Healthy Eating - 8 Easy & Effective Ways to Change Your Junk Food Tastes

 Years ago, before I began my journey into mastering weight loss with myself and my clients,Visit Here http://bbc-food-network.blogspot.com

 I didn't know a lot about healthy cooking and didn't like many vegetables that weren't starches. Prepared/boxed/frozen/canned foods, and fast foods were my staples. Forget about salads--didn't have them growing up and didn't like them! And I had the body to show it--size 13 and nearly 160 pounds.

If this sounds like you and you think you can't change, or you're not sure how to even try, take heart. I did it, and so can you. Here are my success strategies, along with some of my favorite resources for recipes.

My uncle/aunt and cousins on my mom's side of the family were always been very active, fit, and ate well (lots of veggies & fruits, not a lot of sugar). I used to envy how great they looked and wondered how they could like vegetables and salads so much. I certainly didn't get that "gene."

I always felt like I was on the fat, unhealthy side of the Lister family (my mom has struggled with her weight most of her life) and blamed my "bad genes." It wasn't until I started working for a hypnosis center 9 years ago that I learned about healthy eating, ways to prepare--and enjoy--healthy food, and started my new career as a health and weight loss coach (losing and keeping off 25 lbs. in the process) and stopped blaming my DNA.

HOW I LEARNED TO EAT HEALTHY--AND YOU CAN TOO

One of the things my clients seem to struggle with is finding healthy recipes that they like (and don't take hours to prepare).

I can empathize, because I used to have that same struggle. Not only did I not LIKE the taste of many foods, I worked about 60 hours a week and didn't like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen after a long day. I also usually grabbed lunch and ate at my desk. The pizza place one block away was my typical venue (carbs and fries the preferred fare).

When I began my quest for health, I had to learn new eating habits and incorporate once-rejected foods into my diet. This obviously did not happen overnight and was not without much trial-and-error. The same is going to be true for you, though you can speed up that process by using the 8 easy and effective strategies below to change your taste buds.

Find healthy alternatives to some of your favorite foods; sometimes that means just changing out one or two ingredients (like replacing butter with olive oil; sugar with honey, stevia, or xylitol; sour cream with plain yogurt). Other times there are completely different ways to revamp an old recipe, like replacing highly fattening cheesecake with tofu cheesecake (trust me, it tastes much much better than it sounds and I've fooled a lot of people with my tofu chocolate cheesecake recipe).
Find new ways to cook fresh foods that are less fattening or nutrient-robbing. After making the transition from canned veggies to fresh or frozen, I had to learn to steam vegetables instead of boil them. I got a steamer for Christmas about 8 years ago and wouldn't be without one now (it also makes great long-cook rice, too).
Learn to season food with natural and low-fat/low-cal. options like herbs (fresh or dried), garlic, olive oil (remember, only cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and unrefined nut/seed oils), curry, vinegar & reductions, etc. You can find lots of resources in specialty cookbooks or online. Look for things like "cooking with herbs" or "healthy seasoning."
Train your taste buds by having small amounts of some of those less desirable, but not repulsive, foods that you want to be able to enjoy (for me, it was things like broccoli, fresh green beans, tomatoes, lettuces, and fish that didn't come in a breaded stick or fried). Your taste buds WILL get used to them over time (especially if you find some great seasonings). Now I actually LIKE (vs. tolerate) these foods. If I--one of the pickiest eaters of all time--can do it, so can you (though I'm not sure I'll ever get past the mushroom phobia).
Mix less-liked foods in with things you DO like, so you don't notice the taste as much. Also be willing to try something new once in a while, especially if it's inexpensive and you can mix it with other foods you like. This is how I learned to like broccoli, tomatoes, quinoa, brown rice, lettuce, and many other foods.
Try new foods when you're eating out at a restaurant (have a taste of something someone else at your table ordered) or at someone's house. If you like it, ask for the recipe (harder to get a recipe at a restaurant, but not impossible). The first time I tried a ceasar salad I absolutely loved it! It's still my favorite (lower-fat dressing versions).
Try using hypnosis and/or NLP to help change your submodalites and mental attitude about food. I have experienced it and so have my clients. You can find books or hypnosis CDs that focus on this, or you can work with a professional trained in these techniques.
Experiment with healthy recipes that have ingredients you already like (or at least tolerate). Here are some good resources to get you started:Visit Here http://bbc-food-network.blogspot.com

Visit Here http://bbc-food-network.blogspot.com