I am terrified!

[Pickyeater]

Greetings!

I have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis- went to a holistic doctor today and he wants me to start a paleo diet. I am a poor eater and really dislike all seafood, broccoli, cauliflowerand squash. All of my favorites are on the no eat side. I have been searching paleo recipes to see if I am going to starve to death making this change. I joined this site in hopes to find good information , recipes or links and the ability to talk to others who eat paleo or have a super picky eater that loves paleo- 

[Guzzi]

2 hours ago, Pickyeater said:

I have been searching paleo recipes to see if I am going to starve to death making this change. I joined this site in hopes to find good information , recipes or links and the ability to talk to others who eat paleo or have a super picky eater that loves paleo- 

 

Hey! First off, relax and don't panic. Not only are there lots of great advice and recipes floating about here, but there are plenty of other people who are either going through the same thing (trying to overcome their hate of veggies), or have been there and come through it.

 

Scroll through some of the posts in the recipe section for ideas, or search for other people in the challenge threads who are trying to work through it. Lots of people use tags so that others can see what their challenge is about.

 

Next, don't sweat it. Change takes time and it doesn't happen all at once. What you should do is to break it down into more manageable chunks. You can take steps to cut out or change just one thing at a time, starting with whatever you think would be easiest for you. Maybe you could stop eating bread at lunch, or start having a breakfast of eggs and ham?

 

The thing is that your tastes change with time too so just because you think you don't like a certain thing right now, doesn't mean that you won't in the future. Though this only works if you are prepared to keep an open mind. 

 

Believe me, no one could be fussier than I was as a teenager. I had countless food phobias! But with determination I have conquered them all. There are still foods that I don't like, but I no longer gag at the though of putting them in my mouth. 

 

Have a good look around the forum and get to know the place. I'm sure you'll find some good existing threads but you can always post a new one. I'm sure you'll find the challenges useful with this quest of yours, and I'm 100% convinced that you will get some benefit from it. Even if you never go completely paleo but just improve the quality of your diet and start to eat more veg. 

 

Good luck!

[Evicious]

My suggestion is to make a list of the "approved" foods you do like eating, then figure out recipes you'd be interested in making from there. I know there are websites available that let you enter ingredients, and then spit out a list of different dishes and/or meals you can make. Here's a few links to get you started:

 

MyFridgeFood

BigOven

RecipeMatcher

Supercook

 

I've heard many people recommend Nom Nom Paleo as a good place to start.

 

[Jaelinn]

I'm not super picky, but I like the Paleo diet! Even if there are some vegetables and stuff you don't like, you should be able to find many things that you DO like, even if it's not your favorites. 

 

My advice is not try and change your complete diet all at once, but instead gradually start eating more of the stuff from the paleo diet, to ease yourself into it. I started out by trying to be healthy, but I also decided I wasn't going to waste any food, so I ate all the pasta I had in the house first. Then that was eliminated, and I just didn't buy anymore of it. That way I've become gradually more healthy.

 

Good luck! 

[Pickyeater]

yes, that is what I am going to do. I am gutted that my beloved black eyed peas and green beans are on the no list- just planted my garden and have 3 beds of green beans and 3 beds of field peas and snaps! I am craving baked mac and cheese so I will make it, eat it and when I run out of pasta, I will not buy anymore. I appreciate all the great advice- Thank you!

[Jster422]

22 hours ago, Pickyeater said:

Greetings!

I have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis- went to a holistic doctor today and he wants me to start a paleo diet. I am a poor eater and really dislike all seafood, broccoli, cauliflowerand squash. All of my favorites are on the no eat side. I have been searching paleo recipes to see if I am going to starve to death making this change. I joined this site in hopes to find good information , recipes or links and the ability to talk to others who eat paleo or have a super picky eater that loves paleo- 

 

I went down a very similar path for the last few years - but having come through, it is really amazing the difference that getting through it has made.  Frankly, just having some control over what is going on in my body has helped the most, so even if I eat something 'off-list' and get a reaction, at least now I know what caused it, so it doesn't bother me as much.

 

I've found that eggs, sweet potatoes and avocadoes have really made the difference in terms of filling in for the foods I miss - it is hard to replace the 'full' feeling that I'm used to getting from pasta, but a sweet potato hash with ground beef actually fills in pretty well.

 

Also - I found it helpful to know what to expect when I changed my eating habits - so check out the 'what to expect' timeline : Here - While everyone is different, it gives a general view of how changing your diet will influence your mood and energy levels for the first month.  

 

Good on you for continuing to find solutions!

[Igaduma]

Quote

I am terrified!

Rightfully so!

We are a scary bunch, complete and utter nutcases, subjecting ourselves to weird diets and ridiculous physical activity just because it happens to be healthy.

 

I don't follow a paleo diet myself but there is a segment on the forum on cooking.  I presume you'll find quite a few suggestions there.

[V for Vetinari]

Oh hey! I am also a picky eater. Former picky eater? I think I've crossed a certain threshold where I can say I'm Reformed. At least, my friends and family no longer stare in shock when I eat a piece of veggie pizza without taking off the broccoli.

 

There were tons of foods that I assumed I disliked, without even trying them. Some I tried and immediately discovered were delicious (hellooo pineapple), some took longer to adapt to (my relationship status with shrimp: "working on it"). Some I tried as a kid and wrote off forever, but I'm willing to try a bite of almost anything now. I'm even working my way up the spicy ladder.

 

What I would suggest is mix in some of the less-desirable foods with yummy stuff. Broccoli with chicken and whatever kind of sauce you paleos eat. You can slowly increase the proportion of broccoli, and your taste buds will adapt.

 

Good luck!

[Igaduma]

1 hour ago, M_J said:

your taste buds will adapt

That is true.  You will start to like what you eat and start to dislike some of the stuff you don't eat anymore.

I stopped drinking soda's a couple of weeks back.  The other day I was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open at work.  So I drank a coke to help me stay awake.  It tasted horrible, far to sweet...  I'm not used to drinking anything that sweet anymore.  Before I liked coke just fine though.

[Guzzi]

@M_J said:

 

What I would suggest is mix in some of the less-desirable foods with yummy stuff.

 

This is sooooo true!!! My friends all think it's hilarious that I purposely eat foods that I don't like. I always eat them along side something that I do like (or just something that masks the taste a little) so that I still enjoy it. Slowly but surely I convince my brain that I do actually like that food. It works, honestly!

 

Most of our "tastes" are all in the mind anyway. If you're convinced that you won't like something then you probably won't. I like to add new things in to existing recipes so that my brain gets used to the thought of eating them before I try them on their own. 

 

I remember once having a plate of mushrooms, goats cheese and spinach for lunch. I was still squeamish about eating mushrooms but I told myself that it was ok because I was eating it along side goats cheese and spinach. I was also squeamish about goats cheese, but it was ok because I was eating it with mushrooms and spinach, right? Thing is, I really didn't like spinach, but hey ho, I still had the taste of the mushrooms and goats cheese to hide it a little... Yeah, I know. Bonkers, right?