For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week dinner rituals are linked to body weight, deep frying gets a healthy makeover and the hidden value of peer pressure.

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

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For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week the nutrition of raw vs cooked veggies, the tremendous benefits of sleep for health, and how personal values motivate your food choices.

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Read the rest of this story »

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week video games reverse age-related cognitive decline, “natural” foods aren’t so natural, and fruit juice takes another hit.

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

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Photo by joe.oconnell

“I eat way too much sugar and have constant cravings for it that make me feel like I am addicted … do you have any suggestions for cutting back?”

There is still a debate over whether or not sugar is an addictive substance. From the data I’ve seen and people I’ve talked to, I’d guess it probably is.

But whatever the answer, the important question for most of us is how to kill the cravings that have us eating so much sugar in the first place.

Cravings exist in both the body and the mind, and you will have the best luck overcoming them if you address both simultaneously.

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Photo by Monster Pete

Everyone knows we should all be eating healthier, working out more and generally making better life decisions. Problem is, once you actually start doing those things, nobody wants to hear about it.

As ridiculous as it sounds, people don’t like to know when other people are taking the initiative to do things they know they should be doing themselves but haven’t had the discipline to start. If you aren’t careful about it your best efforts can earn you enemies or worse, lose you friends.

No one likes to be reminded about their own failings, so how do you maintain your healthy habits without offending the people around you who don’t appreciate your efforts?

Over the past several years I’ve used a handful of different tactics to deflect the worst intentions of naysayers. Here are the one’s I’ve found to work best.

How To Eat Healthy Without Being A Buzzkill

1. Don’t get defensive

The worst thing you can do when some criticizes you for ordering a salad is to get defensive and start preaching your nutritional superiority. I’ve seen this done, and it doesn’t end well. Whatever you do, keep an upbeat tone and maintain perspective. Not everyone understands the importance of their daily food decisions, and it’s not your job to educate them.

Instead of:

“At least I’m not going to have diabetes by the time I’m 40!”

Try:

“Actually the salad here is tasty as hell, have you tried it?”

2. Use humor

Without getting defensive, you can still jab back a bit so long as it is clear you’re being playful and joking. If someone asks why you aren’t eating from the giant Costco tub of brownie bites, cracking a joke about how it isn’t your vice of choice today can break the ice and get the attention off your healthy decision.

Instead of:

“Eeeewwwww. Haven’t you ever eaten a REAL brownie?”

Try:

“Thanks, but I’m saving my heart attack for the weekend.”

3. Creative ordering

No one will make fun of you for making healthier decisions if they don’t notice. Ordering a burger and dissecting apart the meat from the bun is certain to draw attention, but there are plenty of things you can order that won’t attract a second thought.

Instead of:

“Do your meatballs have breadcrumbs? Ok, I’ll have the spaghetti and meatballs without the sauce and without the spaghetti, and with extra meatballs. Oh, and a side of steamed broccoli please.”

Try:

“I’ll have the steak and spinach salad with a glass of your best California cab please. And can I get some blue cheese with that as well?”

4. Happy honesty

It’s hard to say bad things about someone who is clearly happy and at peace with their decisions, especially if it’s clear you aren’t being motivated by your ego.

Instead of:

“I’m choosing salad because I’d really like to lose 10 lbs this year so I don’t end up looking like you.”

Try:

“I’m just trying to eat a little healthier these days to see how it makes me feel.”

5. Harmless lies

Honesty is always the best policy, except when you’re trying to get your jerk friends off your back so you can enjoy your lunch.

Instead of:

“I’m eating a smaller lunch today so I can hit the gym later.”

Try:

“I had a really big breakfast, I’m just not that hungry.”

6. Share alike

If you know in advance you’re going to be bringing your own food, you have the advantage of having a meal that looks, smells and tastes much better than anything your friends will find at the corner sandwich shop. Show off your amazing new flavors by bringing enough of something delicious to share.

Instead of:

“Yuck, I can’t believe you’re eating that disgusting excuse for a calzone.”

Try:

“Have you tried the mandarins from the farmers market this season? They’re freaking amazing! Here, I have an extra one.”

