Changing Tastes

I was standing at the counter the other day scooping out a tablespoon of garden flavored Hummus and I started thinking about the way I eat now compared to how I used to eat and a pretty cool thing occurred to me: I am thankful that my taste buds have evolved to love the variety of foods that they so desire today. 

It wasn’t always like this. I coveted fried foods and anything made from potatoes. In fact, my number one comfort food was mashed potatoes with lots of butter. This may have something with my everlasting string of confirmed strep throat when I was growing up until I had my tonsils out when I was 17 years old. I was consistently sick with laryngitis to the point where I didn’t even have to get it checked anymore; my mother just had to ask for the prescription. Mashed potatoes were warm, soft and didn’t hurt my throat as they went down. They soon became a staple in my diet as I grew up. I only liked white bread, couldn’t stand the texture of wheat pasta, and had never even heard of my now beloved quinoa. I was resistant to green vegetables and only ate them because I had to. I doused my food with salt and could never have enough butter. I had a major addiction to soda and could not stand drinking water. As strange as it sounds to me now, I didn’t like the taste of it.

One of the best things I ever did for myself was letting go of Soda and eliminating it from my diet completely. I will honestly tell you that I was addicted to it. Meaning, I actually had withdrawal symptoms for a couple weeks after I stopped drinking it. I got headaches, was dizzy and my Blood sugar started dropping which actually unmasked a problem I didn’t have any idea I had. After about 3 weeks, it wasn’t so bad. I stopped craving the evil carbonated beverage as much and eventually stopped wanting it all together. It took a little while though. That was 10 months ago. I decided it was best to go cold turkey when I eliminated soda from my diet. I guess I just thought that if I knew that it wasn’t good for me, why only slowly get it out of my system? Now, whenever I have to drink it, it makes my stomach upset.  Soda doesn’t have any nutritional value, so I don’t need it. Now, I drink water by the nalgene bottle, love hot tea in the evening, and iced green tea any time I can get my hands on it.  

My tastes have certainly changed since I was a kid eating chicken fingers, French fries, Mac and cheese or hot dogs. I now crave things like hummus and carrots, kale chips, lentils and salmon. I couldn’t stand sundried tomatoes, wouldn’t even look at a green pepper and the thought of peas made me gag. I hated broccoli, tofu looked like it came from another planet and I was convinced that Brussels sprouts were only invented to punish naughty children. I hated the sight, smell and taste of oatmeal but I’ve since learned of its benefits and the many different ways to make it edible and actually enjoy it. I ran every time I saw my mom open a can of chickpeas and now I eat hummus on a daily basis: with veggies, on sandwiches, in chicken and tuna salad; I love it. I never thought I would love eating roasted cauliflower or kale with a little olive oil and sea salt better than I would eating salt and vinegar chips. Now I reach for half a sweet potato instead of white potatoes, brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice, whole grain instead of white bread and wheat instead of white pasta. In fact, I prefer all of those things to the way I used to eat. My refrigerator is stocked full of veggies from every color of the rainbow; my pantry holds whole grains and a plethora of spices instead of sweet cereals full of refined sugar and ramen noodles.  I grab a piece of fruit or dark chocolate instead of Swedish fish or toffee to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Now, that’s not to say you’ll ever catch me eating Lima Bean soup. Ever. Never. But I’m very glad my tastes have evolved and I now love the beautiful array of foods that fulfill my stomach needs and those if my soul.

Fondly,

Betsey