It's true! Daniel (a Hebrew boy, taken with 3 others as captives to Babylon, and being taught Baylonian culture, food, religion, art, and music) chose vegetables over a feast. I bet right now you're a little confused. So, let me back up a bit.
Yesterday, in my devotions, I was reading Daniel 1 and I came across this story in Daniel 1:8-16: King Nebuchadnezzar (Neb-uh-kuhd-nez-er), king of Babylon, captured Jerusalem and took four boys (the smartest and the best) back to Babylon. Their he raised them in the palace and taught them Babylonian art, religion, music, food, and culture. Nebuchadnezzar hoped to wipe out a nation of Hebrews by raising up the Hebrew children to become Babylonian! Confusing, I know. But, our good, old friend, Daniel wouldn't turn to the Babylonian way. You see, in the palace they were subjected to all the rich Babylonian food. The boys (Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah) could feast on the food every day and every night. They could perform gluttony, which is wrong! So, Daniel refused to join in with their feasting. He asked for just vegetables and water for him and the other boys. Basically, what he was saying was, "I don't want a part of the Babylonian culture. I don't want to sin in gluttony or pride. I don't want to abandon the Living God. Give us just something to live off of."
That took a lot of courage, don't you think? First, these four boys were taken out of their homes and dragged to Babylon. Second, they were basically forced to learn all of the Babylonian culture. And third, they were given this huge feast in the palace, and Daniel said that they didn't want it. That says a lot about Daniel's commitment, courage, and faithfulness. Now, you may or may not recognize the three boys that came with Daniel. Whether you recognize them or not, you probably know them. You probably know them by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Sound familiar? Well, that's another story.