What happened to my sweet tooth?

[watervole]

I've never had much of a sweet tooth, but of recent it's pretty well vanished altogether. I look at cakes in the bakers and none of them appeal any more.

This isn't exactly a problem, I hasten to add, just an observation.

I think there's several possible reasons (though people may think of others).

I've cut down my chocolate consumption to just one or two squares a day of Green and Blacks Maya Gold. That's a large reduction in what little sugar I consumed anyway. (To give you an idea of our sugar consumption, we probably buy a packet a year and that's mainly for visitors to have in their tea) I'd expected cutting it down to be difficult, but was surprised when it wasn't. I always save my chocolate moment for when I'm sitting quietly and I'm able to properly enjoy it. Before, I didn't take the time to savour it. Result - just as much enjoyment, for less chocolate.

The other most likely factor is the fruit and veg boses. A few months ago, we started getting an organic box of fruit and veg from Riverford Organic. What it means in practice is that there is always fruit and veg in the house without me needing to go down the shops. Result - we eat more fruit and veg. The box contains an unpredictable mixture of items. I've tried several things that I'd never tried before like Jerusalem artichokes and butternut squashes (both of which I like). Some of the organic items taste pretty much like the ordinary stuff (the oranges are often poor); some of them are really quite special. The potatoes are the ones where I've noticed the biggest difference. Riverford grow different vareities and some of them really have a fantastic flavour. I'd almost stopped eating spuds, but I'm a convert to them now.

Anyway, rambling back to the point. I think the easy availability of fruit helped me cut down on the chocolate. I also think that I became used to stuff which is sweet, but less suggary than your average cake/confectionary. I'm now at the point where I'm able to taste the sweetness in things that I wouldn't have noticed a few months ago. I've just taken to nibbling raw carrots these last few days - they taste sweet to me now. (It's possible that they're better carrots than the norm, I do seem to remember enthusing over them when we first got them, but my standards for carrots and flavour are now set at Riverford levels)

Anyway, if anyone's diabetic and wants yet another way to reduce sugar intake, I can suggest a box each of Riverford fruit and veg around the house as a possible aid. (When you have the veg there, you tend to use it, and all veg tend to have a low glycaemic index as well as anti-oxidants, etc.)

Comments

[temeres.livejournal.com]

we probably buy a packet a year and that's mainly for visitors to have in their tea

I have three sugars a cup, and can get through quite a few cups in a day. I probably get through a kilo of sugar every 2-3 weeks.

[kerravonsen]

Another thing that's sweet besides carrots, probably sweeter, are good, lovely cherry tomatoes.

I still find that I'm not much into eating fresh fruit, but I've been nibbling on vegies, like cherry tomatoes and lebanese cucumbers and snow peas (aka mange tout). A nice taste sensation: one bite of cucumber, one salted pretzel.

I "made" a nice yogurt mix the other day: take some dried apricots and a bit of honey, rehydrate them with hot water, chop up with a stick blender and let it sit and soak up the water a bit more, and then mix that with skim-milk natural yogurt. Yum.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, cheery and grape tomatoes are lovely.

I still love chocolate - but tend to buy the lovely Swiss/Belgian stuff, which is more expensive but lasts longer because it's richer and you can't eat much (my weakness at the moment is ice-cream).

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

Tomatoes are a fruit. :-) I grow Gardener's Delight, they seem to be one of the best flavours and can be grown outdoors if you don't have a greenhouse.

[kerravonsen]

Tomatoes are a fruit.
It is knowledge that tells us that tomatoes are a fruit, and wisdom that tells us not to put them in a fruit salad.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

If I can put plums with pork and pineapple with gammon, why not tomatoes in fruit salad? Though is pineapple a fruit?

[watervole.livejournal.com]

why not tomatoes in fruit salad
Because the pips get all over the place if you slice it up.

[reapermum.livejournal.com]

No worse than the pips in gooseberries.

[lexin.livejournal.com]

I find that if I do strict Atkins (in which you eat almost no sugar) I find that within a few days I can start tasting the sugar in things like carrots and onions.