By Nancy Juarez, bilingual Skinny Gene Nutritionist (San Antonio,TX)

Have you ever met someone who seemed a little close-minded? Or perhaps a picky eater? Well, this month I came across something very interesting that I thought I’d share with you.

 Early in October, I started to prepare for our Skinny Gene Project Halloween Party (otherwise called the “sugar presentation”) for my patients. It’s always exciting to get everything ready for our group events. We want our members to really enjoy themselves.

 When the day came, I had prepared healthy food for them to eat at the party, as well as healthy treats to take home – our “Skinny Gened” version of a trick- or-treat bag.

 As the patients began to arrive, I told them to help themselves to the food while we waited for our other guests. One of my patients came in with her husband and two children and sat in the back so they could see what was going to be served for dinner. When the husband saw the spinach salad I prepared, he automatically hesitated. He kept saying “I don’t like it”. His wife said with embarrassment, “you haven’t even tried it” and put a small amount of salad on his plate.

As I began giving my presentation, I could see him out of the corner of my eye, eating the salad and commenting to his wife.  I thought to myself, could it be that he actually likes it? When I finished with the presentation and moved on to the sugar demonstration, I actually saw him go back to the table and serve himself more salad! I couldn’t believe my eyes. Only 30 minutes ago he was so hesitant and confident that the salad would be something he wouldn’t like, but as it turns out… he came back for seconds. J

I wanted to share this with you because oftentimes people set their minds to believe something negative, or take “appearance” too much into consideration, that they don’t give themselves the opportunity to try new foods. So next time you come across a “healthy” food you think you won’t like… Go for at least “one bite.”   Is that too much to ask? You didn’t know you liked cupcakes until you tried them! Trying new foods help lead to a lifetime of healthful eating!