Trick Yourself Into Eating Better By Serving The Healthiest Food First

Eating healthy isn’t just about willpower and appetite; sometimes we also make unconscious, unintentional food choices. Research suggests you can use food triggers to make sure you eat healthier.

Picture: Jannes Pockele/Flickr

In the Nutrition Action Canadian newsletter, Brian Wansink, professor of consumer behaviour at Cornell, says:

We did a study on what we called trigger foods. We found that the first food that people saw at a buffet influenced what they took even if they didn’t take that food. If they saw a bowl of fruit first, they were more likely to take more fruit than eggs and bacon. If they saw eggs and bacon first, they took more of that than the fruit.

You can do the same at home. Make sure that the first food you see and serve is the healthiest food on the table. Serve the vegetables first, not with or after the pasta.

Similarly, keep fresh foods and healthy snacks at the front and at eye level in the fridge and pantry to trigger healthier choices throughout the day. Put a bowl of fruit on the coffee table and hide the cookie jar.

It’s a simple trick, but the most helpful ones usually are. Hit up the link below for lots more food hacking advice.

Fooled by Food [Nutrition Action Canadian]