The Vegetable Hater's Guide to Enjoying Fresh Vegetables

You probably already know how important it is to add at least five servings of healthy vegetables to your diet each day. But for some people, this can be difficult. Why? They hate the taste of almost all vegetables. This distaste for vegetables is not as uncommon as you might think and there may actually be a genetic basis for it. It seems that certain people have an unusual sensitivity to a chemical called PTC (phenylthiocarbanicle) which is found in vegetables. People who are genetically sensitive to this chemical describe vegetables as bitter in taste. Interestingly enough, people who claim to enjoy eating fresh vegetables don't report tasting a bitter taste when they eat them. If you happen to be a person sensitive to the PTC in vegetables, how can you reduce the bitter taste you experience when you eat them? Here are some suggestions:

Hide the flavor or vegetables by adding them to other foods.

If you can't tolerate the taste of fresh vegetables, try adding them to a food you do enjoy such as a freshly made omelet. The overall flavor of the omelet should mask any bitterness you experience when eating fresh vegetables. Try filling your omelet with spinach, fresh broccoli, red peppers, and mushrooms to turn an ordinary egg dish into a nutritional powerhouse.

Cook your vegetables well.

The act of heating or steaming fresh vegetables often reduces their bitterness. Don't want to cook them so long that you eliminate all of the healthy phytochemicals but just enough to eliminate any bitter flavor you may perceive. One effective preparation technique that can make vegetables more pleasing to your taste is stir frying. Add a bit of soy sauce and light oil to the wok and you have a healthy vegetable dish that even a vegetable hater can enjoy.

Add sauce to your vegetables.