7. Accept and nibble

Friends can be very crafty and sometimes try and force you into eating unhealthy food by offering it to you point blank. Cheap office birthday cakes are particularly offensive. Politely turning down the objectionable substance is one strategy, but can easily backfire. Just gratefully accept the food and pretend to eat it.

Instead of:

“Just a small piece for me please.”

Try:

“Mmm…thanks.”

Take one bite, then keep smiling and continue the conversation while leaving the food nonchalantly on the table. When everyone else if finishing up, subtly drop it in the trash without making a fuss (trust me, nothing is going to waste). By that time, no one will care what you’re doing. If someone does say something, just blame it on how big the piece was.

8. Don’t offer unsolicited advice

No matter how tempting it is, don’t be the reverse jerk. Only offer nutrition advice to friends if they explicitly ask you for it, otherwise keep your trap shut. The best thing you can do to help your friends is show them what good healthy food looks and tastes like by setting a good example, then let them watch for themselves as you lose weight and get in shape.

Instead of:

“You know, that Lean Cuisine isn’t going to help you get rid of those thunder thighs.”

Try:

“Wow, I have lost weight! Thanks for noticing! Yeah, I’ve been reading this site called Summer Tomato. It’s great, you should check it out.”

How do you deal with friends who don’t want you to eat healthy?

Originally published January 26, 2011.

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week the importance of small amounts of exercise, new problems with fructose and why you shouldn’t eat at the wrong time of day.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Links of the week

• Good and Bad, the Little Things Add Up in Fitness <<We often think we need to make a special effort to get enough exercise, when in fact the little things we do add up and are often more important. (New York Times)
• Study: Midnight Snacks Mess Us Up on a Molecular Level <<Eating affects your circadian rhythms, and doing it at the wrong times can have negative consequences. Eat meals at consistent times and in daylight whenever possible. (The Atlantic)
• Let’s Ask Marion: Can It Really Be Healthier To Be Overweight? <<This is a great illustration of why we should avoid the temptation to oversimplify the health science that appears in the news. (Food Politics)
• Fructose Has Different Effect Than Glucose On Brain Regions That Regulate Appetite <<New data suggesting that added sugar is worse for weight control than other forms of carbohydrate. (ScienceDaily)
• CARBOHYDRATES: BAD FOR THE AGING BRAIN <<Keep in mind that body weight isn’t the only reason it’s important to eat healthy. (Dr. Weil)
• Do the Brain Benefits of Exercise Last? <<Exercise is also important for brain health, and new research (though still not peer-reviewed) suggests you need to keep it up to maintain the benefits. Big shock, right? (New York Times)
• Are You Eating These Important Supplemental Foods? <<Though this is very similar to my underrated health foods post, but it’s a great reminder and there’s a few additional ones in here worth noting. (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• How to Learn to Love Healthy Food (Even If You’re a Picky Eater) <<Fantastic advice. I agree with almost all of it. (Lifehacker)
• Exercise in Short Bursts Is Effective <<A nice reminder that for exercise, it really doesn’t take much. (Wall Street Journal)
• Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad Recipe <<This looks so darn good. Moroccan food is my favorite. (101 Cookbooks)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

A trifecta of exercise benefits, the secrets to maintaining weight loss & new benefits of language learning.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Links of the week

