Asparagus, broccoli, carrots, dill, eggplant, green beans, leeks, onions, potatoes, rhubarb, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini. There you go, there’s an edible plant for just about every letter of the alphabet. Not that it makes it any easier to eat some of them – OK, you’re right, any of them.
Most humans seem to have an aversion to veggies, and as far as I know nobody’s explained why that is.
Experts however have been telling us for years that eating several vegetables every day is vital for long term good health.
Unfortunately hardly nobody’s home when these experts speak.
And, lamentably, it’s true that few of us know anyone who would kill for boiled broccoli or steamed zucchini.
Sure, there’s a small percentage who admit to liking vegetables, but it is such a small group they have the meetings in those old public phone booths.
Salads are a little easier to take, because you can easily make lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onion sing with a little bit of oil and vinegar dressing.
Modern chefs like Jamie Oliver are doing the best they can to make some vegetables look like irresistible culinary delights, but the figures don’t lie: something like four percent of us eat enough of the amount of veggies we need to be healthy.
And there’s plenty of people who still take pride in not eating any veggies.
Years ago there was a story in the media about a fellow in Scotland who had lived to be more than 90 years old and who had only eaten meat all his adult life.
Maybe he’s the exception to the rule, so the rest of us, according to the experts, need to start eating our greens if we want to get close to getting a telegram from the Queen.
Which means our Top 5 veggies are really the veggies we least dislike and we only eat them because we know they’re good for us.
Number 1. Spinach. Just ask Popeye.
Number 2. Broccoli, without comment.
Number 3. Brussel sprouts.
Number 4. Asparagus.
Number 5. Green beans.
I prefer Silverbeet to Spinach, Asparagus is seasonal, but I love all five!