I’m sorry but I’m not sorry that I took a mini-break from blogging…
I go through these lulls from time to time…and I don’t want to recap my triathlon experience until I’m really good and ready…so I’ll wait until the mood strikes.
Until then, here’s today’s work lunch.
Ensalada with Amy’s Bistro Burger, bell peppers, carrots, snap peas, and tomatoes.
Kyle had some friends over for a BBQ this weekend, so I swooped on the leftover grilled corn in the fridge to make my salad even more exciting.
Crunchy! It was good but I have to admit, balsamic vinegar wasn’t enough. I should’ve had a more fatty dressing because the veg presence was excessively dominating.
Did you know that we as humans are inclined to dislike “healthy” food for no reason other than them being good for us? Seriously.
Studies have shown that foods described as “healthy” are less palatable than other foods. However, when a group of people were presented with the SAME EXACT protein bar, the ones labeled “healthy” were “less satiating” as compared to the ones labeled “tasty.” WTF! These people were talking about the exact same bar!
I find this so curious.
Moreover, people who are told to eat certain foods that are good for them are more likely to rebel. And regardless of how they actually felt about a certain “healthy” meal, if they were eating it against their will, they reported not liking it (merely because it was a prescribed [healthier] option).
Not only does this confirm the fact that there is more to eating than just the innate need to meet our hunger requirements, but it calls into question the mental aspect of choosing certain foods over others. Do people really think that a diet that is good for you tastes worse than a diet that isn’t quite as healthy? Or are we just conditioned to think that’s how each of these foods should taste?
The psychological component of eating is real and valid. Cravings aside, we as humans want to feel like we are eating things that are delicious and for some reason we have been trained to believe that health foods are not delicious.
Weird.
Tell me your thoughts!
These are my morning oats and I can guarantee they tasted delicious. They were made with oats, a mashed banana, and lots of raw peanuts and raisins.
Here’s everything else. Que mas? An apple, Vital Vittles roll, carrots, snap peas, Pure Cherry Cashew bar, Perfect Foods peanut butter bar, almonds, chocolate edamame, and candied ginger.
My mom got me lots of Larabars and Pure bars for the triathlon and a few extras made it home with me.
This flavor Pure bar happens to be one of my favorites too! It’s like a Larabar with a greater ratio of dried fruit to nuts. And the cherry flavor isn’t as tart as the cherry pie Larabar. It’s good stuff.
That is funny about the healthy vs. taste thing. This morning my brother commented ‘ew’ to my bowl of oats and frozen blueberries while he ate his cocoa puffs and I was like, it really tastes great to me. And he said, you’re only saying that because it’s healthy and you want to eat healthy things and I said, maybe you’re not used to it so it seems gross but it’s great once you adjust your tastebuds..I see this study play out firsthand in my family and it is insanely frustrating!
That is funny about the healthy vs. taste thing. This morning my brother commented ‘ew’ to my bowl of oats and frozen blueberries while he ate his cocoa puffs and I was like, it really tastes great to me. And he said, you’re only saying that because it’s healthy and you want to eat healthy things and I said, maybe you’re not used to it so it seems gross but it’s great once you adjust your tastebuds..I see this study play out firsthand in my family and it is insanely frustrating!
i think we’re conditioned socially and by the media to think things like sugar, greasy fries, hamburgers, etc. taste better than vegetables and fruits and whole wheat bread. i gotta say that advertising companies do a pretty damn good job of putting up some mouth-watering commercials. i don’t think i’ve ever seen one of those commercials for fresh farmers’ market produce or a green smoothie or even oatmeal though. and i think the typical SAD that many kids grow up with is filled the kind of food that is advertised on TV – once your tastebuds are accustomed to that, it’s hard to change. i’ve never found a lot of processed foods appealing at all because i didn’t grow up eating that. it’s almost like how most kids will like their mother’s cooking no matter how bad her cooking actually is – it’s because the grew up eating it!