• Exercise May Protect Against Brain Shrinkage <<Some new data suggesting that physical exercise is more important than mental exercise in maintaining brain volume with age. (New York Times)
• Exercise Boosts Satisfaction With Life, Researchers Find <<In my experience this is entirely true. Few things improve how I feel on any given day more than getting in my workout. This data adds that exercising for a few extra minutes could help even more. (ScienceDaily)
• Exercise Makes Middle-Aged People Smarter <<Regular interval and strength training not only improved health and enhanced weight loss, it also improved performance on cognitive tests. Seriously, exercise is good for you. (ScienceDaily)
• Fish, But Not Fish Oil Supplements, May Shield Against Stroke <<They don’t know why, but it seems fish is more effective than fish oil supplements in preventing stroke. (Medline)
• Low levels of vitamin D in blood double risk of bladder cancer <<More good news for maintaining adequate vitamin D levels. (LA Times)
• 9 Ways You Might Be Inadvertently Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Efforts <<If you’re one of those people that thinks you’re doing everything right but still can’t seem to lose those last few pounds, check out these tips. (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• Mastering Weight-Maintenance Skills Before Embarking On Diet Helps Women Avoid Backsliding <<I’m a big fan of this. What’s the point of losing weight if you can’t keep it off down the stretch? (ScienceDaily)
• Speed-Learning a New Language May Help Brain Grow: Study <<Tim Ferriss suggests in his book The 4-Hour Work Week that language learning (which he prefers to do rapidly) is uniquely beneficial for enhancing life. Here’s some evidence that he may be right. (Medline)
• Andrew Weil’s new cookbook aims for ‘True Food’ that’s easy, tasty <<I’ve had the pleasure of dining with Dr. Weil at his home and at his restaurants, and his food never ceases to impress. His latest cookbook (which I also have), True Food, let’s you bring these healthy, delicious recipes into your home. (LA Times)
• Fuji Apple and Baby Kale Kimchi Salad + A Ramble Through the Woods <<I’m a bit of a kimchi fanatic, and turning it into a salad dressing for this beautiful autumn salad sounds divine. (Tartine and Apron Strings)

What inspired you this week?

Roasted Beets With Fresh Mint and Chevre (click for recipe)

Chances are there are foods you love now that you hated as a kid. But how many foods do you still avoid just because you think you don’t like them?

Young palates struggle with things like mustard, onions and asparagus, and instead prefer more bland, less intense flavors. But as adults we sometimes cling to these preferences without ever stopping to question the value or meaning of our opinions.

But in reality, what joy is there in being a picky eater?

While it’s true that taste is subjective, I’ve never heard a convincing argument that it’s better to dislike a food than to like one. It is certainly more fun to like things, and it is often far more convenient. Just try getting a serious chef to make a signature dish without onions. It isn’t easy.

But is it possible to learn to like a food if you don’t like the taste?

It turns out that most of the time we decide what we like before we bother to experience it, and this prejudice clouds our perception of what we actually encounter. This effect of perception bias has been demonstrated repeatedly in psychology experiments where food color and taste have been manipulated. To see this for yourself, use food coloring to alter the appearance of several bowls of lemon Jell-O and have your friends guess what flavors they are tasting. Very few will say they taste lemon unless the color is still yellow.

The psychology of taste is further complicated by our natural aversion to things that are new or different from what we are expecting. Foods with unique textures such as mushrooms and okra often fall victim to this bias. In these cases the unfamiliarity and strangeness of the texture makes us slightly uncomfortable, and we interpret this feeling as a personal dislike. However, this reaction reflects the food’s uniqueness rather than its true character.

Our tendency to dislike and often hate things that extend beyond our perceptual comfort zones is explored in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. He argues that we make snap judgments about everything we encounter based on prior experience. And while this ability can sometimes help us make wise decisions, it can also explain why pilot testing can’t predict the success of new concept T.V. shows like Seinfeld.

In other words, sometimes our first impressions are wrong.

Knowing about this bias can help you overcome aversions to foods you think you don’t like, and even learn to love them. The first step is deciding that there is value in enjoying a food you currently do not enjoy. I’m not saying you should develop an appreciation for frozen pasta, but most fresh, natural whole foods are worth rediscovering for both taste and culture.

The second step is dedicating yourself to keep trying the rejected food until you find it prepared in a way you like. This is not as bad as it sounds, since there is a good chance that the reason you do not like a food in the first place is because what you were served as a child was either canned, frozen or of industrial (low) quality. Since peaches and plums taste completely different when you get them at the farmers market, doesn’t it stand to reason that the same is true for green beans, broccoli and beets? Also, with each venture your taste will become more acclimated to the flavor and your aversion will dissipate.

Fine dining represents another great opportunity to explore foods you haven’t enjoyed in the past. I was finally won over on brussels sprouts after a spectacular meal in San Francisco, and now consider them one of my favorite autumn ingredients.

