To learn to eat everything and change eating habits, the most important thing is not to give up and know that it takes some time for your taste buds to change and accept new foods such as chayote, pumpkin, jiló and broccoli, for example.
It is essential to learn to vary your diet and try new flavors, as even seemingly bad foods like jello and broccoli are rich in nutrients that contribute to the proper functioning of the body.
These tips can be used by adults, but they also work very well with children, to encourage a healthier and more varied diet:
1. Persist, don’t give up
To be able to like a food, it may be necessary to persist at least 10 to 15 times, so that the palate gets used to it and loses its aversion to the food. Even if a person doesn’t like the food the first time they try it, they don’t need to exclude that food from their diet. It is recommended to try it again after a few days.
2. Vary recipes
Another tip is to vary the way you prepare food, changing the flavor and combinations with seasonings and other accompaniments on the dish, as this means there are more chances of getting it right and pleasing your palate. For example, if the person didn’t like cooked chayote, they could try adding little pieces of chayote when making pot meat, for example. If you didn’t like raw beetroot in your salad, you can try eating cold, cooked beetroot in your salad or cooking it alongside the beans.
3. Start with small amounts
To try new foods or try to like something you normally dislike, you should start by trying to eat in small quantities. Putting a spoonful of beetroot or broccoli on your plate is enough for the first few days of trying, as insisting on large quantities can further increase rejection. Another good tip is to add a small piece of the vegetable and blend it in a blender with orange juice, for example. Then just strain and drink afterwards.
4. Mix with foods you like
Mixing a bad food with a good one is a great tip for learning to like the new flavor. Tasty food will help modify the flavor of the preparation, increasing the acceptance of bad food. For example, if someone doesn’t like cooked eggplant because they find the consistency strange, they can try putting some slices of eggplant inside a lasagna.
5. Make beautiful dishes
Preparing food with a good appearance stimulates the desire and desire to eat. A tip to improve the appearance of dishes is to prepare colorful foods, with detailed shapes and add sauces to increase appetite.
For example, if it’s difficult to like salads, you can try preparing a dish with lettuce, tomato, onion, arugula and then adding pieces of fruit that the person likes, watering with a sauce of your choice. Little by little, it is recommended to reduce the amount of sauce to reduce the calories in the dish and to get used to the taste of the vegetables.
6. Add aromatic herbs
In addition to looking good, it is important to try to make preparations with a good aroma, adding herbs and spices that increase appetite, such as lemon, ginger, curry, parsley, chives or coriander. The ideal is to have these herbs at home, to harvest right away, as the aroma will be even better. However, if the person smells very strong while cooking, they should try to reduce the amount they are using, as what matters is the end result.
See the benefits of aromatic herbs and how to grow them.
7. Avoid excess sweet and fatty foods
Sweet and fatty foods are easy to like and addictive to the palate, causing new flavors to be rejected. Therefore, you should avoid consuming soft drinks, fast food and sweets so that the palate learns to like foods with less intense flavors.
It’s easy to get a child to like cookies and chips and it may seem difficult to get them to eat fruits and vegetables. However, all of these tips can be used to help children eat healthier and more nutritiously, adapting their taste buds.
However, if even after persisting for a long time, the food continues to be refused and causes discomfort during the meal, you can invest in other healthy foods that are also nutritious, as the secret to healthy eating is variety, and not just in one or another product.
Watch the video below and see tips for getting children and adults to eat what they don’t like and have a varied diet.
