2011-04-06

Swallowing the bitter pill


(Ampalaya is bitter gourd. A very horribly bitter gourd. Photo taken from Wikipedia)
How often do you eat ampalaya? How about okra?

Hopefully most of you have a taste, or at least tolerance, for these kinds of foods. For some reason, my parents and grandparents seem to like them- we have pinakbet served at home regularly. But not me. I haven't had the fortune of growing a taste for these nutritious vegetables. Yet.

In the interest of living healthier, I have resolved to clean up my diet and get used to eating these kinds of vegetables. I've told myself that from now on, I will not refuse a serving of vegetables whenever I am at the meal table, no matter what is in it. And even though earlier tonight at dinner my stomach heaved a bit in protest, so far I haven't eaten those words.

I don't have much of a method to my effort, I just man up and scarf down those veggies. I guess it's just like doing a high volume workout: just grind through the motions at a steady pace and don't dilly dally, all else be damned. Then hopefully, sooner or later the body adapts.

Sometimes, food and drink is selected and consumed for pleasuring the pallate, to help calm and clear the mind of stress, to celebrate special occasions, or to lubricate otherwise grating social occasions. But beyond these, we should also see food by their primary function: as our fuel.

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