For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for June 11, 2023

“I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid. And my mother made me eat it. Now I’m president of the United States. And I’m not gonna eat any more broccoli!”[

George H.W. Bush

As long as you live in this house and we pay all the bills and provide for you…you will eat what you’re given. On the other hand, if someone really loathes a particular food item, why waste it. Presumably he will eat other green veg.

I loved eating Brussels Sprouts and still DO!! Now as for asparagus …….

o-O

My Mom thought she should force me to like rutabagas and beets. Every time she cooked them she would force me to try them…….until I barfed them on the floor. Strangely, she never tried to force me again.

Just a tad tyrannic today, isn’t she. Doesn’t even let her family serve themselves.

I like Brussel sprouts..asparagus is a different matter.

Neither Brother nor myself have ever liked Brussels Sprouts. We both like asparagus however.

“But you LOVED [insert disliked food] when you were younger!”

Nope! Only ate it because you would’ve punished me otherwise! :)

There are many fine recipes for Brussels sprouts, every one of which would be better without the Brussels sprouts.

How can you become ‘Muscles from Brussel’ if you don’t eat the Brussels Sorouts ?

What is it with boys (and Jon) and Brussels sprouts? If they’re cooked right they’re delicious. I like to just boil them and add some butter and salt. Very good! I never had them until I was grown, my mother didn’t make them. We only had broccoli when we were having company since she had to buy that frozen rather than canned. She usually got her veggies from cans. Corn and green beans were ok, but canned peas are gross. My brother hated them and took them like pills with his milk!

The only food I tried once and won’t have again is lamb. I don’t remember which cut it was, but did not sit well with me. That, and liverwurst or Braunschweiger. I had that too many times as a kid and just lost the fondness for it. Anything with hard boiled eggs in it, too. Let’s just say I had a bad experience as a kid, when a friend’s mom didn’t cook the egg long enough. It was a bit raw in the middle.

It’s funny— but, while I loathe Brussels sprouts, I like spinach!!

BTW, no kid—whatever the age—wants to be told that something he hates is “good for you”!!

Good for you, John. I love how you wiped that imperious smug expression off tour wife’s face!!

Weird, to start off with John has ALREADY finished his Brussels Sprouts and only has to finish off his mashed potatoes. And then true to their name, more Sprouts seem to magically sprout back on his plate.

Makes me wonder how long a time did mom force the guys to sit there at the table. What happened to the wall calendar behind John’s head, and the yellow dining room wall has been painted pink in the meantime!

What about Farley? He may want them.

This is not about any particular vegetable. It is about control.

Where’s a dog when you really need one?

LookingGlass-I love Brussels Sprouts, also. Especially draped in butter!

Our daughter got us eating Brussels Sprouts (in our 60s) – turns out we love ’em. In fact we have them on a regular basis. Who knew?

your great help there pops… :L

I’m okay with them IF they are a pale green, but dark green ones are very bitter. :P

If you don’t like what I made for dinner you can do the cooking. Checkmate!

The Strip certainly is “Dated”. Brussel Sprouts were bred to take out the bitterness 15 or 20 years ago, now they are a different veggie.

I hate them also.

Mmmmm more for me!

I, as well…

We have different palates. My Dad loved Brussell Sprouts.

I had to go outside when Mum was cooking them.

Doesn’t mean you’re right or wrong, just different.

I love Brussels sprouts!

I hate Brussels sprouts. I only like asparagus when it’s baked.

Just wrap them with bacon & broil them

You don’t boil them into oblivion. You cut them in half add some oil, salt and pepper. Shake it up and then roast them. The sweetness comes out that way.

Opps. I sense rebellion in the air. Pick your fights Ella.

I’ve been cooking my brussel sprouts in the oven at a high heat. I cut them in half and cover them with a mixture of kosher salt, pepper, olive oil, and a balsamic vinegar reduction. You make balsamic reduction, but it’s available already made. They are crisy and delicious.

I used to stir fry them with bacon. Now, I can’t eat anything with fiber AND I can’t eat bacon, either. I miss them both…

i love brussels sprouts! i make an entire meal out of them, and even munch on them raw…just bought 2 pounds of them

I like April’s :3 face in the first panel. Maybe she likes Brussels sprouts. Maybe because they look like green rocks? And I have been calling them Brussel sprouts for decades…didn’t realize I was wrong this whole time!

