How to Get Yourself to Love Healthy Food (or at least like it)

The list is endless, Brussels sprouts and bean sprouts; cauliflower and quinoa flour; chia seeds and chickweed; sardines and pinto beans…the list of healthy foods I don’t like is endless, while the same can be said for the list of unhealthy foods I DO like. Damn you sugar, salt, fat and carbs. Why don’t donuts contain antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D? Ah, one of life’s many mysteries. But there’s gotta be a way to get me to love broccoli just as much as I love Nutella, right? Well, maybe not put the two in the same level of desirability, but at least add broccoli to my list of likeable foods even if it’s at the bottom.

I’m sure you have your list of healthy foods you enjoy more than, say, eating burnt hair. Foods that you know you should eat more of, but just can’t get there. While the following tips might not get you to “love” those foods, they can get you to like them enough to eat them on a more regular basis. Let’s get started…

• Change how healthy foods are prepared. When I was growing up, my mother simply steamed my least favorite food of all time, Brussel sprouts, served them up and I gagged them down. Then, as an adult, I went to a restaurant and my wife ordered roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic. I tried them and I’ve loved, yes, loved them ever since. Do the same thing with some of your least favorite healthy foods, find a new recipe on-line or try them when you see them on a restaurant’s menu. A new prep method can make all the difference in the world.
• Experiment with new-to-you healthy foods. Come on, there must be some healthy foods out there that you haven’t tried yet like kiwi fruit, quinoa, harissa, goat cheese, ghee, oysters, or rhubarb to name a few. Go on a healthy food expedition and try as many as possible, prepared different ways, of course, and you just might surprise yourself with what you find palatable. Remember to add healthy foods you enjoy rather than subtract ones you do not.
• Purge the house of unhealthy foods and replace them with acceptable healthy versions. And DON’T backslide…sorry for yelling. Lose the chips and replace them with finger fruits like blueberries, grapes or raspberries. Nuts also work, just remember that aside from being highly nutritious, they’re also high in calories. My wife is always amazed when I get upset when she comes home with baked goods from the grocery store. While I love her for thinking of me, I also know if unhealthy food is in the house, I’m gonna eat it!
• Grow your own. This might be a bit of a bad comparison, but I’m gonna make it anyway. When I was in college, I first experimented with a certain herb that is currently being decriminalized across the country. For my first few years, I relied upon a certain “provider” (“dealer” has negative connotations), and while I liked his product well enough, when I began growing my own, that made all the difference in the world. I was proud of my abilities and enjoyed “my” product so much more than when I purchased it from another. I’ve found the same to be true of growing my own fruits and vegetables. After mucking around in the garden all spring and half the summer, I found myself truly enjoying what I previously disliked, such as zucchini, spaghetti squash and broccoli. For the first time, I picked a fresh tomato, ate it like an apple and was amazed at how delicious it tasted. Growing your own goes a long way towards lessening your dislike of what you just worked so hard to produce.

Now, while these tips might not make you “love” certain healthy foods, they can make you hate them less, to the point where you eat them on a regular basis. And isn’t that the goal?