We were having our lunch one day when my 10-yr old son turned towards me and asked, “Amma, why are tasty foods always unhealthy?”

This got me thinking.

Why do most of us say, “Healthy foods just don’t taste good.”

Why do we all share this thought?!!!

I wondered, “Was this the case when I grew up?!!”

The answer was “NO.”

So, what had changed over the years?

The advent of fast foods, the introduction of MSG, and highly impure fatty oils have made our food easier and tastier. But by the time we realized what it did to our health, the damage was already done.

Food in itself is healthy.

The villain here is the processed ones. Get off the bandwagon of processed foods, and we have nothing to worry about.

A lot can be attributed to our perception as well. Anything that’s not green or fried in oil is considered unhealthy. This has been our notion for quite a while now.

The widespread promotion of tasteless, bland food as healthy foods has also had its fair share of contribution towards this idea.

We consider anything that has fat, sugar, and salt as unhealthy. On the contrary, these are essential for our survival.

In actuality, there is no unhealthy food. It’s mostly just unhealthy diets. We can still get all essential nutrients/vitamins without eating any so-called “healthy foods.”

It’s completely possible to have a wide range of various foods that are absolutely tasty and give us the required nourishment.

We have forgotten that the tastiest of foods were the snacks made by our grandmothers or mothers during the festival season. We thrived on those foods, and yet not once did anyone complain of it being unhealthy.

Preparing the right recipe is very important while making healthy and tasty food.

Even the most delicious food can lose its flavor if not cooked correctly. If not mixed in the right proportion, all the essential nutrients can be lost.

The right ingredients when cooked by the person who actually knows how to cook it, gives us the most healthiest and tastiest food.

I still vividly remember the days when I used to come running back from school, to find my Grandmother/ Mother leaning over the Big Iron Kadai. The entire house would be filled with the rich aroma of Coconut oil. I would rush in to quickly change over to get a taste of those lovely snacks. There would be a big fight amongst us siblings about who would get the first bite. The freshly grounded rice flour mixed in the right proportions with all the other ingredients were fried in pure cold-pressed coconut oil to make some fantastic murukku or Then Kuzhals.

All of these snacks were incredibly tasty and yet easy on our tummies. We could hog on those snacks for days together without having any digestion issues. Each ingredient had its own share of nutritional value, making them super healthy.

So, Yes, Tasty Food can definitely be healthy!!!!