Favourite foods no longer doing it

Whitezombiegirl

I have noticed that my favourite foods that i used to treat myself with are no longer doing it for me. I went modified paleo 9 years ago (from long term vegetarian) and lost my taste for bread, pasta, cereal and rice- but my sweet tooth still stayed.

I recently gave up artificial sweeteners as my use was increaseing and fueling my taste for sweet things. Im hypoglycaemic and sugary food makes me feel almost like a hangover - dizziness, headache, queasiness. Since cutting sweeteners and focusing on meat and veg my favourite foods just aren't doing it for me:
Pizza= greasy bread
Chocolate =sickly sweet (i dont like dark)
Cakes and pasties- sweet and cloying

Im sort of left without 'treat food'. Christmas is going to be weird. Anyone else in this boat?

LivingtheLeanDream

Sort of...
My once upon a time huge sweet tooth has gone, I don't hanker after chocolate like I used to. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the odd piece of good quality chocolate most weeks but I don't hanker after it.
Eating habits change as does the palette I guess.
For me though is has nothing to do with cutting out sugars, I just prefer to eat filling/wholesome foods which fuel me better each day, I'd prefer to tuck into something savoury now rather than something sweet.

Whitezombiegirl

Same here but this is totally new to me. I ate loads of Christmas chocolate last night. after a rubbish day. I had made a beef and pepper casserole for tonights dinner and was actually craving the casserole more than the sweets- feels really odd.

Ming1951

While I know deep down if I started eating sugar again I would be right bag to eating a bag of sweets a day I no longer crave or look for it, just after 3 months off. However I now have a taste for almonds,& pecans .

tlflag1620

I eat low carb, so yes, my idea of a "treat" has also changed. When I want to indulge in pizza, without the bread, I top a roasted/grilled portabello mushroom cap with sauce, cheese, and toppings, pop it under the broiler and have my "pizza". I've heard good things about the fat head pizza crust too, it have never tried it myself.

Luckily I love dark chocolate (the darker the better), so that hasn't been an issue for me... Not sure there is any good substitute there. Have you tried fat bombs? I melt together a tbsp each of coconut oil, butter, and peanut butter, add a couple tsp each of cocoa powder and finely chopped pecans, divide into 10-12 muffin tin liners and freeze. Sweeter than dark chocolate, but still low sugar.

Instead of cakes and pasteries I like to indulge in berries with heavy cream (whipped or not, up to you!) with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Very satisfying dessert (add a healthy handful of walnuts and it makes a pretty good breakfast too!).

Hope this helps. I'm with you on artificial sweeteners - never have been able to stand the taste of any of them. It does make it harder to find substitutes for desserts...

Francl27

Never. I'm just pickier about the pizza, chocolate, and desserts, that I eat.

lemurcat12

Francl27 wrote: »

Never. I'm just pickier about the pizza, chocolate, and desserts, that I eat.

This.

But if you aren't enjoying sweet foods, why not focus on savory treat items. Personally, I usually prefer savory when it comes to really tempting things I can't live without anyway. Pizza doesn't have to be greasy, and there's also something like good cheese (try different kinds from a cheese place with lots of options, or even WF has a decent selection) or whatever savory dishes you find extra delicious (for example, a high cal treat for me might be a good new restaurant or an Indian or Ethiopian place -- neither particularly paleo-friendly, but neither is pizza). So I'd just be broader in how I thought of treats.

Of course, I'm also a fan of really good pie and ice cream/gelato, and with both there can be a wide range in how sweet it is, so maybe experiment.

charlenekapf

Do you like nuts? Nut butters? There are many less sugary modifications you can make by using unsweetend almond/peanut butters and almond flour, coconut flour for baked goods.

Need2Exerc1se

Why do treats have to be sweet or carby? Granted most of my non-carby treats usually involve cheese, but things like shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon, cured meats with spicy mustard, celery with nut butter are nice treats for me.

Meat balls in fancy sauces are nice too. Homemade jerky is awesome (some of the store bought stuff is okay too).

Or you could go on Pinterest and find all kinds of weird paleo dessert recipes.

courtneyfabulous

Do you still feel like you need "treat" foods? If not then great!

If you do want some maybe try new less sweet less fatty things for your treats- my favorite treats right now:
•Dried Turkish apricots (unsweetened)
•Dates
•Raisins
•Persimmons
•dried unsweetened mango
•Watermelon
•Fresh pressed pomegranate juice
•Ginger candy
•Banana with peanut butter
•Teriyaki turkey jerky
•Chocolate flavor healthy cereal (I like Qia superflakes in cocoa coconut flavor and eat it with a couple tablespoons of half & half & some coconut water)
•Rice cake topped with cottage cheese
•Chocolate mint flavor Clif Builders Bar protein bar
•Fruit flavor Greek yogurt (Fage brand 2% in blueberry or peach flavor are my favorites right now)
•Apple slices with lemon juice
•Apple slices with peanut butter
•Raw cauliflower dipped in ranch dressing
•Toast with peanut butter
•Halo Top ice cream (vanilla flavor let to get slightly soft then topped with some fresh berries is excellent)
•Fruit smoothie (frozen ripe banana, frozen cherries blueberries and strawberries blended with some coconut water)
•Protein shake (2 scoops Tera's whey grass fed organic whey concentrate chocolate flavor mixed with 8 to 10 oz of coconut water- blended in blender or with an immersion blender gives best flavor due to mixing more & gets kind of airy)
•Chai tea (I like rooibos chai tea brewed strong with 2 tea bags, then add 2 tablespoons of half & half)

These might not even sound like "treats" to some, but I know the feeling when pizza feels gross, normal sweets become sickly sweet... it doesn't feel like a treat, it just feels yucky! These are my go-to snacks which feel like treats to me.

karenlynnlarson

Hi all - I have found that mixing plain kefir with some Kevita Mojito Lime Mint Coconut drink tastes just like Key Lime Pie! Yum!!

CattOfTheGarage

No. I do identify with changes in tastes when you adjust what you're eating, though. I want fruit and veg more when I'm eating then regularly, I care less about sugary things when I'm not eating as much sugar.

But it's not that I don't care about them at all. I get more joy from eating treats like chocolate, chips, cake etc when I have them less often. They taste better to me, not worse.

I also agree that I generally want better examples - not necessarily objectively higher quality (though often that is what I mean) but the kind that I enjoy the most. Sometimes that means my favourite junky cheap sweets, other times it might  mean an artisan hand-made pie.

There are definitely things I won't waste my calories on now, but they were never my favourites in the first place - just some sort of mindless mouth-padding that I can cheerfully kiss goodbye to.

ogtmama

When was the last time you tried dark chocolate? That may have changed with everything else.

courtneyfabulous

ogtmama wrote: »

When was the last time you tried dark chocolate? That may have changed with everything else.

Yes!! You used to like milk chocolate not dark, but now milk chocolate is too sweet- you likely didn't like dark chocolate because it's more bitter and less sweet, but now you may like it

Try again

cocates

Kind of.

My favorite chips (Utz, Smokin' Sweet BBQ kettle chips) - I used to eat them every night. Now, most of the time, I don't even think about putting them into the grocery cart. I'd rather use those cals for something else...usually wine.