Suck It Up And Eat It

Did your parents make you eat your veggies before you had dessert? Did they make you try food you didn’t like. I remember HATING squash and it was my mom’s favorite. Guess what, I had to eat it too. She didn’t make me eat a ton of it, but she did always want me to at least have a few bites. I’m so thankful she made me try these things because it taught me to “suck it up and eat it” – which is something I still have to apply as a grown adult. And, guess what? Eventually, I started liking the same foods I used to not like.

When we grow up, we think we should be able to eat whatever we want to eat. But, it doesn’t take long before we realize that has serious repercussions. Over time, we realize we need to eat what is good for us – whether we like it or not.

For example, I don’t like eggs. With that said, I eat them anyway because they are good for me. Today, I added sautéed onions, fresh diced tomato, hot sauce and light sour cream to make them a little more enjoyable. My point for sharing this is not to give you an egg recipe but to encourage you that we don’t have to like every meal we eat. We don’t have to hate food either, but sometimes we need to eat what is best, not just eat what tastes best.

We live in a world full of people who are not accustomed to making sacrifices. Most people believe you should be able to have your cake and eat it too. We live in a society that trains people to think of food as entertainment, instead of fuel.

People think “what do I want to eat” instead of “what does my body need to eat”. Again, not that it can’t taste amazing, but food was created to nourish us, not to entertain our tongue at every sitting.

It’s not that we always have to sacrifice taste for quality, but we shouldn’t determine what we eat based solely on what we prefer to eat (or taste – because if it were up to me, I’d want to taste chips and salsa at every meal!).

Eating is no different than any other responsibility we have. We have a responsibility to do tasks at work we don’t enjoy. We have a responsibility to work in order to deserve a paycheck. And, we have the responsibility to take care of our body and that includes eating what is best for our body – doing the work to deserve the reward (good health). Food, like work, will include some things we love and some things we don’t like as much.

People often tell me how much they don’t like certain veggies, like broccoli, asparagus, kale or brussel sprouts to name a few of the most disliked foods I hear about. Of course, we ALL would rather have pasta and pie, but what do you despise more? Being overweight or eating foods that may not be your favorite (at first) – because, seriously, your tastes WILL change.