Is it delicious?

Yesterday, in conversation with a client, I was asked about the foods I eat often. As usual lately, my client was under the assumption that I ate terrible, bland, un-tasty foods in order to attain the ideal physique.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

My personal philosophy with food has always revolved around three things: satisfaction, flavour, and nutrition. If the food in front of me is nutritious, that's great: I'm more likely to choose it when hungry. But if that nutritous food tastes like cardboard, or doesn't make my hunger lessen, I'm not about to scarf it just beause it's healthy. There are so many amazing, tantalizing foods out there to choose from. Eating a variety of foods is a luxury that we are afforded in this amazing country, and I have always tried to appreciate that. When I cook, I add colourful peppers, succulent cuts of lean meat, and aromatic spices so that my meal becomes my feast. It doesn't matter if I'm having a salad or a stir-fry or a protein shake - you can bet on the fact that I've made it as delicious as possible (staying within nutritious boundaries, of course).

Now, eating delicious and satisfying and healthy food takes practice. It also takes some discipline. I find that if I get into the habit of eating processed and sugary foods (yes, that happens sometimes), my apprecation for the subtle flavours of my usual food decreases. How can you savour a sweet, juicy bite of an orange properly when you are used to chowing down on doughnuts and cupcakes? And how can the heady flavour of cumin and curry rubbed into chicken truly arouse your palatte if all it gets are breaded chicken burgers and fries?

I try every few months to try a food that I know is healthy. It could be quinoa (pronounced "kee-nwa") which is the next new thing in grains, or something simple that I haven't yet developed a taste for, like tuna (that one took awhile, but I'm hooked, now!). I try the food once, and give it a few days to see how I feel after I eat it. Then I try it again. Then once more for good measure. If by the third try I still don't feel jazzed about it, I don't worry about it. There are plenty of other healthy morsels to try. On the other hand, if I like it, I add it to my arsenal.

So if your protein powder tastes like chalk, you don't need to force it down. Find another that you can swallow without plugging your nose. Or better yet, eat a chicken breast, or another source of protein that appeals to you. But don't get the idea that to be fit and healthy you have to eat plain melba toast and spice-less egg whites all day.

Food is available to us to be enjoyed. So enjoy it! What delicious thing did you eat today?