Brussels sprouts are my favorite! Along with cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus. Delicious.

Well, if you can’t beat ’em…

Elie, if you serve food restaurant style, then that is what you get. Most normal families sit down at a table and dish up their own food, except for those like April who are too small to do so at this stage. That way no wasted food. Besides Kale is far more nutritious than brussels sprouts or broccoli.

A fact not lost on my mother-in-law. She was always pushing broccoli on everyone. Now she no longer pushes after having a kale dish served one time and being forced, by her own words, to endure a very healthy vegetable that she detests.

I love both……

I think it depends on the crop. I had a bag of frozen brussels sprouts a year ago that tasted bitter.

You really shouldn’t force children to eat. It could lead to obesity.

There are many foods I love as an adult that completely revolted me as a child.

My paternal grandparents took my parents out for an anniversary dinner once to a fancy-schmancy place in Long Beach, CA. Part of my grandfather’s meal was a side dish of Brussels sprouts. They were rotten and made him sick and he never ate any again. I can still hear his voice telling the story “Rotten Brussels sprouts!”.

Aborted Cabbage fetuses.

I detest the evil little things!!!!

Brussel Sprouts are good, especially when cooked in bacon grease

This is the beginning of a revolution.

I know from personal experience that forcing kids to eat things they don’t want to eat can make them less open to trying different foods on their own, even into adulthood.

Just because a food tastes good to one person doesn’t mean it’ll taste good to every other person. A while ago, I read about a study that showed that people may experience the flavor of the same food differently. A food that tastes good to one person may taste terrible to another person.

Misery loves company…..

As a kid one of the punitive measures my parents imposed on me (but I can count on one hand when I was disciplined that way) was that I had to make my own dinner.

GOOD FOR JOHN.

The only vegetable I don’t like is squash. My mom used to boil it until it was a liquid. Not to mention the blander than bland taste. Revolting

Parenting at its finest…

Michael tried to give his to Farley, but even Farley wouldn’t go for them. He is shown with one in his hand, waving his arm at Farley. Second panel.

Brussels sprouts were the one vegetable that I just could not stand eating when I was a kid. Anything else was fine. I didn’t develop a taste for them until I was over 40.

I absolutely cannot stand peas. Even as an infant I would not eat them when Mom tried to feed them to me. This has caused many standoffs between me and my father, who was the “You’ll eat what’s put in front of you” type. I spent many an evening sitting in front of my plate, alone, because he would not let me leave the table until I ate them, and I would not eat them.

It all came to a head when I was around Michael’s age here: We were having our typical argument about peas, when I had enough. I got up, walked to the fridge, grabbed an onion, and slammed it down in front of him. “I’ll eat those peas when you eat that onion”, I said.

He hates onions. He looked at the onion, looked at me, looked back at the onion, and said “I guess you’ve got me there.”

That was the end of our arguments about peas.

People have a lot to say about food today. I’ve never liked eggplant or Brussels sprouts. I have a close friend who won’t eat carrots because her mother served them every day and forced her to eat them.Trader Joe’s sells a package of shredded greens that include Brussels sprouts. I love them steamed with balsamic vinegar.

I never liked my mother’s meatloaf or casserole, which is why I never learned to cook them.

Pan roasted in olive oil with a little garlic and maybe shallot…delicious. But these are Canadians…

Had a chef instructor that made it clear that we were not allowed to say we hated something. We could say we were challenged by it. He also went on to say that if we continued to be challenged by it, then we never had it prepared properly. I was never challenged by any foods whilst in culinary school. And today? I’ve never met a fruit or veg that I don’t like.

I don’t know how anyone can eat Brussels Sprouts, but some people apparently love them.

People always tell me if I tried Brussels Sprouts a different way ( the way they make them) I would really love them. Nope…no way, Not going to happen. I don’t like them period!

Oh, Shut it, Elly! You only cook them because Michael HATES them, and they stink to high heaven, just like the rest of your cooking!

I totally agree. As does my wife, she says no matter how they are cooked, they taste like crap

Not easy setting a good example for your kids when you don’t like something either.

I tried brussels sprouts one time, never again cannot stand the taste and my family does not get tortured. Now asparagus I tried at a buffet years ago was not too bad, I cannot afford that. Michael I agree with you.

