I find that I only like very few vegetables.
A small portion of broccoli or spinach
Maybe some romaine or (useless) iceberg lettuce
That's kind of it... 100 calories of zucchini smothered in oil/butter really isn't going to change my life?
I'm probably not alone and this is why America is fat.
1. 400g Carrots (full size peeled, or "baby carrots") tossed with 1tsp olive oil and black pepper, then roasted at 425F for 20 minutes is approximately two 100 calorie servings.
2. 400g Butternut squash (i use frozen - but thawed before roasting, so less of a PITA to prep) tossed with 1tsp olive oil, and 1 tsp of taco seasoning (store bought or home made). 425 for 20 minutes. Again, 2 servings of ~100 calories.
3. 400g of cauliflower tossed with 2 tsp of olive oil, 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1/2 tsp of cumin. 425 for 1 hour, again, 2 servings of ~100 calories
4. 4 cups of cherry tomatoes (~100 calories), 2 English cucumbers (~80 calories), 200g of chickpeas (~320 calories), 1/2 tbsp olive oil (120 calories), 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (14 calories), 6 servings of ~100 calories
5. 50g of sun-dried tomatoes (cut in strips), 100g of oil packed roasted red peppers (cut in strips, drained), medium avocado (cut into cubes), 50g of dried, unsweetened mango (diced) - 5 servings of ~110 calories)
The carrots and chickpeas I eat plain sometimes, but most other things get roasted or sauteed with a bit of olive oil and salt, or thrown in a stew. You don't need a ton of oil or salt to make it flavorful, but "flavorful" is of course relative, and even well-seasoned veggies don't compete with more processed foods.
As other commenters have noted, veggies shine because they have low caloric density per unit appetite satisfied, most of my calories probably come from oil, eggs, milk, and peanut butter.
For me, my parents had the mindset that we could eat as many servings of vegetables as we wanted but got a smallish serving of the main dish and dessert, so vegetables are the free space on the food bingo card. If you weren't exposed to the "ugh vegetables!" cultural fad it's also helpful. They can be tasty on their own merits.
All very rough estimates, and not counting butter and such. Thanks for the prompt; it was an interesting exercise.
Dog knows I could stand to lose 15 lbs or so, though.
Steamed broccoli is an excellent plate filler with almost zero effort.