“Here goes nothing!” said Martin Castano, taking a deep breath as he entered cooking class and walked past the carrots, celery, onions, kale, potatoes, green beans and tomatoes on the prep table. Our resident veggie-phobe knew that we were preparing vegetable soup in this week’s class. Needless to say, he was not looking forward to it.

I have seen a positive shift in the attitudes towards vegetables in the decade I have been doing these healthy cooking classes in urban schools. More and more students not only like at least some vegetables, they understand how good they are for them. But there are always a few who truly have a hard time even getting a vegetable near their mouths. And Martin is one of them.

“You know I’m a carnivore,” he said.

But it never stops him from diving in to the prep for whatever we are making, this week had him chopping garlic and snapping green beans.

Jizelle Santos and Zuliany Delacruz were our courageous onion choppers, even though their eyes stung with tears, these two soldiered on!

We talked about prepping all our ingredients in advance, in French kitchens that is known as “mis en place,” getting everything in its place.

Then it is easy to build the flavor of the soup, starting with the “mirepoix” of onions, celery and carrots, sauteing the vegetables to bring out their flavor. Then the other herbs and spices and vegetables are added as the soup simmers on the stove.

We have also been talking about the “My Plate” nutrition chart, made up of protein, fruits and vegetables, grains and dairy, all the components that should be included in every meal. These students easily identified all the food groups: the vegetables were easy, but Marielys Martinez even correctly named the tomatoes as fruits and the chick peas as the protein in the soup.

The grains and dairy part of our meal were included in the corn muffins we were making to accompany our soup. Scarlett Godoy named the milk as the dairy component, and Bella Nguyen identified the corn meal as a grain, but all were somewhat surprised to learn that the meal was made from dried corn that was ground up.

While we got the muffins baking in the oven and the soup simmering on the stove, the students voted on their meal for the final class, where they will cook dinner for their families and friends. Turkey Sausage Bolognese with Caesar Salad was the winner. And the students made invitations, with some very creative artwork.

The aromas of our cooking had wafted through the school, prompting one teacher to tell us she couldn’t even concentrate on her work, it smelled so good.

Finally it was time to eat, and many of the students were pleasantly surprised.

“Who thought vegetable soup would be so awesome?” said Jizelle.

“I love this! Can I have seconds?” said Scarlett.

We had a lot of extra soup so we were able to share with many of the teachers and students in the after school program who also raved about the soup and the muffins.

But there was one person who did not rave: Martin.

He brought a spoonful of soup to barely touch his lips. He quickly closed his eyes, shook his head and his whole body shuddered.

“It’s not for me,” he said simply.

Keep trying Martin. One day, you may find a vegetable you like!