Everything is Turning Up Red and Green

Christmas is almost here and you like most people are probably putting up all sorts of decorations! As I look out my window currently, it is snowing and the wreath on the window is adorned with a beautiful red bow. How lovely. But what does this have to do with anything I normally talk about- like eating or exercising.

Unlike our four legged friends, we eat with our eyes rather than our noses. So the smelly garbage, despite being full of delicious leftovers looks gross so we won't eat it. Same idea with the drain catch in the sink, 10 seconds ago that food was yummy on your plate, now in the bottom of the sink its toxic waste. All visual eating!

Further, research indicates that we are really good at determining red from green visually. In our brains, we tend to look for food that is nutritious rather than just plain yummy- I know you don't believe me but heh- that 's what the researchers say! Red food (unprocessed-no skittles here) tend to be more calorically dense while the green foods were less calorically dense. So think here steak vs lettuce!

Once you factored in the cooking process things got a little wacky and the preference for red over green was not clear. Perhaps this was just because if you really cook your green vegetables they will turn brown-HA

So what does this mean for you?

For those of you who hate your greens and would rather die than eat vegetables, you are just doing what your brain has told you to do to bulk up in case of a famine. Unfortunately, chances of a devastating famine are slim. So try to follow these 2 tips to get your red/green dominance under control

1. Cook your greens!

2. Mix your greens with something red like an apple or other reddish fruit to trick you into thinking its red.

As always get out there and try it. Those of you who follow me on Instagram, know I posted a lovely kale smoothie picture. It is VERY green. I try and try to get my family to drink it. But they all refuse as it is green. It tastes spectacular and not "green" at all but they can't get past the visual. Hmm- makes perfect sense now!

Be healthy and get your greens on!

adapted from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/314127.php