After reading this month’s Conscious Eating article, “Sustainable Shellfish: Superfood of the Sea,” by April Thompson, I found myself searching the phrase “Is it possible to train yourself to like shellfish?”

Being raised in a home where pretty much the only color on the plate came from the yellow canned corn and occasional red pasta sauce, I admit my palette could use some expanding. Not that it hasn’t expanded somewhat, I mean I do eat fresh vegetables these days, but seafood and shellfish have always been on the no chance list. Even to me, this seems crazy for someone born and raised in the Ocean State.

At some point as a young adult, I started to get exposed to seafood and shellfish through friends who thought I was nuts and so began the attempts at coaxing me to at least try it. Since it was truly foreign to me, it was quickly clear that consuming, almost exclusively, meat and potatoes for the first 20 years of life does not align well with the vastly different tastes, smells and textures of seafood.

Chances are I’ll regret putting this in writing since what I’m about to say will be read by some of those very people that have relentlessly attempted to get me to “just try it” for so long.

Learning that shellfish is the most sustainable protein on the planet has led me to the desire to give it another go. Since this is the Self-Empowerment edition, I’d say it’s time to give it a whirl and stretch that comfort zone into the seafood/shellfish department. Let’s see if I can expand my options and get to really enjoy some of the many wonderful restaurants available throughout Greater Boston and Rhode Island.

Whether you have an interest in empowering yourself to expand your palette, choose more empowering thoughts and words, raise a well-rounded child, or even find a practitioner to help you live more powerfully and self-secure, I hope you find something in these pages that supports you on your journey.

Have a stellar rest of your summer!

Peace,