Acquired Taste

Throughout life we regard food as a beautiful experience to provide satisfaction of our sought pleasures, hyper-exciting our deep sensations that stick as a goal to reach each time we sit at the table. Now most people would view such experience as a person trying to enjoy food. What we lean away from and stay blind to is that this reaction is also experienced by addicts of any habit. Take pharmaceutical pain killers for example, they have tens of thousands of Americans addicted to the consumption of a certain high, or sensation. This is frankly similar to the mentality of a person trying to reach the same 'high' or sensation through consumption of food. Interestingly, the situation is more similar when the person consuming the food, is diabetic, knows damn sure that second glass of soda pop is not necessary, and should definitely not drink the glass of sugar water rich in calories and with empty acute satisfaction. The addicted person drinking pills or the alcoholic reach point of harm and continues the practice, negligent of consequences and self-invoked physical harm. As an adult, people know what food is healthful and what food should be limited. Problem is the majority of people rather eat on impulse and with the purpose of instant satisfaction rather than holding priority in long-term reasoning. We decide every day to cripple ourselves a tiny bit more, why?

Our children are directly influenced from our habits of eating
which should be no surprise when they take our unhealthy style
of eating. If you don't do it for yourself, do it for your children.
Limit sugar drinks, and encourage fruits and vegetable choices.

In our world of fast-food giants and advanced scientific achievements (along with advertising and other methods in persuasion tactics), majority of people are targeted by these same giants forcing participation in the strategy of profit through sales of processed goods these giants call 'food'. These products are not food, but are chemical projects designed to provide the excessive gratification the everyday person experiences when eating. These foods are manipulated products made edible but hold little-to-no nutritional value, and they are being consumed by people on a regular basis. "Ignorance is bliss". Truly so, why do we continue such habits when we very well know the information out there on these processed products, making it clear most of these foods should absolutely not be included in our diet, especially with chronically ill people (diabetes, obese, heart disease, etc.). We need to face the fact, we need more education about food and need to spread the word on the realness of our present state in the mass relationship with food. Be proactive and do your own research and reevaluate your perspective on food.

Food is sensual and is part to the reality of life and death. If you don't eat, you die. This is why it is so hard for any individual to kick the habit of holding no boundaries when deciding to fuel their bodies. The average individual goes by "cravings" when they should be looking with the priority in mind of health. Why decide to be part of this statistic, why be like everyone else? Perhaps, it is the simplest solution to the question of, "What's for dinner." Maybe because being mindless is easy and requires no effort to hold absence of values and guidelines when eating; obvious when you look in America, one of the world's worst when considering people suffering from chronic diseases, obesity, and other health problems such as depression (regarding depression, of course other factors can be in play, but it's hard to neglect the fact that nutrition is key to brain function). Whole foods are extremely flavorful, but we are not accustomed to the flavors provided by "grass-tasting" leafy greens and "dirt" taste of some other root vegetables. Chores are not fun and everyone hates doing them, but we need to have some order in our lives and so we keep our house orderly. Alike in our diet, we need to hold the same grip of order and not being so permissive with any option placed in front of us by advertisement and media. Together with our families, we need to explore the idea of preparing real food, dishes for health, and salads, lots of salads. This is the reality. We all know that whole foods are what give us the essentials of daily living. If we are aware of our mislead thinking, why decide to continue with the misguided direction? Only children act on impulse, inexperienced and oblivious to common knowledge shared by the public. As a whole, we need to bring awareness to the issues of preventable chronic illness, triggered by lack of nutrition and unhealthy diets. Start with our families and trust you will progress to the chain of events that need to form place.

quinoa tabbouleh salad

Food for enhancement. Have you ever considered the possibility? If you have, the majority of people are well aware of the power of food, but some still pretend and complain about the difficulty of discipline. Well, everything in our lives bring us to commit necessary actions that we do not want to perform, but very much need to perform in order to achieve the desired goal we definitely do want to accomplish. Pleasure seeking in food should be redirected towards unprocessed food flavors. Consider the use of minimally processed seasoning and spices that hold no additives to bring about the experience whole foods have in store for any individual. Food is without a doubt medicine and brings wellness to the mind and body. One cannot deny the clear influence physiological well-being provides to the mind. If you care of your nutrition then your mind will directly reflect and benefit from efforts to sustain a healthful habit of clean eating. Food is a sophisticated phenomena, requiring an acquired filter to explore the joys of real food flavor. If your goal is to improve health, you cannot allow a manageable barrier such as taste to hold you back. Everyone has the ability to adapt to the most incredible of environments and a childish-like expression such as, "I don't like it," should not be what stands in the way of your integrity and self-respect. The majority of people drink alcohol or coffee and the taste is remarkably irregular and pungent, yet we engage to consume on occasion regardless of the strange taste. With time you grow accustomed to this sophisticated flavor and learn to look beyond bitterness and delve yourself in the flavors of fermented grains holding subtle berry full-bodied goodness. The same is true for natural plant foods such as vegetables, grains lean cuts of meat, etc. We need to step outside our comfort and explore the idea of acquiring taste to foods with sustenance.