The old cliché that has a lot to answer for if anything is tasty it must be fattening. Take any list of favorite foods and there’s no chance that several would be bad stuff for us. We naturally crave foods that are not the right choice for us on balance – they’re unhealthy, lack nutrients and sometimes don’t even fill our stomachs very well – but for whatever reason, we keep coming back. Why are we looking for food that is bad for us?
There is no denying that there is a certain charm about food that is not especially safe. The beauty is not necessarily in the way the food tastes. Often it’s a comfort thing – if you’re in a football game there’s a possibility that the snack choices won’t include a balanced casserole, but instead contain burgers, hot dogs, and various other items that won’t do a lot of good on your waistline. Often it can be anything as easy as the way a food tastes – find someone who doesn’t like the scent of fried onions and you might have just found life outside.
We just crave unhealthy food as much as not, because it is easy. We’re used to it, we don’t have to sit down and eat it or even pair it with the right side dish. It is simple and good taste. What we need to do is get to the point where we have a safe alternative that is just as trouble-free as possible. The best choice in this situation for many people is a sandwich – just as long as there isn’t too much butter on it, anyway!