The easiest way to eat MORE fruit & veg...
I’m sure you know you should be eating fruit & vegetables quite frequently, day to day, due to their health & wellbeing-promoting benefits, but what if you don’t like them?
When most clients come to me they always say that they dislike fruits & vegetables but, know they should probably eat more of them.
They also often say that they CAN eat them, just that they don’t particularly enjoy them. Or even that they stick to the same 3, year round…
This is an anecdotal experience (that does actually have SOME data backing it) but all of my clients end up eating a lot of fruit & vegetables, quite frequently…
Whilst/after working with me!
Is it due to the magical coaching course I offer that you need to buy? No. It’s due to two very simple principles that I apply - exposure & enjoyment.
Exposure.
There’s clear data showing that human’s have acquired tastebuds & exposure can help us like certain food’s - even ones we really dislike.
So eating more of the food’s you don’t particularly like can help you like them more & i’ve experienced this first hand, so I can tell you it’s very true.
Being Polish & coming from the countryside i’ve always eaten a lot of fruit & vegetables growing up. Mum would always make Rosół (a type of meat & vegetable broth based soup) & my Dad would always encourage me to finish my Sałatka (salad).
Even though I vividly remember not particularly liking fruit & vegetables a lot at an early age, as time went on & I was exposed to more & more of these food’s, I did begin liking them more & now in my 20s, I love fruit & vegetables, with a passion.
But I didn't like ALL fruit & vegetables. I hated Olives. Hate’s a strong word & it’s true, I wouldn't go near them. But the more I saw my Mum including them into her salad’s the more curious I got & one day, I decided I’ll start having them in small amounts!
That was about a year ago & today, I can honestly say I like Olives. I don’t love them. But I like them enough to put some on my plate when they’re an option at a buffet. So that goes to show, your tastebuds can & will change over time, but it starts with the mind.
Enjoyment.
I touched on exposure first, as I’d say it’s the first thing that should be considered/focused on when trying to include more of a certain food to your diet.
But you can’t necessarily do that, or have an easy time trying to do that, if you don’t try & do so in an enjoyable way. For example, if I was to say I didn’t like Bananas…
But then tried serving them in a chilli con carne with some minced beef, it wouldn’t work really well would it? I’d probably dislike them even more.
Now that’s an extreme example, but it’s to say, that you should try to make your meals, with fruit or vegetables, more enjoyable, vibrant & exciting.
When I started including Olives into my diet, I didn’t just eat bowls of plain Olives…
I started by adding a couple to my Salad’s & with time I started really valuing the bitter flavour profile they provided - I thought it worked really well to give the salad some heart.
So, if you don’t particularly enjoy fruit or vegetables, put some actual effort into making them more enjoyable by how you prepare them.
Don’t like carrots?
Try grating them & serving them in a chicken wrap.
Don’t like cucumbers?
Try grating them & making a Tzatziki, then serving it with some fried chicken & wedges.
Don’t like berries?
Try serving them in a small quantity along with other toppings in your yogurt or oat bowls.
Expose yourself to any food that you don’t like, more often, whilst trying to make it enjoyable & watch what can happen in the space of 1-6 months & don’t take my word for it, actually TRY it!
Good luck!
Need help including more fruit & vegetables to your diet but don’t know where to start or the best way to do so for your goals? Enquire to work with me by clicking the link below!
Alternatively head to www.trainedbydave.com
See you in the next one ;)