This post from Summer Tomato, “Sell Your Family On Healthy Eating Using Descriptive Copy”, poses a perfectly fun idea for motivating yourself and your family to eat well, inspired by a study concerning the psychology of eating that we discussed here a few weeks ago.  It seems putting a little Madison Avenue in our kitchen creations means taking a page from Restaurant Row. Consider the wait staff at your favorite restaurant describing their specials. Do the terms sautéed, drizzled or chilled sound familiar? Colorful descriptions and mouth-watering modifiers can accomplish the chef’s goal of tapping into our visceral love of food even before we order.

Their efforts to sell the sizzle and not (necessarily) the steak really can help our healthy eating habits, suggests Summer Tomato. The idea is to start evoking ingredients’ attributes and seasonal freshness: instead of trying to push “salad” for dinner,  start plugging “ginger scented little gem lettuces with grapefruit, hazelnuts and goat cheese.”  Now that sounds delicious! Then,  sneak in some adjectives as well: kale becomes Tuscan kale, carrots become sweet, and tomatoes become heirloom in an instant.

We also suggest taking this new Madison Avenue flair for food a step further. Got an idea for dinner in the AM before taking off to work? Use your copywriting skills to announce it on a decorative kitchen whiteboard or chalk/slate board. Not only can you get yourself and your family members excited about the Specialty du Jour, but you can stick to your plan of eating healthy – no stopping for take-out when the menu is there in black and white. And, studies indicate that if our expectations are that something will taste good, it will.

You can even use pictures to evoke a thousand words. If you found a recipe online or in a magazine, post the photo on your “menu” board (provided your version won’t pale in comparison). Let’s face it, Denny’s knows what they’re doing with their colorful photos of melting pads of butter sliding off stacks of pancakes. Hey, we can play that game, too. Move over, Moon Over My Hammy – say hello to Farm-fresh Sweet Corn and Slow-Roasted Organic Chipotle Chicken courtesy of Chez You!

Wax Poetic with Quinoa Salad

This Quinoa Salad with Wild Blueberries recipe from www.wildblueberries.com will help get you started dusting off those descriptors. Who can resist “creamy Havarti gently tossed with fresh garden zucchini”?

(Sold on the added adjective of “wild” when talking about blueberries? The moniker isn’t just sizzle: wild differentiates lowbush wild blueberries from their highbush cultivated counterparts. Wilds are smaller, have more of the powerful antioxidant anthocyanin, and demonstrate greater antioxidant capacity per serving than cultivated blueberries. They are also have a more intense, tangy-sweet flavor which makes them a excellent recipe ingredient.)