Why does food have to be healthy?

skinnypigeon

Ok so here is a little mini rant, I got some frustrations from reading some other message boards.

Why does food have to be "healthy"?

I eat clean and well and only try to put good things into my body and am conscious of the food around me and try to always make the best decisions possible. I hate that whenever I make something someone scoffs and says "oh is that healthy?" Why does healthy have to be and synonym for yucky?

Sometimes I just want to yell at them and say "just shut up and eat it, if you don't like it then you don't have to finish it, or don't take it at all" I am tired of having to own up to making healthy things. I made a dessert for my in-laws and the first thing my FIL says is: "Is that vegetarian?" with a snarky look. I told him I don't know what kind of dessert he was expecting, but I typically don't put meat in my desserts LOL. What he meant was is it vegan/good for him. UGH I told him no, but of course it was. BTW he scarfed it up and wanted more!

PS: I don't mind when people ask and are excited about it, but let me tell you that rarely happens.

Anyone else have these same issues?

UponThisRock

There are few foods that are healthy or unhealthy by themselves, you have to look at the context of the entire diet.

Example: Is canola oil healthy?
-If Person A was eating a 0 fat diet, then eating some canola oil (or any other source of fat) would be the "healthiest" thing that they could do for themselves.
-If Person B was eating more than enough dietary fat, but not enough fiber, then adding additional canola oil would not be a "healthy" choice, to the exclusion of other things.

Ice cream, cookies, cake, etc. can absolutely be part of a healthy diet.

Mental and social well being play a role here too.

bcattoes

Yes, often. It actually shocks me sometimes how little some people seem to know about healthy food.

We frequently have 'bring food to work' days at my office. A few years ago a friend and I suggested we do it but everyone had to bring something healthy. After much grumbling people finally agreed. We ended up with about 7 veggie trays and a bag of apples, plus what he and I brought. it seems everyone in our department couldn't think of any healthy foods except raw ruit and vegetables.

HealthyAcademic

I get it. I actually have to say things aren't healthy in order to get people to try them sometimes. Which is hilarious. Because as mentioned above, healthy is all relative!

MostlyWater

Healthy is relative. For some, sugar is fine but others use the fake sugars if they are diabetic, etc.

For some, whole grains are great. Other people have stomach problems when they eat them.

KWIM ?

crazycat80

Yes!! I totally feel you. Each time I make healthier food for my parents when they visit, they automatically dislike the flavor... unless I don't TELL them it's healthy! All they do is comment on how they are going to enjoy life and eat whatever they want. And they go one about how at least they will die happy. Well, I LIKE my healthy eating and I LIKE how my body feels. I also like the fact that I'm not on diabetes meds and blood pressure meds and chloresterol meds like the rest of my family is. I expect to live a good, long life unless I get hit by a truck or something. They do the same thing about my move to organic soaps, organic cleaners, and recycling. It's frustrating but anymore I just try to ignore it.

TheNaturalNanny

completely understand this one!! My mom gives me hell all the time because i usualy only prepare vegetarian meals at home. She always turns her nose up. A lot of people do. Its sad that peoples minds are so warped on what truely healthy food is. healthy doesnt have to mean tasteless, cardboard crap like the prepackaged junk the market in the stores. Healthy is simply about balance. I still use butter, sugar, whole milk etc I just dont overdo it anymore. Quiet frankly I think my healthy dishes are 1000x better than the unhealthy stuff i used to stuff my face with.

jnhu72

I'm so tired of that! Anytime I go out to eat with people they always ask oh is that healthy? It does not matter what I eat it's the same question, or it's them constantly telling me to just quit worrying about eat healthy for one night.

HealthyAcademic

I was rereading this post and it made me think of Thanksgiving. I prepared everything vegan except the turkey and a mac n cheese dish. Everything else - totally animal free.

I let everyone serve themselves and eat before I ate... they LOVED it.

Dad still doesn't know the "sausage" and wild rice stuffing didn't have meat. My significant other figured it out after I started eating... but by then he liked it and didn't care.

However, if I had told them upfront, no way they would have tried anything except the two omni dishes. Which is funny since so much stuff is vegan naturally.

DannyMussels

I used to trick my ex's younger cousins and sneak vegetables into their meals. Into sauces, burgers. I even cooked carrots , lightly breaded and told them they were sweet potato fries.

At work I'd bring chocolate whey, pb and sweetner and make brownies in the microwave, and everyone basically thought it was chocolate cake.

I always get the last laugh.

