“Picky eaters” may be pleased to learn their palate is particularly primed to taste things more intensively than most other people. Referred to as “super-tasters,” those who prefer potato chips and bean dip over Brussels sprouts and beet greens may be more attuned to the bitter flavors that mark our most nutritious foods.
![veggies]()
Bitterness, in fact, is one of the hallmarks of dark, leafy green vegetables, and super-tasters experience this flavor more intensively than the rest of us. According to researchers at the University of Connecticut, the gene that controls our perception of bitterness may be the reason some people are turned off to vegetables altogether.
Taste expert Valerie Duffy of the university explains it this way:
“When we come to the table, we don’t perceive the food flavor or the taste of food equally. Some people live in a pastel food world versus others who might live in a more vibrant, neon food world. It could explain some of the differences in our food preference.”
The good news is, there are ways to work all types of vegetables into your diet without surrendering to off-putting tastes. With Brussels sprouts, for instance, a few simple tricks can transform the way you and your family experience the taste of this hearty vegetable. Because vegetables offer so many nutritional benefits, it’s worth it to try, try again as the old adage goes. Those who eat several servings get almost all the vitamins, nutrients and fiber their body needs.
Cruciferous veggies are the real cancer-fighters and these include broccoli, cauliflower and arugula as well as many others. Some vegetables, interestingly enough, taste better in the winter than at any other time of the year. This is because as temperatures drop, the cold causes the plants to break down energy stores into sugar, leading to a sweeter, tastier flavor. These include kale, mustard greens, cabbage and kohlrabi.
If you struggle getting enough vegetables into your diet, try juicing, and add sprouts. Sprouts are an exceptionally good choice because of their super-high levels of nutrients, antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and enzymes that protect against free radical damage. So in terms of volume you can get away with eating far less.
Sprouts can also contain up to 100 times more enzymes than raw fruits and vegetables, allowing your body to extract more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fats from other foods. Sprouts support healthy cell regeneration and help protect against disease, viruses and bacteria.
One surprising choice that is already appealing to most people is sunflower seeds. Those, along with pea sprouts, are about 30 times more nutritious than organic vegetables.
The quality of the protein and the fiber content of beans, nuts, seeds and grains also improve when sprouted because minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, bind to protein, making them more bioavailable. If eating a handful of seeds doesn’t sound appetizing, try making your own Crunchy and Creamy Homemade Nutter Butter using a recipe from my kitchen.
For a warm winter treat that’s packed with powerhouse vegetables, try my Spinach-Basil Green Minestrone Soup recipe. If you’re interested in creative ways to use all the pumpkin this time of year, check out my Comforting Keto Pumpkin Pudding recipe. (Just plug “recipes” into the search bar at Mercola.com to find a plethora of palate-pleasing selections.)
As you try out these and other recipes, you may find your kitchen becoming more colorful as you incorporate more types of vegetables into your diet and come up with inspired concoctions of your own.