A Matter of Taste: Brain vs. Tongue

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Taste is a funny thing. When it comes to food, we mostly treat taste as if it is intrinsic to our personality, irrevocable and personal. “I loooove donuts” or “I can’t stand cabbage.” But really, taste is a completely changeable thing, and within our power to change. Sometimes we just don’t WANT to change. But when we decide to change for the sake of our health, it certainly can be done.

Mostly I aim for creating healthy meals with foods that are good for me AND also delicious when prepared certain ways. But when I do find myself rejecting a healthy food or indulging in a bad one, I try to remember that taste is mostly an illusion of my own creation. Well, mine and the culture I live in and the advertising industry!

Everyone has foods they used to like, but don’t like now. And foods they once avoided, but have learned to like. It really has more to do with what we are used to, our habits, and what we are exposed to, what’s available to us. And those things we do have control over if we choose to use it. The taste of food is an immediate and seemingly personal gratification, and the enjoyment of the benefits of a healthy diet, though more subtle, are far more real and valuable in the long run. Being healthy is very tasty indeed, and I think I’ll have another helping.

by on May 15, 2012
filed in Healthy Diet Inspiration

Fruit Party Print, and an Apple Dip Recipe

Fruit Party art print

Fruit—most of us love it, but most of us would say that we don’t eat enough of it. It’s best fresh, and, yes, that sometimes takes a little work, but is so worth it! I created this design to remind myself to celebrate how beautiful fruit is. The 8 x 10 print (unframed) is available here.

Fruit is a wonderful dish for any party or gathering, and here’s an easy recipe idea that makes a great snack. Just mix equal parts of peanut butter and vanilla yogurt and stir well. Slice apples and arrange around the dip. I like to use the thicker Greek yogurt if possible. The vanilla adds enough sweetness for me, but if you like it a little sweeter, add a teaspoon of honey. Enjoy!

by on March 20, 2012
filed in Food and Kitchen Art, Recipes and Meal Ideas
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Make Soup!

Illustrated Soup Recipe

8x10 print available at http://www.etsy.com/listing/81843840/recipe-art-kitchen-print-soup-recipe ©Visuaria Publishing All Rights Reserved

I’m fascinated with the idea that we need more visual cues in order to cook and eat healthier foods. I try to fill my kitchen with art or images of the foods I want to eat. Sometimes half the battle of eating healthier is in planning, deciding, imagining what you want to cook, so I think it helps to have some fun images around. My next few blogs will include some with visual products I have created for this purpose. I hope you enjoy them too!

This print illustrates a basic soup recipe that can be varied any way you like. It’s a reminder of how easy it actually is to make homemade soup, one of the healthiest foods around. Just grab a pot, chop a few veggies, and wing it!

by on March 9, 2012
filed in Recipes and Meal Ideas
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The Best Restaurant in Town: Your Own Kitchen

I know that eating out too much is not good for me, but still I am drawn to it like a moth to flame. The mystique and attraction of dining out sings its siren song, and, even though for many people it’s an almost daily activity, it still always has that air of special occasion. Through culture, or advertising, or whatever, we have this irrepressible desire to make every meal a treat.

I go in with the best of intentions to choose the healthiest foods the restaurant offers, but there is just something about looking at a menu that makes me lose my way. My eyes glaze over, my brain fogs, and all those enticing pictures (which look nothing like the actual dish) just lure me in and I hear myself ordering something rich and buttery and salty that I would never eat at home. Then I’m almost always disappointed with the quality of the food.

By contrast, meal planning at home usually starts with either “What would be healthy, yet delicious?” or “What can I cook with what’s on hand?”. And what’s on hand is much likelier to be healthy. I end up with a delicious meal that I’m very happy with, and it’s lower in fat and sodium, has less processed foods, and is less expensive. Five star review!

