Eating Can Be An Adventure - Keep It Interesting, Simple, Healthy, and Fun

I have been preparing my own meals for manypungent flavor, use more carrot to boost its flavor
years. Like most people, I suppose, I would fix onlyand texture. Other salad ingredients can be nuts,
familiar dishes.That has changed. For health benefits, Ipeanuts, coconut, cereal, baked beans, and fruit.
began eating more fruits and vegetables. TryingSome ingredients I like are raw beets, raw potato
unfamiliar vegetables and fruits made eatingand raw sweet potato.Watch out for raw greens
interesting and more enjoyable. Many of those newand other raw vegetables that cause digestion
fruits and vegetables became favorites. I tried manysystem upset. It only takes small amounts of some
other foods that were new to me, for example,raw vegetables to cause a lot of discomfort. Use
whole grains, various types of beans, seeds and nuts.small quantities of an untested food to begin with
Many of those became favorites. Using unfamiliaruntil you know how well your body deals with it. The
ways of preparing food also made eating more of anbody will adapt to some foods over a period of
adventure. A few of my favorites are pesto (pureedweeks or months but results vary from food to
greens and oil), raw foods that are normally eatenfood and, I suppose, from individual to individual.
cooked, and unusual combinations such as bread withSome raw foods I avoid because of previous bad
peanut butter, covered with pizza sauce.Theexperiences are green beans, asparagus, and beet
circumstances of my life encouraged more changes.leafs. I don't eat more than a tablespoon of raw
Making do with a small amount of money gave me aparsley pesto in a day. The same for kale. I don't eat
liking for oatmeal, beans, and other very low-costmore than the equivalent of 1/4-cup pesto of raw
foods. Growing up on a farm and having a gardenChinese cabbage.To develop a liking for a new food,
each year provided new fruits and vegetables to tryeat it at the beginning of a meal when you are most
and enjoy. Having been raised to 'waste not, wanthungry. Being hungry greatly improves the ability to
not', helped me not to pass up unusual foods: giftsappreciate the taste of a food. Eat only a small
such as my sister's 'beans 'n' greens', the landlord'samount of the new food at each sitting. For some
parogies, and my son's homemade deer jerky. Thefoods, a tiny bite, just enough to sense its flavor, is
point is: The changes in my diet gave me more foodsenough to handle at first. Don't give up easily on a
to enjoy. I now know that I can like a great manyfood that at first seems too strange to be enjoyed.
unfamiliar foods. At first some of those foods maySome foods will require dozens of 'get acquainted'
not be enjoyed because they are so different andtrials.Other strategies for liking new foods:- Read
are unrecognized as aabout nutrition and health to know the benefits of a
'goody'. For me, that recognition is typically madechanged diet.- Be aware of how much time you
gradually by many small trials. Once that recognition isspend shopping for food and other food related
made, the food 'hits the spot' and can be nutritious,tasks. Would you rather have some of that time
healthy and convenient. Then I have yet anotheravailable for other things? Non-traditional foods can
food to enjoy.The process of trying new foods anduse preparation methods that take less time.- Make a
having them become enjoyed fare, makes eating anchoice about the money you spend for food. Atypical
adventure. Eating becomes more nteresting andfoods may be less expensive than traditional and
more enjoyed. Meals become more than a time topopular food. Getting the most bang for the buck
enjoy what I have enjoyed before. Awareness iscan add to the pleasure of eating.- Make a decision
heightened by experiencing the unfamiliar. There isto increase the pleasure in your life. Your success in
anticipation of discovery of a new enjoyment. Mealsdeveloping a fondness for a new food, will encourage
become pay-off times of previous experimentationyou to try other kinds of new pleasures.Have
efforts. The food is more appreciated for havingreasons in mind to try unusual foods:- to be able to
creative effort invested in it. Perhaps I have gained aenjoy healthy foods.- to enjoy low-prep-time foods.-
health benefit, saved some prep time, saved moneyto use what you can grow in your garden.- for the
that can be used for some other purpose, and havesatisfaction of acquiring new pleasures.- to increase
added to my repertoire of pleasure.A cookbookyour enjoyment of eating.Know why liking new foods
might help you get ideas about what new foods tois difficult. This is the know-your-enemy principle. It
try. A cookbook about a particular ethnic food orseems to help me. People have an instinctive
some other unfamiliar category of food would beprotection against eating toxic foods. Nature has
particularly helpful. Buy one or get one from theprovided you with a mistrust for new, unfamiliar food.
