It may not be professional to say I hate some healthy food, I hate to say it’s not! But this blog it isn’t just about my professional opinion and thoughts, nutritionists are human too. I it is normal to hate some healthy food. The key is to diverse your intake from all food groups -whenever it is possible- to cover all your needs of macronutrients, vitamins and minerals.
How your brain and taste buds working:
There are spots on your tongue to identify the taste , once the food hit it, it cause a reaction and the neurons ( you can identify them as messengers) send to the brain messages to keep the food or discard it. Here is a good article explains how does our sense of taste work (If you are hungry for more details, I added another one at the end of this post). There are a lot of techniques all over the web to teach you how to deceive your taste buds, and manipulate them, so you can eat a wide range of food. Such as pairing a food you loath with a one you love. Also hiding the veggies in stews, soups, chilies, and even cakes! like this crazy chocolate cake with cauliflower! But hiding veggies isn’t always good strategy, you need to know what’s in your food.
What I truly tried to like but failed:
These are some healthy food, I tried, or cooked, in many ways, but couldn’t love them, and couldn’t include them in my diet! And I listed what you can eat instead:
Steel cut oatmeal
It’s the texture that I hate! even lots of people love the steel cut oats for it! Because it’s not flattened, whatever you add on, it does not absorb well. I tried many nut butters like peanut, walnut, and pecan. Fruits like apples, bananas, berries, and even avocado! Also milk and water, baked or cooked in the microwave, short and long cooking method. I even tried unhealthy spreads like Nutella® and Biscoff®. Also it felt very airy to me, so I felt hungry just couple of hours afterwards, even it supposed to be the opposite way. Why I bought in the first place? Because I believed it is more nutritious, but the difference between the steel cut, and instant oatmeal aren’t very great, both of them are very good for your heart. So now I’m over it, and I will switch back to instant oats and I’ll always go for the unflavored, unsweetened one. Here an instant oatmeal I made with cow milk, peanut butter, grated apples, raisin topped with a drizzle of honey
(Update: now I eat rolled oats, boiled in water, no cream/milk , no sugar. However I had so many great recipes and fancy to dress up a boring oatmeal)
Pistachio butter chocolate oatmeal
Asparagus
The smell that I hate! When it’s cooked made me nauseated. I tried soup, pureed and in big chunks with cow milk and coconut milk (which was a huge mistake by the way). Even though I think baked will make it more palatable for me, but I don’t dare to try it. Artichoke is very similar to Asparagus in nutrition profile, so I might give it a try!
Broccoli
I tried steamed in restaurants mainly, I tried it mixed with vegetables in chicken gratin or in frittata. The more I chew it, the more ugly it gets! And here is why a lot of people share this loath for broccoli. It’s partially because of the genes that are responsible for detecting the bitter taste. Some people have more cells of the receptors for this gene, so now its proven why i may not like it! Brussels sprouts are similar to broccoli in nutrition profile, so for me it a better option, and I made this delicious salad with Brussels sprouts and it’s raw, vegan, and gluten free and worth your time.
Eggplant
I have to admit that I neither buy it nor cooked it. But it was a favorite food in many traditional meals to my family. It’s kind of a staple in my home country, they eat in every way possible, and you can imagine. Fried, baked, mashed with tahini, or stuffed in tomato stew with lamb meat. The texture, the smell the color, I can’t remember when the last time I had it, but I think it’s unique flavor, and may give it a try in the future. Tomato is very similar to eggplant in nutrition profile, and I love it so much and I bet you do! here is one of the top readers favorite recipes ,
(Update: I did get out of my comfort zone, and tried eggplant in many and they were just delicious )
Turkish Bulgur with Tomato Pilaf
Moussaka (Eggplant casserole with Tomato Sauce)
It’s okay to hate some healthy food, no one can eat them all, (very few people do!). And as is important to learn to like a new food, don’t push yourself so hard to love every healthy food existed! There are many food are similar in nutrition value, but could be very different in taste. It’s important to love what you eat in order not to get bored of it, and go back to the old bad habits.
Is there any healthy food do you hate? Would you try it in the future? I would love to hear from you!
For further reading:
Is Steel-Cut Oatmeal Really Better?
