mind over matter and how it affects taste

I read a pretty interesting article the other day and thought I would share.

It was about how much our beliefs about what something will taste like and whether or not we will like it influences whether or not we really do like it and what we think it tastes like.

For instance, someone did a study where they put a bunch of people in a room, turned out the lights and passed out yogurt for them to taste.  They told the people it was strawberry yogurt and that they were supposed to rate it as to whether it had a strong strawberry flavor or not.  A lot of the people, though not all, said it did have a strong strawberry flavor.  What's interesting about this?  Well, it wasn't really strawberry yogurt.  It was chocolate flavor.

But seriously.  Just because they were told it was strawberry, a whole bunch of normal people with normal taste buds, thought it had a strong strawberry flavor.  This is important, I think, when we start saying how we hate protein shakes.  And how we taste one or two, don't like them, and decide none of them taste good.  And who expects a protein shake to taste good anyway?

But I bet if Nik came over and made us a mocha protein something in a fancy glass with whipped cream and a spinkle of chocolate something on top, I bet we'd expect it to taste great and love it.  Oh, and by the way,  Someone also did a study where they passed out brownies for people to taste.  Everyone got one brownie on a nice china plate, one on a paper plate and one just one a paper towel.  Most people said the on on the china plate tasted best, then the one on the paper plate and the one of the paper towel come in last place.  However, they were all the exact same brownies.  So maybe we should try drinking our protein shakes out of fancy glasses?

Interesting! Outlook is everything! 

It's amazing to me how people's thoughts can be directed. 

Use your best glasses and dishes - they'll just collect dust otherwise!! 

~Karen

Makes a lot of sense to me. However, I often find that if I'm fixing something just for me, it's "too much trouble" to go to the extra effort of making it look special. I hate that I do that to myself, but it is an unconsious thing that I have to work to overcome. I have to remember to treat myself as "special" as I would treat a friend or family member.

 I want to get the most nutritional value from the food I eat since RNY. I choose to have a protein shake for breakfast every morning, so I created flavors I could enjoy with different ingredients using a base of vanilla whey protein. When I found meat did not sit well in my pouch, I created a meatless eating plan. I do not like spending a lot of time in the kitchen preparing food, so I created healthy and quick meals. To me success is turning a perceived negative into a positive. (See my profile page for my ideas if interested)

There must be something to this theory.  The chefs on TV say that presentation is everything!  So, does that mean we should be drinking our Oh Yeah protein shakes out of a champagne glass?  

Try it next time and see if it makes it taste better!

i'm going to try my next protein shake out of one of my "fancy" glasses
that are only brought out for company!