Illusion is the first of all pleasures
Do you need to eat healthier, but these healthy meals don’t even look close to satisfying? Eat what works for YOU! Or, you could eat when you’re starving, then you really will just eat anything even if it is ordinary and depressing. Ever heard that song by Twisted Sister “We’re Not Gonna Take it ?” Well, this song resonates so well when I have a meal in front of me I need to eat because it’s good for me but don’t want to eat because it doesn’t look appealing. Well, if your food does happen to taste good, you should know dinner plate size significantly impacts food consumption.
The Delboeuf Effect
Voltaire said, “Illusion is the first of all pleasures.” When Oscar Wilde quoted this after the former French historian/philosopher, he had a penchant for superficiality and ignorance. One can’t deny this to be false. All pains and pleasures arise from our inadequacies in understanding the truth. However, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on how our food choices can be subconsciously influenced by illusions. The Delboeuf Effect is just that. One of our many subconscious biases can particularly affect how we pick our food.
(Graphic adapted from Washiucho.)
The Delboeuf Effect is an optical illusion that starts with two dots of equal size. One dot is surrounded by a large circle and the other dot is surrounded by a small circle. All of a sudden the second dot looks bigger. Your brain is misled by comparing the dots to the surrounding circles[1]. In the same way, there has been a fixed mindset among many that the size of dinnerware (which has increased from 9 inches to 11 inches since the 1900s by the way) influences how much people serve and consume during a single serving occasion. The bigger the plate the more you will serve.
Every time you fill your plate, the Delboeuf illusion affects how much food you take and how much food you think you’ve taken. This is important because if a single extra serving is only 50 calories a day, then you’re looking at 5 lbs in one year!
Everything Is Bigger In Texas
I’m from Texas, and Texas is well known for different slogans such as “everything is bigger and better in Texas.” This might be why Texas has greater-than-national diabetes prevalence.
Approximately 9.4% of Americans (30.3 million) had diabetes in 2015, in comparison to 11.2% of Texans (2.3 million). This is all information from the [TDC] or Texas Demographic Center. The Office of the State Demographer is responsible for interpreting and communicating information on demographic and socioeconomic issues for the State of Texas. You can find more information here.
It saddens me to learn how diabetes disproportionately impacts racial/ethnic minorities and populations with lower levels of education. All of this with no doubt backed by illusive thoughts and traditional norms. Growing up a 1st Generation Mexican/American, my dish consisted of one protein serving, three different carbohydrate portions, and nobody ever drinks water. We all drank tea or sodas with plenty of sugar in them.
Tips
You can’t control your age, gender, or family history, but I can provide you with a free guide on questions you should be able to answer before you consult a provider, functional medicine provider, or a certified nutritional consultant.
Baseline
- Do you know your BMI (Body Mass Index)? (“recommended is 18.5-24.9 for most people”).
- Do you know your waist circumference? (“recommended 35 inches or less for Women, or 40 inches or less for men”).
- Do you know your total blood cholesterol? (“recommendation below 200 mg/dL”). Check out my post on: What do my Cholesterol Results Mean?
- What is your fasting blood glucose? (“normal below 100 mg/dL”).
Your Eating Habits
- Do you know how many calories you consume?
- Do you eat portions appropriate for your weight and calorie needs?
- Do you try to follow a healthy eating plan?
For example,
How many cups of fruit do you eat?
How many cups of vegetables do you eat?
Do you limit your amount of processed meats?
Do you limit your amount of added sugars?
Little or no salt added to foods?
A variety of fish in place of some meat and poultry?
Enough calcium-rich foods?
-I try my best to get calcium from non-dairy food. Dairy fluffs everything I cook with so you can bet it will fluff your midsection. One serving of broccoli can provide calcium close to the amount of milk.
Your Lifestyle Habits
- Do you get at least some moderate amount of physical activity throughout the week? If so, are these activities weight-bearing, strengthening, or aerobic?
- Do you drink alcohol? Smoke?
My Favorite Meatless Options
Italian Inspired:
- An antipasti-an array of roasted or marinated vegetables, with bread and cheese.
- Pasta Primavera- Cooked pasta tossed with lightly cooked vegetables, with or without Parmesan cheese.
Mexican Inspired:
- Bean Burrito.
- Chiles Rellenos-Poblano Peppers stuffed with cheese, dipped in an egg batter, and baked or fried; (do stay conscientious if they are fried they will be higher in fat).
- Huevos rancheros-scrambled egg with onions and served with tomato salsa, beans, and tortillas.
- Vegetable Fajitas-Stir fried vegetables on the skillet, maybe some tofu in there with a tortilla and serve with guacamole.
Middle Eastern Inspired:
- Falafel sandwich-Ground chickpea patties tucked in pita bread are sooo delish!
French Inspired:
Vegetable quiche- Pie with a custard of egg and cheese mixed with chopped vegetables like mushrooms or spinach. My favorite is broccoli with cheese or just spinach.
How To Give Food an EASY Flavor Lift-NOT AN ILLUSION!-Ha
- Enhance your salads or soups with a splash of flavored Balsamic or Rice Vinegar Siracha or Soy Sauce. I love to make Curtido and top my tacos with it. Click here for my favorite curtido recipe. He speaks Spanish, but the steps are easy to follow.
- Add peppers. Seriously peppers pipe things up. Use red, green, and yellow peppers of all varieties-sweet, hot and dried.
- Add dried ingredients. Apricots, cranberries, figs, plums, sun-dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes.
- Sharpen the flavor with cheese
- Fire it up with some Kimchi, a pungent condiment of fermented vegetables that is GREAT for your gut microbiome by the way.
- Almonds, pecans, or sunflower seeds in salads, waffles, and sweet potatoes.
- Cashews in Stir fried.
- Pine nuts or pistachios in pasta sauces and casseroles.
- Are any nuts on cereal or yogurt?
- Sesame seeds on green veggies, soups, and stews.
Comment below and let me know what is your favorite way to give a quick easy flavor to your dish.