Three weeks into your Whole30, you may start to feel bored with your meals. This is especially true if you’ve been eating the same breakfast every morning (hello, eggs), but flavor fatigue can happen to anyone. It’s not specific to the Whole30, either! In your food freedom, you may notice Taco Tuesday doesn’t hit as hard as it used to.
Let’s talk about what’s really happening, and the small shifts you can make to liven up your Whole30 meals. This advice will come in handy whether you’re meal planning, prepping, or already cooking.
What is flavor fatigue?
While flavor fatigue or taste fatigue might be newer terms, they’re based on familiar concepts, and have a foundation in biology.
Flavor fatigue basically means you get tired of eating the same foods, with the same flavor profiles. Sensory specific satiety—a scientific term that describes how repeated exposure to the same food makes it less appealing—is proof that you can have too much of a good thing.
Humans crave new experiences. We’re excited by variety and newness. When it comes to our diets, there’s a reason you’re longing for variety—and it goes much deeper than your taste buds. Historically, our brains told us, “Get some variety!” not just for pleasure, but for survival.
To remain healthy, you need a broad spectrum of macro- and micronutrients. Different foods (like wild game, nuts, and berries) offer different macronutrient compositions, vitamins, and minerals. Seeking a variety of flavors helped to ensure you eat a variety of nutrients. This is why dietitians recommend eating a broad and diverse diet. (The goal of your Whole30 elimination and reintroduction is also to identify the broadest selection of foods you can comfortably eat in your food freedom.)
Simple tips for flavor fatigue
Adding variety to your diet doesn’t require hours of planning, shopping, prepping, and cooking. There are a number of quick, easy ways to fend off flavor fatigue before it sets in, or correct it quickly if you’re already in a rut.
Take global inspiration
Different cultures bring us different herbs, spices, and ingredients. You can find endless variety and excitement by seeking meal planning inspiration from around the globe. Learn more about dishes like chilaquiles, Padoka, and plantain wraps. Or introduce new spices, like garam masala, hing, and cumin in India; or the harissa, paprika, and turmeric of Northern Africa.
Make DIY spice blends
Spices are an easy way to change up your protein and veggies. If you’ve been using salt, pepper, and garlic powder, try an exciting new spice blend. Your ground meat with veggies can quickly become Mexican-inspired, barbeque flavored, or bright with lemon pepper with these homemade preparations. Double the recipes, and store the extra for future use.
Use fresh herbs and zest
Herbs are often overlooked or skipped in recipes, but can add a fresh pop of flavor to any dish. Add basil to your Spaghetti Squash and Chicken Meatballs, mint to your Larb-Inspired Butternut Squash Soup, and cilantro to your Spanish-Style Tortilla and see how herbs make a dish pop with flavor. This is also where we’ll mention citrus zest. Zesting the skin of lemon, lime, grapefruit, or orange adds a huge hit of flavor and brightness to meals. (Use a microplane for easy zesting.)
Mix up your textures
Food boredom isn’t just about the flavors; texture plays a big role in your eating experience. Use texture as a trick to help make a familiar dish feel different. Use ground chicken in your soup, instead of shredded chicken. Roast your broccoli until it’s caramelized, and see how that transforms the texture (versus steaming it). Mix up your eggs, going from scrambled to fried to hard-boiled in the span of a week. Crunch is especially powerful when it comes to textures, so use these tips to add crunch to any Whole30 meal.
Add a new dressing or sauce
We should have made this the first tip, because on the Whole30, dressings and sauces are life. They are the fastest way to transform your egg scrambles, salads, or ground meat and veggies without any other adjustments. Go Argentinian-inspired with a chimichurri sauce, Italian-inspired with a marinara sauce, or Korean-inspired with a chili sauce.
Change up your protein
For Original Whole30ers, if ground beef is getting boring, substitute ground lamb or bison lamb. Experiment with different fish, and enjoy the diversity of flavor when you swap salmon for cod. Use shredded chicken instead of ground (or vice-versa) in your soup or chili. Opt for shrimp instead of chicken or steak in your lettuce-wrapped tacos.
On the Plant-Based Whole30, you can blend silken tofu into your smoothie, or air-fry tempeh for your next meal. Sub a side of mashed refried pinto beans instead of eating them whole. Try a different form of your favorite plant-based meat, from “chorizo” to “chopped chick’n.”
Try a new fruit or veggie
It might seem like they’re coming out with new fruits and vegetables all the time. The truth is, we’re just lucky it’s getting easier to enjoy a huge variety of produce. Taking advantage of that variety will add new flavors and nutrients into your meals. Opt for romanesco instead of broccoli or cauliflower; pan-fry a ripe plantain; add baby bok choy to your soup instead of spinach; roast fennel instead of sweet onion; or figure out what kohlrabi tastes like. (Its lightly sweet and peppery, and a delicious crunchy addition to salads.)
Switch up the cooking method
How you cook your ingredients determines not just the texture of the meal, but also the flavors. Let’s take a boiled potato versus a roasted potato. Boiling produces a soft texture, and on its own, offers a mellow flavor. Roasting adds caramelization (and a touch of crisp) that adds depth of flavor and sweetness. If you’re stuck in a flavor rut, add some char from the grill, air-fry your broccoli or asparagus instead of sauteing, or blanch your green beans in salted water to retain their color, flavor, and snap.
Conquer flavor fatigue
You now have many tools to fight food boredom while keeping your meal prep simple. Use these tools and our recipes to keep your Whole30 elimination, reintroduction, and food freedom meals fresh and exciting.
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