Confessions of a Vegetable Hater

For most of my life, (and by most, I mean for the last 36 years) I've never really enjoyed eating vegetables.  I was taught to eat them.  I could eat them if I had to.  If I was served vegetables at someone else's house, I ate them politely and without fuss.   There were not any vegetables I hated with a passion.  But in general, if given a choice, I would not cook with them or eat them.

When I had kids that I had to cook for, I knew that I wanted them to like and choose vegetables.  So I served them at every meal.  But many, many dinners would go by and I would put peas on my plate, but barely touch them.  Or I would take a very small portion of salad -- the same serving I would give my boys as toddlers, so we could eat them together.  See, Mommy is eating her lettuce!  You like lettuce!  Yum!

But in the last 3 months, I've become a changed woman.  I realized yesterday, as I made myself a side salad to go with my lunch that I really enjoyed eating vegetables.  They had become my go-to food of choice.  I even will think about them when meal planning before I think of the protein.

The hard part for me to confess is that there is no secret tip that I can pass along to make you a veggie lover over night.  I can't tell you a trick that will get you all aflutter over tomatoes or asparagus.  I started eating them in January because I had no choice.  If I was gonna loose weight, I knew I had to fill up on something.  So I ate vegetables.  And I hated every minute of it for about a month. I would grimace while eating, think nasty thoughts about carrots and promise myself a treat if I just finished these last sprouts.

But over time my pallet really did change.  Every week, I put more fruits and vegetables into my grocery cart.  Now, in mid-March, half of my grocery bill is produce.  The best part is, I don't throw things out like I used to either.  Before my vegetable transformation, I would buy them with good intentions, and then throw out bag after bag of rotten greens, peppers, and tomatoes.

My confession is this:  if you want to add more vegetables to your diet, you just have to eat them.  You can't wish it would happen.  But over time, little by little, I promise you'll find it easier.  Gradual life style changes stick.  Just hang with them long enough to allow the change to happen.  That's what willpower is all about.