Straight Talk – The Healthier it is, The Worse it Tastes?
Compiled by Swathy Sanjay Sindhu, TYV Ambassador #1
Do you think that’s true? I’ve gathered some comments from two of my friends, one who says that healthy food doesn’t taste good enough for her, and one who says that healthy food should be the only option for teenagers.
Nithia
I am completely in for ‘healthy’. We all know how bitter Bitter Gourd is. But the health benefits of Bitter Gourd juice are numerous and go from curing cholera to keeping you at size zero!
Preeti
What I want to say is this – tasty food, even if not healthy, keeps me going because it tempts me to eat more and hence gives me tons of energy. Tasty food, let’s say fast food, is easily available and is very easy to eat because it is conveniently packed.
Me
So according to what Preeti said, I asked her whether she was ready to deny her body of the essentials in favour of tasty food. She realised she had to reconsider her stance. So here’s what Apoorvaa, from the other side, has to say.
Apoorvaa
I believe in healthy food, hands down. To me, it isn’t about the taste – I just force the food down. Healthy food is supposed to give me the vitamins and minerals I need and hence helps my body prevent fatigue. By eating healthy food, I can ensure that I get fibre, roughage, energy, good fats, vitamins, minerals and plenty of essentials and this, in turn, should keep me in top shape.
Me
Ok, so Apoorvaa forces the food down even if she doesn’t like the taste. I’m going to tell her that, even though we have to eat healthy, compromising on taste is not every teen’s option.
Vaibhavi
Frowning at the word ‘healthy’ is the standard reaction of anyone at the dining table – whether the food is a feast to the eyes or really not very appetising. And, God forbid, if a similar remark about this food is expressed out loud, the standard reply from Mom is –‘Food is meant to be eaten, and not seen.’ or, ‘The goodness of food depends on how it makes you healthy, and not how it tastes!’ So, here’s the question that always keeps ringing in my head – Can’t healthy food ever taste good?
Answering this question is difficult. Because when it comes to healthy foods, a few health-concerned people say that every single ingredient should contribute to the health of the one who is eating it. Any ingredient with a little extra calorie value can corrupt the entire dish, even if it enhances the flavour. And if totally healthy food doesn’t taste good, they learn to bear with it. On the other hand, a few people like to believe that food that is tasty need not be classified as junk. And for people like this are the inventors of diet coke, and other diet things. However, one can even enjoy non-diet food that is 100% healthy and tastes 100% good – if they can find such a recipe!
The conclusion is that eating healthy food is very important for teenagers. It is proven that healthy foodstuff helps our body in the long run. But again, being teenagers we are more inclined to foodstuffs with different textures and flavours. Therefore, teenagers should choose healthy foods that are wholesome, tasty and light.
It’s easy to say that food has to be healthy and tasty, altogether another thing to make it so. Given here is an absolutely delicious snack for school, which you can prepare the night before.
- 2 cups rice or wheat puffs
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ tablespoons slightly salted butter
Seasonal fruits or berries cut into small pieces
- Warm the peanut butter and salted butter in a pan for 20 seconds.
- Transfer to a bowl and fold in the honey.
- Toss in the rice puffs, fruit pieces and mix thoroughly.
- Press into a dish and refrigerate.
- Cut into bars.
This particular recipe is what keeps me going in school! Being a person who holds many posts and is involved with many activities simultaneously, I don’t usually have a lot of time to eat something during recess. These granola bars are absolutely fantastic, they give me enough energy to run around attending meetings, keep me alert in class and are absolutely light and healthy!