Sneaky greens?

[reina80]

I'm going on a week 100% raw. So far, very good. However, I can't get myself psyched to eat greens. I am eating primarily fruit and nuts right now because greens just don't sound appetizing. I love smoothies but when I think about making one, I just don't want to. I know this has to be some kind of a mental block but its not working for me because I need to eat the greens too. (I'm breastfeeding still so I definitely can't live on a fruititarian diet.) I have never been a salad lover. Anyone have any tips for sneaking more greens into your diet when you just don't feel like eating them?

[Mrs. Papaya]

Is there some part of a salad that would really entice you to eat it? Sometimes I'll make a delicious dressing out of blended nuts and want to eat the salad just to get the dressing. I also love avocado and will happily cut up half an avocado -- or more -- in the salad for a wonderful boost of flavor and fat. Sprouts also change the texture of a salad and make everything better, in my opinion. Add lentil sprouts for crunch or alfalfa for flavor.

Do you have a juicer? This is an excellent way to get a lot of greens into your diet. Add plenty of apple and carrot to make it sweet and delicious.

I also think you should try more with the smoothies. Make them tasty! Start with mostly fruit and a little bit of spinach and go up from there. I find spinach to be one of the better tasting greens in smoothies, so stick with that for a while. I like swiss chard in smoothies, too, but start slow. Also, consider adding the water and/or meat from a young Thai coconut in the smoothie -- yum!

Overall, once you start eating more greens, I think you'll find it easier to continue. I feel bad if I don't get my greens in!

[fastfreedom]

I like to use greens as a wrap. I make guacamole then put it on a collard green leaf and roll it up like a taco and eat it.

[Dimond]

I add greens to everything smoothies, soups, puddings, & love salad. You can start out slowly by adding a handful of mild green like baby spinach to a smoothie. Once that works, you can add in more and try other greens. Keep experimenting with different meals and you'll find it's easier and more enjoyable than you think. The longer you're raw, the more your taste buds will crave greens.

[Gossy]

I was totally in the same spot you were my first go-round with going raw. I pretty much disliked every veggie and greens? Forget it! Besides romaine and iceberg lettuce, I wanted nothing to do with them.

However, I started small - making green smoothies. I wasn't all that excited about making them either, but I figured I needed at least one meal with a green besides romaine/iceberg - so I made my first green smoothie with a lot of baby spinach.

And I hated it. The primary fruit was berries, and I used water as a base. It was nutty, grainy, disgusting!! I thought I was doomed to hate greens forever and was never going to make it on raw.

My next smoothie I used orange as a base, used peaches and pineapple, frozen banana for smoothness, and a much smaller amount of spinach. And it was awesome! I couldn't taste the spinach! After a very short time I was adding more and more spinach, and also tried out kale in the smoothies, and loved that too. Now, I totally have a taste for both greens. I love eating them in salads, juice, etc. My tastes for other veggies has grown too, and even though I had a slip back to SAD eating, I haven't lost my taste for the greens or veggies that I gained. I'm super excited to continue on raw now and see how much more my tastes change for the better!

Exposure is key. You may not love it at first, but your tastes will change, your body will crave the nutrients from the greens/veggies, and you will begin to love those greens! I high recommend finding a smoothie combo you can stand, if not like, or maybe love!, and throwing some greens in, a little at a time, until you start to just want the greens on their own! It will happen! I swear! :excited:

[green goddess]

I like blending greens into smoothies and puddings that I'm eating. I've been making a banana-date based pudding with shredded apple, and decided a week ago that hey, maybe I could add some greens to the pudding! I did, and have been adding spinach, chard, or kale since then, and it's still great! Not quite so sweet, which is good to me, and I can't taste any greenery at all. I don't really mind the taste of greens in general (except peppery ones like arugula!), but sometimes it's easier to eat them as part of a sweet meal, and especially blended up.

But I agree, the more exposure to greens, the more they will be liked. Just increase the amount and type gradually (like maybe build up from something milder like spinach, then work up to lots of kale!).