Ways To Improve Your Satisfaction At Meal Times:
By Chef K.T. Murphy
Satisfaction is the key to longevity. It is the driving force behind staying in a job, maintaining a happy marriage, and enjoying your lot in life. When you’re living a healthier life, it’s easy to succumb to the burden of boredom. Your mid-week pizza is replaced with a salad. Your sweet treats are suddenly overtaken. Meal times suddenly become a bland experience consisting of unappealing components.
Although certain diet restrictions are necessary for obtaining results, the monotony of healthy eating has progressed dramatically over the years. It’s now easy to eat well and find enjoyment in your meals.
If you’re seeking fun, excitement and most importantly flavor on your health journey, have no fear! Utilize these four fantastic tips and tricks to permanently improve your meal satisfaction in no time!
1. Get Creative!
One of the best ways to brighten up your meals is to get creative with your plates! Chef Naomi Pomeroy of Beast restaurant in Portland says, “Being comfortable is the antithesis of being creative.” Sure, you’re encouraged to increase your veggie consumption, but that doesn’t mean salads are your only option. Perhaps try jazzing up your traditional take on a salad by adding fruit or quinoa.
Take a walk on the wild side by pairing opposing flavors, textures, and even colors. This will challenge you in a positive way. Channel your inner “Chopped” champion and plate like a pro. Making your food aesthetically appealing will make you more apt to want to eat it.
2. Perceive and Believe
The way we perceive a situation often times rules how we feel about it. This basic instinct helps us to determine what we like and what we don’t like. The same rings true for eating. If we perceive a certain food or meal to be unappealing, we won’t eat it. In order to optimize your satisfaction, it’s important to create meals that we actually want to consume.
This means using enhancing colors and a variety of textures and flavors. The Journal of Food Science and Technology International found that certain fruit drinks of vibrant colors actually trick our mind into believing there are tasty.
The study concluded that the deeper the color, the higher the appeal. This tip goes hand in hand with creative cooking. Try seeking foods with striking colors to add a beautiful appeal to your dishes.
3. Utilize Delicious Substitutes
We’re living in an age where virtually anything is possible. Squash can be transformed into spaghetti and cauliflower into rice. Who would have thought that substitutes are as good as the real thing! If you’re a carb lover, you don’t have to forego your guilty pleasure.
Often times, it’s the look or texture of food that makes us love it. Revolutionize your meals with an awesome Doppelganger. For example, lettuce has the same crunch factor as hard taco shells.
You can still take part in Taco Tuesdays, but replace your tortilla shells for lettuce boats. This alternative is healthy AND jam-packed with flavor! You still have the element of crunch and flavor without straying off of your meal plan.
4. Focus on the Benefits
Sure, it’s easy to divulge in that seven-layer chocolate cake of luscious perfection. It’s even easier to choose bad food over a good one. We tend to focus on the initial feeling of satisfaction we receive from eating something we love. However, when that feeling of eater’s remorse sets in, we immediately regret our decision.
When we choose to eat healthier, we ultimately feel good about ourselves. Our body is happy and so is our mind. We gain a sense of confidence in sticking to our goals. When we focus on how great we feel after eating a healthy meal, this will encourage us to do it again. We no longer suffer from burdensome guilt and we ultimately develop self-respect.
The challenge of creating colorful, unique, and appealing meals is exciting. It pushed you to think beyond what you have been conditioned to believe is delicious. The journey to satisfaction requires work. However, it is the best choice you can make for your mind, body, and soul.
All the best, Good Food makes For Better Decisions.
Chef Murph
