I love vegetables. I grew up on a farm, and thus grew up eating a lot of them. The only problem I have right now is that I’m the only one in the house that actually likes them. I figure I’m not the only woman dealing with this issue.
Asparagus Flavored Bacon: This happened last night. As an inducement to get him to eat asparagus, I wrapped it in a little bacon. What did he do? He unwrapped the bacon, ate it and left the asparagus on the plate. Sigh.
Butter, Cheese and so forth: I have found that if I smother the veggies in butter or cheese, there is a greater chance they will be consumed. There is a problem with that, and with the bacon. None of them are on our diet, at least not in amounts large enough to encourage the vegetation to be consumed.
Is there any Hope? Yes, there is. It will take work and patience, but there are things you can do to encourage veggie eating without drowning the poor things in butter or bacon fat.
Vinaigrettes: He will eat salads, and even skip the ranch. The best salad dressing in our household is a homemade vinaigrette. I buy specially aged balsamic vinegar for this. Cheap brands won’t do. Mixed with a good quality olive oil, salad greens disappear. We also usually have grape tomatoes and sliced strawberries in this salad, so we up the nutritional value.
Small Amounts: A half teaspoon of either butter or bacon fat can go a long way when it is used with larger amounts of a heart healthy oil. The taste is there, but without the amounts that can clog arteries. The only problem here is that if I’ve just cooked the bacon, he and the cat will be in the kitchen looking for it.
Herbs and Spices: With enough chili powder or wasabi, just about anything will get eaten. I happen to like my taste buds, so some of it will be added at the table. Other spices that can help hide the fact that it’s a vegetable include cayenne, garlic and cumin. You may need to play around with the spice rack to find the combo helpful in your house, but that’s what we use.
Guys, you know you need a balanced diet. It’s awfully hard on the cook when you don’t eat vegetables that aren’t laden with heart clogging fats. Let go of the inner Dennis the Menace and try them. Experiment until you find a heart healthy way to eat what you know you need.