As soon as I started eating ‘healthier’ my little brother would always turn his nose up at something on the principle that because it was healthier it would taste worse… thankfully he’s grown up a bit and now loves green smoothies and huge salads.
I think that also a big part of it is how our palates and tastebuds are muted with highly processed, excessively sugary and salty food – it takes a while for them to get back into balance so the healthier foods do actually taste better!
I totally agree with you. Our society is so used to unhealthy foods that we have conditioned ourselves into thinking healthy food is gross. Also, the more we eat super flavoured foods with far too much sugar, fat or salt, the less tasty healthy foods are going to seem.
From a purely evolutionary standpoint, you would think that we would be conditioned to think healthy foods tasted better than unhealthy ones. However, I think this study raises a couple interesting thoughts. First, this likely plays into the fact that trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and other things of the like are truly messing with our taste buds and making us think that unhealthy foods taste better. Like an addiction, almost. Secondly, I think it’s symbolic of the fact that people associate healthy food with dieting and deprivation, and feel that unhealthy foods are symbolic of taste. They feel that healthy foods are bland and flavorless.
Before I was vegan, if someone offered me a pastry, cookie, burger, or something else “unhealthy” and I turned it down, they automatically assumed I was dieting! No, I just prefer to fuel my body with nutritious AND delicious foods. I’m a vegan health nut, and I definitely eat tastier, more well-thought-out meals than most people I know! It’s such a shame that health foods get such a bad rap.
Biologically we’re designed to like the flavours of salt, fat and sugar (and actively seek them out) because they weren’t as common in our ancestors diets, but required to sustain our active lifestyles. Our cravings for these foods are another example of the clash between our biological evolution and modern society.
I think people thinking of healthy food as bland is from a different line though. I think we should blame the lack of imagination in lots of diets people play into: the cabbage soup diet anyone?? These diets have given healthy food a bad name (while also not being very healthy). To conclude humans = weird!
I’ve read studies about this phenomena. It’s a definite psychologically dominant occurrence – you have a preconceived notion about “healthy” food, so you judge it as such. This is why I try to remain open minded about all food, so that I don’t retain my own bias and judge it unfairly. I have found some “healthy” food to be delicious by doing so.
I am just now, in my late 30’s, learning that natural and healthy foods really are tasty……..now, getting my peers to try new things, not gonna happen. ( I did get a couple to try hummus) I think it has alot to do with the way we were raised. We have come from a generation of instant/processed/convenience foods and in our minds that is the only thing that tastes good. IMHO 🙂
I think you hit it on the money by saying that we are conditioned to expect healthy foods not to taste as good as non-healthy ones. The lack of sugar/fats/preservatives etc can make food less tasty, but if you know what you’re doing with them, you can make them just as good – if not better – than an oreo or twinkie!
Side note, I have the same pure bar in my stash at home. I hope it’s just like you say it is, I think I’ll love it!
I swear I’m keeping tabs on your lunches for ideas. I’m starting classes again in a few short weeks and I’m terrified I’m going to slip back into poor eating habits just because I have little idea how to pack a healthy amount of food that will last me all day. And by all day I mean I’m in class at 9:30 am (late start this year woo!) and generally leave my lab at 2 am … Anyways, thanks for posting your work lunches they’re extremely helpful!
That part about being conditioned to think healthy food should taste a certain way is SO true!! That’s why people are always surprised when they have something absolutely delicious and then discover it’s actually healthy. They can’t believe it!
How interesting your post about the psychology of taste!
My husband always makes funny faces over my green powders and overnight oats because he categorizes it as simply “my wife’s healthy food” (so it can’t be good, right?). However, whenever I do make him a bowl of oatmeal, he has nothing bad to say and actually enjoys it. Our expectations about the taste of healthy food certainly seems to be psychologically-driven… Once you get over it, you realize how amazing healthy food tastes, because it’s real food! After transitioning to a whole foods-based lifestyle, I can’t believe how unappealing the processed junk is! Sometimes I think that I might be craving some fast food snack, only to take one bite and not even want to finish it. I just read your “controversial” McD’s post, remembering how the smell of the McD’s at a recent road trip rest stop really was bothering me!
p.s. I really enjoy your work lunch posts! Reminds me that if I take just a few minutes the evening before, I can plan a similar day of good eats to get through the work day! I just have to find myself some chocolate edamame – sounds like my kind of snack!
