And Then I Remember I Hate Vegetables

My first lunch of the program was a large Tupperware container full of raw veggies, a cup of black beans, an ounce of raw cashews, and an apple. I seasoned the veggies with some black pepper and extra spicy Mrs. Dash. It was about halfway through the Tupperware's contents when I remembered that I hate vegetables.

I started off okay with some green beans and celery, was happily munching the mushrooms, and then I got to the spinach and broccoli. I usually love both, but what I mean by that is I usually love the dressings and sauces on top of them.  Up to this point in my life, vegetables have been mechanisms to transport delicious things.  Since it's a bit awkward to just drink dressing, I always had to put it on something.

So there I sat, mouth full of broccoli that I was slowly chewing, wondering what I'd gotten myself into.  I had to concede that I wasn't going to be able to eat all the veggies dry, and proceeded on to the other items.  And let me tell you, never have cashews and an apple tasted so wonderful.

It was at this point that I had to accept that I wasn't going to be able to treat food like fuel with machine-like efficiency.  There had to be a minimum amount of flavor to allow me to actually eat something.  So I dragged the cast-aside veggies home and dug out a non-fat balsamic vinaigrette I had purchased on a whim when we were loading up on roughly a ton of veggies at the grocery store.  I perused the nutrition label:

Officially, this wouldn't pass muster by the sadist doctor that had designed the program.  After all, there was sugar AND salt in the ingredient list (TWICE!). It was this point I made the executive decision that a small amount of salt and sugar with no fat and only 15 calories would be an acceptable addition to my food intake to allow me to actually consume all the veggies that I, in fact, hate.

So I measured out a tablespoon (just half a serving!) and dumped it on the left-over broccoli and spinach.  It was like a mouthgasm.  Suddenly, those disgusting little veggies were delicious, all for the price of eight calories and a smidgen of salt and sugar. In my post-consumption euphoria, I proceeded to their website and discovered you can buy this stuff by the case. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't considering placing an order.