How I, a picky eater, tricks myself into eating vegetables every day

I've been a picky eater since as long as I can remember. Ask my parents, and my mom will recount the story of how I was the only kid in her home day care who wouldn't eat mac n' cheese (I still won't) and my dad will tell you how when we had spaghetti, I would only eat sauce.

As I got older, some of the pickiness went away, but most of it stayed. Specifically, my aversion to vegetables stayed. But as I got older, and especially after I had my daughter last year, I realized that eating vegetables was important, not only for my own health, but to be a good role model to her, so she hopefully doesn't become as veggie-averse as her mom.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.

When I was pregnant, I started eating healthier because I got diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which means I had to restrict my carb intake. And, spoiler alert: almost everything has carbs.

I tried to continue it after I had my daughter, but I went back to a lot of my old habits. One of the habits I kept was eating a smoothie every day. At first, it was just a normal smoothie with mangoes and raspberries and strawberries, but then the WIC counselor I was talking to suggested adding vegetables.

"Try adding frozen broccoli," she said. "I know it sounds weird, but you can't even taste it."

Unfortunately, I haven't been quite brave enough to try that yet. However, I did start adding spinach. Sometimes lots of spinach. So much spinach that, even with all the red berries, looks green. Sometimes it even looks brown, to the point where people ask me if I'm drinking a chocolate smoothie.

Sis, I wish.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.

The good news? No matter how much spinach I add, I can't taste it. And now, I wouldn't want my smoothies any other way. They make me feel so healthy and are so yummy.

If you're wondering exactly what I put in my smoothies, my recipe is:

• frozen mangoes

• frozen strawberries

• frozen raspberries

• some milk

• some yogurt

• one to a three handfuls of raw spinach

I don't measure anything, so every day it turns out a little different. You can tweak the recipe how it best suits you, and hopefully, it'll make you feel a little healthier, too.

Also, I know people have been doing this for eons. But sometimes, it takes hearing it from an average, picky person to really make it sink in. If you are reading this and also happen to be a veggie-averse picky eater, I hope this article is that push you need to start enjoying your days a bit more.

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