Remember when your mother told you to eat your veggies because they’re good for you? We may have kicked and screamed as kids, but once we grow up we know she was right. And, as much as we probably don’t want to admit it, we still don’t listen even as adults.
Most adults give into cravings for starches and sweets, totally shunning the foods that are good for them. When we try to moderate ourselves it feels like a war with willpower. If you’ve been beating yourself up about not eating enough of the right foods, try these solutions courtesy of Women’s Health to help you integrate healthy choices into your diet. Before long you’ll train yourself to crave healthy foods!
Mix Your Old Cravings With The Healthy Foods
While you’re taking the training wheels off, mix your favorite foods with the new healthy choices. This helps to mask the healthy foods’ flavor. If you’re not a fan of bitter greens, try dusting a bit of parmesan cheese on them. Or, mixing them with in a stir fry.
Wean Yourself
Instead of cutting out sugar and starch cold turkey, cut down little by little. Studies actually show that when you eat these foods regularly, you weaken your taste buds. By backing off of them little by little, you’re helping your taste buds to become more receptive to new flavors.
Make Your Plate Beautiful
Studies show that when your plate is arranged beautifully, your senses correlate it with being yummy. Studies also show that if you put greens on the right side of your plate, you’ll eat those first.
Keep Trying
When learning to eat a new food, you may not like them right away and that’s okay. Whether you grew up loving it or not, you can keep introducing healthy foods into your diet until you learn to love them. The more you try them the less resistant you’ll become. Eventually, your taste buds will love the flavor.
