Can you train yourself to like certain foods?

Since I was little I have NEVER liked vegetables and they have never really been a part of any meals in our house except occasionally for my dad. Well in the desire to live a healthier life style, I was wondering, would it be possible to maybe slowly introduce foods into my diet and eventually find them satisfying?

Forcing yourself to eat something that you just don't find satisfying isn't going to eventually make you enjoy the particular product. Most of the time, tastes are acquired, and even sometimes tastes are lost.

When I was around 7 or 8, I was obsessed with Asparagus. I would always, always, always ask my mom when we were having it next and because of that I had it a lot for dinner throughout the weeks. However, when I turned 15, I just found them absolutely repulsive. I have no idea why or how, I would just look at them and be like... Oh god, absolutely not. There have been cases where I just thought it was my mind tricking me, so I would take a bite and just regret it afterwards.

Pertaining to your question, I used to hate yogurt. Like.. the Yoplait Vanilla yogurt or whatever. It tasted like sour milk or something and I couldn't stand it when my mom ate them. Nowadays, I go out and buy a giant stock of them for myself. I love them so much, and like the Asparagus situation, it just happened at a certain age.

I'm no professional on the subject, I'm sure there's a deep analytical study on this somewhere; but as far as I know, taste is acquired over time, and if it isn't, then it isn't meant to be put into your mouth.

Side-note: There are so many vegetables in the world, try experiencing as many as you can and maybe you'll stumble some good choices. Like for instance, if you don't like Broccoli, try Bellaverde (sp?) Broccoli. It's this long-stemmed type of Broccoli that has a sweeter taste to it when cooked right. Also that, try cooking vegetables different ways... It changes the taste of them obviously.

Second side-note: A healthier life style doesn't necessarily mean vegetables. There's plenty of other options out there for healthier eating.

Yes. Or more accurately, yes and no.

In most common sorts of circumstances (what yours appears to be), yes you can.

And to the person above me who said a healther lifestyle doesn't mean vegitables, if someone isn't eating veggies, it certainly does.

Eating vegetables means a healthy lifestyle.
A healthy lifestyle doesn't necessarily mean eating vegetables only, however.

Eating vegetables means a healthy lifestyle.

Again, this is wrong.

A healthy lifestyle doesn't necessarily mean eating vegetables only, however.

I don't think anyone was saying that...

What i'm saying is that if you aren't eating vegitables, than eating vegetables is always an improvement. Unless you like slather them in unhealthy things of course.

you can do a lot of things to vegetables, to make them taste better, without smothering them in unhealthy crap.

you can add natural sweets to your vegetables and salads, like berries and nuts.
it also gives you a wider cover of your daily vitamin intake, which, in the long run, will give you more energy.
you can look up low-fat ways to cook your vegetables, like sautering diced root-fruits in a very little amount of extra virgin olive oil(carrots, rootbeat, the list goes on).

above is what helped me live healthier, and that is hard for me, when I, at work, am surrounded by 300g steaks, burger deluxe, delicious sandwiches and such.

It's certainly possible.

I grew up hating squash, zucchini, cucumbers (and by definition, pickles), but now I love them. Steamed, boiled, roasted etc, they taste delicious to me now.

I found that it was much easier by starting to eat them with things that you normally like eating. If you like soups, cut them up and put them in your soups. For example, squash in shrimp bisque alkjdnslakjngaskjgnanl nom nom.
The good thing about many vegetables is that they're really a subtle flavor that you can mix with just about anything and it'll make itself, and whatever it's going to swim in, taste better.

You seriously hate...all vegetables? What about mashed potatoes with gravy? Or steamed carrots with some-kind-of-Asian-sauce-I-can't-recall?

Potatoes aren't exactly vegetables though. I think he means more leafy greens type stuff.

Well, it's not a vegetable but tomatoes are healthy too and there are so many ways to cook/whatever them.
Another healthy fruit is cucumbers, though they're mostly water lol.

Idk dude, i love vegetables, carrots for example, i LOVE carrots.
I think you just need to go to a local store and buy a lot of different vegetables and try to eat them raw and try to cook them (:

When i was little i was told if you eat a specific thing 20ish separate times your taste buds start liking it.

Try to eat things that you don't know the contents of, unless you have allergies. For example, I hate mushrooms but have found that I loved mushrooms on pizza provided that I don't know they're there. If I do then I go out of my way to pick around them. If you have someone who can cook for you, like a parent, then request that they try to add vegetables to their recipes. Cauliflower makes an excellent substitute for parmesan cheese on things like spaghetti if you aren't cognisant of it's presence.

Load up on leafy greens when making a sandwich (try to eat more sandwiches, too. Good for you.) Making a bologna sandwich? Toss on some lettuce. Also, brown bread and rice is better for you than white. So if you're not already on that, make the switch.