Even if a certain food doesn’t end up on your favorites list, learning to at least enjoy it in a casual way will enrich your life and help you develop an appreciation for new and unique experiences. The Chinese culture pays particular reverence to textures in food, and this attitude allows them to enjoy a far more diverse and interesting range of ingredients than any Western culture.

The key word here is “enjoy.” Eating vegetables is undeniably healthy, but the best reason to eat broccoli is that you absolutely love it.

What foods do you hate? Are you ready to get over it?

Originally published October 5, 2009.

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Most of the food news this week focused on the controversy over organic versus conventional agriculture, and I’m already tired of it. I normally post 10 links on Friday, but today I could only find seven additional good stories, so I didn’t waste your time by posting three more lame ones. It was a short week anyway, so consider this a holiday.

That said, all these are definitely worth reading. Learn why you should be scared of chicken breasts, romantic dinner settings can help you eat less, healthy eating helps your brain and more.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Links of the week

• Farm Use of Antibiotics Defies Scrutiny <<Are you worried about antibiotic resistance caused by the production of industrial meat? Because you certainly should be. Share this far and wide. (New York Times)
• Setting the Mood for Smaller Meals <<It seems that even at a fast food joint my tricks to eat slower and more mindfully can also help you eat less without noticing. And guess what, you can do all these things at home. (New York Times)
• Even in Normal Range, High Blood Sugar Linked to Brain Shrinkage <<Worried about dementia? Better watch your blood sugar. (ScienceDaily)
• Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome Associated With Impaired Brain Function in Adolescents <<Oh and btw, even teenagers have impaired cognition as a result of poor blood sugar control. (ScienceDaily)
• Keeping Up a Healthy Lifestyle Pays Off in Added Years: Study <<This study claims healthy living adds another 5.5 years to your life on average. I’ve seen other studies report as many as 14 years. All you’ve got to do is eat delicious food, avoid cigarettes and move your body a bit. Any takers? (Medline)
• The Benefits of Middle-Age Fitness <<Fitness doesn’t just extend the length of your life, it also improves the quality (by more than a decade). (New York Times)
• Stir Fried Japanese Eggplant with Ginger and Miso <<Eggplant is in season, and Asian preparations are my favorite. Yum yum. (Simply Recipes)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week superweeds threaten the US food supply, McDonald’s says soda is a fruit and vitamins that cause cancer.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato, Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).

Links of the week

• GM crops in crisis: Roundup-resistant “superweeds” <<Just in case you were wondering if high-tech Monsanto farms work better than real farms, the answer is no. And we may all suffer for it. (Food Politics)
• Nuts and Phytic Acid: Should You Be Concerned? <<I’ve always thought the Paleo crowd takes their hating on phytic acid a little too far, but this is a fairly balanced article with lots of good info (read to the bottom). (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• McDonald’s Helping Kids Get Their “5 A Day” With Fruit Soda? <<This is almost too ridiculous to print. Thanks Yoni for calling BS of the week on McDonald’s for claiming fruit soda counts as a serving of fruit and vegetables. (Weighty Matters)
• Infographic: The later it gets, the more crap we eat <<This is interesting, and possibly gives us another reason to make sure we eat a healthy breakfast. (Grist)
• High Doses of Certain Dietary Supplements Increase Cancer Risk <<This isn’t really a study so much as a commentary, but it’s definitely food for thought (and another good reason to not take mega doses of vitamins or anything else). (ScienceDaily)
• Remedy for Sedentary Desk Jobs <<Sitting all day is one of the least healthy things you can do. Here’s a simple solution. (Dr. Weil)
• Cows cause as much smog in L.A. as cars do <<If you’ve ever driven down the 5 freeway with your windows down north of LA, this will  not surprise you. It also makes you never want to eat industrial meat again. (Grist)
• New Study: Sugar Sabotages Learning and Memory <<So sugar is bad for everything except your brain, right? Oh wait… (Treehugger)
• Fish tied to lower colon cancer risk: study <<More evidence of the benefits of eating fish. This time it’s fighting butt cancer. (Medline)
• Blanched Broccoli Rabe Greens with Soy-Dashi Sauce <<I love recipes that are this simple, healthy and awesome. Trying this next week. (Not Eating Out in NY)

What inspired you this week?