what are the vegetables that youn use to hate that you can tolerate now?

Calgary, Alberta
January 24, 2012 8:40pm CST
Until now I was wondering why American kids hates brocolli cause its actually delicious if stirfried Chinese style (I know Americans steam them) and those kids might consider brocolli delicious once they experienced eating Bittermelon. Bittermelon is a superfood, It fights cancer, diabetes,anemia, highblood, andmore sickness but this vegetable is damn bitter. I hated it as a kid, Well now i can tolerate it and I was able to eat it. I think its health benifits are the reason why I eat it now. I even learned to eat it raw. I can handle the bitter taste of Bittermelon now. 2 years ago I hated Okra with a passion , its not the taste I have a problem with, Its the texture, the slimy phlegm like texture, I really hated it but now I learned how to remove the slimy texture. As a kid I use to hate squash cos of its yellow color and when it gets mashed it reminds me of poop. Well I have no issues with it anymore. I also cant handle chilies as a kid, Now i eat chilies until my mouth burns. Working progress for me is ginger, I have texture problems with it but i am learning.
4 people like this
18 responses
@ramonah (211)
• Romania
25 Jan 12
I used to hate eggplants. In any form of cooking. Now I like them in any form. About broccoli, I used to hate them too because of the smell when boiled. Until I discovered stir fried which makes them great really. I used to hate mushrooms, forest mushroom, because of the goo on them that can't be really removed entirely. Now I don't have a problem with it. I've started to eat many vegetables that I used to hate, many of them stir fried or raw. I still can't handle boiled ones. I'm not sure why.. Maybe the texture, maybe the smell.
@ramonah (211)
• Romania
27 Jan 12
I think we have two similar roots: horseradish and parsley root. Not really the same scent and taste as ginger but the same consistency and texture surely. I like them grated, blended or just boiled together whole with dishes and then removed so just the taste remains and not the texture. I never liked strips of them in foods.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
Have you tried eggplant lasagna and eggplant omelet, those dishes are so tasty, they make me learn to love eating eggplant . I use to hate it when I was little too., Now I add eggplant in curries and even pasta.Boiled vegetables are only good if they were part of a soup. I liked mushroom the first time I tasted it, when i was 5 my nanny is able to convince me at mushrooms by saying they were edible mini umbrellas. what do you think of ginger root?
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
Basically ginger is used to remove the fishy smell from fish/seafood or the gamey smell from meat. The only reason why I hated it, when I was a child, My mom added it as strips in food, and chewing it sucks, Blending it might be better, you can use it for marinades for seafoods, poultry and meat. I hate it when its placed in dish as large slices and strips.
@marguicha (215346)
• Chile
27 Jan 12
I cannot understand now why I used to hate cauliflower when I was a kid. Now it is one of my most loved veggies. I like it raw and cooked, in casseroles, pies, quiches, omelettes or just alone with some olive oil and salt or some mayo. I love veggies in general, but I don´t think all the time on how healthy they are. I do know they are healthy though and know that I´ll have a better chance of getting what I need if I eat several kinds the same day.
@marguicha (215346)
• Chile
27 Jan 12
That sounds like fun. Children love those things. My eldest daughter always cut the hotdogs in a way that resembled squids so that the children would eat them quicker.
2 people like this
• Calgary, Alberta
27 Jan 12
My nanny when I was a kid is an expert manipulator, she is able to make like Cauliflowers and brocolli the first time cos she said those are mini trees. I dont know why but when i was 5, I'm fascinated with "Mini" everything. Mushrooms are mini umbrellas. peas are mini stars.
1 person likes this
• United States
25 Jan 12
When i was younger i use to hat to eat brocoli and now i can even eat i raw and not dippd anything but if i due steam brocoli i have to put cheese on it because its the only way i will eat it steamed. I cn say that at least i am eating it now but im not the biggest fa of it but will eat it if it comes my way or if i dont see anything else ilike to eat i will go for that first. I also never ate fried green beans or fried okra until about a month ago when i tried it for the first time and it was pretty yummy. There are still things i dont eat and probably wont ever eat but maybe i will grow out of it. I still dont like onions and if i dont know its in somethig i might eat it but if its raw i just cant eat it at all and would rather just pass on it.
2 people like this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
In Asia, we stirfry brocolli with meat, seafood and garlic, if you are familiar with chopsuey, kind of like that. I do udnerstand why American kids hated broccolli cos parents serve it steamed and not seasoned, I havent tried it with cheese, if you want to challenge your self,you shoudl try bitter melon, that vegetable is an Asian kid's nightmare, its eaten raw,steamed, storfried or stewed,some cooks manage to make it tasty. I love onions now, but i have issues with ginger but i am learning.
1 person likes this
@amybrezik (2118)
• United States
25 Jan 12
Have you had fred okra? The slimy texture is nonexistant in the fried verision. Funnily enough I have despised tomatoes my entire life (and I am 30) I am pregnant, and now enjoy eating them on sandwiches. Very strange to me. I have never heard of bittermelon, what does it taste like?
