10 Healthy Foods I’ve Added To My Diet & 10 I Havent

Hi Friends!  Today I thought I’d piggy back off yesterday’s How To Eat Real Food Post with 10 healthy foods I’ve added to my diet (all real foods) and 10 I haven’t.

So I just want to take a moment to express how much I love what I do for a living, I get to teach my my clients about food and help them cultivate a positive relationship with it.  Often the first thing someone wants to change is what they are eating, which is fine because we can work on develop intuitive eating skills in the mean time.  However, this is the part most people are the most nervous about, they are worried because they don’t think they really like healthy foods.

I feel like I get this, I mean I REALLY get this.  I didn’t grow up craving or really eating overwhelmingly healthy foods, in fact, to this day my taste buds and cravings are constantly changing.  One of the pivotal moments in my life when I realized my taste buds had changed was when I went to a dinner date with my college roomie (yes I know I’ve told this story before, a million times) and we decided to split an arugula pizza.  Yes, still pizza.  However, she was shocked I would consider eating something with a vegetable on it, before that the closest I’d ever let our meals get to healthy was spinach dip.  She reminded me of her lean cuisines stacked next to my tostistos nacho cheese and tortilla chips.  Oh ya, that happened.

For the most part I think my taste buds have evolved because I just kept trying things in search of energizing filling foods.  So I thought it would be fun to list some of the foods I’ve changed my mind on and some that I still don’t like!

Healthy Foods I Used To Hate

1. Avocado/Guacamole – 

   my grandmother used to eat a half an avocado every day, she loved them.  I thought they were slimy and disgusting, I eased my way into liking them with spicy guacamole.  Then, I started using them to replace mayo in recipes (you couldn’t really taste it_, then I added a little bit of salt.  Avocado with a sprinkle of salt is just about the most delicious thing I can think of, unless you smear it on a piece of hearty whole grain toast.  yuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmm

2. Oatmeal-

   

   I actually remember the moment oatmeal turned around for me.  In grad school, the California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics had an event (I don’t remember what for) and they had a breakfast oatmeal bar.  On said bar they had the option to put almond butter or peanut butter in your oatmeal, game. changer.  I just kept telling my friends how awesome it was and how I was going to start using oatmeal for something other than my grandma’s no bake cookie recipe.

3. Peanut Butter-

   For a long time I only liked almond or sun butter, I was actually introduced to sun butter by friend because she knew I hated peanut butter. My official story is that when I was a kid I climbed up to the top shelf and ate like an entire bag of Safeway Select peanut butter cups and got sick.  Peanut butter first came back in my life with Earth Balance Coconut Peanut Butter then all of a sudden I started liking it again and now I can’t get enough!

4. Yogurt –

   Greek Yogurt was the game changer, the consistency of regular yogurt is too thin for me.  Even better was when I ditched the fruit at the bottom stuff and went for blended, fruit at the bottom always kind of grossed me out.  I really don’t know why, I love fruit!

5. Cottage Cheese-

   

   I remembered not liking it as a kid or as an adult.  Then one of my clients mentioned tabasco sauce on it, that didn’t appeal to me, but chula sauce did.  Cottage cheese plus chula sauce = amazing.  Then I got adventurous and started adding blueberries and honey another winning combination.

6. Dark Chocolate-

   IDK, I just like it now.

7. Cooked carrots –

   Until recently when Mr. Hungry has been asking for big batches of them for lunch I realized they aren’t that bad!

8. Sweet Potatoes –

   Again, no idea, but I remember not liking them when I was little.

9. Eggplant-

   learn to grill them, it is a game changer.

   

10. Tea

    Even though I still don’t love early grey tea, I like many other kinds of tea!  If we are friends on insta you know I’ve been stocking up on all the holiday flavored tea sales!

    

Healthy Foods I Still Don’t Like

I don’t have pictures of these because I don’t really eat them!

1. Raw Spinach Salads

   throw it in smoothies, sauté it, whatever you want but I’d prefer not to eat a raw spinach salad.  Not to say I haven’t in the name of health and good toppings, like bacon, but I don’t prefer it.

2. Raw Kale

   must be sautéed or juiced, I don’t like it raw or in my smoothies.

3. Yellow Squash –

   just no.  Any other squash yes, yellow squash, no.

4. Mushrooms-

   So many immune boosting properties but nope, sorry, nope. 

5. Beans and lentils

   As a dietitian, this is the one I probably feel the MOST guilty about.  I tried so hard in grad school and beyond, but with the exception of refried beans and hummus, they just aren’t my thing.  I try to eat them feeling all good about myself, then I get grossed out like four bites in.

6. Beets

   I can drink them in juice but I don’t like beet salads or when beets are added to things!

7. Kalamata Olives

   I like black olives, always have, but these one’s just don’t leave me wanting more
    

   8.  Plain Milk-

   I can not just drink a glass of milk, no matter how hard I try.  I like nut milks, could drink those by the carton, but plain milk doesn’t really do it for me.

   9.  Radishes

   Too bitter for me.

   10.  Cilantro

   I usually skip it when I see it in recipes, Mr. Hungry doesn’t really like it either!  Sometimes I can go for it but the most part I avoid it.

Final Thoughts

Like I said, my taste buds are always changing so who knows maybe some day I’ll grow to love the last 10 foods, but for now I’ll keep enjoying all the new healthy energizing foods I’ve added.

PSSST Don’t forget to enter yesterday’s awesome giveaway!

YOUR TURN!  What foods have you changed your mind on and what has stuck with you???