library. Some ethnic categories are Middle Eastern,If the food is enough different from what you are
Southeast Asian, African, soul food, Southern, andused to, it will not be immediately liked. This is a
Mexican. Other categories are health food,necessary instinct that keeps you from poisoning
quick and easy recipes, weight loss diets, vegetarianyourself by eating the wrong mushroom, for
recipes, and using food from the garden. You mightexample. Evolution along with chemistry eliminated
even enjoy some obscure categories such as pioneerthe gulp-down-anything individuals from our gene pool.
food, early American/Native American food, wildThe little-by-little taste-developers survived.If it's the
food, early European food, food from storage, andsugar, salt and spices you depend upon to enjoy
low cost food. I particularly like quick and easyfood, other flavors will go unappreciated. To help
cookbooks.If you need help becoming comfortableyour fondness for new foods come easier, ease up
with trying new foods, try small changes:- Eaton spices, salt, and sugar. That encourages your
breakfast foods at lunch or supper.taste to appreciate a greater variety of flavors. You
Or try a vegetable at breakfast. If you normallythen can more appreciate the sweetness of cherry
have a sandwich at bedtime, have a salad instead.-tomatoes, the sweetness of raw pumpkin, and the
Try different brands from the ones you normallysweetness of sweet potatoes, for example. You can
use.- Leave out one or more ingredients from yourenjoy the mild flavor of raw chestnuts, the richness
standard recipes. Or change the proportions - a littleof nuts, and the subtle starchiness of cereal grains.
more of this or a little less of that.- Substitute aYour palate will be more adept at experiencing the
similar ingredient for a usual ingredient, for instance,pleasures of subtle flavors. A great many foods that
orange juice concentrate or lemon juice instead ofpreviously seemed mostly tasteless, can then be
vinegar on a salad.- It may help to eat smallerenjoyed for their unique flavors.Your enjoyment of
portions but include a greater number of foods atstronger tasting food will be helped by reducing sugar
each meal.and salt use. You will be switching from depending on
That may help you develop a liking for variety.- Trysaltiness and sweetness to getting pleasure from
unusual combinations such as cooked chicken and rawother flavors.Finding new foods:- Browse at a health
fruit cut in small pieces and mixed together...or pizzafood store, a farmers market or an ethnic food
sauce on a peanut butter open-face sandwich...or afestival.- Take the time to look at all the items at a
teaspoon of honey or pancake syrup on a darklocal supermarket.- Browse at local ethnic food
green, leafy salad.Salads are great to experimentmarkets: Middle Eastern or Greek, for example.- Try
with. Many vegetables can be enjoyed in a salad. Tryraw foods and whole grains.- Use native plants and
various amounts and combinations of carrot, tomato,foraged plants. Know what you are doing, there are
cabbage, broccoli, bell pepper, cucumber, or otherpoisonous plants that resemble edible ones. A few
vegetables you enjoy. Use other types of greens:plants are toxic even when eaten in small quantities.-
romaine lettuce, bibb lettuce, collards, mache and basil.Do your own cooking and gardening, if you have the
Dressing can be just oil, pesto, syrup, tomato sauce,time and space.A few unusual recipes can be found
ketchup, fruit juices,at
mayonnaise, peanut butter softened with oil, andrecipes unusual recipes.htmAlan Detwiler started the
even jam or jelly.web site Leisureideas. Visitors to the site are
Dressing can be used to soften the strong flavor ofencouraged to use imagination and whatever
raw cabbage, basil, or dark green lettuce.The subtlehappens to be available to discover new ways to
flavors of many vegetables are easily hidden withenjoy themselves.Alan writes books on how to
anything more than tiny amounts of vinegar, lemonpursue playfulness and a sense of wonder. His books
juice and tomato sauce. Try a salad without anyare available in digital format and can be purchased
dressing to enjoy the full flavor of the vegetables.and downloaded on the eBookMall web site. Go to
The vegetables can be proportioned to subdue orThen do a search for Detwiler.
enhance particular flavors - use less basil to lessen its