Vegetables, how we love thee! (or not)

I have always loved colorful things, and I’m especially fascinated with the colors of nature.  I used to have a drawing of fresh vegetables hanging in the kitchen in a dark green frame.  I remember it having a deep purple eggplant, a rich red pepper, dark green peppers spilling across the front, and heavily hued carrots and bright red radishes bunched up in a display.  The drawing was taken down several years ago when we painted the kitchen a warm, sunny butternut color.

The other day, somehow the fresh vegetable drawing came up in conversation with my college-aged son.  He lamented that it had been missing from the kitchen, and it was part of his childhood memories.  We both wondered if it was still stored in the suspicious dark corners of the crawl space.

All of this made me laugh, for several reasons.

• I never liked vegetables growing up.  I was forced to eat them, and became a master at disposing of them in the trash when my parents weren’t looking.
• My son never liked vegetables growing up, either.  Now that he is 19, he still doesn’t like them.  At all!  (This must be fixed, but have you ever tried to force a 19 year old?)
• The drawing of the veggies was something I found at an old job when I worked in apparel.  The designers had disposed of it in a pile of tear sheets, and I picked it up just because I loved the colors.  I remember finding the dark green frame on clearance at a craft store.

All of this made me realize how grateful I am for the journey to good health I have experienced.  It was incredibly hard for me to make the change to healthy eating.  I was someone who didn’t like the taste of vegetables, even salad.  I ate certain ones, and tried to “fit them in”.  Tomatoes were good, but beyond that…yikes.  Even now, I have to discipline myself to eat and enjoy them.  The more I leave out processed foods and sweets, the more I truly do enjoy the taste of so many of God’s natural creations!  All that gunk has been removed from my tongue, my brain, and my system.  The taste of a vegetable is truly something that delights my mouth*.

I saw this scene while out shopping yesterday, and the color combination made my heart happy and put a smile on my face…I hope it does the same for you!  A produce rainbow, indeed! (and great merchandising by Whole Foods!) 

Make it a great one, and enjoy those veggies.

~GGF Gourmet

*with the exception of brussel sprouts and broccoli…still working on those!