I remember my husband telling me about a game he and his brother would play as children called “Name It or Get Hit With It.” Their family- a collector of antiques and oddities- would often have strange looking items around the house. The game would go like this: one of the boys would pick up a random item then exclaim to the other: “Name it or get hit with it”. I’m sure you can guess where the game goes from here.
Fast forward 20 years. I’m reading an article on CNN the other day about vegetables, there is a picture of a white root vegetable as the Main photo for the article. My first thought is: Name It or Get Hit With It! Then, I start to wonder if I took a group of people down the fruits and vegetable section of a grocery store and played this game- how many of us would come out unscathed? I know I would leave with a welt or two.
So if we don’t know what it is, chances are pretty high that we aren’t eating them. It’s no wonder that the average person eats only about 3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day! Those are the only 3 we know!
I’m sure we’ve all heard the health benefits of eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables (lowed risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer, lower blood pressure, etc). They ARE our wonder drug. So what’s the problem? Why don’t we eat enough fruits and vegetables?
Problem one: The safety zone. We have certain fruits and veggies we know, are comfortable with- prepared a certain way.
Problem two: “Vegetables taste yucky” Since childhood we have been battling anything green not covered in sugar or cheese. It is certainly true that you may not love every vegetable out there. However, did you know it takes about 15 tries of something to determine if you like or dislike something? My Parent’s magazine is always touting this to help us with getting our own children to eat their fruits and veggies. The 15 tries rule doesn’t just apply to children though- it applies to adults as well. Also keep in mind that your taste buds change over time. Something you tried (probably once) in your younger years you may turn out to actually like now.
Problem three: “What do I do with this?” Maybe you’re the kind of person who is willing to try, but just doesn’t know how to prepare a new fruit or vegetable. Or perhaps you are willing to try, but are afraid of making a bad tasting recipe.
How does our family fit into the problem equation? I will admit that our family has our safety zone for fruits and vegetables- certain things you can almost always find in the fruit bin (apples), veggie bin (carrots), or the freezer (broccoli, green beans, peas). I’ve been trying to slowly expand our family’s horizons. My lovely daughter has been such a trooper trying new fruits like kiwi, mangos, and papaya and even new vegetables like zucchini, asparagus and squash. Even in spite of these changes I’m trying to instill, I’d be the first to admit that I’m coming up short in the fruits and vegetables department.
Toby is the “vegetables are yucky” person in the family. In his defense, he doesn’t hate all vegetables. He actually really likes the ones that smell really bad like brussel sprouts and broccoli. He’s also a trooper though and will try just about any new thing I put in front of him. I even got the thumbs up on a zucchini cake gone awry- re hashed into a zucchini mash. Hubby has his limits though- certain things he just won’t even try. I still make those things, but I don’t have an unrealistic expectation that he will be trying them.
I’m the “What do I do with this?” person because I’m the chef in the house. I love the internet, but do I ever take the time to look up how to use a parsnip? No. On the good side of things, I’m not afraid of making a bad recipe. I’ve done it enough times now. I will admit that I do get frustrated when I have to throw food away.
So we know what the problem is and at least where my family fits into the problem area. What is our solution? How can I get more fruits and vegetables in my body? My answer is: I’m going to learn about new vegetables and fruits and “what to do with them”, I’m going to try new recipes for vegetables/fruits that I know but aren’t part of a regular routine.
My goal is to try at least 1 new recipe a week for a fruit or vegetable – emphasis on vegetable – for at least two months. We’ll see where it goes from there. I’ll blog the recipe and the results so you can follow with me. Let’s get cooking!
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