I meet a lot of athletes who are highly motivated to eat healthfully, but they have one problem: they just don’t jive with veggies. To be perfectly honest, I don’t love every single veggie myself—at least not any which way. For example, I really dislike raw cabbage in garden salads, but I love coleslaw. In my experience, adding flavors you enjoy to a plain veggie, or cooking it in a different way can completely change your relationship with produce.
For example, a lot of people tell me they loathe tomatoes, but when I ask if they like salsa or tomato sauce they’ll say, “Yeah.” Well, those are veggies too! There are so many flavors and combos that I believe it’s entirely possible for even the pickiest eater to find at least some veggies they’ll look forward to eating.
Here’s what I mean:
Sliced carrots brushed with olive oil and cooked on the grill (alongside your chicken breast or salmon filets) taste completely different than raw carrots dipped in Ranch.
Dark salad greens can be bitter raw, but adding sweeter veggies like peppers or grape tomatoes can really cut their sharp taste.
Broccoli is a veggie I like raw, but it tastes even better marinated and chilled in balsamic or red wine vinaigrette (especially with tomatoes and onions), or stir-fried with sesame ginger sauce.
Raw onions can be spicy and overpowering, but grilling, sautéing or barbequing them transforms their texture entirely, adds sweetness and creates a deep, rich flavor.
I personally prefer roasted or sautéed peppers to raw (so yummy in tacos or burritos) and I’ll eat raw spinach, but I like it a whole lot better cooked with garlic and hot chili oil. I guess the point I’m trying to make is this: if you try a veggie and don’t like it, instead of concluding, “This vegetable is disgusting” (and closing the door on it forever), think, “I don’t like this vegetable this way.” Keep an open mind, and continue to test your taste buds, and you may discover many good-for-you veggies you’ll feel really good about eating.