We Hated These 10 Foods as Kids—Now We Love Them

As kids, we here at Bon Appétit HATED these 10 foods our families fed us. Today, however, we've seen the light—they're awesome!

By Rochelle Bilow

March 13, 2014

Image may contain Plant Food Seasoning Sesame and Produce

So many vegetables, but green beans are the ones I remember specifically. My family still teases me about my mom saying, "One more bite, baby." Now I say I never met a vegetable I didn't like. Also—and just realizing how amazing my mom was/is—she would PICK OUT the kidney beans from her meat chili for me. Now I love all the beans. Make it now: Green Beans with Miso Butter —Dawn Perry, senior food editor ____

1/10
So many vegetables, but green beans are the ones I remember specifically. My family still teases me about my mom saying, "One more bite, baby." Now I say I never met a vegetable I didn't like. Also—and just realizing how amazing my mom was/is—she would PICK OUT the kidney beans from her meat chili for me. Now I love all the beans. Make it now: Green Beans with Miso Butter —Dawn Perry, senior food editor ____
2/10
Broccoli rabe. If you've ever had it, you know it's an acquired taste (especially for a child). Bitter, sometimes tough, and misleadingly broccoli-looking, it graced the dinner table at least once a week when I was growing up. If I was lucky, I got the more mild preparation—boiled with sweet white onions. But more often than not it was sautéed with garlic and chile flakes, which did wonders to boost its astringency. Make it now: Broccoli Rabe and Provolone Grinders —Joanna Sciarrino, assistant editor

Hirsheimer & Hamilton
3/10
Beets and asparagus. My mom served 'em straight from the can—awful! My sister and I would hide them under our plates, but then the ring of vegetables would be revealed when it was time to clear the table. My sister STILL won't eat them to this day, even though I keep telling her they're really good! Make it now: Pickled Umeboshi Beets —Shelley Wolson, freelance copy editor
4/10
Like every other red-blooded American child, I hated green vegetables. Brussels sprouts were evil, spinach was Satan's spawn, and asparagus possessed the most nefarious qualities of everything in the vegetable kingdom combined (weird-looking, funny-tasting, and mucous-y in color). Plus it made your pee smell! Only in adulthood did I realize the error of my (and my parents' ) ways: BOILING. How many tons of produce do you think the Baby Boomers ruined by boiling? Too many to calculate. Anyway, I'm all grown-up now, eating kale and broccoli and collards like they're going out of style. While I'm still wary of Brussels sprouts, and really only like spinach raw in a salad or masked in a dip, nothing brings me more pleasure than a big plate of buttery, char-grilled asparagus, preferably crowned with a fried egg and a showering of good parmesan. We're like BFFs now—so long as boiling water keeps its distance. Make it now: Roasted Asparagus —Ashlea Halpern, special projects editor

5/10
Lentils. It's a favorite winter stew in Spain (where my mother is from). Kids usually hate it and my cousins and I would chant "Lentejas pa las viejas" ("lentils are for old women") when forced to eat it for the midday supper. I now LOVE lentil stew, especially made by my mother. Make it now: Curried Lentil Soup —Cristina Martinez, production director
6/10
Lima beans and liver were both on my list—and are still on my list. My taste buds will never come around to those horrors! Make it now: Lima Beans with Red Wine Vinaigrette —Christine Penberthy, research director

7/10
____Beets. Oh my GOD, I hated them. My mom used to eat the canned variety doused in butter, and I can still taste their tinny, flat flavor. I never even touched one until 2010 when I hesitantly tried roasted fresh beets for the first time. Life changed. Make it now: Beetnik Martini —Danielle Walsh, assistant web editor
8/10
Believe it or not, caviar! My mom made caviar pie every Xmas and it truly scarred me. Make it now: Soft-Cooked Eggs with Onion Soubise, Caviar, and Potato Chips —Christine Muhlke, executive editor

9/10
My mom had a thing called "the one-bite rule" where no matter what, I had to have at least one bite of everything she either cooked or ordered at a restaurant. While in retrospect this was probably one of the best things she could have done for me, I couldn't have been less enthusiastic when cilantro was involved, which was a lot of the time. Funny enough, it's now one of my favorite herbs. Thanks, Mom! Make it now: Steak Salad with Herbs —Alison Roman, senior food editor
Matt Gross
10/10
My mom hates when I tell this story, but: When I was 6 or 7, I asked her to make me an English muffin with butter and jam, and then, when presented with the results, refused it. Butter AND jam? Yuck! Furious, she smushed the offending muffin in my face, sending me crying to my father. Now, however, I can't get enough of that combination: good bread, rich butter, sweet jam—as this morning's Instagram proves. —Matt Gross, editor, BonAppetit.com

Senior Associate Web Editor. When she’s not torturing herself by grinding coffee beans by hand and making her own butter, Rochelle writes about cooking techniques and seasonal eating for bonappetit.com. She comes to BA by way of a small farm in Central New York, where she worked as a farmhand ... Read More

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