I just tried the cherry pie Larabar because you said it was more tart and I LOVE tart. Yum, it’s delicious!
I think the more you eat healthy foods, the more you grow to like them. After changing my diet from processed, convenience foods to more whole foods, I find myself craving things like salads and veggies!
I love grilled corn!!! So good….but one thing I love almost as much as corn grilled. Raw corn. It is so sweet and crisp and crunchy. You should try that on a salad too! 😀
I remember this study, and agree with this point about biology driving us to certain flavours.
I also think that this issue cuts both ways. There are plenty of people, either in the healthy living blogosphere or elsewhere, that think foods taste better BECAUSE they are healthy. Hence pretending like your oatmeal tastes like cake, etc. I think that it is equally puzzling to enjoy a food because it is healthy, even if the taste is sub-par. I do tend to gravitate to healthy food because it makes me feel better and I prefer the taste, but I’m not going to try to trick my tastebuds into eating something healthy that tastes like crap. I suppose that’s why I tend to opt for no baked goods, rather than ‘healthy’ ones. Anyway, it is a very interesting study!
Hi,
Just wanted to say I love the message of your blog, and as someone who used to work in a hospital and has just recently taken up blogging, I cannot believe you do so much in a day! Honestly. Never feel bad about taking a break!
I have 40 ears of corn to cut up and freeze- to stock my little apartment’s freezer…Planning on doing it tomorrow night for a CRAZY weekend kickoff!
Hmm, curious indeed. I’m going to stop telling people that I am making them “healthy” treats and just say “These are really bad for you…full of all kinds of crap” and see if they like them more. 😉
Can’t wait to hear about the tri!
so true!
i completely agree. “muted” is a perfect way of putting it. our poor taste buds!
you have such great points here! its horrible that health foods are seen as diet foods (or deprivation of some sort). its even more tragic because this is NOT the case!! until people break the psychological association of healthy=not as tasty, i dont think they will be convinced. its such a shame that mentally, the expectation of flavorlessness can overpower the actual taste.
haha. your conclusion pretty much hits the nail on the head. we are bizarre, plain and simple.
whoever thought living off cabbage soup was either sustainable or enjoyable over the long term was loco.
in terms of our desires to seek out fat, salt and sugar…its definitely human nature. evolution still thinks we are preparing for famine – or long winters with scarce food supplies. however, since we are no longer hunting and gathering our food (or going days without eating), the purpose for this is for naught. evolution hasnt caught up yet though, so our bodies still want to pack on extra lbs for starvation times ahead…not realizing there are grocery stores and fast food chains on every corner. i wonder if darwin knew this was where human nature was headed…
what an interesting point sarah! i never considered that, but i could see how the healthier-holier-than-thou type of person would claim to enjoy healthy foods purely because they were healthy, even if they werent necessarily tastier. good food for thought…
well said. i do wonder how my preconceived notions play into my own preferences. not just in food, but all aspects of life. i try to be open minded, but i doubt its possible to lose all bias. in the end, all you can do is keep trying things.
agreed. i think lots of our preferences in adulthood stem from impressions made in our younger years. that said, i do know plenty of people who made 180s from how they were brought up. but its definitely harder to do. hummus is a good start 😉
yup yup. “if you know what you’re doing” is the key thing here.
ps hope you like the pure bar!
thanks abi! good luck as you re-enter the world of classes and labs… 🙂
i know. i want to bring in vegan baked goods to work and not tell anyone.
thank you so much suzanne. im glad you enjoy the lunch posts. trader joes has the chocolate edamame. its awesome.
