Diabetic Diet and Don’t Like Vegetables
When you first find out you’ve got diabetes, you often hear that you must change your diet and lifestyle. That can be a lot to swallow, no pun intended. Creating a diabetic diet plan when you don’t like vegetables is not something a meat and potato lover will be very happy about.
A diabetic diet for people who don’t like vegetables must consist of a carefully procured list of recipes catering to the picky eaters’ desired taste and nutrition needs. The guidance of a registered dietitian will help you in your transition.
There is a ray of hope for those who don’t care for the recommended vegetables in the diet. In the vegetable world, there are so many varieties and ways to prepare them.
Frequently, the case is simply that a person has not faced exposure to recipes that can bring your taste buds to life. There is also fascinating science behind why a person has a predisposition to be averse towards vegetables. We’ll discover this and more as we dig into the diabetic diet for people who don’t like vegetables.
You Need Your Vegetables, But You Don’t Like Them
As I had just mentioned, some people are averse to vegetables – and some from birth. How can this be? It seems almost cruel for a person with diabetes to have a condition that limits the diet.
According to James Heathers, Ph.D. and Jennifer Nickle of Precision Nutrition, not everyone can enjoy certain flavors – that is, not without a lot of work. James and Jennifer explain the DNA itself may have an encoded response to bitterness.
That is, alkaloids found in nature that often cause severe pain, discomfort, or even death. Our ancestors may have developed a reactive instinct to want to spit out anything that tastes bitter.
If you have been turned off by all green, leafy vegetables because you tasted the bitterness of kale or dandelion, try adding some spinach. It can be eaten raw, or steamed with a twist of lemon.
What To Do If It’s Greens That Are Disliked?
There are many salad items that are not bitter like the kale and dandelion that was mentioned earlier. If you like to add dandelion or Kale just to make your salad look more attractive, you may want to sprinkle a conservative amount of those greens, and add sweet fruits like apple slices, berries, or grapes to your salads. Other veggies and nuts are also a nice addition.
Adding fruits to a salad can make it sweeter and can be a great way to entice a picky diabetic to eat their greens. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), any fresh, frozen or canned fruit with no added sugar is the best choice. That pretty much means any fruit you want. However, you should be mindful of total carbohydrates.
Again, the ADA suggests that ½ cup of frozen or canned fruit has around 15 grams of carbs. For the same amount of carbs, you can try ¾-1 cup of fresh berries or melons. Fruit juice ranges from the ⅓-½ cup for the same amount of carbs. It is always wise to check the nutrition labels if they are available.
Great Fruits That Have Low GI and GL – Use These To Mask Veggies
Glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) are additional factors to consider in the diet of any diabetic. The GI score tells us how fast a food could raise blood sugar, and the GL does the same and considers the number of carbohydrates per serving. With low GI and GL fruits, you can eat with the confidence of knowing these fruits are better for helping control blood sugar levels, according to Medical News Today.
- apples
- avocados
- bananas
- berries
- cherries
- grapefruit
- grapes
- kiwi fruit
- nectarines
- orange
- peaches
- pears
- plums
- strawberries
Adjusting To New Things – Tricks To Try More Vegetables
In this other article, we discussed a weekly diet plan for people with diabetes that included an excellent cauliflower idea – grilling it like steak.
Grilled Cauliflower Steak Tips – Try cutting some thick ‘steaks’ from a cauliflower head. Brush on some olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, parsley, garlic, and some toasted crushed walnuts after grilling. Even the pickiest of eaters will like veggies after this cauliflower steak!
Several things can help entice a meat lover over to the vegetable side to help them with their diabetes, and the cauliflower steaks are just one small recipe in the arsenal.
There are some other great ways to drive over the taste buds. Most people who don’t like veggies will eat a burger or a steak. Ask a steak lover if they want sauteed onions or mushrooms with their steak, and they are not likely to refuse. The same is true for burger lovers.
How do we use sauteed mushrooms and onions to mask other vegetables? Simple, just use the mushrooms and onion to cover a cauliflower steak or veggie burger. Grilled tofu topped with sauteed onion and mushroom is incredible with the addition of some tangy capers.
Discuss your options with your doctor and/or dietitian before making any changes, but know that there are many creative ways you can go about tricking yourself or others into liking vegetables through new recipes and flavor combinations.