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
28 Jan 12
hi again I am a diabetic so am interested in the capsules so can I find them here in the US in health food stores? It might be worth a try you know.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
28 Jan 12
maybe in ebay but you might find the actual veggie in Asian stores. i think its capsule version is globally exported in helth stores, Just ask for Bittermelon or Bitter Gourd, its also sometimes called Charantia
• Philippines
25 Jan 12
i used to dislike bittermelon but i learned to like it, while before i like papayas but now i don't eat the ripe ones anymore. i don't like okra ever since and i don't think i will ever like it. lols.
2 people like this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
I still hate Okra but i can manage to eat it now, thanks to willpower and determination but I still hate it., its so slimy.
1 person likes this
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
25 Jan 12
Hiya captain I still continue to dislike those pumpkins, papayas(cooked versions) - something I feel that their textures dont go good with me but I do like the Bottle gourd. Over the years, I have started to like Bitter Gourds. I remember I could never have them as a kid - due to their bitter taste and if fed forcibly by mom - i would puke ... But today, I have found out some good recipes to make these and also deep fry them (at times) with gram flour to make them yummy. I even didnt like sugar in my kid days, but today, I am a choco freak and my taste buds just keep asking for more of anything chocolate
1 person likes this
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
26 Jan 12
Yes, the unripe green ones. These are the ones we Indians cook. The red ones (ripe) are eaten raw and I am okay with them. I feel there is some odd odor from the raw ones that repels me
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
Lol I actually prefer the green unripe papaya over the ripe one, I have to blend ripe papaya with apples in able for me to tolerate it.,
@youless (112103)
• Guangzhou, China
28 Jan 12
When I was little, I didn't like eating the celery since it had a special flavor and I didn't like it. In high school one day we needed to work in a farm for a week. There were not enough food there and I felt hungry after the hard working. And the celery seemed to be the main food in the farm and I had to try to adjust to it. Later I started to like celery. As to bittermelon, I am surprised that you like eating it. I know it has lots of benefits to eat it, but I just don't like the bitter flavor until now. I can't get used to this vegetable. I love China
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
31 Jan 12
I eat celery raw on its own, It tastes awful but it keeps my manhood manly, If you know what I mean, its an Aphrodisiac, Its also good for the heart, 1 month of eating raw celery can clear clogged arteries, aqbout bittermelon, it took me 14 years to like it. The reason i eat it, I dont want diabetes. Plus the fact it makes a village in Japan have lots of hundred year old people despite of eating pork, amazes me.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
28 Jan 12
hi CaptAlbertWhisker just one whisker lol I loved broccoli raw or steamed just tender crisp but oh my G you should see what the mexican cooks here at Gold crest do to it.Its cooked until it turns a greyed green and is so strong its vile tasting. I eat it as it is good for me b ut why do they ruin a good veggie that is delicious just barely cooked or eaten raw in a salad.I love breaded okra.I love all kinds of squashes too and their color does not bother me. but can you imagine a house painted the color of poop? I mean it took some getting used to as the inside was great.I do not l ike parsnips but I can eat them for the health sakes. I love stir fried veggies too and broccoli and cauliflower are really deliciou s fixed that way.I have read about bittermelon but I do not think its grown in the US. They claim its really a great health food.but no no for me on the chilis lol.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
31 Jan 12
parsnip are treated as fruit in my country, we ate it like apples. the parsnip in my country though dont look like carrots, they were round.,
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
31 Jan 12
Veggies - I love veggies
I was never a vegetable lover during my childhood days but as I grow I learned how beneficial veggies are so I suddenly have fallen into veggies. I can eat just all kinds of veggies serve to me. I actually don't even touch them but not I am looking for them and prefer them over any kind of food. Before I can't eat vegetable salad. I can't imagine eating all raw veggies, the lettuce, the carrots, the cucumber etc. but now I do love them and prefer eating raw veggies most of the time.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
2 Feb 12
It took me years learning how to eat salad,I can eat raw vegetables without dressings and vinaigrettes. I still prefer them cooked though, You know either stirfried or in coconut milk.
@hvedra (1619)
25 Jan 12
As a child I hate hardly any vegetables because my mother wasn't a good cook. I ate potatoes, brussel sprouts and mushrooms. I would eat salad (because it was raw and she couldn't ruin it), fruit and things like tinned beans but give her a fresh vegetable and she could destroy all the nutrition and flavour in a hundred different ways! When I started to do my own cooking, I discovered vegetables had flavour and texture and I really liked them. Nowadays I eat most vegetables and will try any new ones I come across. The only thing I don't eat is onion because I am allergic but anything else I'm happy to eat.
