Having a tough time loving the food that your brand new healthy diet comprises of? Let’s help you fall in love your healthy food so you that can stay fit and live longer!

Did you know that the secret to eating healthy food is to make full use of all your senses? Actually, it’s all about perception – if the colour and flavour of the food is manipulated, you can trick your brain to like the food!

Here are a few tips on how you can trick your brain to fall in love with almost all foods:

Gain knowledge

Read up on why cabbage is so important for your health. Cabbages are packed with antioxidants which help protect against breast and colon cancer and also reduces the bad cholesterol in the blood. This may give you an incentive to keep trying to eat these veggies.

Trick your taste buds

If you are planning to avoid salt try vinegar instead. Do you know how we perceive the salt and sour tastes? It is through the pores in our tongue. So, if you use a little extra vinegar in your food in place of salt, though it might taste the same, your tongue will get the same pleasure that the salt gives you!

Give yourself an incentive

When you plan to eat something that you almost loathe, make yourself a deal – pair it with something that you love. Like for example – if you just don’t like eating plain yogurt, add a teaspoon of honey in it, or if you detest bitter-gourd, give yourself a treat at the end of the meal, a piece of chocolate. The anticipation of an incentive at the end of the meal will get you through the ordeal of eating bitter-gourd. And if like your meat more than the veggies, stir fry a few vegetables and have it along with your chicken/lamb/fish. This way you will get the best of both worlds!

Make it colourful

Here is an interesting fact – food experts believe that the flavour of your food will increase if your serve them on colourful plates! Apparently, if there is a high colour contrast between the food and the plate, the food looks more appealing, appetizing and tricks your brain into believing that it is delicious. So, if you have picky eaters, kids or adults – you know what to do – serve bright coloured fruits and vegetables on white plates which will enhance their flavour perception!

Try different versions

If you don’t like the idea of chewing on raw vegetables, try grilling or roasting them. Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, if roasted, taste much better than steamed. Serving with a yogurt dip will make it taste all the more better. Similarly, if you do not like sautéed spinach, just chop and mix raw spinach in a bowl of low fat curd, add a pinch of salt, a dash of lemon juice and some chopped green chillies (if you like it spicy) and have it along with your meal.

Sometimes, it could be just that you don’t like the way it has been cooked or presented. So, just play around the preparation methods and you may end up loving the foods that you always thought you detested!

BDST: 1145 HRS, FEB-16, 2014