I do like to eat out occasionally and don’t plan on giving it up anytime soon. I wish that more restaurants would offer delicious and healthy food. But meanwhile, as often as possible, we probably all should patronize the best restaurant in town, where the ingredients are truly fresh, the cooks care very much about our food quality, and the atmosphere is casual—our own kitchen.

by on January 7, 2011
filed in Food Politics and Culture, Healthy Diet Inspiration

Eating Healthy on Vacation

We are getting ready for a trip and I’ve been trying to follow my own advice about planning healthy meals. For years I found that every time I went on vacation I would gain weight and come home feeling unhealthy. It just seemed so hard to avoid the temptations of quick and easy but junky road food. Then I discovered that planning ahead is the key.

So I’ve been making lists and packing and actually had to pull out a copy of my own book, Healthy Travel Cooking, to remind myself of the some of the methods I’ve come up with, and put them into practice once again. I certainly can’t plan every menu exactly for two weeks, but it really does help to have a list of several meal ideas and what groceries will be needed.

On road trips we often like to make our own dinner in our motel room rather than eat at restaurants. It’s better food, less expensive, and kind of necessary if you are traveling with a dog. I am bringing Greek orzo salad with chicken, that will be good right from the cooler or at room temperature, along with pita chips and hummus, and some canned pears. I pack a little “picnic basket” with the few necessary dishes.

During the trip we will be staying at a rented beach house with family, so I’ve made a grocery list based on some rough menu ideas. Seafood will be a big favorite, so I included fish tacos, boiled shrimp with a big salad, baked fish with sweet potato fries. I’ll make a big pot of Cuban black beans and rice the first day to have around for a backup or side dish. We will have children with us, and they love it if there is a big platter of fruit to grab; we’ll try to keep some ongoing fruit and veggie trays around. Wrap sandwiches made with leftover seafood and veggies will make good beach picnics, along with a mayo-free potato salad. I’ll try to hit a produce stand or store on the way, grab some avocados or pineapples or whatever is fresh and available, and build some meals around that.

Not to say that we won’t pig out at a restaurant a time or two during the trip; I’m sure we will. But I have found that making a healthy plan, and even just more or less sticking to it, makes a big difference in how I feel, and whether my clothes still fit, when I get home!

by on November 1, 2010
filed in Healthy Cooking, Healthy Travel Cooking

Healthy Cooking by Phone?

I haven’t been a big user of phone apps, even though I’ve had an iPhone for quite a while. But that’s changing. I just discovered the free app for the cooking site epicurious.com (also available for the android phone). I am a cook and a foodie, I own many cookbooks and am a frequent user of many online recipe sites. I don’t need my phone to spell out recipes for me in order to make dinner.

But what’s got me excited here is the planning capability, and planning is the number one key to a healthy diet, in my opinion. Sometimes it’s hard to pull menu ideas out of your brain, and you need some visual help. When I can, I take some time to plan a few meals for the upcoming week, browse my recipes, make a shopping list. But sometimes life gets hectic. Now, if I am sitting in the dentist’s waiting room, or riding in the car (not driving!), or heading for the market, I could easily make a plan for several meals and generate an automatic shopping list.

You can type in a search phrase, browse through recipes, and select one (or even one that’s close to what you want to make), save it to a shopping list, then edit the list to delete items you already have on hand or don’t want to include, and check your phone list when you are at the grocery store. I typed in “vegetarian chili” and got a nice selection of recipes. I typed in “healthy sandwich” and it came up with hummus-and-feta, grilled chicken, portabella, and many more. It might not be as complete or reliable as my cookbook library or a google search, but it will certainly help get me going in the right direction.

Even if I don’t stick to the plan exactly, any plan is better than no plan, and I think this may be a very helpful tool for using those spare moments to give some thought to upcoming healthy meals and ingredients. Here’s a link to read more: www.epicurious.com/services/mobile.

by on October 25, 2010
filed in Recipes and Meal Ideas, Recommended
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