and as for your thoughts on the psychology of taste, i couldnt agree more. once your palate has been reconditioned, the appeal of processed foods dies very quickly and you learn how delicious healthy food really is. for those who have the mental road block, though, there has to be a switch in the head before there can be appreciation in the mouth. that sounded weird, but i hope you know what i meant. haha
yeah!
i think you are right. its all about recalibrating your taste buds.
i LOOOOVE raw corn. i used to eat it in salads all the time, thanks for the reminder! its also good in guacamole.
thanks elle! i sometimes think im crazy for having so many things on my plate, but i really enjoy blogging so as long as its fun, i will keep it up.
40!!! oh my word.
thanks going to be my new technique too!
I honestly believe that a lot of how we “see” our food has to do with what is portrayed in the media and therefore deemed “socially acceptable.” I just hate it when people take it to the extreme and become so closed-minded that they won’t even give the healthy food a chance…example: my dad. He would definitely be one of those who said the “healthy” bar was less satisfying…and that’s IF you could even get him to try it in the first place!
Ya…It’s going to be a corn freezing party tonight
So, this is my first time commenting after a couple of hardcore weeks of creeping. I LOVE your blog! It has really given me meal ideas and helped my shift to veganism (however I am also not 100%) I have to finish the dairy in my fridge and my darn hubby keeps bringing home cheese….so tempting sometimes.
Anyway, to the topic at hand. Evolutionarily speaking we are conditions to seek out foods high in fat. This was because we had a low fat diet and our brains and bodies depend upon certain fats that we could get in larger quantities from meet. If we were scavengers as australopithecus we wouldn’t be here today. Our unhealthy tastes buds are what has allows us to evolve and grow the big healthy brains we now have. That isn’t to say we need meet to survive, obviously. It was, however, one of the easiest ways for our early ancestors to eat what was then “good” for them. Food is scarce, hard to come by, and is a lot of work to gather when you are a wild animal. The meat eating gave us more caloric bang for our buck essentially, allowing us to maybe live that much longer than the next fellow who didn’t get that lovely piece of zebra.
So there you have it. That is why we want unhealthy things, because those ancestors who chose or had access and drive to eat the literal fat of the land were the ones who survived and passed those taste genes on to us.
I love science and anthropology combined…..I’m also doing my m.a. in human development 🙂
you’re right on girl! if you see my response to one of the comments above i mentioned the fact that we havent caught up to the present yet in terms of evolution. we arent exactly hunting and foraging anymore…or starving through the long winters.
anyway, so glad you are enjoying reading my blog. thanks for commenting!!
you’re right on girl! if you see my response to one of the comments above i mentioned the fact that we havent caught up to the present yet in terms of evolution. we arent exactly hunting and foraging anymore…or starving through the long winters.
anyway, so glad you are enjoying reading my blog. thanks for commenting!!
oooo good topic! one time i made chocolate chip cookies and brought them to work. everyone ate them and loved them. once i mentioned that i used whole wheat flour, my boss started complaining how they tasted like “dirt” and “too earthy and grainy” and “too healthy”… oh, really? is that why you ate five before i told you?
i loved reading all the comments on this post! at this rate, though, i will never get through all 10 of yours on my reader.
Hi Elise,
This was a great post! I’ve been thinking about this topic a great deal myself lately–namely, why is healthy food so unsexy? I was curious where you found the study about people automatically disliking food labeled as “healthy.” Can you share?
Thanks!
hey elizabeth! here’s the link to one article in pubmed. im not sure if anyone can access it because i have a subscription, but here it is just the same:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21574706
if that doesnt work, the study is titled “Mind over milkshakes: Mindsets, not just nutrients, determine ghrelin response” and was published in Health Psychol. 2011 Jul;30(4):424-9.
There are a few others if you google similar terms:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/31/diet-psych-out-why-health-food-is-less-satisfying-even-if-its-sinful/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/31/why-health-food-is-less-s_n_869329.html
etc.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, Elise, for your fast, helpful reply!