Smoothies mitigate difficulty eating fruits and vegetables

All my life, I’ve struggled with eating food that had the wrong taste, appearance, color or texture. In extreme duress, eating the “wrong” food could make me retch or gag.

More frequently, but perhaps more damaging, I faced condemnation and ridicule because of my limited diet.

Eating fruits and vegetables is where I particularly struggle. There’s something about this food that is difficult for me to handle.

Fortunately, we know that the way food is prepared can drastically change its “eatability.” When cut raw, tomatoes are grotesque and slimy. But what a difference to eat sun-dried tomatoes on pizza or in pasta, with a smooth creamy marinara sauce.
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We’ve begun visiting the Smoothie Bar at a local grocery store, and one of our best investments was Simple Green Smoothies by Jen Hansard and Jadah Sellner (Rodale, 2015).

The book documents the authors’ efforts to resist less-nutritious eating as life demands grew more pressing. It chronicles their “love at first sip” with their first green smoothies and the positive effect on their health.

Most significantly, the book is full of recipes for smoothies to make at home, and even encompasses a variety of tastes and nutritional needs. (Another strong aversion I face is a dislike of “sweet” foods, and the book includes recipes for smoothies that are less sweet.)

Some people might view smoothies as a luxury, but in my view they’re completely essential. Smoothies help me to ingest essential nutrients that I might otherwise not be able to consume.