Intuitive Eating

Nothing tastes better to me than fresh vegetables and fruit so since I am only cooking for me, I skip eating out of cans, packages, and processed foods. I do have a garden in the summer and in the winter I buy fresh produce that lasts longer in the refrigerator. Once you experience the fresh flavors with a little salted butter, you sometimes don't need to salt some veggies. I have learned to put odd combinations together sauted in a skillet and also in salads. I throw sunflower seeds on a bland salad or put veggies in rice. I never force myself to eat a vegetable. I may only take a few bites, and I have not learned to like raw kale, even though I grew some a couple of years. I am not fond of turnips or kohlrabi but my son loves them, so I grow them for him. I eat radishes and okra because they are good for you, but don't love them. It's o.k. My children learned to eat veggies because it was exciting to pick them in the garden.
They were not influenced by others suggesting what is good tasting and what is not. Brussels sprouts and broccoli require something else for seasoning.
Some dry years make the veggies strong in taste, so a little cheese is needed. Your body has individual needs depending on how hard you work or exercise.
Actually a glass of milk is my favorite food in the evening. I could drink it all day. I am not fond of water, and forget to drink it. I have a good attitude when I see food growing, and can't wait to harvest it and see how it tastes this year. Different tomatoes cook up differently so it is an adventure of sorts. Cooking is a necessity to take care of yourself, and it can also be a hobby to enjoy. Basil is my favorite herb flavoring, as well as parsley, which you can grow in a window area. Yes, I can understand your dilemma in your relationship with food. I have had to learn to give up salty foods, but once in a while I indulge. Then I don't want so much for a while. Learn to enjoy your efforts, knowing you are doing better each week. It adds up. Dorisena

Hi @jeanniem, In addition to @dorisena 's comment, I wanted to share with you a great blog on intuitive eating. I encourage you to scroll down to "what's the difference between Intuitive eating and Mindful eating". I think it gives good insight to the fact that it is more a state of mind that you find your self in rather than what you like and don't like to eat. Focusing on a healthy body and mind and not as much on how something tastes. Of course, this is just my interpretation. I would love to hear your thoughts on it as well.
https://alissarumsey.com/intuitive-eating/what-is-intuitive-eating/#:~:text=The%20Center%20for%20Mindful%20Eating,both%20satisfying%20to%20you%20and

Yes, we eat to make us feel comfort and happiness. Years ago many people were not informed about good health from eating, and only ate what they were accustomed to. I know people who ate the same menu every week and their grandchildren explained that if it was Tuesday, it would always be a certain soup. If you are down or depressed you want something like fat food or chocolate which seems to cheer you up, until too much bloats your tummy. I go for change, variety, and unusual meals and it seems to improve my attitude.
Food is my friend, my inspiration, and contributed to my sense of achievement and success. Lack of fresh veggies makes me cranky.
It helps to stretch our minds, and seek new adventures in foods. Learning can be exciting at times. I understand. Dorisena

Thanks for the link to the article. I am slowly making progress in the Intuitive Eating method. Sometimes my body and emotions want different things and I am learning to recognize that. With trying to regulate blood sugar, sometimes my body and sugar levels are not in sync. I have been told there are more expensive meds out there that are "smarter" than glipizide but I am just not ready to commit that kind of money if I don't have to. As I said, I am doing better, learning to add in protein snacks so I don't have big sugar drops in the middle of the afternoon. I just feel overwhelmed sometimes trying to monitor how my body is feeling in regard to hunger and also trying to avoid drops and spikes.

I learned to eat a lot of new things in college and while I was living in Hawaii. Unfortunately, I still have a gag reflex to certain veggies. That does not make eating them fun - nor appropriate in public. I eat more veggies than I used to. I am happy with a salad. I cook with peppers and onion - even sometimes eat peppers raw. I can tolerate carrots. Corn I will eat if it is dry (juices in almost all veggies trigger the gag reflex - why?!). I have had good grilled asparagus but have not yet successfully made my own. I have been told I should try more grilled or broiled veggies. It just feels hard with so many other things I have to balance in my life. I just need a personal chef, right? ;-p

There is a couple of other sources you might look at. One is the whole 30 program where it helps you look at food differently by cutting out certain food groups and then slowly, after 30 days adding them back in. For me it like reset or changed my digestive system so I started to eat and enjoy different foods. Even some that I had not eaten for years because I had adverse reactions when I ate them. One example is onions.
Another program my endocrinologist/ diabetic Doctor had me go on is called HMR. It is a diet where you learn about different foods especially fruits and vegetables. They teach you about many different types of f/v, like jicama, star fruit and etc. They also teach different ways to prepare foods by grilling, air fryer, crockpot or roasting. I have been on this for over a year and have lost 100 pounds. The amazing part is that I was able to improve my numbers to where they are a little below 5. I also have gotten off of 2 heart meds that I had been on for 25 years. The other key for me was to keep moving. I try to walk or do some type of exercise for 1 hour a day which helps me tremendously as far as mentally and what I want to eat.
Hope this helps some.

Thinking back to my childhood, and the difficult war years, I had gag reflex experiences in school because of being forced to eat what was put in front of me.
My mother went to school and instructed the teachers to cease and desist after I vomited terrible tasting food. So I understand the problem of not liking some foods and really liking others. It helps if we learn to enjoy healthy choices at an early age, and I remember what problems my mother had trying to teach my father to eat veggies after his removal of a huge ulcer. We often don't want to give up our accustomed bad eating habits. Fresh food minimally prepared tastes the best to me, however my daughter thinks V-8 juice smells awful and doesn't want to be in the same room when I drink it. I often think of eating as training my body to metabolize and utilize food the best that it can, depending on the circumstances. I doubt none of us is going to starve ourselves if we don't eat every bite of our veggies. But please don't put sausage gravy on my plate and expect me to eat it. Yes, I think I would gag. At breakfast? There are other choices for breakfast. My recent blood test showed no deficiencies as a result of my diet, so I think I am doing well. Now and then I try a new food just to have variety in taste and not become addicted to certain "comfort" foods. I must limit the dark chocolate even though it is currently on the healthy list.
Wine can be addicting, but the health experts often praise the benefits. After all, it is preserved grapes and mentioned often in the Bible and has stood the test of time. I am grateful we can share notes and improve our eating in due time, depending on what works for our particular needs and wishes.
It is good that we care about working on answers together. It makes my day. Dorisena

I could definitely use lessons on how to prepare veggies. I need veggie therapy! Someone I meet with to learn how to cook and eat veggies. Congratulations, by the way, on losing 100 lbs. That is truly amazing!

Thanks for sharing! Unfortunately, wine is one of the things I am rather averse to.

I noticed an improvement in fresh veggies when I got a microwave and didn't cook them in lots of water. Just a little water, with a lid on the dish. And the leftovers taste better when warmed up the next day. I undercook veggies, to keep the fresh flavor and I often eat the juice that forms as well. I use minimal salt and maybe a little butter. I love basil for flavoring because it is slightly sweet. The farmer's markets have the fresh food and you can taste the difference. I am spoiled eating from the garden and won't eat much canned food from the store, but my home canned tomato sauce is heavenly. I have never learned about French cooking, so plain and simple tastes good to me. I like variety and try new foods when I think about it. I eat a few raw foods just because the nutritionists say it is good for you. After a while, I like the food, but may not actually love it. It is a process, I think. Dorisena