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Dear Care and Feeding,
These days, because of inflation, our family has begun to change our diets a bit. My 12-year-old, however, has been struggling a lot with it. Because veggies typically eaten raw (romaine lettuce, peppers, salad greens, etc.) have become more expensive, we’ve switched to eating a lot of steamed vegetables, and she hates it. She will gladly eat salads and raw veggies of pretty much any kind, and she doesn’t have a problem with eating healthy foods in general. It’s cooked vegetables, however, that really set her off. Any time I give them to her, she picks at her plate for at least an hour, and it has become really frustrating.
She explained to me that she hates the squishy and mushy texture of cooked vegetables, as well as the smell, but nobody else in our family, including my younger child, has a problem with it. Apparently (she could be exaggerating), she has wanted to throw up while eating them, so that may give you a sense of her discomfort. I’ve explained the reason why we’ve switched to eating fewer raw veggies, and while she understands, I really wish she would stop behaving like she’s eating some kind of poison when I serve her dinner. My husband and I put effort into preparing dinner, and I’ve begun to interpret her behavior as ungrateful. She’s 12! She should be able to, for lack of a better euphemism, suck it up. What should I do?
— Eat Your (Cooked) Vegetables
Dear EYCV,
Your daughter isn’t alone. Do a Google search for “I hate steamed veggies” and you’ll find plenty of like-minded folks out there. And while “sucking it up” is a fine expectation for someone to eat food they’re not excited about, I think in your daughter’s case it may be unrealistic and unfair, if we take her at her word. (I hope I don’t have to explain why “Everyone else likes it” isn’t constructive, either.)
I’m sure your daughter understands the reasons for your grocery strategy; she just wants to enjoy her food—and that is understandable. My theory is that you might be overcooking and under-seasoning your veggies for her palate. If you’re microwaving them, shave a minute off the cook time and see how she does. Try sautéing or (my favorite) roasting rather than microwaving. And while I’ve always found olive oil, salt and a dash of pepper bring out the best in my cooked veggies, this website has a few other options to consider when it comes to seasoning and enhancing your veggies. Enlist your daughter’s help by taste-and-texture-testing different cooking methods and flavor profiles. You could even turn it into a game by giving the rest of the family scorecards at each meal to rate the veggies you prepare. Essentially, I think you need to switch your mindset away from food enforcer and into food detective, and work with your daughter rather than against her.
Finally, double-check that your processed veggies are really giving you the cost savings you think. Some produce, like carrots, might actually be cheaper raw than their canned and frozen varieties or counterparts. You can dig into the data from the USDA on your daughter’s favorites and compare against what you see on your grocer’s shelves. Maybe you’ll luck out and find a few raw veggies you’ll be able to throw her way.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/son-favorite-violent-game-care-and-feeding-advice.html
These days, because of inflation, our family has begun to change our diets a bit. My 12-year-old, however, has been struggling a lot with it. Because veggies typically eaten raw (romaine lettuce, peppers, salad greens, etc.) have become more expensive, we’ve switched to eating a lot of steamed vegetables, and she hates it. She will gladly eat salads and raw veggies of pretty much any kind, and she doesn’t have a problem with eating healthy foods in general. It’s cooked vegetables, however, that really set her off. Any time I give them to her, she picks at her plate for at least an hour, and it has become really frustrating.
She explained to me that she hates the squishy and mushy texture of cooked vegetables, as well as the smell, but nobody else in our family, including my younger child, has a problem with it. Apparently (she could be exaggerating), she has wanted to throw up while eating them, so that may give you a sense of her discomfort. I’ve explained the reason why we’ve switched to eating fewer raw veggies, and while she understands, I really wish she would stop behaving like she’s eating some kind of poison when I serve her dinner. My husband and I put effort into preparing dinner, and I’ve begun to interpret her behavior as ungrateful. She’s 12! She should be able to, for lack of a better euphemism, suck it up. What should I do?
— Eat Your (Cooked) Vegetables
Dear EYCV,
Your daughter isn’t alone. Do a Google search for “I hate steamed veggies” and you’ll find plenty of like-minded folks out there. And while “sucking it up” is a fine expectation for someone to eat food they’re not excited about, I think in your daughter’s case it may be unrealistic and unfair, if we take her at her word. (I hope I don’t have to explain why “Everyone else likes it” isn’t constructive, either.)
I’m sure your daughter understands the reasons for your grocery strategy; she just wants to enjoy her food—and that is understandable. My theory is that you might be overcooking and under-seasoning your veggies for her palate. If you’re microwaving them, shave a minute off the cook time and see how she does. Try sautéing or (my favorite) roasting rather than microwaving. And while I’ve always found olive oil, salt and a dash of pepper bring out the best in my cooked veggies, this website has a few other options to consider when it comes to seasoning and enhancing your veggies. Enlist your daughter’s help by taste-and-texture-testing different cooking methods and flavor profiles. You could even turn it into a game by giving the rest of the family scorecards at each meal to rate the veggies you prepare. Essentially, I think you need to switch your mindset away from food enforcer and into food detective, and work with your daughter rather than against her.
Finally, double-check that your processed veggies are really giving you the cost savings you think. Some produce, like carrots, might actually be cheaper raw than their canned and frozen varieties or counterparts. You can dig into the data from the USDA on your daughter’s favorites and compare against what you see on your grocer’s shelves. Maybe you’ll luck out and find a few raw veggies you’ll be able to throw her way.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/06/son-favorite-violent-game-care-and-feeding-advice.html