Jeff92se

Food is food. But it depends on how you look at it. From a strictly caloric standpoint. There is no "healthy" or "unhealthy". From a micronutrient standpoint, one food can be bad while anohter is good (even if they have the same calorie value)

daffodilsoup

I think a lot of people equate "healthy" with "deprivation" - there's a pretty popular mentality that in order to lose weight, you have to deprive yourself of the fat and salt that people crave because that's "unhealthy". A lot of people I know wonder why they can't stick to their weight loss goals, and really it's because most of them think of "diet food" - iceberg lettuce salads, plain veggies, etc.

It becomes sort of a knee-jerk response, I think, and also the fear of the unknown. When I cook vegan meals at home, my parents usually turn up their noses first ("Why can't you just eat normal food"), but eventually they taste it and I wind up having to hide it away like some kind of squirrel, haha. I think the best thing we can do is keep offering tasty dishes and hope that word gets around, haha.

rico1923

Sometimes I just want to yell at them and say "just shut up and eat it, if you don't like it then you don't have to finish it, or don't take it at all" I am tired of having to own up to making healthy things. I made a dessert for my in-laws and the first thing my FIL says is: "Is that vegetarian?" with a snarky look. I told him I don't know what kind of dessert he was expecting, but I typically don't put meat in my desserts LOL. What he meant was is it vegan/good for him. UGH I told him no, but of course it was. BTW he scarfed it up and wanted more!

I think you are experiencing the standard vegan/vegetarian dilemma (not that I am saying you are a vegan/vegetarian); people are so anxious to put a label on a thing (Usually the wrong label) that you have to be very Zen about it. I get updates from a raw food group on Yahoo and about every 12-18 months there is a post about 'people are not eating as healthy as I am' or 'I was at a party and there was nothing I could eat'- to which the members usually respond 'I know what you mean' and 'we have to remind ourselves that everyone has a right to eat however they want'. It sounds like you shut down the whole 'vegan is foreign to me' thing without hammering it into the ground which is all you can do... and it sounds like you made the meal tasty enough that eventually the entire subject will not come up at dinner in your home. Problems only come up when you feel the need to convert folks to your way of eating instead of respecting the way they eat themselves... which from experience gets really ugly.

Kymmu

I know this! I can tell people are judging what I'm serving/eating and get little comments too....
What is their problem?
I think the best revenge is our long and healthy life!!

MDWilliams1857

Kiwi, do you mind posting the recipe for brownies made with whey? I have to try this.

chrisdavey

Kiwi, do you mind posting the recipe for brownies made with whey? I have to try this.

http://www.3dmusclejourney.com/recipes-sludge-cake.php

There's one.

The majority of people know SFA about nutrition. I don't bother trying to explain to most unless they ask specifically about something.

I made some choc/coconut protein balls to take into work this week. I did mention that they were a "guilt free" alternative to all the other cookies & chocolates. Everyone was quite happy to have a healthy alternative but there are a few other athletic type people I work with.

kekl

There is such a stigma attached to so called "healthy" food.
If you eat a salad, you are automatically on a "diet"... it's like, hey... maybe I just want a salad!

fteale

Sometimes I just want to yell at them and say "just shut up and eat it, if you don't like it then you don't have to finish it, or don't take it at all" I am tired of having to own up to making healthy things. I made a dessert for my in-laws and the first thing my FIL says is: "Is that vegetarian?" with a snarky look. I told him I don't know what kind of dessert he was expecting, but I typically don't put meat in my desserts LOL. What he meant was is it vegan/good for him. UGH I told him no, but of course it was. BTW he scarfed it up and wanted more!

I'm afraid I just do tell people that that is what there is so they can eat it and shut up or go hungry. Most people who know me know better than to comment these days. If someone makes a negative comment about whatever I have cooked they get a very curt "Make your own food, then."

bcattoes

Sometimes I just want to yell at them and say "just shut up and eat it, if you don't like it then you don't have to finish it, or don't take it at all" I am tired of having to own up to making healthy things. I made a dessert for my in-laws and the first thing my FIL says is: "Is that vegetarian?" with a snarky look. I told him I don't know what kind of dessert he was expecting, but I typically don't put meat in my desserts LOL. What he meant was is it vegan/good for him. UGH I told him no, but of course it was. BTW he scarfed it up and wanted more!

I'm afraid I just do tell people that that is what there is so they can eat it and shut up or go hungry. Most people who know me know better than to comment these days. If someone makes a negative comment about whatever I have cooked they get a very curt "Make your own food, then."

That's what I do too. I do that whether the dish is healthy or not. It is rude to criticize food someone has made. If you don't want to eat it just politely decline and go get something else.