Salad Vegetable Conundrum

[Niko]

So I thought I was eating my salad vegetables but upon looking at the list again, I haven't touched them in a long time. I prefer my salads with spinach because I don't like watery veggies and, lol, spinach is an "other" vegetable ~_~ So I reread the list of acceptable, salad vegetables and found there are two vegetables on it I can tolerate but both require salad dressing to be edible which means they just taste like... dressing. And that's boring. But the vegetables are too bland to eat plain. I can tollerate lettus/romaine and cucumbers to a lesser extent but not in salads. Not a fan of lettus wrapped sandwhiches or cucumbers with salt on them.

How bad is it to only eat "other" vegetables and no salad vegetables? Are there acceptable salad vegitables not mentioned in the book?

[JulieB]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

On this board, we go by the book. Having said that...if there is really no way you can/will eat the salad veggies, and you have been losing weight without, I'd say you should continue as is (IMO). Maybe you could let us know which veggies from the list you might eat...are the two you like cucumber & lettuce? I wasn't clear on that...and we could come up with some suggestions for making them more interesting

[Niko]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

Yeah, they're lettuce/romaine and cucumbers. I can't believe there are so few vegetables listed in the book as a salad vegetable.

I ate half a green pepper I found in the fridge to try and get some salad veggies in today but I ended up using almost four carbs worth of dressing with them so they tasted nice. Not a bad texture but it tastes like bitter water without the help.

[momonmission99*]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

Have you tried putting hamburger meat in the green pepper, topping it with mozzarella and baking it? It's pretty good!

[whereami]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

Or kinda the opposite -- sautee colored peppers and green onions in olive oil until soft and then puree in food processor with spices and mix with ground beef and then make into patties and fry. Yummy!

[mitzimarie]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

Niko, let's see if we can come up with something else you will like from the "Salad" Veggie list....

You're in Texas, right? I'm betting that you can get your hands on some jicama. Do you know what that is? I had never heard of it before starting Atkins (in fact, I couldn't stand veggies pre-Atkins). This is a "salad" veggie that I eat every single day... contains an amazing amount of fiber, and I'm a fiber freak. I just eat it raw, and no dressing is required.

Colored Bell Peppers - I eat my bellpeppers raw... I cut them into strips, and crunch on them along with a piece of string cheese. So good! I'm not crazy about the green ones raw, but the red, yellow, and orange ones are great. Almost like a sweet treat! Again, while these would probably be good dipped in dressing, I don't use it. Dressing has so many calories, that I hate to overuse it.

Hey, if you're inclined to do so, why don't you check out the details on my upcoming Veggie Challenge. This is a fun-filled 5 day challenge where we learn about veggies, and discuss issues like the one you brought up in your post. Here is the link, in case you want to check it out. http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...challenge.html

[Eighties]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

I've managed to successfully do this plan with out eating salad veggies as with the exception of spinach, I don't eat raw veggies. It is a taste and textural thing with me, I'm a meataterrian and make no apology for it.

In my experience (and this is only me talking) eat the other veggies and just make sure your carbs don't overshoot 20 g a day and you'll be okay.

[JulieB]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

I definitely second the red-orange-yellow pepper thing - they taste way different than the green ones.

The idea of 'hiding' the veggies in the meat is also a great idea - it would be a very mild flavour compared to eating them by themselves.

[not2late]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

What Phase of Atkins are you in?

[Niko]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

I'm in extended induction but apparently I've been pushing into OWL rung 1 with my other veggies over the past few weeks though I've still be under 20 carbs a day.

I'll have to try some jicama next time I go to the store as well as some raw colored peppers. Those are the expensive kinds though T_T

What is a jalapeno considered? I've eaten plenty of those but they're not in the book under either type of veggie. Do they fall under peppers? Can I eat any type of pepper I want? I wouldn't mind making some stuffed poblano.

[Elizellen]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

Yes, jalapenos are peppers and any sort of pepper is 'legal' and on the salad veg list!

[Elizellen]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

I've managed to successfully do this plan with out eating salad veggies as with the exception of spinach, I don't eat raw veggies.

No problem - eat them cooked instead
Most of the veg on the salad list are just as tasty if not more tasty eaten cooked. Red and yellow peppers change completely in taste and testure after being roasted or sautééd in butter

[pokiedot]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

I think that one of the traps many of us fall into that really contributes to our weight problem is that "need" for dressing, sauce or condiments for everything. We're conditioned to need complicated flavors. It's basically why water isn't at the top of most folks' favorite beverage list... they crave flavor, sweet, salt, etc. And hey, I definitely would include myself in that group - maybe even the Queen of that group - to me Ketchup is a food group, not a condiment. It was probably harder for me to kick ketchup than it was to kick cookies!


I would try really hard to broaden your palate without feeling like you need salad dressing to make it taste good. Now that you're eating what is probably a decidedly less processed diet, you might find that you can really enjoy the flavor of vegetables - salad or otherwise - without smothering them in salad dressing. We get so used to processed foods with all the MSG and artificial flavorings and stuff that we think everything has to be all multi-flavored to taste good. Granted, romaine lettuce and cucumber don't have that much flavor on their own, but cucumber diced with a little red onion and maybe some bell pepper... YUM. The flavors of the veggies work together to create something you enjoy.

[Niko]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

Yeah, I hate water. I hate most fruits too but I like a lot of vegetables; just mostly the vegetables on the "other" list (and the forbidden ones~). I don't really like sweet things but I hate watery, spongy or tasteless things the most. Like tomatoes XP I detect no flavor in those whatsoever and I won't eat anything that's not tasty because it's just wasted calories then. Lettuce tastes bitter to me, cucumbers are too watery but I like the fresh taste. It's just the way my taste buds are. My mom always said as I grew older I'd learn to like things like tomatoes or olives so I've always made an attempt to try things I don't like to see if my tastes have changed but in 25 years I've remained constant.

I'm gonna stock up on some peppers since I know I like several varieties of them stuffed. I'm surprised they're salad veggies though; they're so high in carbs.

[pokiedot]

Re: Salad Vegetable Conundrum

Well the stuff on the "other" list has more carbs from starch and less from fiber. The good veggies are higher in fiber and water than in non-fiber carbs... so that could be the reason that you like them better. My favorite vegetable is corn, which might as well be a candy bar it has so much sugar in it!

Some tomatoes are better than others, and if you lightly fry a tomato (no breading, just the tomato) in a little olive oil with some salt and pepper, it can really bring out the flavor. The cheaper a tomato is, the more the watery taste it seems to have, at least in my experience... so get one expensive tomato rather than a pound of cheap ones and you might enjoy those more.

The sauce/dressing/condiment trap is something that I think about alot. As a kid, I was the "ketchup girl" and ate ketchup on everything. I was never really chubby till I was in my early 20s, but by then it was too late, my sauce/dressing/condiment habit was as much a part of me as brushing my teeth as soon as I wake up. I used to eat salads with so much dressing that it was sort of inconsequential what was in the salad, all i could taste was the dressing. It's been very very hard to try and look at food the same way when it isn't drenched in some flavorful goo. Anyway, just some food for thought. (ohmygod that was a horrible pun!)