to not having vegetables is tight budgets.

 

I know that everyone says that eating vegetables isn't more expensive, but for us, it definitely is.  I can feed my kids a box of mac and cheese (the cheap stuff) for about 75 cents or 2 packages of ramen for 40 cents.  That fills them up for about 3 hours.  The same kid will need a lot more than 75 cents worth of fruits and vegetables to fill up.  And if you have picky kids, maybe you spend a dollar on their portion, and then, they DON"T EAT IT.  So you have to spend more money on things that they actually will eat, so that they aren't hungry.  And now, instead of your kid being full on 40 cents of ramen, you've thrown away a dollar of vegetables, plus served them 40 more cents of something they'll eat.  It seems so, so hard when your grocery budget is very, very tight.  

 

I know that at the bottom of our tight grocery budget days, I had a goal of 5 fruits and veg for my kids every day.  I only bought the things that I knew they liked.  We never tried anything new, because I didn't know if they would like it or not, and I couldn't waste the money on trying it out.  It made their diets pretty limited, but at least we got our 5 servings.  

Now, our budget is much looser, and i can introduce new things.  Which is hugely liberating.  But that feeling isn't something I can quickly forget.

[Bluegoat]

 The one time I grew zucchini, we grew so much our kitchen table was literally covered with piles of zucchini. I could not cook them fast enough, especially in what was a hot summer.

 

I love zucchini in chocolate cake :)

 

I read a gardening book with good advice about this.  She suggested planting only one plant, and harvesting when they were still quite small.  She had them near a path and would get any at the right size and just fry one every morning for breakfast.  So she never had too many.

[kiana]

I read a gardening book with good advice about this.  She suggested planting only one plant, and harvesting when they were still quite small.  She had them near a path and would get any at the right size and just fry one every morning for breakfast.  So she never had too many.

 

My mother chops up just enough for her zucchini bread (it's excellent), adds the sugar necessary for the recipe, and then cans it. So we can have zucchini bread year-round. 

[Bluegoat]

Wait! You can eat chickweed? Why am I just learning this?

 

Here is another one - a friend of mine told me the other day you can make a kind of pesto out of goutweed.

[Bluegoat]

I think another thought that leads to not having vegetables is tight budgets.

 

I know that everyone says that eating vegetables isn't more expensive, but for us, it definitely is.  I can feed my kids a box of mac and cheese (the cheap stuff) for about 75 cents or 2 packages of ramen for 40 cents.  That fills them up for about 3 hours.  The same kid will need a lot more than 75 cents worth of fruits and vegetables to fill up.  And if you have picky kids, maybe you spend a dollar on their portion, and then, they DON"T EAT IT.  So you have to spend more money on things that they actually will eat, so that they aren't hungry.  And now, instead of your kid being full on 40 cents of ramen, you've thrown away a dollar of vegetables, plus served them 40 more cents of something they'll eat.  It seems so, so hard when your grocery budget is very, very tight.  

 

I know that at the bottom of our tight grocery budget days, I had a goal of 5 fruits and veg for my kids every day.  I only bought the things that I knew they liked.  We never tried anything new, because I didn't know if they would like it or not, and I couldn't waste the money on trying it out.  It made their diets pretty limited, but at least we got our 5 servings.  

 

Now, our budget is much looser, and i can introduce new things.  Which is hugely liberating.  But that feeling isn't something I can quickly forget.

 

Yes, I think the veg is cheaper thing is much more complicated.  Carbs are fairly cheap, but even with meat and things like block cheese, it isn't a direct relationship - you often need more vegetables or fruit to be equally filling.  And if you add in limits to storage, spoilage, needing to commute to buy, and picky kids, your waste can add up. 

[kiana]

Yes, I think the veg is cheaper thing is much more complicated.  Carbs are fairly cheap, but even with meat and things like block cheese, it isn't a direct relationship - you often need more vegetables or fruit to be equally filling.  And if you add in limits to storage, spoilage, needing to commute to buy, and picky kids, your waste can add up. 

 

Indeed. It especially irks me when I see people comparing shopping at a discount superstore with a membership fee for produce to shopping for fast food meals. For most people access to a fast food joint is a lot easier to come by than access to the discount superstores.

 

Even if you do have the available time and knowledge to cook at home, if your only choice is a dollar store where all the fruit and vegetables are canned (this would be me if I didn't have a car), it gets incredibly expensive to include plants other than legumes. I've costed out diets before from my local dollar store (proving a point on the internet -- xkcd.com/386 is relevant) and at the amount of cash I was looking to spend there was just no way to get in sufficient calories and include five a day fruit and veg unless a large portion of the rest of your diet was baked goods composed of solely flour and water (tortillas, biscuits, bread), which is also not at all nutritious. I'm leaving out the specific numbers I was using because my point is not so much the numbers, but that it raises the cost disproportionately more to add fruit/veg if you are living in a food desert. 

[Arcadia]

I think another thought that leads to not having vegetables is tight budgets.

