I love that Taste.

Well, its festive season. So wonder, everyone wants to enjoy and celebrate. So let us focus on a light topic for now. What about say, food? Oh, well, no need to start smacking your lips yet. Am not writing an article on food, but on a far more specific topic related to it. So let’s begin.

Ever asked yourself this question, some point of your life, ‘Why is it that oily and unhealthy food tastes so good, and healthy, nutritious food tastes like crap?’ I am sure, that many of you must have. I, personally keep wondering this almost every day. Now, please let us refrain from make a biological analysis, mainly because I dislike(okay I abhor, happy?) that subject. Who cares, if its related to hormones, cells, nerves, enzymes, platelets, or whatever the heck it is responsible for the sensation of taste. What I want is a layman explanation. If anybody of you reading my blog has a concrete answer, do leave a reply. I will be quite grateful.

Let us take a few examples, shall we? Imagine that you have entered a marriage party, and are about to take your dinner. Look at the items served. Most of them come under the junk food, or harmful food category. Almost definitely, majority of the items will be deep fried in gallons of oil. Maida is surely to be present. Whether it be in the form of puris, or the scrumptious naans, maida items are simply irresistible. Especially when they are deeply fried in oil. Say bhaturas. A doubly deadly combo of maida plus deeply fried. Enough to give a heart-attack. Yet, we hardly, if ever, bother about our health, whilst greedily devouring down such food items.Add to that some Chilli Chicken, Ice cream, fried rice, fried fish, and tons of sweets, and we get a perfect recipe for a health disaster. But why should we bother, as long as we get that awesome flavor of food in our mouth.

Take any good tasting food, and examine its nutrition value. Most of them will be loaded with unhealthy fat, and gargantuan amounts of calories. From simple Samosas, to Vadas, Bhajis, Pakoras, Dosas, and any other tasty desi dish you can take off. Go western, and you will find even more junk(I mean food of course). Pizzas, burgers, French fries, Red meat, honestly do you need any further reason as to why obesity is on such a roll in the developed countries? This is the prime reason. But all these food items have one thing in common. They taste real good. At least for majority of the people. That’s the reason people keep eating them incessantly. At the cost of their own health.

Now, do just the opposite. Take any healthy food, and comment on its taste. You’d rather not say? I don’t blame you. There are many people who do eat healthy food, and even like it, but most agree that the taste is nothing when compared to junk food. Take green leafy vegetables. What about gourd? Highly beneficial. But at the same time, highly bitter. Food when boiled, doesn’t even come close to the taste of fried food. Take a very simple example. A boiled potato versus a fried one. Most people know that a potato loses almost all its nutritional value when fried, yet its taste multiplies a 100 times. Is it magic? Or is it simply because our taste buds response more quickly and effectively towards fried food? Who knows.

Wouldn’t it be simply wonderful, if we could obtain food that was both healthy as well as delicious? That’s an ideal gourmet’s dream. There are certain food items like that, though. Like idlis. Both healthy and tasty(at least for me, I know many people don’t like them). Some amounts of dhoklas, chaat, and bhelpuris are also good, if made properly. But it’s quite unhygienic to buy them from roadside vendors. Best would be , to prepare them at home itself. Keep experimenting with food. But to stay fit, try to avoid oily stuff, and stuff which has maida in it. Go for whole wheat, and brown bread instead. After all, we can’t have the cake and eat it too(No, cake is NOT healthy. Especially the chocolate one). Health or taste? Your choice. Pick any one.

Adios amigos. And keep reading. Gracias.