Try to eat things that you don't know the contents of, unless you have allergies. For example, I hate mushrooms but have found that I loved mushrooms on pizza provided that I don't know they're there. If I do then I go out of my way to pick around them. If you have someone who can cook for you, like a parent, then request that they try to add vegetables to their recipes. Cauliflower makes an excellent substitute for parmesan cheese on things like spaghetti if you aren't cognisant of it's presence.

Load up on leafy greens when making a sandwich (try to eat more sandwiches, too. Good for you.) Making a bologna sandwich? Toss on some lettuce. Also, brown bread and rice is better for you than white. So if you're not already on that, make the switch.

Actually white rice is bad because it contains sugar. In fact rice is a starch which is something you want to avoid. Speghetti is like eating glue for your digestive system.

Potatoes aren't exactly vegetables though. I think he means more leafy greens type stuff.

Potates aren't only not exactly vegetables, they are exactly not vegetables.

Actually white rice is bad because it contains sugar. In fact rice is a starch which is something you want to avoid. Speghetti is like eating glue for your digestive system.

Not all "white" rice is "bad". And it isn't the sugar (lol) that makes it bad. It's the processing. The polishing in particular (polishing strips the rice of many important nutrients). And remember calling a rice white is not a designation of it's color. It's a description of how it has been processed i.e. polished. And you don't need to avoid starch. That low carb nonsense is exactly that, nonesense. If you're a pile pomegranate anything will make you gain weight. It's being in calorie surplus or deficit that makes you gain and lose weight. Not the carb content of the foods you eat.

Load up on leafy greens when making a sandwich (try to eat more sandwiches, too. Good for you.) Making a bologna sandwich? Toss on some lettuce. Also, brown bread and rice is better for you than white. So if you're not already on that, make the switch.

ohgodwhy. Much like how going from never eating vegetables to eating vegetables is an improvement, going from eating bologna to not eating bologna is also an improvement. That stuff is just awful.

I think my main problem is kind of what Sarah has been talking about. Just SEEING vegetables in my food kind of grosses me out and makes me not want to take a bite. Ex like if I have something with little bits of onion in them, if I even see one I'll suddenly be trying to pick out every single one of them. @_@ unfortunately for me, there's no place to go that really has a nice assortment of vegetables...just the local wal-mart that carries the stuff that everybody eats that I tend to avoid. I'll go pick some up sometime and give some things a whirl.

Sorry I was in a rush typing that, you're right it's not the fact it contains sugar, it converts to sugar, rather than brown rice for example that converts to energy. I was going to mention about excersise, because you could eat 2 tons of celery a day, if you aren't burning it it's just accumulating.

What don't you like about vegetables? If you don't like the bitterness or blandness in some vegetables, you should try kimchi or other pickled stuff.
I hate most vegetables but I can't get enough of kimchi.

What don't you like about vegetables? If you don't like the bitterness or blandness in some vegetables, you should try kimchi or other pickled stuff.
I hate most vegetables but I can't get enough of kimchi.

The second you make a cucumber a pickle, it ceases to be a cucumber. They aren't the same.

The second you make a cucumber a pickle, it ceases to be a cucumber. They aren't the same.

Pickled vegetables are still vegetables, I don't see the problem.

i've been through this, and it's totally possible. from what i remembered, i kinda forced myself to eat more veggies so i could be healthier. i started with the salads, then slowly add on others (like mints, etc.). it tastes weird at first but after a while it becomes such a habit that it'll be weird if u eat the dish that u were eating without the veggies that u usually eat, so yes
and ur taste WILL adjust to the new food that u add to it. just don't have bad thoughts toward it and it will adjust to it. i remember switching from those sugared cereal to special K cereal (which tastes like nothing). it was weird at first since i was used to the sugary breakfast, but it gradually changes to the point that the special k cereal sometimes taste a bit sweet to me, which is a good thing because ur taste will become less extreme (less sugar,salty), and u will eat less sugary, less salty food, which is good.
long story short: have a good attitude toward the change and ur mind will automatically tell ur body to change

I think my main problem is kind of what Sarah has been talking about. Just SEEING vegetables in my food kind of grosses me out and makes me not want to take a bite. Ex like if I have something with little bits of onion in them, if I even see one I'll suddenly be trying to pick out every single one of them. @_@ unfortunately for me, there's no place to go that really has a nice assortment of vegetables...just the local wal-mart that carries the stuff that everybody eats that I tend to avoid. I'll go pick some up sometime and give some things a whirl.

onion is actually good, if cooked. the raw one is really bad but once u grill/cook them, it's sweet AND good