Taste buds are changing

[sunshinegal]

So I joined the 30 day vegan challenge and I think I am on day 20 out of the 30. I have been doing well, had one mishap over the weekend with a meal. It probably contained egg and my omni fiance was like ummmm...did you know? Totally dense but I realized I do have to think about EVERY thing I eat.

Anyway, I had to run to a meeting yesterday and found myself with a cup of tea and no sweetener. I wasn't at my desk where I have stevia so I grabbed a splenda (I know, not good for people and tested on animals = not vegan). So I put it in the tea, went to my meeting and took a sip. :spew:

That sh*t tasted like a cup of chemicals, I couldn't take another sip.
I also notice that I taste salt way more now then I ever did. Flavors of food are more pronounced for me too!

Anyone else have a similar experience when they went vegan? How did you find your taste buds have changed?

[MZCsmpsns]

I do find if I eat some foods I can taste how processed they are or whatever(veg friendly foods). I've been vegan for like 5+ years now, I dunno if it's just a mental thing or what. I'm not even the healthiest eater, but it seems like my body knows when something is just icky.

[sweet_wheat]

My taste buds have definitely changed. I certainly wasn't as adventurous with my food choices. Since going veg I have branched out and tried global cuisine. Now I get cravings for injera - the spongy, sour ethiopian bread - and vegetables!! American food is so boring to me now.

Similarly to you, I would be satisfied with a giant bowl of steamed vegetables now that my taste buds rock. I taste the sugar in ketchup, even. Everything tastes so processed - because it is! Someone made me a cake last year on my birthday, so I had a bite, and it tasted like straight chemicals. Nasty. (I tried to politely eat a couple more bites)

consider your taste buds un-brainwashed from our junk food society.

[DNK]

Certainly. A lot of processed food is sickening now, even meat that was tempting back in the day.

I can stand some "fast" food like Jimmy John's or Panera, but most processed foods are bleh.

[ripvanfish]

Yes! Isn't it wonderful? I can't stomach some of the things I used to eat. For instance, my mom fixed me some condesned tomato soup the other day... Disgusting, it was like eating a bowl of salt. My parents and I definitely have different ideas of how much salt is too much salt (which in my opinion, is often any at all).

[sunshinegal]

Certainly. A lot of processed food is sickening now, even meat that was tempting back in the day.

I can stand some "fast" food like Jimmy John's or Panera, but most processed foods are bleh.

I went to panera last night and I have no idea if the bread I ate was vegan. Do you have any info on what breads are vegan there? If not I will have to do some research. I do like panera though, their tomato sammich is good and I love their salads.

[sunshinegal]

Yes! Isn't it wonderful? I can't stomach some of the things I used to eat. For instance, my mom fixed me some condesned tomato soup the other day... Disgusting, it was like eating a bowl of salt. My parents and I definitely have different ideas of how much salt is too much salt (which in my opinion, is often any at all).

It is really cool, I think I had to eat a lot more back before I went vegan just to taste the food. Now a little goes a long way.

One thing is for sure, I will never touch an artificial sweetener again. That was just plain nasty.

[mateo]

I've been vegan for over 10 years. During those years I no longer prefer my favorite food which was cheesecake. I've had bites of it in the last couple years to test my preference for it and my taste buds have definitely rewired themselves. The same is pretty much for all diary products.

At this point sunshinegal, your palate is going through some major adjustments so things are going to taste a little different while this takes place. Enjoy the ride! As far as artificial sweetners go, forget about them because nothing can take the place of pure, wonderful sugar! I look at sugar as a drug to be taken in moderation. A little every once in a while is just fine! Enjoy your 30 day challenge and remember veganism is all about doing what you can and having fun doing it.

[sunshinegal]

I've been vegan for over 10 years. During those years I no longer prefer my favorite food which was cheesecake. I've had bites of it in the last couple years to test my preference for it and my taste buds have definitely rewired themselves. The same is pretty much for all diary products.