Only if they are cut in half, buttered and grilled.

Elly, you just need to sauté them with some bacon… problem solved.

If all we ate is “what’s good for us”, it would be a sad life indeed.

’It’s broccoli, dear." “I say It’s spinach, and I say the hell with it.”—Cartoon from The New Yorker, art by Carl Rose, caption by E. B. White

Brussels sprouts are delicious. Mike is a weenie.

It was a revelation getting fresh asparagus, brussels sprouts and spinach, not canned, as an adult and finding out they were actually delicious.

Since seeing the final shot of Queen Of Blood (1966), I’ve considered it my duty to eat any Brussels sprouts I can.

Especially if they’re served under aspic.

I don’t care how they are cooked.. YUCK! My family loves them & I just waited until someone grabbed them off my plate!

You need to prepare them right. Some people’s brussels sprouts could be used as a torture device.

I had brussels sprouts last night for dinner. Love them! (and asparagus lol) Well I think there is not a veggie I don’t like but it must be prepared right.

And John didn’t set a good example.

You’d think April would be the kid having this conversation.

I’d rather have asparagus!

Since government pays for all healthcare with OHIP, then government should have control over what Canadians can eat. People should not be putting burdens on OHIP because they ate unhealthy food.

I did not like Brussels Sprouts when I was a child. I will be 69 this year and I still don’t like them.

Neither one, both are evil!

Roast the!!!!! Never boil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

We always called them turtle heads.

She must have boiled them. If you toss them with oil, salt & pepper and roast them in the oven, everyone will love them!

Sure hope Michael knows someone in Eritrea would sure love to have those brussel sprouts.

Lynn Johnston was secretive about the money the strip brought in. In actuality, she had a cook to make whatever Lynn wanted at her beck and call. You can bet if the cook waved her finger at Lynn Johnston saying “you will eat this because it is good for you” that she would be out the door before that meal got cold.

Mike is right. He IS too old to be told to eat something he doesn’t like.

On another note, one reason to plate food in the kitchen is to make sure that each person gets a fair and appropriate portion. This is especially true for things like meat where there is limited amount to go around. Growing up there was only so much meatloaf or whatever; plenty of rice or potatoes if you were still hungry.

Brussels Sprouts are my husband’s favorite vegetable! And me, I love all veggies except for beets and eggplant.

Michael, wait till you try to feed your kid the same stuff knowing it is good for health. Life will go a full circle.

If bloodwork could show you have a mineral deficiency, you could design your menus that supporting those deficiencies by choosing foods that will deliver.

I haven’t eaten Brussels sprouts since I was old enough to spit.

Asparagus wrapped in bacon.. YUM!!

There was an episode of LEAVE IT TO BEAVER based on Beaver’s refusal to eat brussel sprouts

Luuuuv the pooch giving the stink-eye to the ’sprout. : )

I always bought frozen veg. because I had hated the canned veg. we had to eat when I was young. Older daughter loved veg., younger one hated them. Grown now, younger daughter eats all veg. because she discovered fresh ones.

…your son is a grown man. Let him serve himself and decide what he wants to eat.

I probably went around forty years not liking Brussels’ sprouts. Then I finally tried them and immediately regretted what I had missed for all those years.

Cheesecake Factory makes amazing brussel sprouts. I personally like them as well :-) However, I like and was raised on almost all green veggies!

Why Elly is right to demand her family eat Brussels sprouts:

*Every hour in Canada 50,000,000 animals are eaten.

*It takes seven hours of walking to burn off a Big Mac.

*McDonald’s distributes more toys than Toys ’R Us.

*Potatoes are the most eaten vegetable in Canada. 90% of said potatoes are eaten in the form of unhealthy poutine and potato chips.

Here’s something strange for y’all…I like the first sprout. MAYBE the second. After that they get a weird taste. I have no explanation for this!

Farley doesn’t want it, either.

Like Michael, the issue of eating Brussels Sprouts created my “independence day” from my parents dictating my food choices.

No, Mike, you’re acting like a complete, spoiled jerk. You should eat them, THIS time, but afterwards tell Mom “NEXT time, please don’t give them to me anymore.” You do NOT waste good, healthy food, or the EFFORT your Mother just made preparing a meal for you!