Today, I ate an absolutely perfect pear. It was a Bartlett pear, picked out of the bin at the grocery store because it was pale yellow with a rosy tinge on one side, its skin unblemished, its scent sweet and subtle. Why am I rhapsodizing about a pear? Because I can!
Until I began eating vegan, I never really appreciated the vast variety of tastes available in the fruit and vegetable kingdom. Fruits and vegetables were just things I was supposed to eat because they made me grow up big and strong. But they never held a candle to Snickers Bars and strawberry malts. Why couldn't those things make me big and strong?
I wish I could have come to appreciate fruits and vegetables a little sooner. Biting into that pear was like taking the first taste of an extraordinary dessert. And then there's the wonderful sweet crunch of a red pepper or the earthy taste of Crimini mushrooms. And the sugary bite of a Vidalia onion. All these wonderful taste experiences from whole foods that I once looked at with disdain.
There may come a day when I reach for a pear or a tomato without thinking about how good they are for me. Maybe some day, I'll eat them because, to me, they taste better than a Snickers bar.
No comments:
Post a Comment