| Get With the Program! Basics |
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| The healthiest vegetables are always green. Greens are undoubtedly healthy, but vegetables and fruits in other colors—red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple—all bring different nutrients to the table. You’ll get the most antioxidants, vitamins and minerals if you keep your plate colorful. |
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1. Banish bitterness. To some people (women typically more than men), the vegetables richest in antioxidants and other cancer-fighting properties—among them greens like spinach, chard, kale, and broccoli—can taste bitter. That’s because they are born with taste buds that can’t tolerate bitter foods. But a little salt can make a world of difference: The sodium blunts the bitterness. Although I don’t recommend using a heavy hand—especially if you have high blood pressure or if you’re on a salt-restricted diet, in which case this tactic isn’t for you—toss a  bitter vegetable with a salty condiment like soy or another Asian sauce, capers, anchovies, or a low-calorie salad dressing.
2. Add heat (spiciness). The heat from spicy sauces and salsas not only changes the flavor of a food, it can change the way you feel: Hot foods are believed to trigger something called substance P, a precursor to endorphins, the feel-good brain chemicals that give us a sense of calm and relaxation. Try this: If eggplant, broccoli or cauliflower (even, for that matter, chicken or fish) seems bland, spoon on a piquant salsa or mix in a pungent curry to make them more interesting.
3. Add heat (temperature). Most people can only eat just so many raw vegetables, and some vegetables they’ll never eat raw at all. That’s where cooking can help. Cooking softens the flavor and texture of vegetables, making them much more palatable, and at the same time, it actually enhances the absorption of vitamins and minerals. Also, since a cup of cooked vegetables is equal to two servings of produce (a cup of raw vegetables is only equal to one), cooking makes it easier to get more veggies into you daily diet. Try steaming and stir-frying, and give roasting a shot, too. Roasted in a hot oven (400 degrees), everything from asparagus to squash takes on a sweet, carmelized taste.
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