They say you eat with your eyes first - so why not make your food as visually pleasing as possible?
I know that many of you will say it's because you don't have time for all that.
Well, I am here to challenge you to make a little time for it and really - it takes more thought then it does time.
My water - just a bit of lemon to make it more appealing. You could add any fruit really. How about sliced oranges or berries?
I was at Trader Joe's and wanted to pick up some plum or grape tomatoes and then saw these Mini Heirloom Tomatoes. Of course I had to pick these!
Not only is color important, but size and texture can make your food even tastier. Yes, it's true!
Berries of different color, size and texture are perfect to add to your water, salad or as a side dish.
My mom is Korean and has always been very picky about the presentation of food. She would often say that she didn't like a food if it was ugly. It used to make me laugh, but now I know what she means. We went out to a Mexican restaurant once and she received her plate and it was all browns and white and neutral in color due to the beans, white cheese and rice, etc. It was all melted into one form on the plate. She was like "What is THIS? Yuck!" and we were all so embarrassed. We had the same thing and it TASTED great. But she never ate any of it. Said it made her lose her appetite.
Well, that may have been a bit extreme on her part - but I now know that it only takes a little more effort to make a nice presentation.
I am learning on Whole30 that I have to change the way I look at food. It is a fuel for my body. It will either make me MORE HEALTHY or LESS HEALTHY - but this does not mean that I can't enjoy it. It doesn't mean that I can't have a healthy passion for what I cook and how I prepare my meals. I am fighting some serious EMOTIONAL TIES to food. But I don't want to break up with food. It's a necessity. I might as well enjoy it. I think part of it is that I am a very visual person. There are some people that could eat some chicken breast, side of cauliflower and mashed potatoes and be totally okay with it. Personally, I felt like crying just typing that out. So bland and monochromatic. Okay, too far? Ha! Not for me! Throw some broccoli and red peppers on that plate!
So. Add some color to your plates. Think about how you are going to plate your food and see if you can take a simple meal and make it look super special, just by adding a pretty plate or a handful of colorful mixed greens or by slicing the meat a certain way.
Are you a visual person? Does what the appearance of your food matter to you?
