I have tried various preparations of vegetables. They still taste like vegetables, and all the primping does is make them not taste bad. It does not make them taste good. They're still vegetables.

I'm still a big proponent of tinkering with veggies to make them more appealing -- I have been sneered at for being a grown-ass adult who put cheese on steamed broccoli*, but I was never going to eat it without cheese, so the concern trolls who think I need to eat more broccoli need to deal with the fact that I need cheese on it to get me to eat it.

*(I actually roast it now, like I do with cauliflower, and lo and behold, I don't need cheese on it. Of course, there's a bunch of olive oil, so it's not devoid of tasty manipulations. But roasted broccoli tastes so much better than steamed broccoli! Who knew?)

I hate myself. Not for being fat, for giving in to the feeling that I should be dieting.

Oh, I feel this so hard. And do not even get me started on my soul-killing habit of comparing myself to other women (I don't mean models/actresses; I mean women who are basically my size [+/- a size] and post pictures on FB that I scrutinize to determine if we're still the same size or they've somehow become smaller than me. I am INSANE and it is, indeed, soul-killing. It's my secret, heretofore-unmentioned New Year's resolution -- to stop comparing myself to other women. I am, believe it or not, doing it less than I used to.)

Zen, sweet potatoes. They're awesome for you, unless you don't like them.

I find that vegetables are vastly improved with spices and olive oil. I've got a chicken seasoning that I use on mixed vegetables that adds tons of flavor. Grilling them also changes the taste for me.

::tries not to taunt Zen with my delicious lunch of fish tacos and bloody marys::

::fails::

Maria, I love sweet potatoes! Thanks for the reminder; I'll add them to my "meal plan". (I don't really have a meal plan. It's more of a list of Acceptable Food.)

I find that vegetables are vastly improved with spices and olive oil. I've got a chicken seasoning that I use on mixed vegetables that adds tons of flavor. Grilling them also changes the taste for me.

Oh, absolutely. Pretty much anything besides boiling or steaming makes plant matter taste better. I need to really work on learning how to do this stuff, instead of just relying on what's served up at my lunch place.

Taunt away, -t! Fish tacos sounds terrible to me, and I can make my own alcoholic treats. So nyah.

::swipes -t's tacos and bloody mary::

I tried some pureed cauliflower soup that was intensely yummy. Perhaps a small attempt at roasting these things. Unfortunately, the stronger color veggies have the most nutrition, and they're the ones that taste the most bitter to me.

Unfortunately, the stronger color veggies have the most nutrition, and they're the ones that taste the most bitter to me.

Roasting really helps with that. It makes them sweeter, I assume because they caramelize somewhat. Even Brussels sprouts are good when roasted (better still -- roasted and then topped with bacon crumbles!).

But yeah, I avoid bitter foods like the plague, which is why I tinker with roasting and/or covering them in cheese.

we tried roasting brussel sprouts last Christmas. We did not find them to be really any better I'm afraid.

My mom has a recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts that involves fig jam, for real. It's not bad, but I'm not a huge fan of mixing savory and sweet. Everyone at Thanksgiving loved it, though.

Slice in half. Cook them in a pan with a bit of butter and/or olive oil + salt. Toss while cooking, stop when they are just cooked and the bottoms are lightly browned. Do not cook until squishy.

Only way to go.