You Can Still Eat Meat
Just because a person has diabetes doesn’t mean that their diet has now forsaken all but the greenest or blandest of dreaded vegetables. Several delicious and meaty meals can be included in a healthful diet. These may include grilled skinless chicken or fish, lean pork, or even some lean cuts of beef like sirloin or tenderloin. Don’t forget game like venison, elk, and rabbit. As long as it’s lean, it can go on the table, according to Medical News Today.
7 Delicious Diabetic Dinners – Quick and Easy
Are you ready to try some new recipes? Over time, you will adjust eating habits to provide a healthier diet. Everyone is welcome to alter a recipe to suit their preferred tastes and palette.
If you or someone you know has diabetes and is averse to vegetables try one of these delicious diabetes safe recipes that make the mouth water just thinking about it.
30 Minute Diabetic Diet Recipes For Picky Eaters
1 Blackened Tilapia with Zucchini Noodles and Pico De Gallo.
It is a pan-fried recipe for perfect and fast seasoned tilapia that melts in your mouth. With zucchini noodles on the side. you have the ideal pair. Even the staunchest of eaters will appreciate this meal (and how fast it can be prepared).
2. Steak with Peppers and Sauteed Onion
Okay, so how could a meat-loving person who doesn’t like vegetables turn down grilled peppers and sauteed onions when accompanied by a lean cut sirloin? Imagine a fast grilled, thin sirloin smothered in a chili sauce and a pile of grilled green and yellow peppers with sauteed onion on the side. Serve with a mound of rice and black beans for a fantastic southern-style meal.
3. Grilled Chicken Smothered In Mushroom and Spinach With Whole Grain Rice
In Hunter’s Chicken style, this chicken dish is fantastic on any cold spring or fall evening. And paired with a side like whole grain rice, it’s a perfect meal for a person with diabetes who isn’t a huge fan of vegetables. The mushrooms and spinach in this recipe are cooked down some and, when added to the chicken and rice, blend right into the mixture of savory flavors.
4. Lemon Basil Salmon Steak With Asparagus And Apple
Take a lean salmon steak and grill it or broil it in the oven. With a slice of lemon and sprinkle of basil, a touch of salt and pepper, and some steamed asparagus and you’ve got a fantastic healthy meal. Pair it with slices of roast apple for a tremendous treat.
5. Chicken And Vegetable Kabobs
I’ve never met a person who doesn’t like a freshly barbecued kabob. Some will pick away at it, leaving this or that behind (usually the onion), but for many, a kabob is more of a treat and less of something they would see on the dinner table regularly.
Kabobs are great, easy ways to put a meal together. They are fast, and you can use lean meats, vegetables, and even fruits like pineapple or apple do well in a kabob.
Savory beef and spinach lo mein subbing in whole wheat pasta is a fast and fantastic Asian inspired recipe that can be whipped up in a pinch. With lean cut sirloin, quick-fried with some spinach, peppers, shredded carrots, and then added to the noodles, a bit of hoisin sauce, and you’re all set.
7. Pork Sausage and Zucchini Skillet
Some extra lean pork sausage fried up with diced onion, peppers, and tomato makes a fast and easy stir fry skillet. Include a side of whole grain rice or whole-wheat pasta, and you’ve got a meal fit for a restaurant. How could a picky eater not like this skillet sausage dish?
The End Of The Day
At the end of the day, we all have our taste preferences. Each of us has our likes and dislikes, and sometimes we just have to learn to bend a little.
In the case of diabetes, it is bending a little or suffer the consequences, literally. So, pay attention to the doctors, professionals, and dietitians when they say to increase vegetable intake for your own benefit. Ultimately, the picky eater will adapt and better manage their diagnosis.
Living with diabetes could mean discovering an abundance of new and exciting recipes. One might just find they like more vegetables than they ever thought possible. Your taste buds slough off, just like other cells in your body. If you adhere to the changes you have made, you will have a whole new set of taste buds in +/- six weeks, and you won’t want to return to a lot of your unhealthful habits.
Sources
https://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/diet/diabetes-diet-strategies-picky-eaters/
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/dont-like-vegetable
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/just-hate-veg.91661/
https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/low-carb-diet-someone-doesnt-like-vegetables-1392.html
https://blogs.webmd.com/food-fitness/20200206/how-to-eat-healthy-when-you-dont-like-vegetables
https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/easy-diabetic-recipes/
https://www.diabetes.org/nutrition/healthy-food-choices-made-easy/fruit
Thanks for stopping by my Dealing With Diabetes blog! My name is LeeAnna.
