It's true what they say, ya know....Taste buds do change!! Oh how I loved going out to eat!! Fast food, burgers and fries, large, greasy breakfasts from diners, Chinese take-out, fish and chips, and my total weakness...Mexican food!! You know the kind I'm taking about...big fat chimichangas stuffed with re-fried beans and and rice topped with gobs of cheese, sour cream and guacamole!!The list goes on! I could totally eat the entire plate too! Not a morsel left! I loved the taste of this food and the more I went, the more I would crave it.
It's been over a year now since I bought Tosca Reno's book The Eat Clean Diet, and began my clean eating journey. Not only did that book change how I ate at home, it changed how I ate out as well. I stopped going to some of my favorite places like, Red Robin, Famous Dave's, and Chevy's. I started going to places that offered fresher ingredients with a more sophisticated menu. I choose grilled over fried and stepped out of my Americanized, fatty food box to try different ethnic foods like, Indian, Thai, and Japanese. I explored sushi instead of fish and chips, red wine instead of Mai Tais. Not all "clean", but much healthier! My relationship with food changed! I was introduced to different spices and flavors that dazzled the palate (Wow! Did I just say, "Dazzled the palate"?).
Now when I go out to eat, I like curry and brown rice over Chinese fried rice and chow mein, mahi mahi over fish and chips, Sushi over burgers and fries. On the rare occasion I do go to one of my old hang outs, I'm always disappointed. The food is bland, greasy, buttery, and most of the time, just gross. As I look at it on my plate, I think to myself, "Damn girl, you use to eat this crud??" It tastes like processed,mass produced food that is taken from the freezer or large can and thrown into the deep fryer.. A club sandwich from a diner tastes like the greasy burger they cooked on the griddle before toasting your sandwich.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect when it comes to clean eating. I still enjoy a good junk food fest from time to time. But now, I'm choosy. A night playing cards with friends may warrant chips and beer, or my girl friend's cream cheese and chorizo stuffed jalapenos. But the difference is, I no longer have a love hate relationship with the foods I use to eat. Now I find most of it gross! Taste buds do change! I never would have believed it!
You had to go and diss Red Robin! I have opted for their petite burger now when I go. I do have to agree that your taste buds do change as you change what you put in your body. I no longer want a candy bar when goinging through the check-out lane, but instead grab an apple to eat on the way home.
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