Who Gave Veggies a Bad Name?

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with Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

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Friday, October 22, 2010
Who Gave Veggies a Bad Name?



Hemera

If you dislike certain veggies, who or what’s to blame?

I can trace my distaste of peas to a specific memory as a child, sitting at the dinner table, unable to leave until I choked down every last pea. Researchers believe that our bad experiences and memories with vegetables from our past can impact how we feel about these vegetables in the here and now. Here are some other reasons why some of us may not be crazy about certain vegetables:

Too bitter. Some of our vegetables, like the cabbage family, have a bitter flavor and some people genetically are more tolerant to the bitter taste than others. Tip: Try these raw and you might like them better.
Fad dieting. People who were taught (while following “diets” in the past) to think of vegetables as “rabbit diet food” or “legal” diet food, due to their low calorie counts, can associate vegetables with horrible memories of crash dieting. Tip: Promise yourself never to follow one of those crazy fad diets again. Then rediscover vegetables at a farmers market and try to enjoy the flavor and textures of a variety of vegetables on a daily basis.
Canned or overcooked. If your experience with vegetables is mostly canned or overcooked vegetables, you might want to give them a “fresh” look. Tip: You might be more willing to eat vegetables if they are prepared in a variety of flavorful ways (with herbs and spices, sauces or cooked to maximize color, flavor and texture.)
Early exposure. You might want to blame (or thank) your mother. Some researchers believe that those children exposed to fruits and vegetables early in life are more likely to like vegetables and eat generous amounts of them. If the habit of eating plenty of vegetables was established early in your childhood, consider yourself lucky!
Do you dislike any vegetables?