• Philippines
25 Jan 12
As for me, I used to hate ampalaya or bitter melon. I really hated the taste before but now that I grew up, I never cared about its taste. I just cared about the nutrients and benefits it can give to my health. I still don't like its taste, but I now eat it. I also hate okra, but unlike you, I still don't like to eat them until now! I also don't eat eggplant. I just don't like the texture of both okra and the eggplant. I don't know about those American kids. I like brocolli and squash. Squash is my favorite vegetable when I was still a kid.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
I hate okra and I only eat it with for its nutrients too. I learned to love bitter melon already. I learned a method to get rid of bitterness.
@gaea23 (252)
• Philippines
25 Jan 12
I think the vegetable I can manage to eat and love is the bitter gourd, in the Philippines we call it "ampalaya". It is really bitter but it is better for the health and not just better but best especially when a person has a diabetes. It will help control the illness. I love ampalaya or bitter gourd when I met an accident and I had a big wound, it helped me healed my wounds fast. Just try it for yourself.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
Bitter gourd and bitter melon is the same, other countries callit snake gourd and goya too. Its like every asian kid's nightmare since its eaten around Asia but its a very healthy fruit.Yeah i know we consider it a vegetable but its actually a fruit.
@sumatix (257)
• United Arab Emirates
25 Jan 12
Being a kid i never use to eat spinach..as it tastes somewhat bitter to me ,...i don't know wh and even today i don't like to eat it.But yes i can tolerate it to some level now.. All the other most of the vegetables i am ok.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
do you eat it raw? cos in my tounge it tasted like meat when its stir fried in garlic, and oyster sauce. I cant eat salads as a kid, Now i regularly eat salads,I am not a raw vegan cos I love meat and cooked food, but i do love salads now.
• India
25 Jan 12
Vegetables include lower sugar . in our days diabetes is a major problem in children.so our children must known about the use of vegetables,and we must help them on better helth
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
so what are the vegetables that you hate as a kid that you eat now, cos i dont understand your answer.its not specific.
1 person likes this
• Malaysia
3 Feb 12
I liked almost all vegetables ever since I was young except for one: tomatoes. I tried tomatoes once when I was young and it was slimy and I hardly found anything nice about it. Unless the tomatoes were diced and the slimy parts removed, I'd usually take out the tomatoes in my sandwiches, burgers, or any other food and ask if anyone else wanted them instead. But lately I've been more tolerant towards the sliminess and have stopped taking them out of my sandwiches. Most of the time. I'm not sure if pickles are also considered a vegetable but I don't like them either. Till now. I like a lot of sour food but I just can't seem to like pickles for some reason. Another vegetable that I always remove from my burgers.
• Calgary, Alberta
3 Feb 12
I am not fund of raw tomatoes as a young kid before but I love tomato sauce, I learned to appreciate tomatoes raw when I was about 9 years old. I dont know how I learned to appreciate tomatoes, It just happened.pickles is basically cucumber pickled in vinegar and yeast. Can you tolerate unpickled cucumber?
• United States
25 Jan 12
When i was younger i use to hat to eat brocoli and now i can even eat i raw and not dippd anything but if i due steam brocoli i have to put cheese on it because its the only way i will eat it steamed. I cn say that at least i am eating it now but im not the biggest fa of it but will eat it if it comes my way or if i dont see anything else ilike to eat i will go for that first. I also never ate fried green beans or fried okra until about a month ago when i tried it for the first time and it was pretty yummy. There are still things i dont eat and probably wont ever eat but maybe i will grow out of it. I still dont like onions and if i dont know its in somethig i might eat it but if its raw i just cant eat it at all and would rather just pass on it.
@Mayuko (1268)
• United States
25 Jan 12
I'm American and I've never hated broccoli. In fact, I'd say it's one of my favorite vegetables. I don't think Americans steam broccoli though; boiling seems to be the most common cooking technique. Also, I have always enjoyed squash. I actually prefer to eat it mashed. Spinach is the veggie that I used to detest. I haven't had spinach in years, then a couple of weeks ago, I ate some and it tasted very different -- almost good (but not quite )
• Calgary, Alberta
25 Jan 12
Kids have a different tastebuds with adults, many veggies and some fruits I despised as a kid are now regular part of my diet, ON Tv I saw American kids hates brussel sprouts too I ate spinach raw and cooked. Raw for salads and cooked for stirfries, it tasted meaty when its sauteed. I also use to hate raw vegetables but I can eat them now. I eat salads a lot.
@champoy186 (1638)
• Philippines
25 Jan 12
I am like you CaptAlbertWhisker. I really didn't eat bitter gourd before. But now, I used to like it. It is delicious actually. It tastes even better if it is cook with egg. Try it! I like brocolli, okra and squash. They are one of my favorite vegetables since I was a kid. Vegetables are really good. I don't know why other kids don't like it so much.
1 person likes this
• Calgary, Alberta
26 Jan 12
basically kids hated them cos parents introduced them to very tasty and very salty processed foods first, Plus many parents find it easier to feed kids their favorites, that makes kids picky eaters.