Unpopular Opinion: Brussels Sprouts Are Not The Worst Vegetable By: Kaitlyn Cioc

Are brussels sprouts really that bad?

     For some reason as a kid whenever someone asked me "what's your least favorite vegetable?" I always said brussels sprouts. Honestly I probably didn't even try a brussels sprout until I was out of elementary school, but before that I, along with a pretty big portion of kids my age had this mutual understanding that brussels sprouts were disgusting and everyone hated them besides our parents. Now, prior to a month ago I only ate brussels sprouts a few times and didn't really enjoy them but I could also easily think of other vegetables I liked less. Recently my family and I decided to start eating cleaner just for our overall health so of course, my mom started buying more vegetables from the supermarket. One day I was helping her cook dinner and she asked me to grab the brussels sprouts from the fridge and chop them up for her and first of all, I was surprised that she had bought a whole bag of them since we never ever eat them and second of all - there was no way I was going to eat them with dinner. Long story short my parents made me try a bite and I was shocked when I did and thought they were delicious. It might have been the way they were cooked or just because I'm older and I've grown to like different food but they were so good. Since we tried them and loved them we've made recipes with brussels sprouts 3-4 times in the past month and I've even found myself randomly wanting to make brussels sprouts when I'm hungry. 

     So if brussels sprouts aren't the grossest vegetable, what is? I think the answer to this obviously depends on the person, but it also depends on the way the vegetable was cooked/the spices or other flavors that are in the dish. For example, I actually don't mind broccoli I think it's pretty good but if had to eat a huge piece of broccoli that was just boiled in water and that's it, I would hate it. Vegetables honestly get too much hate especially since they're so good for you. If you don't like the taste or texture of a vegetable but know it's good for you to eat it, try looking up new recipes or ways of cooking it. I've even seen youtube videos where chefs serve people food with vegetables hidden in it and they have no idea, which is a great way of enjoying your favorite dish while adding extra nutrients. Or maybe you're like me and don't think you'll like a vegetable because you haven't had it since your parents forced you to try it in the third grade, but if you had it now you would really like it, so you could ask if it would be okay to change up the ingredients for your next dinner and add something out of the ordinary. 

    Here is my absolute favorite recipe that has brussels sprouts in it

- https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/259962/maple-roasted-chicken-thighs-with-sweet-potato-wedges-and-brussels-sprouts/ - I'm pretty sure this was the fastest my family has ever eaten a meal I loved this and it wasn't that hard to make