You want to love healthy foods such as vegetable or fruit salad, sauteed spinach and green soup. But the problem is, you don’t get the same feeling of satisfaction, like when eating a nice and juicy cheeseburger.
But science may have discovered the secret into making healthy foods more enjoyable. Let’s find out what that is.
What is the Secret to Make Healthy Food Enjoyable?
A recent study from the University of Cologne, Germany found out that people will rank healthy food as more satisfying, when they prepare it by themselves.
A total of 120 women were included in the research. They were told that they were participating in a smoothie taste test. Each woman was randomly assigned to consume either a healthy raspberry smoothie or an unhealthy chocolate milkshake.
Some women made the drink on their own, with the ingredients supplied by the lab. While others had the drink prepared for them by the researchers.
After sampling the drinks, the women filled out written tests to know how much they liked the beverages. The women were more satisfied with the raspberry smoothie when they made it themselves, compared to when it was prepared for them.
There was not much difference when it came to the chocolate shake participants, who found it equally satisfying whether they had made it themselves or not.
Conclusion
The researchers called this phenomenon the IKEA Effect. This means that people tend to get more reward and satisfaction, when they made something on their own. This is regardless if its a meal, smoothie, bookcase or something they have made themselves.
Anything that makes healthy food more rewarding and satisfying, is a surefire hit for weight loss and your health. A recent study found that frequent home cookers eat 16 fewer grams of sugar and 137 fewer calories daily, on average, compared to people who eat out more often.
If you do this daily, even that small calorie cut can help you lose 10 pounds over the span of a year. So this gives you a more valid reason and motivation to cook and prepare foods on your own.
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