At first, the veggies came back uneaten, especially in the younger boys’ lunches. And then, over time, the carrots, cucumbers, celery, red, green, and yellow peppers, and even the sugar snap peas and raw broccoli would get eaten, especially if they had something yummy to dip them in, like some Greek yogurt with some ranch FLAVORGOD mixed in. Then, when they get home, we usually have a spread of veggies and dip on the counter, and they’ll munch on those too as they settle in from school ... and so do I, actually.
Another change we made was to offer a salad bar at every dinner. And I do mean every single dinner. There’s a big bowl of spring mix or power greens, and several smaller bowls filled with diced carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, and peppers, with several different kinds of dressing on option. This is yet another way to allow the kids to make their own choices about how they want to eat veggies. Now, everyone eats a salad at least once a day.
There are always fresh veggies in our house, and they’re quickly becoming a staple snack, to replace other, less healthy alternatives. But it wasn’t always this way; it consistently took offering these foods to our kids—and to me, if I’m being honest—for the habit of eating fresh veggies to take hold. And now, like everything else on the Wilder Way, it’s just become a way of life.
And that, at its core, is what makes this plan my wife has created so special: it’s not a diet, it’s not a fad, it’s not a gimmick, there are no secrets or tricks or sneaky money-grab products or plans to buy separately; it’s just simple nutritious eating as a lifestyle.
Simple doesn’t mean easy, obviously, as there is a learning curve, but the farther down this path you go, the easier it becomes, because your tastes just ... change. Especially when you reach the point where the unhealthy poison food-like products just aren’t an option anymore ... that’s when you really start moving and learning and making this a lifestyle. We modify, we tweak, we offer healthy alternatives at every meal, every day, consistently, making it easy for our kids—and ourselves—to eat the healthiest possible foods.
Humans are incredibly adaptable; this is a well-known fact. Put a group of people in the Antarctic, and after a few months they’ll be going outside in the sub-zero temperatures in shirt-sleeves. I’ve seen it, and I’ve experienced it myself. I live in northern Michigan where the temperatures routinely dip well below zero in the winter. During the first few weeks of winter I’m always cold, but I intentionally allow myself to be exposed to the cold on a regular basis. By January or February, I can go outside in 10- or 20-degree weather in a T-shirt and light coat unless I’m going to be outside for long periods. Same with heat, or pain, or pleasure. Anything we’re exposed to regularly, we adapt to, become accustomed to.
This applies to food, as well. At first, veggies are icky; that’s a habit, that’s a preconceived notion, an acquired taste. But if we season them—make them spicy, or garlicky, or whatever—and eat them regularly, we’ll learn to tolerate them, and eventually learn to like them. The difference is, the seasons change, summer comes, and we’re none the worse for wear from the temperature. With food, however, the price of subjecting our bodies to garbage “food-like products” such as fast food, pizza, and convenient store junk like Pop Tarts or candy or donuts or whatever, is very serious. Our bodies are being poisoned, our metabolisms are slowing down, our arteries are becoming clogged, our brain functions are impaired, and our immune systems are being weakened which, in turn, makes us susceptible to all sorts of diseases and illnesses ...
Or, we can train our bodies and palates to enjoy healthy, nutritious food, and we’ll detox from the junk and, in time, our bodies—these adaptable, incredible, self-healing machines—will purge the toxins, and repair the damage, and our metabolisms will jumpstart, and suddenly we will feel like wecanrun three miles or six miles, or do 80 pushups, or do 25 pull-ups with a 25 lb weight attached to us, or carry our 170 lb younger brother on our back, up the stairs, at a jog. These changes will not be immediate; it will take time, it will take training, and it will take consistency.
It all starts small. Justtryit. Stick with it. Keep trying. Always try new things, and don’t just try them once, try them a dozen times and in different ways. Give your body and your taste buds time to adjust, especially if you’re just starting out on the Wilder Way.
I still won’t eat lima beans; that’s a hard and fast limit for me. Bring on just about anything else, though, and I will probably learn to like it. Just give me time.