At this point sunshinegal, your palate is going through some major adjustments so things are going to taste a little different while this takes place. Enjoy the ride! As far as artificial sweetners go, forget about them because nothing can take the place of pure, wonderful sugar! I look at sugar as a drug to be taken in moderation. A little every once in a while is just fine! Enjoy your 30 day challenge and remember veganism is all about doing what you can and having fun doing it.

Wow, over 10 years? That is great! I have 7 more days until I am out of the 30 day challenge but that is certainly not the end for me. I had one slip up and then the falling back on old habits when it came to splenda. Not bad considering I couldn't go more then a day without slipping back say 6 months ago.

I am not at the point yet where sugar tastes sweet to me yet, but I think a little more time it will. Considering how much sweetener and overly sweet things I used to eat, it is not surprising my taste buds are changing. I do enjoy some stevia here and there so I tend to use that.

I actually enjoy trying sugary things now just to see how they taste. I took a sip of some MT Dew and it just tasted weird too. This time around I am completely enjoying the challenge and the fun of trying new foods. I am going to get some vegan baking books from the library this weekend so I can try my hand in some nice vegan sweets.

Thanks for the words of encouragement! :pibo:

[DNK]

Yes! Isn't it wonderful? I can't stomach some of the things I used to eat. For instance, my mom fixed me some condesned tomato soup the other day... Disgusting, it was like eating a bowl of salt. My parents and I definitely have different ideas of how much salt is too much salt (which in my opinion, is often any at all).Oh, definitely with canned soups. I used to love them and I absolutely refuse to eat them now. I also try to be sparing with the salt, but I aim for 1-1.5g/day.

I went to panera last night and I have no idea if the bread I ate was vegan. Do you have any info on what breads are vegan there? If not I will have to do some research. I do like panera though, their tomato sammich is good and I love their salads.Don't remember. I asked the person and they had a spreadsheet under the counter with info on what was in everything. I just remember that the black bean soup was vegan, as was the salad and vinegarette dressing.

[Puppet Master]

Candy, sugary junk food, cake, condensed soups, other garbage like that.

I feel sick if I have it. Blegh!

[EmandM]

Hi there, for those of you who changed your tastebuds, how long did it take? I am hoping to do the same as I have a really sweet tooth and I am trying to cut down on my sweets.

[sunshinegal]

Hi there, for those of you who changed your tastebuds, how long did it take? I am hoping to do the same as I have a really sweet tooth and I am trying to cut down on my sweets.

I noticed after about a week my sweet tooth started to go away. Now over 3 weeks into this a little bit of sweet goes a long way. I had a pretty serious sweet tooth, chocolate everyday. I find I eat more fruit now too though, that may help the sweet tooth out...not sure though. :confused:

[bekajoi]

Eating whole foods makes me taste nastiness with everything I come across that isn't natural/whole. eew.

I've heard for the sweet tooth bit, it's easiest to cut out ALL carbs for a little bit, to ease the transition. Otherwise something as simple as bread can trigger a craving for sweet stuff.

Or you could go the rout I did and simply change your sweetener of choice to something less icky for you. Move from white sugar to raw, use 1/2 amount in recipes, use agave or maple syrup or molasses in place of sugar in cooking. Most recipes don't NEED the amount of sugar in there. Banana bread, for example, often has up to 1c sugar for the recipe. It is FINE without a ton! :) Bananas are sweet, lol, why mess with the natural yumminess? KWIM?

There are ways to do it :) You CAN beat the sweet tooth-ness!

[mateo]

I've found that like with most drug cravings, my sugar craving increases with the more sugar that I eat. If you want to reduce sugar cravings the best thing to do is to go on a master cleanse or water fast for at least 48 hours. I try do to this a few times a year because I find it resets my bad overeating and sugar craving habits for awhile.

If you're not down with the fast just reducing your sugar intake should reduce your sugar cravings. When I eat very little sugar for a couple weeks it tastes super sweet when I start to eat it again. I really don't think that going vegan would make any difference in reducing sugar cravings. Take it from a guy who runs a website dedicated to vegan baking!