How To Train Your Taste Buds To Love Healthy Foods
Give more green things a chance.
RossHelen / Shutterstock In the contest between healthy food vs junk food, can you train your taste buds? The answer is "yes."
A wise and knowledgeable person told me years ago your taste buds will change, but I never understood just how true this is until recently.
We all know that some changes occur because it happens to us over time with many foods.
As you get older, it’s logical to acquire a taste for certain veggies and greens that you wouldn't eat in your teens and 20s, right?
Foods most people used to crave when they were kids, like sweet cookies and cakes, sometimes lose their allure as they age and the taste for new things develops.
What I’ve noticed is this: it takes more than just tasting a certain food by itself a couple of times. If done with intention and care, your taste buds can and will change.
Before you know it, you're giving healthy foods a chance.
So, how do win the fight between healthy food vs junk food?
In most cases, it takes more time and involves allowing yourself to "ease" into the food along with blending it with other flavors to adjust.
Here's a perfect example: Have you always disliked cucumbers? Try something new by putting one slice of cucumber in a smoothie and see what happens.
The first time, you may notice the taste, but there are so many other flavors going on you won’t pay much attention. The next time add two slices and notice the taste again.
After doing this for several weeks, you may notice that you enjoy the taste of the smoothie improves over time. Shocking!
Now, you can try a few salads with a small amount of cucumber.
This way, you're training your taste buds to be amiable to certain foods you never liked — how cool!
In the past year, there are numerous foods that I changed my opinion about after a lifetime of disliking and cucumber is one of them.
I would try some foods occasionally that I knew were beneficial, even if I didn’t like them, like radishes, cucumber, and celery to name a few.
I now passionately believe we are in control of the foods we eat for the benefit of our health versus being a slave to the almighty taste buds.
Taste buds are not the boss of you — it’s the other way around!
There are some foods that you may always stay away from, so I’m not suggesting that you'll change your mind and taste buds about everything.
But, if you want to take steps to eat healthier foods, then it’s much easier than you might think.
Can you think of the possibilities of how your health, vitality, and energy could improve if you stopped craving or liking unhealthy foods and started enjoying foods that are beneficial and nutritious?
Give your taste buds a chance to change and you will not only unleash the flavors of a healthy diet, but your body will respond in many positive ways and with gratitude for your efforts!
Becky Smith is a Certified Health Coach and Self-Care Expert with a background in Menu Development/Food & Beverage procurement in the restaurant industry. She shares her knowledge of healthy food and healthy lifestyle habits to help people achieve their own health/wellness goals and to have the motivation and discipline that it takes to succeed. Go to her website to learn more.