This article first appeared in April 2009.
Up until a few years ago, the list of foods I loathed was a long one. It included, but wasn’t limited to: spaghetti squash, broccoli, asparagus, red cabbage, ginger ale, cauliflower, radishes, lentils, beans, Brussels sprouts, fennel, eggplant, anise, scallops, figs, and of course, the dreaded mayonnaise. The list goes on (and on), but you get the idea: growing up, I wasn’t exactly a daring eater.
I still hate mayo. I will ALWAYS hate mayo. George Clooney could serve me mayo wrapped in chocolate bacon on a gold-plated re-issue of
Who’s Next, and I would throw it back in his face. But my opinion’s changed on most of those other foods. These days, I’ll gladly scarf a floret of cauliflower. Brussels sprouts hold a special place on my dinner table. And eggplant? Well, eggplant is my favorite thing ever, aside from
the panda song from Sifl and Olly. (In fact, you could say I’m drunk on eggplant mystery.)
Granted, part of it is just me aging. At 31-years-old, my palate’s matured a little, and my tastes now lean more toward savory than sweet. The other part, though, can be directly attributed to recent changes in my lifestyle.
See, a few years ago, I resolved to learn to cook, to eat healthier, and to better manage my money. As it turned out, vegetables and legumes were vital to making this work, since they’re exponentially cheaper than meat and much more nutritious than most starches. So, I had to confront my fears. I had to expand my produce repertoire beyond corn, carrots, corn, and carrots.
These strategies helped. I learned to tolerate, and even love, a lot of foods I had longstanding issues with. Try ‘em for yourself, and please add your own suggestions to the comment section.
Make it unrecognizable. Case study: EggplantSeedy, mushy, and horrifically purple, eggplant appealed to me about as much as a drug-free colonoscopy. Then, in 1997, my friend H hid it in her homemade tomato sauce. And … revelation. Soon, I was on to
eggplant dips,
eggplant pastas, and finally, plain ol’
broiled eggplant. The trick was getting the image of the vegetable out of my head, and forcing me to associate it with otherwise good food. I suspect it would work beautifully with any vegetable that could be pureed or furtively included in a sauce (butternut squash, bell peppers, etc.).
Use it in a recipe with foods you love.Case study: Brussels sproutsAs far as I was concerned, Brussels sprouts were tiny, bitter cabbages that masochists ate when they ran out of bigger bitter cabbages. Little did I know that
slathering them in Parmesan would provide a delicious gateway into
healthier, simpler preparations. See also:
Red Cabbage (ew) with Honey (nice), Apples (yay!), and Bacon (king of cured meats). It's actually quite scrumptious.
Try it in an ethnic dish.Case study: BroccoliBroccoli: looks like trees, tastes like butt, right? Yeah, I used to think like that, too. But in high school, Ma ordered Chicken and Broccoli from our local Chinese joint, Da How. Suddenly, it was broccoli: looks like trees, tastes like HEAVEN (with garlic and brown sauce). Sometimes, a food is more appealing when its paired with flavors you’re not necessarily accustomed to. Like
bean sprouts on top of Pad Thai. Or
peas stuffed in a samosa. Or
tomatillo sauce spread across an enchilada. Pick a cuisine and start experimenting.
Cook the best-reviewed recipe you can find featuring that food.Case study: CauliflowerMost aggregate recipe sites like
Epicurious,
Food Network, and
All Recipes have sophisticated rating systems with which home cooks can evaluate any dish. If you’re feeling ambitious, plug an ingredient into one of their search engines. Then, prep the recipe with the best overall reviews. For example, Ina Garten has a
Cauliflower Gratin that’s received an average of five stars from 132 people (which is outstanding). I’ve tried it myself, and without exaggeration, it changed the way I felt about cauliflower. I just … I just didn’t know it could taste that good. Now, stuff like
Roasted Garlic Cauliflower and
Curried Cauliflower Soup with Honey are making regular appearances in my mouth.
Understand you don’t have to eat it the way your Ma (or Pa) prepared it. Case study: Spaghetti SquashAcross the country, millions of Irish-Americans loathe vegetables because growing up, produce was boiled beyond recognition and then forced by threat of death into their reluctant maws. But take heart, my freckled brethren! It doesn’t have to be this way. Did you know
carrots can be roasted? And
broccoli rabe, sauteed? And
spaghetti squash, combined with red sauce, mozzarella, and pine nuts to create something COMPLETELY DELICIOUS? It’s true. So, love your Gaelic Ma. Embrace her. Call her often. Just … try to forget her cooking. It’ll make this whole process much easier.
Try a dish with a subtler incarnation of that food. Case study: TarragonThis one’s a little difficult to explain, so here’s an example: I despise anise. Even thinking about its black licorice flavor makes my tongue curl. Recently though, I discovered a
White Bean and Tarragon Soup that I quite like. Tarragon, like fennel, possesses traits similar to anise, but it’s much, much subtler. In the soup, it was complemented so well by the other ingredients, I didn’t even taste the hate. Maybe I'll feel the same way about anise someday. Think of this principle like salsa: you start out mild, and work your way up to medium and hot varieties.
Give it just one more shot.Case study: BeansFor some inexplicable reason, I always assumed I hated beans. As a kid, they looked funny to me. And in my six-year-old brain, funny-looking food = bad food. It wasn’t until I grew up, sacked up, ate one and didn’t throw up, that they became a regular part of my diet. (Okay, hummus helped.)
If you truly hate it, let it go. Case studies: scallops, figs, radishes, mayoScallops will never be my thing, no matter how fresh they are, how well they’ve been prepared, and how many times I try them. Figs, radishes, mayonnaise – still disgusting, as well. (Which, did I mention I hate mayonnaise? I did? Oh, good.) Sometimes, a certain food just won’t do it for you. And it’s okay. Just move on to the next one.
And that’s it. Readers? Suggestions?
~~~
If you like this article, you might also dig
(All images courtesy of
NatalieDee.com. Go there now.)
Lots of people don't believe concerning this right up until it can be in its final stages, however home health care is something that you ought to take into account ahead of hostipal wards or even nursing homes become the perfect merely option. Logically, wouldn't you want your children and keep you all around once you are unable to care for your self, in the comfort of your individual home?
This kind of discover the thought of home health care however in your trips, that combines the very best of a lot of mobile phone industry's of care. Exactly the same good quality of care an individual might get into a hospital is actually used in a private home, where the affected individual is the single target of a trained expert readily available.
Those will be been trained in numerous basic and sophisticated areas of the treatment course of action, including getting knowledge of nutrition, IV's, individual along with caregiver processes, work and diet treatments, and a constant information about everything clinically related which particular individual ought to be health along with safe within the particular home atmosphere.
Home Health Care
8 oz thin spaghetti