...

And if you have picky kids, maybe you spend a dollar on their portion, and then, they DON"T EAT IT. So you have to spend more money on things that they actually will eat, so that they aren't hungry.

I am lucky in that my hubby would eat our kids' leftovers so we could afford to try new things with little waste. When my oldest would only eat cauliflower and no other vegetable, it was costly and we have to get frozen sometimes.

[SamanthaCarter]

This thread has caused me to eat more veggies in the last couple of days. :)

[shawthorne44]

I would suspect it is cultural. Traditional cooking does not make vegetables appetizing. At least not in this area of the country - whenever you go eat out "homestyle" meals, veggies are soggy, overcooked, bland. Also, many people have grown up with convenience food and veggies from cans.

....

 

I totally agree with this.  For example, I thought I hated green beans into my 30's.   That is because they were always canned.   For the first Thanksgiving now-DH attended with my parents, he requested I make Green Bean Casserole only with fresh beans and no soup.   I brought it, so of course I had to try some.   Oh my!   That stuff is awesome!  Totally a revelation.   Throw in some chopped up hot dogs (don't judge until you try it) it is one of my top-20 dishes.   

 

I remember as a kid you were supposed to eat your veggies because "they are good for you."  There was no attempt to make them better.   Bah!   The connection between doing something really unpleasant like eating overcooked veggies and Health isn't immediate enough to make me eat my veggies.  But, when they taste good?   Heck yeah, I'll dig in.  

[FaithManor]

I did not like vegetables. The only ones me mom made were del monte canned dumped into a kettle and cooked for way to long for something that was already cooked. As an adult I have learned to love many served fresh or steamed, in soups and stews too.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I don't want to argue against any particular person's reasons for finding vegetables too expensive for children; we all have different budgets, time restraints, cooking skill, kitchen facilities, and even grocery availability, so this is NOT meant to be personal in any way. I just want to share a few ways I managed vegetables for my children when my budget was very, very low:

 

1. If a picky child's "yes" list has been determined, then fruit/veg on that list aren't going to waste. If he's only willing to eat peas and green beans and applesauce, then he should get them as often as he'll eat them. Trials of new fruit/veg are "just one bite" of a serving that someone else in the family WILL eat if he doesn't, so there's no significant waste in trying that way.

 

2. (On to non-picky) Some veggies are not quick to spoil and can substitute for less nutritious starches. When my boys were little they liked sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash (marinara), and winter squashes. The sweet potatoes and squashes will keep for a long time.

 

3. I didn't make salads ahead of time. I washed and trimmed the greens, and washed and chopped or diced the other ingredients, but put them all in separate containers, and made each plate right before dinner. Two reasons -- nobody's picking through their salad and wasting it just because they hate carrots and mushrooms, and then the leftover salad veg won't cause the greens to wilt and spoil too quickly because they're being put back in the fridge separately.

 

4. If the children will eat soups and stews, the vegetables go into these, with a little meat and some good broth and beans. Leftover soup can be frozen for another day. Frozen vegetables work very well for soups, because of all the flavors melding together, so you can only take what you need from the bag and save the rest in the freezer. Watch for sales at Kroger and Aldi, and stock up on your frozen soup veg. (If the fresh veg are cheaper than frozen -- for soup veg they aren't cheaper here -- then all at once, yourself, wash, chop, blanch, and freeze for convenience later, and to prevent wasting fresh veg.) Add fresh onions and celery, a garlic clove or two...this IS cheap food. Add some sort of bread and this is very filling food, as well.

 

Again, no need to portion out huge bowls for little kids. If I wasn't sure my boys would like a new soup recipe, they got half a mugful to start. If they finished that and wanted more, they could have as much as they'd eat. But people over-serve children all the time and then get upset at the waste! Start with a spoonful of a new food, or a child-sized portion of a favorite food, and then allow seconds.

 

I don't see vegetables as optional. I'd skimp on meat, first, and add more beans and other vegetarian proteins. The health that comes from "two greens and a yellow" every day is more than I want to risk for my children, and we're talking about such a small amount of food to hit the recommended servings. Also my boys have celiac disease so all the nutrients count; complex carb veg take the place of bread here in most meals.

 

Please don't take this personally, anybody, if none of these suggestions apply and you still can't afford vegetables for your children, and you are not willing or able to utilize food stamps, WIC, and local food pantry resources to get any vegetables at all, then that is your reality. I'm just sharing what I have done.

[Ausmumof3]

Agreeing with the price of fruit.

 

We love snacking on raw veggies too. Mostly raw carrots and cellery.we can get 1 kg of carrots for under $2 but 1 kg of apples would be over $6

 

We mostly eat fruit in season, having an orchard with over 40 trees plus large berry patches.

Wow. We are lucky and live near orchards where I can buy 2kg bags of apples and pears or mandarins for $4. Oranges are even cheaper. Summer fruits are slightly dearer but other than cherries rarely over $4kg