Weekend Plate: The Veggie Dilemma

Have you seen the commercials where the family sits at the table, avoiding the obligatory broccoli dish? The one where they zoom in, and what you see isn’t broccoli at all, but some form of limp gray/green vegetation?  Our society has made people have terrible aversions to vegetables by having had their only exposure to them be from a can or horrendously over cooked.  Steamed fresh vegetables provide one of the best sources of nutrition and can yield great results. Cooking the vegetables al dente for more of a textural interest may just be the turning point most Americans need to be ‘converted’. The second big mistake many people make is to hide the actual flavor of the vegetable by smothering it in butter and salt, or if you’re from the south, by adding ham and bacon bits. Simplicity reins supreme for most vegetables; adding a squeeze of lemon, spices such as cumin, or even fresh grated ginger root are great options.

Future R.D. Goal: Convince people vegetables aren’t scary and weird tasting.