第1491期:Making vegetables more appealing

As a child, I was always told to 'eat my greens'. These were the unappealing vegetables that sat on the edge of my plate. Peas, broccoli and green beans, all looked and tasted disgusting. Let's face it, when there were so many other edible treats to enjoy, why eat boring veg?

小时候，我总是被告知“吃我的蔬菜”。这些是坐在我盘子边缘的不吸引人的蔬菜。豌豆、西兰花和青豆，看起来和尝起来都很恶心。让我们面对现实吧，既然有这么多其他的美食可供享用，为什么还要吃无聊的蔬菜呢？

Since then my taste buds have developed and I'm also fully aware of the health benefits of eating fresh vegetables. But we still need reminding of the amazing goodness these green superfoods give us. In the UK, a campaign based on advice from the World Health Organization has been running for several years to encourage us to eat our '5 A Day' – five portions of fruit and vegetables. That's because evidence has shown there are significant health benefits to getting at least five 80g portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. 

从那时起，我的味蕾得到了发展，我也充分意识到吃新鲜蔬菜对健康的好处。但我们仍然需要提醒这些绿色超级食品给我们带来的惊人好处。在英国，一项基于世界卫生组织建议的运动已经运行了几年，以鼓励我们每天吃五份水果和蔬菜。这是因为有证据表明，每天至少吃五份 80 克的各种水果和蔬菜对健康有显着的好处。

But I struggle trying to fit these five portions into my daily diet, partly because I have a sweet tooth and vegetables are, well, tasteless. Researchers have been looking at how to make eating vegetables more attractive. They analysed the psychology behind our food choices and found that most of us are motivated by taste. Brad Turnwald from Stanford University says that "studies show that people tend to think of healthier options as less tasty for some reason."

但我很难将这五个部分融入我的日常饮食，部分原因是我爱吃甜食，而蔬菜，嗯，无味。研究人员一直在研究如何让吃蔬菜更具吸引力。他们分析了我们选择食物背后的心理，发现我们大多数人的动机是口味。斯坦福大学的布拉德·特恩瓦尔德说，“研究表明，出于某种原因，人们倾向于认为更健康的选择不太好吃。”

His team carried out an experiment in the university cafeteria where they gave vegetables seductive names and found sales increased by 25 per cent. They got rid of healthy labels such as 'wholesome' and gave identical dishes names like 'sizzlin' beans', 'dynamite beets' and 'twisted citrus-glazed carrots'. It seems that these indulgent names tempted diners to fill their plates. Brad Turnwald says that "labels really can influence our sensory experience, affecting how tasty and filling we think food will be." 

他的团队在大学食堂进行了一项实验，他们给蔬菜起了诱人的名字，结果发现销售额增加了 25%。他们去掉了诸如“有益健康”之类的健康标签，并给了相同的菜肴名称，例如“铁板豆”、“炸药甜菜”和“扭曲的柑橘釉胡萝卜”。似乎这些放纵的名字诱惑食客填满他们的盘子。Brad Turnwald 说：“标签确实可以影响我们的感官体验，影响我们认为食物的美味和填充程度。”

In Europe, a project called VeggieEAT has also been trying to find ways to get people to eat more veg. Project leader, Professor Heather Hartwell believes in "health by stealth", subtly nudging people into eating the right things. One idea has been to put a picture of a tasty looking fruit on a supermarket trolley as a hint about buying something from the fruit aisle. She says, "Choice is a really complex thing. But this study suggests that giving vegetables an indulgent tag can help raise their hierarchy."

在欧洲，一个名为 VeggieEAT 的项目也一直在努力寻找让人们多吃蔬菜的方法。项目负责人，Heather Hartwell 教授相信“隐形健康”，巧妙地推动人们吃正确的东西。一个想法是在超市手推车上放一张看起来很美味的水果的照片，作为从水果过道买东西的暗示。她说，“选择是一件非常复杂的事情。但这项研究表明，给蔬菜一个放纵的标签可以帮助提高他们的等级。”

Certainly, eating 'twisted citrus-glazed carrots' does sound tempting, even if it just tastes like a carrot, but if it makes us eat more vegetables then that can only be a good thing for our health.

当然，吃“扭曲的柑橘釉胡萝卜”听起来很诱人，即使它只是尝起来像胡萝卜，但如果它让我们吃更多的蔬菜，那只会对我们的健康有益。

词汇表

greens 青菜、绿叶菜（多用作复数）
edible 可食用的，可以吃的
taste buds 味蕾（多用作复数）
benefit 好处
superfood 对健康有益的“超级食品”
'5 A Day' “每天五份果蔬”，这是由世界卫生组织为增强健康饮食意识而发起的每日至少食用400g（相当于）水果或蔬菜的宣传活动。
significant 非常重要的，效果显著的
diet 日常饮食
sweet tooth 爱吃甜食
psychology 心理
motivated 被…驱使
seductive 诱人的
wholesome 对健康有益的
indulgent 任由（消费者）放纵的，易上瘾的
sensory 感官的
stealth 不知不觉的行动，隐性手段
nudge 劝说
hierarchy 等级，地位