Laying Blame

       For lunch today (or yesterday, since it's after midnight) I tried Nicole’s idea of creating a vegetable-filled wrap (see comments under my April 2 posting). And as she assured me, it was very good. I used a flour tortilla as my wrap, and filled it with avocado, cucumber and red pepper, along with a small amount of cheese and chicken.
       Only a few days into my month, I am already learning that there are vegetables and ways of eating vegetables that I do like.
       This, naturally, got me to wondering who (or what) I could blame for the fact that I thought I didn’t like vegetables. Blaming can be a glorious thing, especially when one is feeling bewildered.
       So, again, I started doing some research. A web site called helium.com offered several articles on why toddlers don’t like vegetables. As I feel somewhat toddler-like in my vegetable dislike, I thought this was a good place to start.
       One article said that because toddlers have a “natural instinct left over from the primal period that ensures they will not eat poisonous foods found in the forest” they often steer clear of sour or bitter-tasting foods like vegetables. So perhaps it is my natural instinct that tells me I don’t like vegetables, even when my modern, sophisticated taste buds tell me that sometimes I do. 

       I’ve never thought of myself as the "natural" type though. I mean, I color my hair; I wear contacts; I use make-up, deodorant and cologne. Perhaps the vegetable-hating me is part of a wild, primordial Brenda that should be explored further. Tom might enjoy that...

       A second article said that toddlers don’t like vegetables because adults don’t like them. “How can a parent convince a toddler that vegetables are delicious, crunchy and better than candy if she or he shudders at the mention of broccoli?” 

       Although my father claims to like vegetables, I’m not sure the same is really true of my mother. So she seems like an easy target for my blame. 

       This article said that parents should consider what they snack on, and what kind of example that sets for children. Are parents snacking on healthy foods like carrots, celery and red bell peppers? 

       I recall that my mother’s favorite snack when I was growing up was Old Dutch potato chips, served with a glass of Coke. This remains my favorite snack too, although I drink Diet Coke, since that, as everyone knows, eliminates all calories from the potato chips.  Now that I think of it, potato chips and Coke was my mother's mother's favorite snack too. 

       So perhaps we can even extend the blame through the generations.

To be continued...