According to The Man: Six Health Foods Worth Loving

photo credit: SummerTomato

When I first met my husband, he was living on a strict diet of McDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and frozen pizzas. The first time he cooked for me, the meal centered on cheddar cheese-flavored powdered mashed potatoes. Our first date was to Fudruckers. ’Nuff said.

Then he told me that heart disease runs in his family. Big time. So, I started to worry. I told him to shape up gently suggested he consider a healthier diet. It’s been three years, and I’ve learned a thing or two about healthy eating from The Man.

First off, you can’t change the way you eat overnight. Not even if you really, really want to. Not if your heart starts to flutter in your chest on occasion. Not if you have high blood pressure and high cholesterol—and you’re only 28. Not even if your wife begs and pleads with you to break off your fling with ol’ McDonald’s.

Next, the more you do it, the better you feel. The Man started eating healthier, and that scary little pitter-patter in his chest faded away. His formerly high cholesterol and blood pressure have normalized. And now when he eats from the Evil Empire he feels it in his body, a clear warning sign that something’s not quite right with those patties. Even more surprising, he’s started to like some healthy foods. That’s right, like. As in he actually said once, “I feel like a big salad tonight.” Aside from the time he spontaneously wanted to clean the entire house, hearing him say that was my proudest moment as a wife.

According to The Man, here are six foods you should start to love:

Olive oil. The Man was a butter freak before I turned him on to olive oil. It’s a smarter pick for pasta or sautéing veggies and chicken. Unlike butter, it’s not loaded with saturated fat, the kind that can raise your cholesterol and up your risk for having a heart attack or stroke. Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat, which can reduce your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. No joke: The Man actually prefers olive oil—plus a heckuva lot of pepper—to butter on bread.

Turkey Bacon. The Man doesn’t just like bacon. He loves bacon like kittens love catnip. It’s no secret that bacon’s not a health food. It’s high in sodium, fat, and cholesterol. It’s more or less void of anything good for you, except protein, which you can get from the turkey variety. It might not have that same oily slick that coats pork bacon (you can thank the fat for that), but it does have a surprisingly similar taste.

Avocadoes. Who woulda guessed that a squishy green fruit (yep, read that right, it’s a fruit) that I don’t even like would become The Man’s favorite discovery since bacon. OK, maybe not that much of a favorite. Avocadoes are a good choice because they’re low in saturated fat (a 1-ounce serving has 5 grams of fat but it’s the monounsaturated kind) and are packed with potassium, fiber, and vitamin E. The Man likes to eat his diced in a salad, sliced on top of an egg sandwich, or in place of mayo on a BLT.

Summer Squash. When The Man first met summer squash, he crinkled his nose at its mushy texture. I begged for him to give it a second chance since I think it’s pretty darn good sautéed in olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Luckily for me, The Man agreed. Now he eats squash and zucchini sautéed, roasted alongside carrots, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes. He loves it in a creamy feta orzo dish I stumbled upon. All that’s a good thing since summer squash is high in vitamins C and A, magnesium, and potassium.

Veggie Burgers. I first cooked up a veggie burger for The Man as a gamble. To be honest, I didn’t really think he’d ever eat it. He did, and he liked it. “It takes a lot like a hamburger,” he said after piling his patty with cheese and sautéed mushrooms. Sure, they’re not a health food. But they beat scarfing down two all-beef patties.

Salad. The Man was never opposed to salads. He’d eat one if, say, he were left alone in a room for six days with no food except a big plate of greens. And then he’d grumble under his breath about how a meal isn’t a meal unless it includes meat. So how’d I trick him into eating salad what made him change his mind? Fruit and cheese. Really. Slivers of apples and pears with gorgonzola. Strawberries and goat cheese. It turns out The Man really does like salads, he just gets bored with the iceberg-cucumber-tomato combo.

As I try to improve my all-around health—like by eating more nutritious foods—I’m glad The Man has joined my cause. Help him along: What are some other health foods you love?