That is easy: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, and celery are all crunchy. It that what you mean? No, I mean something like a cracker that crunches. Umm. Those vegetables and fruit mentioned above crunch and make the same sound as potato chips, corn chips, and crackers. It is not really the sound, is it. There is one crunch and then it melts in your mouth triggering that smooth, salty sensation that you are after. I’ve also heard it is that need to have something to use your teeth on as well. Like when you rip apart animal flesh to eat it. The funny part about that is people do not want low fat tough cuts of meat, they want the fatty kind that melts in your mouth. How about; I need something sweet. Fruit is very sweet. It is so sweet that diabetics are afraid to eat it because it is almost pure sugar. Perhaps stick to cake. It has fat and cholesterol to tone down all that sweetness. Just kidding.
So what we say is not really what we mean. Is it because we really want something else? Or perhaps we are confused about what crunchy, chewy and sweet really mean? Most of the foods that people really want are not isolated real foods. Potato chips are processed potato flakes, powder and perhaps whole potatoes covered with oil, salt and spices to disguise the taste of the potato. Corn chips are made the same way. Crackers, you got it. It also really gets you going to look at the brightly colored box and read the fresh lime, and BBQ spice ingredients. They drive the sale home with vegan, GMO free, gluten free and fair-trade. It is not the crunch but the salt and oil that your taste buds are accustomed to. How about the sweet desire. Cake and cookies are not just sugar. They are oil, cholesterol, and sugar, that melt in your mouth. No need for crunch when it comes to cake! Even soft-batch cookies sell better than the crunchy ones. We do not recognize sugar in the absence of oil. Dip that peach in spiced oil and put it on the grill and people go crazy for it. Same peach plus oil. Now a treat instead of a punishment.
How do we get our brains to recognize natural foods and not the fake foods as good or satisfying? We start by practice tasting. Eating foods separately allows you to actually start to taste the individual vegetables. Learn to taste the different vegetables and spices in a dish. It is a learned appreciation that takes time and focus. Eating food fast and furious in a car or while watching TV does not allow you to taste your food. If you are having trouble dicerning different spices, taste small pinches to experience their taste. Chopped vegetables provide so much more than crunch. They provide antioxidants, phytochemicals, and water for healing. You won’t get that from a dehydrated chip. You also get just the correct amount of electrolytes in vegetables as opposed to excessive sodium and simple sugars with snack foods.
Doctor, I need something to help my body function better. Indeed, try some crunchy fruit and vegetables.
If you are looking for some new recipes and spice combinations, check our our cookbook: Plant-based Wellness Cookbook-Three Generations of cooking; the Doctor, the Dietitian and the Diva. It is available on Amazon with links at https://doctordulaney.com as well.
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