The Reason We Hate Vegetables
Like most Americans, I don’t like vegetables as much as I should. I’m learning a lot now though about where that hatred came from. When I was a kid, my mom would regularly make those “boil in a bag” vegetables. I would like to see a modern day vegetarian eat a serving of Brussells sprouts prepared in those boiled plastic bags from the freezer. Nasty!!! But moms didn’t know back then. They were all trying to get a meal on the table and boil in bag broccoli and other awful stuff was a way to put vegetables on the plate. What we didn’t have was the one thing that makes all of the difference in the world and that’s FRESH. I’m really ready for the roadside vegetable stands to open up all over this part of Virginia with tomatoes, sweet corn and more.
All these years later, I tried Brussels sprouts at a restaurant about 5 years ago because I like almost anything that is prepared …a little toasty. When I saw “roasted” next to the words I hated (Brussels Sprouts) I thought I might give them a try. They were fantastic. On Saturday, we were at Bonefish Grill and not only did they have roasted Brussels Sprouts on the menu, they were prepared to perfection. In my whole life, I’ve never been one of those people who takes a picture of their dinner and posts it, but wow. These were great. The cedar plank salmon was so good, I was almost gnawing on the plywood it was served on.
Veggies 2Back to the way things are prepared. I have a smoker grill that I love. Brisket, pulled park, chicken, cheese burgers and several other farm animals. I almost never eat at fast food places so when I was at my doctor for the annual checkup, I was surprised when he asked, “Do you eat meat?” What? Of course I eat meat. I have a cool barbecue grill that generates delights that are hard to describe. He told me my LDL cholesterol was high. What? It turns out, another of my favorites – ice cream – also drives up your cholesterol. How do you shake high cholesterol? There are a variety of opinions online. One said, “You can’t do anything about it. Once you have high cholesterol, you’ll have it forever. Those products claiming to lower LDL are just snake oil salesmen”. Thankfully that was said by someone with no medical credentials at all. Then my wife showed me this.
She was doing this years ago as a diet supplement but Apple Cider Vinegar lowers your LDL in 15 days according to the article. I will give that a try. I remembered my wife doing that “WOW, that’s bitter” face after drinking this stuff but it said to do 3 tablespoons of it in water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. It also said if you have acid reflux at all, your throat may get mad at you but just be sure to eat something after you chug it.
I’d hate to give up my smoker/grill and I couldn’t give up having ice cream now and then. So we’ll see if slamming something nasty like Apple Cider Vinegar makes a difference in my LDL.
