Friday 3 August 2012

New tastes

While I always considered I ate fairly healthy, you know, fast food once a fortnight, the odd chocolate here and there, cakes with friends at morning tea but good food for meals and at least the recommended serves of fruit/veg for the day, I hadn't counted on how DIFFERENT things would be once I started eating clean.

At first I was worried I'd feel like I was missing out....like I was denying myself all the time, I wouldn't be able to go out as much and what would I do without a regular dose of chocolate?  But when I signed up to the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, I made the commitment to follow her eating plan to the letter....which I did, although the odd freddo snuck in!

Now 9 weeks in.....I have noticed clean food TASTES more.  The strawberries are more strawberrier, the carrots are extra crunchy and sweet, tomatoes are bursting with flavour.  I had commented on how good things were tasting without the added sugars previously to my husband but recently I found out just what it was that made a difference.

I had lost that coating of fat feel in my mouth.

Go eat a burger from any one of a million restaurants serving them around the world, have a full fat milk and add fries.  Even just eat a warm buttery croissant or danish.  After you've finished, your mouth will feel like it's been painted on the inside....and it coats your tastebuds.





All you can taste is FAT.

So you look for stronger and stronger tasting food to get through this coating, and you end up with the flavour enhancers, added sugars, artificial additives or you just get used to a bland palate.

But then eating clean.....

The coating of fat is stripped away because you aren't adding any more fat 'top coats'.  Your mouth feels fresher and literally food tastes STRONGER.  You are satisfied with eating until you are just comfortable, because you aren't mentally chasing that flavour kick, you are getting that jolt of sweet, or sour, or salty from the first bite, WITHOUT adding anything harmful to it. You are ENJOYING food.

I had morning tea with a friend one day recently, and ordered a DELICIOUS looking pastry to go with ym cuppa.  But I couldn't finish it.  My mouth felt dirty and disgusting from the fattiness, and it really wasn't the same as it was 9 weeks ago.  My friend had no trouble with hers and was really happy.  But my tastes had changed....I couldn't face another one now.

 I made the bircher muesli for breakfast , from the nutrition guide.  Oats, water, natural yoghurt and grated apple.  No sugar apart from the grated apple....and 9 weeks ago I would have had to be determined to eat it.  Now, the taste of the apple was so sweet, I couldn't imagine adding anything else!

My morning coffee 9 weeks ago was full fat and 2 sugars.....now it's a splash of skim milk and no sugar....my favourite coffee was the large vanilla latte from Gloria Jeans...I had a small one a couple of weeks ago and couldn't finish it, it was too sweet and literally made me feel gluggy!!!!

I challenge you for one or two weeks....to cut out the bad fats and the sugar.  Try dropping your sugar in your tea or coffee by one teaspoon.  I am a HUGE tea drinker but now have most cuppas black....and have developed a new appreciation for the taste of the different teas.

Bring back the taste in your mouth,  not by supercharging foods unnecessarily...I promise you, your body will feel cleaner, your mouth will feel better after eating and you will have a whole new appreciation for how GREAT real food tastes!


Now real food doesn't necessarily have to be expensive organic produce.  You do the best with as fresh as you can.  Or grow your own organic food, it's not too difficult, apart from remembering to water the plants!  The taste of a home grown tomato will literally blow your head off, the crunch from home grown sugar snap peas would rival the crispiest apple.  You can grow a few carrots in a pot if space is an issue!

Find out what food tastes like....really taste.  You'll be satisifed and surprised, and wonder why you hadn't noticed it earlier.

But don't take my word for it!   Test me out! 




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