Well the point isn’t meant to be that the food is inherently unsatisfying. The point is meant to be that the food is stuff that is within the normal range of palatability we are adapted for.
IMO you either want to go the ‘French women’ approach as described in another comment, or you want to select a food that is ‘bland’. The specific property I mean is a psychological reaction, and so it’s going to fire for different foods for different people, but basically: when you’re starting a meal you want to eat the food, and then when you’ve eaten enough of the food, you look at more on your plate and go “I’m not finishing that.” [This is different from the “I’m too full” reaction; there have been many times that I have put MealSquares back in the fridge when I would have eaten more bread.]
One thing that I’ve tried, but not for long enough to get shareable data, is having the ‘second half’ of my day’s calories be bland food. (That is, cook / order 1000 calories of tasty food, and then eat as many MealSquares as I want afterwards.) This is less convenient than a “cheat day” style of diet, but my guess is it’s more psychologically easy.
It’s also helpful to put less food on your plate to begin with, as a tool to recalibrate how much is “enough” for you. It is always possible to take food off your plate and put it back into a Tupperware and then into the refrigerator, but the easy, default choice is to convince yourself to clean your plate—especially when the alternative is putting a spoonful of whatever into either a shared leftovers container (which could be an issue depending on the hygiene standards of the people you’re living with) or in a separate bin to be consumed on the day you’re hungry for a partially-eaten bit of pork loin with a smear of mashed potatoes still attached to one end (which will never look quite as appetizing as properly-plated leftovers or a fresh meal).
Starting with less food to begin with makes the default habit (clean plate) more likely to result in a win condition.
When I tried them (about six years ago), I found them to be quite bland. Partly the density and texture took away from any flavor enjoyment that I was getting out of them.
That’s interesting to me, thanks for replying. I wonder if I just like the chocolate more, flavorwise, or if there was less before. I think without the wetness that comes from me microwaving it and melting the chocolate, it would be pretty damn dry and hard to eat.
I enjoy my first MealSquare. My fourth (I eat one meal a day) is generally “fine.” Whether or not I eat a fifth (or sixth) depends on how hungry I am in a manner much more pronounced than it is for other foods.
Oh geez, I have one in the morning before work and it’s perfect for me, but 5 or 6 would probably burn me out no matter what they are. I can totally see now why they would taste bland after that many, and I’m amused to think that anything you can comfortably eat that amount of is probably required to be bland.
IMO you either want to go the ‘French women’ approach as described in another comment, or you want to select a food that is ‘bland’. The specific property I mean is a psychological reaction, and so it’s going to fire for different foods for different people, but basically: when you’re starting a meal you want to eat the food, and then when you’ve eaten enough of the food, you look at more on your plate and go “I’m not finishing that.” [This is different from the “I’m too full” reaction; there have been many times that I have put MealSquares back in the fridge when I would have eaten more bread.]
One thing that I’ve tried, but not for long enough to get shareable data, is having the ‘second half’ of my day’s calories be bland food. (That is, cook / order 1000 calories of tasty food, and then eat as many MealSquares as I want afterwards.) This is less convenient than a “cheat day” style of diet, but my guess is it’s more psychologically easy.
It’s also helpful to put less food on your plate to begin with, as a tool to recalibrate how much is “enough” for you. It is always possible to take food off your plate and put it back into a Tupperware and then into the refrigerator, but the easy, default choice is to convince yourself to clean your plate—especially when the alternative is putting a spoonful of whatever into either a shared leftovers container (which could be an issue depending on the hygiene standards of the people you’re living with) or in a separate bin to be consumed on the day you’re hungry for a partially-eaten bit of pork loin with a smear of mashed potatoes still attached to one end (which will never look quite as appetizing as properly-plated leftovers or a fresh meal).
Starting with less food to begin with makes the default habit (clean plate) more likely to result in a win condition.
I worry that overtly bland is too hard to follow and French is so generous you can still make extremely palatable food.
Very small point here that I’d like clarified for my personal curiosity:
Do you find MealSquares bland? I really enjoy eating them, and I think it’s because they’re “normally palatable” or something, but not bland.
When I tried them (about six years ago), I found them to be quite bland. Partly the density and texture took away from any flavor enjoyment that I was getting out of them.
That’s interesting to me, thanks for replying. I wonder if I just like the chocolate more, flavorwise, or if there was less before. I think without the wetness that comes from me microwaving it and melting the chocolate, it would be pretty damn dry and hard to eat.
I enjoy my first MealSquare. My fourth (I eat one meal a day) is generally “fine.” Whether or not I eat a fifth (or sixth) depends on how hungry I am in a manner much more pronounced than it is for other foods.
Oh geez, I have one in the morning before work and it’s perfect for me, but 5 or 6 would probably burn me out no matter what they are. I can totally see now why they would taste bland after that many, and I’m amused to think that anything you can comfortably eat that amount of is probably required to be bland.
Thanks for clarifying!